“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” Galatians 5:16-17 NLT
When we come to Christ, we all have good intentions to live righteously, and sometimes we wonder why it becomes so hard to do so. Paul gives us a clue in these verses. We are all born with a sinful nature, that left to it’s own devices will always choose evil! Our sinful nature is in constant battle with the Spirit for control. Though these two forces are constantly fighting each other, we are not relieved of our responsibility to live righteously. We must let the Holy Spirit guide our lives, submitting our own sinful cravings to God on a daily basis.
Paul shows us what results when we submit to our sinful nature:
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 NLT
Then, in contrast, he shows us what we experience when we refuse to follow the desires of our sinful nature, and instead, submit to the Holy Spirit:
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” Galatians 5:22-25 NLT
So comparing the two lists above, which result would you rather have in your life?
Paul opens the next chapter with a verse that sheds light we don’t want to miss:
“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” Galatians 6:1 NLT
This tells us four important things:
- There will be times when believers are overcome by sin.
- When that happens, all is not lost, they can return to the right path!
- All believers have a responsibility, not to condemn others when they fall into sin, but to gently and humbly help them get back on track.
- All believers are vulnerable to temptation so there is no room for pride.
We’ll end with this admonition from Jesus:
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 NIV