Romans 8:1-3..."1) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

This is a powerful statement made by the apostle Paul here, and summarizes, in two short verses what Christ has done for us. If you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and “do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit,” you will not be condemned because of your sinfulness, which is the nature of man and is in all of us.

Now, what does “do not walk according to the flesh” mean? The word “flesh” is referring to the physical man, and the physical man’s nature is sinful. Just take a look around society and it will not take long to see this sinfulness. Galatians 5:19-21 tells us the acts of a sinful nature, “19) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21) envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This description fits our society well, don’t you think?

But, when you walk according to the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23 says you will display these attributes, “22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23) gentleness, self-control.” Verse 25 says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Many Christians talk a good talk about being Christian, but when you take a look at their everyday lives, you would be hard-pressed to notice that they are Christians. We’re told by Paul here to not only live the Christian life, but also to walk in the Christian life, submerging ourselves in the Spirit.

Many Christians walk that fine line between the fleshly things of life and the spiritual things of life. They want to be Christian, but yet do not want to give up everything of their former fleshly selves. This is a dangerous way to live—Ephesians 5:15-20 says, “15) See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17) Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19) speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20) giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21) submitting to one another in the fear of God.”

Paul tells us in verse 17, “do not be unwise”, he is referring to those who want to hold on to certain aspects of their former selves in the flesh, this is a huge mistake, because if you play with fire, you will eventually get burned and you cannot mess around with Satan, fore he is always roaming around like a roaring lion looking to devour someone (1 Peter 5:8 ). If you are trying to hold on to some of your past, you will run into the lion when you least expect it and he will devour you.

Paul follows up with, “but understand what the will of the Lord is.” The will of the Lord, is for you to submit yourself to him, to resist the devil, and if you do those things the devil will flee from you (James 4:7 ). I know it sounds simplified here, but it is that simple. Jesus has already done all the hard work. If you do not feel free or are not free from the bondage of sin, you only have yourself to blame.

Using myself as an example, for years I was born again, yet, I was not free from the bondage of sin. I still was hanging onto things of my prior life that were keeping me in that bondage, and keeping me from all the blessings from God that were available to me through the sacrifice of Jesus. It wasn't until I finally realized that those things I was reluctant to let go of, I had to let go of. To my surprise, those things that I clung to of my prior life, that I thought I would miss, I didn’t miss at all. It’s Satan that puts those thoughts in your mind, he will lead you to believe, “hey, you don’t have to give up everything”, but as James 4:7 says, you must “resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

To most peoples surprise, Satan has no power over you unless you give it to him. You can make the decision to resist him. If you have the Holy Spirit in you and you still cannot resist Satan’s temptation, it’s because you do not want to! You are trying to hold onto something that needs to be let go of. It’s only then, that you will experience a true relationship with Jesus, with all the power which then, will be available to you.

Believe that because it’s true—the only game Satan has, is to try and manipulate your thought life, and he is very good at that. Unless you are fully submerged in the Spirit, you will find it impossible to see all of his deception and you will succumb to his temptation. I know that may sound like a contradiction, because I just finished saying that Satan has no power over you unless you give it to him, but I didn’t say it would be easy, nor did I say you can do it on your own. If you try to face-off with Satan without the backing of Jesus firmly in your life, it will be like swimming upstream in a fast moving river.

-- Continued on Page 2 (click here) --

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