If you’ve ever seen two people fighting, and if you’re not inclined to break up the fight, or if there are two people wrestling, you might wonder who is going to win. If they are about the same size, one not markedly bigger than the other, either one might stand a chance. Of course there are other factors besides size. Has either one had any sort of training in fighting or wrestling? Are they physically fit, or is one sickly, weak, or malnourished? If so, then that one is at a disadvantage. The other fellow is more likely to win that fight. We are in a fight in our Christian life, a fight between our two natures. Which one is going to win? Let’s take a look today at what the Apostle Paul has to say to us about this matter.
St. Paul wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia in response to the false teachings that were being spread among the believers that one needed to keep the Old Testament Law in order to be truly saved, which is false doctrine. Some people had come into the churches there stating that in addition to accepting Jesus as Savior, one needed to be circumcised in order to be saved, one needed to eat a kosher diet, strictly keep the Sabbath, etc. Paul countered that by stating that was not true teaching. Salvation is strictly by faith in the Lord Jesus, not by keeping the Law, not by any works we do. Now, as his epistle is drawing to a close, Paul states that our showing love to each other is the fulfillment of the Law (vs. 14).
Jesus had taught that the greatest commandment is loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourself (Matthew 22:35-40). This echoes what we read in Leviticus 19:18. The moral heart of the Law is not abolished by Paul’s teachings, but is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and expressed through Spirit-led love. This is not to teach that keeping the Mosaic Law will save anyone. It won’t. Believers who are already saved by faith in Jesus, if they are walking in the Spirit, will show love to others.
Paul continued his teaching by addressing the internal fighting and squabbling that the Galatians had among each other (vs. 15). False teachings need to be corrected, but done in love. And fighting about minor issues needed to stop. In churches today there are legalists who want to live by a bunch of laws, from what clothes one should wear to how long or short one’s hair should be. Then there are those who say that we should live and act any way we want, any way that feels good. Both legalism and fleshly living lead to strife. Very soon they are biting and devouring one another. Often this leads to pride and self-righteous thinking on the one hand, or doctrinal compromise along with living and thinking like the world on the other. Such fighting starts to tear the church apart.
Now, God’s Word commands, not suggests, but commands the believers to start walking in the Spirit (vs. 16). This means daily submitting to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and being grounded in the Word of God, the Bible. When we are living like that, we are much less likely to start following the desires of the flesh. We will separate ourselves from sin, not by our human efforts which will fail, but by yielding to the Holy Spirit.
The only cure for a self-focused life is to walk in the Spirit. We cannot live a godly life apart from the Holy Spirit, but instead let Him guide our life (vs. 17). Then we won’t do what our sinful nature craves. There is a constant battle in believers between the old nature and the new one. Our flesh or old nature was not eradicated when we were saved. The old nature is active and uses all the weapons in its arsenal against the newly saved Christian. That old nature needs to be crucified daily (Galatians 2:20). The new nature will use what it has, such as prayer, faith , hope, and love to cast, to resist, and destroy evil. These two opposing natures will never stop struggling as long as we are in this world.
The flesh cannot be changed or tamed. We must stop “feeding” our flesh nature, stop accepting what the world says is right and going along with what they do. Instead we “feed” and exercise our Spirit nature by reading and obeying God’s Word. Like mentioned above, which fighter or wrestler do you want to win? That is the one that you feed, that you exercise and train. Do we spend time in prayer and Bible reading, or in listening to the world and its evil philosophies?
In closing, we need to start each day by asking the Lord Jesus to help us walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Remember, the flesh and the Spirit are in opposition. Victory comes through submission to the Spirit. We need to be careful who we are enabling in this fight. Are we feeding the old flesh nature by following what the world tells us, and giving in to temptations? Or are we feeding the new nature, the Spirit in our life by being in the Bible daily and by prayer? Feed which one you want to live!
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