According To
According To
Why is it so simple for a person to follow the instructions of a medication and yet so difficult to do so with spiritual life issues?
A medication will say when to take it, how many times a day to take it, and whether or not to take it with food. I’ve not heard of anyone who struggles to follow the advice given to maximize the benefit of that medication.
Scripture offers us some sound advice for spiritual success in life by telling us what to walk according to. Yet I see some struggle to receive and apply such advice.
Let’s start with just one example.
Romans 8:1 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.
I’ve witnessed so many attempting to rid themselves of condemnation by digging in deeper to their own will power and resolve to get their act together in accordance with the law, thinking it will be the ticket to removing their condemnation. The result is an even greater condemnation when they fail to perfectly keep the law, and until they realize that perfection under the law is an exercise in futility, they will keep going around the same mountain.
They need to get a revelation of,
Romans 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
The flesh here refers to a confidence in the flesh and its strength to become righteous. It is not referring to immoral lifestyles. Of course, someone living a blatantly immoral lifestyle will be subject to condemnation. Here, Romans is speaking about life according to the Spirit being the ticket to freedom from condemnation. In other words, it means living in surrender to the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Actively hearing and following the voice of the Holy Spirit and submitting to His leading is how I rise above the pitfalls of the lust of the flesh. To listen and follow His leading, I must trust He is good and wise and have as warm a sense of relationship with Him as I do the Father and my Lord Jesus. That will be hard to do if my doctrinal position does not afford me the privilege of knowing just how involved He is meant to be in my life, and makes all the information in Scripture concerning Him a thing of the past.
