"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death."
(Romans 7:5)
As Christians, we must be careful not to let the enemy cause spiritual blindness to overtake us and keep us from seeing our sinful character. We can be blinded to the deep poverty of our own spiritual character of depravity if we don't guard against it. It is so easy to think of ourselves as righteous when the truth is our righteousness only comes from Christ. It only comes from the Spirit of God working in us. Righteousness has nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God at work in us.
Our flesh is sinful, selfish, wicked and a force to be reckoned with.The flesh will rise up in spiritual pride if left unchecked. And as we grow in our Christian walk, we face increasing danger of spiritual pride. And spiritual pride will lead to spiritual blindness every time!
The good news is that the Holy Spirit enables us to walk not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. His ministry is to help us see our poverty-stricken nature and recognize our depraved state of being. When we are shown this by the Holy Spirit, it is not to lead us into despair, but to lead us into Holiness. He creates in us a hatred for sin and an acute desire to be holy. And we can only see this when the Spirit reveals it to us.
Unless the Spirit is at work within us, our flesh is too strong for us to persevere against the enemy. Our only weapon against the flesh is the Word of God. We must stay deeply embedded in the Scriptures. That is where we will find the standard for God's Holiness.We must read the Word, study the Word, and hear the Word taught so we will be captivated by the moral beauty and perfection of God's holy standard.
"So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves." (Galatians 5:16)
We can't overcome the corruptions of our heart except by the enabling of the Spirit of God. He creates a desire within us to be Holy and then He gives us the spiritual strength to live Holy lives. We can't do it on our own and I don't know why we think that we can. Our flesh is no match against the wiles of the enemy unless we are armored up with the weapon of the Word and clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit.
We need to be seeking a continual work of the Spirit in our lives. Do we tremble at His Word? Do we pray for Holiness in our lives? Do we desire to be Holy?
If we desire to walk in the Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to be in control of our actions, our words and our thoughts, we must maintain dependency upon Him and His enabling power. The only way we can do this is by prayer and by meditation on the sweet Word of God. We can't walk in the Spirit if we don't know who the Spirit is. We can't walk in the Spirit if we aren't taking the time to clothe ourselves with the Scriptures. We can only walk in the Spirit if we are keeping ourselves immersed in the Word through personal and intimate prayer and study time.There is nothing more important than our relationship with God and His Word. It is life to us!
Do we want to walk in Holiness? We need the spiritual nourishment that God has provided for us in the Holy Scriptures. It's up to us to devour them eagerly and allow them to penetrate deeply so we can apply them to our daily lives. Open the Word and dine with the Savior.
"But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us" (Galatians 5:5)
