Friday, May 1, 2009
Galatians 5:16-25
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (ESV)
by Jerry Johnson
The Christian life is largest battleground in the world. There are two competing forces, the Spirit of God and the flesh (our natural sinful nature). In this battle, we have a tendency to gravitate towards one of two extremes. Many yield to that flesh; those Christians never see a crucifixion of their sinful passions and desires. Others yield to being led by the Law (v. 18), which can oppose the Spirit if taken to the extreme of using it as nothing more than a set of rules. Our challenge is to allow the Holy Spirit to govern our moral nature without yielding to licentiousness.
Copyright Information
Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2010, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service.

