Lately I have been struggling with the question- does God help us to fight sin and temptation in the flesh? I have always struggled a lot with lust, and for certain periods it gets very bad. I know that I must fight the sin, and am greatly motivated, but many a time I will fail and fall. I consulted some friends; indeed there seems to be no verse in the Bible that states that the Spirit will help us to fight sin and temptation directly.
There are some sins that we find it quite easy to fight; it varies from person to person. But I believe for many of us there are certain sins that we struggle a great deal with; sins that often seem to have a very strong hold on us. For me it's lust. There were times in my life that it got really bad; to the point that I really felt like it was controlling me. I sought help in God's Word, and was greatly motivated by His love to continue fighting sin. But it seemed like the longer I tried to fight the sin in the flesh, the worse the situation became. At times I grew very tired and confused, sustained only by the grace and forgiveness of God. I don't know if any of you have similar experiences.
There is however, a very interesting chapter in the Bible about sin, one that many people consider hard to understand, and that is Romans 7. I encourage you, if you are asking the same question that I am, to read this whole chapter carefully. Paul chronicles His own struggle against sin; surprising as it may be, the greatest apostle also had a great problem with sin. And amazingly, his experience almost parallels mine-
"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I...
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me (that is, my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not..." Romans 7:15, 17-18
He too, had the will to fight sin and do good, but somehow his flesh refused to obey. But it is interesting how he says it is "no more I that do it". What does he mean? Reading on, he describes essentially how there are two "laws" within Him, the law of the Spirit, and the law of sin, and how they are constantly battling each other. "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Romans 7: 22-23.
We all know, from our own experience, how weak the flesh is. We all know that even after our conversion, the flesh still remains full of sin; "in me (that is, my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing". And the flesh, left alone, will naturally and very irresistably sin. "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." Romans 7:19. I believe that is what Paul meant when he said that he was "in captivity to the law of sin which is in my members"- that his flesh just could not stop sinning.
Paul goes on to say in the last verse, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." Romans 7:25. Considering all he has said all along, he seems to be saying that the Spirit and the flesh are separate, that they are not compatible and do not mix with one another. At first this seemed to be rather new and surprising to me, but I was reflected more upon it, it made more and more sense. And I believe that this is the key to how to have victory over sin.
I have yet to find a verse that praises the flesh, that says that the flesh is capable of fighting and overcoming of sin. I have also yet to find a verse that describes how the Spirit helps the flesh. But what I have found is that whenever the flesh is mentioned, the Spirit is usually mentioned in contrast. There are many verses; the most significant of which would probably be Galatians 5: 19-23. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest... Adultery, fornication, uncleanness... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..." There is no mixing the two. It confirms what Paul has been implying- that the flesh and the Spirit are indeed separate.
And now that we think about it, does it not make sense? The flesh is but a shell, a dirty, hopeless shell, that will be shed and destroyed when we die; but the spirit in us will go on. "For all flesh is as grass... the grass withereth..." 1 Pet 1:24. "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 1 John 2:16. The flesh is hopeless, condemned, doomed. The spirit is everlasting.
So we come to the most important part- how does this relate to how we can fight sin? What we do know is that we cannot fight sin in the flesh, and that the flesh, left by itself, will sin. But we also do know that in the Spirit there is no sin, only the glorious Fruits of the Spirit. So what is the solution? The flesh must decrease, but the Spirit must increase! The saying "an idle mind is the devil's workshop" is very true, very true indeed. So long as our flesh exists on its own, with very little presence of the Spirit, idle and empty so to speak, it will continue sinning. But once the presence of the Spirit increases, the presence of the flesh will decrease. And sin will correspondingly decrease. So what must we do practically? We must seek God through the Spirit with all our hearts; we must focus our attention on Him, and in seeking the Fruits of the Spirit. We must turn our minds away from sinful things and focus them on spiritual things. "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" Romans 8:6. We must eliminate, as far as we can, all presence of the flesh in our lives, and replace it with the Spirit.
And when we look back to the Bible, we find that this is the precisely what it prescribes. "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." 1 Tim. 6:11. Paul spoke very often about the old man and new man in Christ; note that he never talked about the abolition of the old man per se, but it was always accompanied by a replacement of the old man with a new man, one in the Spirit. "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph 4:24. "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Romans 13:14. In short, we must replace the flesh with the Spirit, to the point that we are "filled with all the fulness of God." Eph. 3:19
I know all this sounds very abstract, so I'm going to share with you my own testimony. Like I said earlier, during those times that I tried to focus all my energy on fighting lust, the situation got worse. Those times in my life when I was able to overcome lust were those times that I focused my energy and mind on seeking God. On reading and learning from His Word, on talking to and helping others, on writing in this blog, on anything related to God. With the heart and mind focused in the Spirit, I could really feel the presence of the flesh decreasing. The temptations no longer seemed so strong; the lustful drive inside of me seemed to have weakened. Whenever my flesh seemed to even suggest going back into sin, my mind and heart would rebuke and refute it, because they were focused on the Spirit. It is just like the Bible describes. It is truly amazing, praise the Lord.
This does not mean that we should cease struggling in the flesh. Romans 6 makes that clear- "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid." (v.1) We must still fight sin wholeheartedly, but at the same time, we must seek the Lord and focus our minds and hearts on Him, so that the Spirit will fill us more and more. A student whose full attention is on his teacher will not be likely to be distracted by other students; in the same way a heart that is focused fully on God will not be easily tempted by sin. Also, very practically, when our lives are focused on seeking and serving Him, there is very little time left to sin. Remember, the Spirit must increase, the flesh must decrease. "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God..." 1 Cor. 15:50.
But what happens when we do sin? When the flesh somehow fights through and prevails? Fear not, for the picture is made complete by Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. "There is there now no comdemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1. "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound..." Romans 5:20. You are forgiven, forgiven fully. Because of what we He has done we are forever freed from the flesh, even though we still remain in the flesh, but only for now. Remember that always, and press on towards Him.
This is a very important lesson that I have learnt, and if you feel that this is speaking to you but somehow you still don't understand it fully, please write a comment and I will do my best to explain it more. God Bless.
There are some sins that we find it quite easy to fight; it varies from person to person. But I believe for many of us there are certain sins that we struggle a great deal with; sins that often seem to have a very strong hold on us. For me it's lust. There were times in my life that it got really bad; to the point that I really felt like it was controlling me. I sought help in God's Word, and was greatly motivated by His love to continue fighting sin. But it seemed like the longer I tried to fight the sin in the flesh, the worse the situation became. At times I grew very tired and confused, sustained only by the grace and forgiveness of God. I don't know if any of you have similar experiences.
There is however, a very interesting chapter in the Bible about sin, one that many people consider hard to understand, and that is Romans 7. I encourage you, if you are asking the same question that I am, to read this whole chapter carefully. Paul chronicles His own struggle against sin; surprising as it may be, the greatest apostle also had a great problem with sin. And amazingly, his experience almost parallels mine-
"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I...
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me (that is, my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not..." Romans 7:15, 17-18
He too, had the will to fight sin and do good, but somehow his flesh refused to obey. But it is interesting how he says it is "no more I that do it". What does he mean? Reading on, he describes essentially how there are two "laws" within Him, the law of the Spirit, and the law of sin, and how they are constantly battling each other. "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Romans 7: 22-23.
We all know, from our own experience, how weak the flesh is. We all know that even after our conversion, the flesh still remains full of sin; "in me (that is, my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing". And the flesh, left alone, will naturally and very irresistably sin. "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." Romans 7:19. I believe that is what Paul meant when he said that he was "in captivity to the law of sin which is in my members"- that his flesh just could not stop sinning.
Paul goes on to say in the last verse, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." Romans 7:25. Considering all he has said all along, he seems to be saying that the Spirit and the flesh are separate, that they are not compatible and do not mix with one another. At first this seemed to be rather new and surprising to me, but I was reflected more upon it, it made more and more sense. And I believe that this is the key to how to have victory over sin.
I have yet to find a verse that praises the flesh, that says that the flesh is capable of fighting and overcoming of sin. I have also yet to find a verse that describes how the Spirit helps the flesh. But what I have found is that whenever the flesh is mentioned, the Spirit is usually mentioned in contrast. There are many verses; the most significant of which would probably be Galatians 5: 19-23. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest... Adultery, fornication, uncleanness... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..." There is no mixing the two. It confirms what Paul has been implying- that the flesh and the Spirit are indeed separate.
And now that we think about it, does it not make sense? The flesh is but a shell, a dirty, hopeless shell, that will be shed and destroyed when we die; but the spirit in us will go on. "For all flesh is as grass... the grass withereth..." 1 Pet 1:24. "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 1 John 2:16. The flesh is hopeless, condemned, doomed. The spirit is everlasting.
So we come to the most important part- how does this relate to how we can fight sin? What we do know is that we cannot fight sin in the flesh, and that the flesh, left by itself, will sin. But we also do know that in the Spirit there is no sin, only the glorious Fruits of the Spirit. So what is the solution? The flesh must decrease, but the Spirit must increase! The saying "an idle mind is the devil's workshop" is very true, very true indeed. So long as our flesh exists on its own, with very little presence of the Spirit, idle and empty so to speak, it will continue sinning. But once the presence of the Spirit increases, the presence of the flesh will decrease. And sin will correspondingly decrease. So what must we do practically? We must seek God through the Spirit with all our hearts; we must focus our attention on Him, and in seeking the Fruits of the Spirit. We must turn our minds away from sinful things and focus them on spiritual things. "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" Romans 8:6. We must eliminate, as far as we can, all presence of the flesh in our lives, and replace it with the Spirit.
And when we look back to the Bible, we find that this is the precisely what it prescribes. "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." 1 Tim. 6:11. Paul spoke very often about the old man and new man in Christ; note that he never talked about the abolition of the old man per se, but it was always accompanied by a replacement of the old man with a new man, one in the Spirit. "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph 4:24. "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Romans 13:14. In short, we must replace the flesh with the Spirit, to the point that we are "filled with all the fulness of God." Eph. 3:19
I know all this sounds very abstract, so I'm going to share with you my own testimony. Like I said earlier, during those times that I tried to focus all my energy on fighting lust, the situation got worse. Those times in my life when I was able to overcome lust were those times that I focused my energy and mind on seeking God. On reading and learning from His Word, on talking to and helping others, on writing in this blog, on anything related to God. With the heart and mind focused in the Spirit, I could really feel the presence of the flesh decreasing. The temptations no longer seemed so strong; the lustful drive inside of me seemed to have weakened. Whenever my flesh seemed to even suggest going back into sin, my mind and heart would rebuke and refute it, because they were focused on the Spirit. It is just like the Bible describes. It is truly amazing, praise the Lord.
This does not mean that we should cease struggling in the flesh. Romans 6 makes that clear- "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid." (v.1) We must still fight sin wholeheartedly, but at the same time, we must seek the Lord and focus our minds and hearts on Him, so that the Spirit will fill us more and more. A student whose full attention is on his teacher will not be likely to be distracted by other students; in the same way a heart that is focused fully on God will not be easily tempted by sin. Also, very practically, when our lives are focused on seeking and serving Him, there is very little time left to sin. Remember, the Spirit must increase, the flesh must decrease. "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God..." 1 Cor. 15:50.
But what happens when we do sin? When the flesh somehow fights through and prevails? Fear not, for the picture is made complete by Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. "There is there now no comdemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1. "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound..." Romans 5:20. You are forgiven, forgiven fully. Because of what we He has done we are forever freed from the flesh, even though we still remain in the flesh, but only for now. Remember that always, and press on towards Him.
This is a very important lesson that I have learnt, and if you feel that this is speaking to you but somehow you still don't understand it fully, please write a comment and I will do my best to explain it more. God Bless.
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