Jo Guerrero’s five-year-old daughter, Barbara, had disobeyed her mother and had been sent to her room. After a few minutes, Jo (the mom) went in to talk with her about what she had done. Teary-eyed, the little girl asked, “Why do we do wrong things, Mommy?”
Jo replied, “Sometimes the devil tells us to do something wrong, and we listen to him. We need to listen to God instead.”
To which she sobbed, “But God doesn't talk loud enough!” (Jo M. Guerrero, Christian Reader, Sep/Oct 1996)
Can you relate? Sometimes you feel like the compulsion to sin is louder and stronger than God’s gentle prodding to do what’s right. There is a real battle raging within our own hearts, and more often than we care to admit, the wrong side wins.
The question is: How do you win the battle against our compulsion to sin? How do you conquer this sinful nature that resides in each one of us? How do you overcome the perversions of your own flesh? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Galatians 5, Galatians 5, where the Bible gives us a surprising answer.
Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (ESV)
Literally, “Walk by means of the Spirit” – i.e., step-by-step, moment-by-moment, depend on the Spirit of God. For if you do, “you will BY NO MEANS and IN NO WAY gratify the desires of the flesh” – It’s a double negative in the Greek. The Spirit and the flesh are absolutely incompatible!
Here’s the surprise. You overcome our desire to sin NOT through your own will-power and self-effort. No. You overcome your desire to sin only through a moment-by-moment dependence upon the Spirit of God. You cannot live by our own human spirit. Instead, you must…
LIVE BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
You must depend on the Holy Spirit’s power. You must rely on the Spirit of God, and then (and only then) will you conquer the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (ESV)
You see, there is an internal conflict going on within every believer. The sinful nature and the Holy Spirit are at war in our hearts.
Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) once put it this way: “There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.” (Richard Hansen, “A Good Mystery, Preaching Today Audio, Issue 253; www.Preaching Today.com)
That “hippopotamus” is our own flesh, which is sinful by nature. So if we depend on our own flesh, i.e., if we depend on our own self effort, we end up sinning every time, because that’s its nature.
Dr. Loran Nordgren, a senior lecturer at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, ran a series of experiments that placed college students in “tempting situations” to smoke, eat junk food, or forgo studying. The research found that we often display what's called a “restraint bias.” In other words, we tend to overestimate how much self-control we will have against temptation when we're not in the “heat of the moment.” Our “restraint bias” causes us to think that we can handle more temptation than we actually can. In fact, Dr. Nordgren warned that “Those who are most confident about their self-control are the most likely to give in to temptation.” (Jeanna Bryner, “Temptation Harder to Resist Than You Think, Study Suggests,” Live Science, 8-3-09; www.PreachingToday.com)
Did you hear that? “Those who are most confident about their self-control are the most likely to give in to temptation”.
So don’t put your confidence in yourself. Don’t depend on the strength of your own will-power. Instead, depend on the Holy Spirit’s power.
Then, and only then, will you conquer the desires of the flesh. Or as verse 16 puts it, you will BY NO MEANS and IN NO WAY, gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
It’s like holding a book flat on your open hand (demonstrate). As long as your hand is under the book, gravity cannot make the book fall. Now, that is not to say that gravity is no longer present. It certainly is. It’s just that the muscular force in the arm and hand is stronger than the force of gravity.
In the same way, The Holy Spirit is stronger than our sinful nature, which is always present and wants to pull us down. But as long as we depend on the Holy Spirit to hold us up, then our sinful nature cannot pull us down.
It’s only when we try to live independent of the power of the Holy Spirit (pull hand away and let book fall), that we sin. In other words, when we in our own self effort try not to sin, we end up doing exactly the thing we don’t want to do.
In Pilgrim’s Progress, a man goes into Interpreter’s house and finds a large room where dust covers everything. As they are seated in that room, a girl comes in with a broom and starts sweeping. But all this does is stir up the dust, and soon everyone is gagging and coughing.
That’s what happens when we, in our own strength and by our own will-power, try to clean up our own lives. All we do is stir up the dust of sin, which leaves everybody gagging and coughing.
There IS a better way, and that’s the way of the Spirit. When you depend on the Holy Spirit’s power, you conquer the cravings of the flesh. When you live by the Spirit, you by no means and in no way, gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Dr. Robert A. Cook used to put it this way on his daily radio broadcast: PRAY YOUR WAY THROUGH THE DAY. PRAY YOUR WAY THROUGH THE DAY. In other words, with each step, with each decision, with each task, and with each temptation, ask the Lord for His help. Depend on God’s Holy Spirit, and He will not let you down.
If you want to win the battle against your compulsion to sin, then you must live by the Spirit and so conquer the desires of the flesh. More than that, you must also allow yourself to…
BE LED BY THE SPIRIT.
You must follow the Holy Spirit’s direction. You must listen to Holy Spirit’s voice, and so conquer the deeds of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (ESV)
Those who follow the Spirit have a better way of living than those who try to follow the law. You see, the law is like that broom in Pilgrim’s Progress, which only stirs up the dust of sin in our lives. The law actually stimulates us to sin; it doesn’t scrub the sin away.
But we don’t have to live under the law anymore. Now, we can be led by the Spirit. As believers we can all follow the Holy Spirit’s direction, which is a much better way to live!
More than 35 years ago, before I married Sandy, I was a lousy cook. I could maybe cook hot dogs and beans (out of a can), and those didn’t always turn out so well. That’s because I was confined to a set of instructions called a “cookbook.” It was a list of rules and regulations, a law, which could never make me into a good cook.
Then I married Sandy, and I had someone to lead me through the process of cooking a meal. She showed me everything I know about cooking. Now, I can roast a turkey, bake a cake, make a great potato salad, and cook all kinds of delicious meals. Just ask Sandy.
I’m a pretty good cook, if I do say so myself. Why? Because I am no longer confined to a cookbook. I am under a better system. I have someone to lead me through the process.
Now, that’s exactly what the Believer has in the Holy Spirit. We who know Christ are no longer confined to the law, a list of dos and don’ts. We’re under a better system. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us through the process of living a holy life. All we have to do is listen to Him. All we have to do is follow His lead.
But if you insist on doing it yourself, if you insist on trying to follow the rules without the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, then you will violate every rule in the book. For you see, the flesh knows no law.
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality… (ESV)
These are sexual sins. They violate and cheapen God’s wedding gift of sex.
Then there is idolatry and sorcery in verse 20. These are spiritual sins – the worship of false gods and demons.
And then comes, verse 20, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these.
These are social sins. It’s not a pretty picture, is it? The flesh ruins us sexually, spiritually and socially. But worst of all, the flesh makes us unfit for the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:21b I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)
God has built a wall around His kingdom, excluding certain people. He excludes those whose lives have not been changed by the power of His Holy Spirt. Do you know why? Because if God allowed such terrorists into His perfect kingdom, it would destroy the safety and security of that kingdom.
My dear friends, if you claim to have accepted Christ as your Savior, your life should demonstrate a real change. And if it hasn’t, stop kidding yourself. Today, right now, stop depending on your own will-power and start depending on the Lord. For when you, in your own self effort, try to better ourselves, you only make yourself worse. That’s because the flesh knows no law.
On the other hand, the Spirit needs no law. The Holy Spirit of God does not require restrictions, rules and regulations, because He Himself is righteousness personified.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
The Spirit needs no law!
Wouldn’t you like to have these qualities in your life? Love – that self-giving, self-sacrificing kind of love. Joy – a “holy optimism” even in the midst of our uncertain times. Peace – an inner harmony in your heart along with an outer harmony in your relationships. Patience – literally, “long-suffering.” It’s the refusal to retaliate even under extreme provocation. Then there’s kindness and goodness – This is more than just morality. A moral person could evict a widow for not paying her rent. A kind and good person would pay the rent for her. Finally, there is faithfulness – or reliability. Gentleness – that’s strength under control. And self-control – or mastery over your own passions.
Wouldn’t you like to have these qualities in your life? Then stop trying to manufacture them on your own and let the Holy Spirit help you.
Did you notice? This is called the “fruit” of the Spirit, not the “acts” of the Spirit. These qualities are not something you work to produce. No. These qualities are produced in you as a result of the Spirit’s life flowing through you.
It’s like an apple growing on a tree. That apple does not do one bit of work to become an apple. It just absorbs the life (or the sap) of the tree, and it becomes a beautiful, red, delicious piece of fruit. So it is when you let the Holy Spirit live His life through you. You begin to exhibit the beautiful fruit of the Spirit.
In his commentary on Luke's gospel, pastor and author, Kent Hughes, tells the following story:
Several years ago one of my wife's friends took a missionary furlough with her husband and family after an unusually tiring stint of service. She had been looking forward to this time with great anticipation. For the first time she was going to have a place of her own, a new, large townhouse-styled apartment with a patio. She is very creative and made the patio the focus of her decoration.
After a few months some new neighbors moved in. The word to describe them would be "coarse." There was loud music day and night along with a constant flow of obscenities. They urinated in the front yard in broad daylight. They totally disrupted her peace. She could see nothing good in them.
She asked the Lord to help her be more loving, but all she got back [from her neighbors] was disgust and rejection. The crisis came when she returned home to discover that her neighbors' children had sprayed orange paint all over her beautiful patio—the walls, the floors—everything! She was distraught and furious. She tried to pray but found herself crying out, "I cannot love them; I hate them!"
Knowing she had to deal with the sin in her heart, she began to converse with the Lord in her inner being, and a Scripture came to mind: "And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity" (Colossians 3:14 NASB). In her heart she questioned, "Lord, how do I put on love?" The only way she could picture it was like putting on a coat. So that is what she determined to do—she chose to wrap herself in the love of God! As a result she began to experience a deeper life of Christ within her.
She made a list of what she would do if she really loved her exasperating neighbors, then did what she had listed. She baked cookies, she offered to baby-sit for free, she invited the mother over for coffee—and the most beautiful thing happened! She began to know and understand them. She began to see that they were living under tremendous pressures. She began to love her "enemies." She did good to them. She lent to them without expecting anything back.
The day came when they moved—and she wept! An unnatural, unconventional love had captured her heart—a supernatural love—the love of Jesus. (Kent Hughes, Luke, Vol.1, Crossway, 1998, p. 229; www.PreachingToday.com)
God’s love, along with his joy and peace can capture your heart, as well. Just stop trying to manufacture all this stuff on your own, and look to the Holy Spirit for His power and guidance just like this lady did.
Don’t depend on the flesh or your own self-effort. Depend on God’s Holy Spirit – let Him live His life through you. 1st, Live by the Spirit and defeat the desires of the flesh. 2nd, Be led by the Spirit and defeat the deeds of the flesh. And finally…
WALK WITH THE SPIRIT.
Keep in step with what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life. Imitate His way and enjoy the death of the flesh.
Galatians 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (ESV)
You see, every believer has already crucified his or her sinful nature. Ding, dong, the wicked flesh is dead!
You say, “Phil, it feels very much alive. Tell me, when did it die? Well, it died when Christ died on the cross. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ.” Romans 6 says, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we should no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin” (vs. 6-7).
The old sinful nature, with its sinful passions and desires, is dead! To be sure, we still carry it around on the inside, but it no longer has any life; it no longer has any power over us.
So don’t cater to its passions any more. Don’t give in to its desires.
J. Vernon McGee used to tell a story about a lady in the Deep South who married her childhood sweetheart. They had a good life together until he was suddenly taken by a heart attack. Not being able to part with him, she decided to have him embalmed, put in a chair, sealed up in a glass case, and placed inside the front door of their large plantation home. There he sat, day after day, as she acknowledged his presence with a smile and a friendly wave.
A year or so later, she decided to take a lengthy trip to Europe. It was a delightful change of scenery. In fact, while in Europe, she met a fine American gentleman who was also on vacation. He swept her off her feet. After a whirlwind romance, they got married and honeymooned all over Europe. She said nothing about ol’ John back on the farm.
Finally, they traveled together back to the States. As they were driving up the winding road to her home, he began to make some plans. He was thinking, “This is my moment to lift my bride over the threshold and carry her back into her home – this wonderful place where we’ll live together forever.” So when they arrived, he picked her up, bumped the door open with his hip, and walked right in. He almost dropped his bride on the floor!
“Who is this?” he asked.
“Well, that is John,” she replied. “He was my old man from…”
“He is history,” her new husband told her. “He’s dead!” And that new husband immediately dug a big hole and buried her old man in it, case and all. (Chuck Swindoll, Grace Awakening, pp.114-115)
That story describes the way a lot of believers treat their old sinful nature. They put it in a case, greet it every morning, and cater to it every day of their lives. They live as if that old sinful nature is still alive, even though it’s dead. Please, don’t do it. We have a New Husband, who has walked us across the threshold and awakened us to a new life, a new love, a new relationship, and an entirely different future.
So cater to Him. Seek to please Christ by keeping in step with His Spirit.
Galatians 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (ESV)
It’s like marching in a marching band. Did you ever see those elaborate marching formations on the football field? It looks complicated, but it’s really very simple. I had a chance to do a little of that when I was in High School. I played trumpet in my high school marching band, and I learned very quickly that all I had to do was keep in step with the person next to me to make it all work.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit walks with us through life, and all we have to do is keep in step with Him. We don’t have to make up our own fancy steps. We just put one step in front of the other as the Spirit shows us how. Just walk with the Spirit, who is very much alive in each and every one of us who has trusted Christ.
Please, Don’t cater to the flesh anymore – it’s dead! Don’t cater to its passions. And don’t cater to its pride.
Galatians 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (ESV)
This comes from the pride of self effort. That is, the pride of the flesh always leads to provocation and envy. When we, in our own strength, accomplish anything, we look around to see that we’re better than some and we judge them. Or we look around to see that some are still better than us and we envy them. Neither is good. So don’t look to yourself. Look to the Spirit.
If you want to win the battle against your compulsion to sin, then 1st of all, live by the Spirit and so conquer the desires of the flesh. 2nd, Be led by the Spirit and so conquer the deeds of the flesh. And 3rd, Walk with the Spirit and so enjoy the death of the flesh. In a word, DEPEND on the Spirit of God.
J. D. Greer puts it this way: Think of [your relationship with Christ] like a balloon. There are two ways to keep a balloon afloat. If you fill a balloon with your breath, the only way to keep it in the air is to continually smack it upward. That's how religion keeps you motivated: it repeatedly “hits” you. “Stop doing this!” “Get busy with that!” This is my life as a pastor. People come on Sunday so I can “smack” them about something. “Be more generous!” And they do that for a week. “Go do missions!” And they sign up for a trip. Every week I smack them back into spiritual orbit. No wonder people don't like being around me. But there's another way to keep a balloon afloat. Fill it with helium. Then it floats on its own, no smacking required. (J. D. Greer, Gospel: Recovering the Power That Made Christianity Revolutionary, B&H Publishing, 2011, pp. 97-98; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s what happens when you allow God to fill you with His Holy Spirit. You soar with no smacking required.
