It is basically an autobiography of Paul’s
struggle with sin. As you read the
passage (and I encourage you to read the entire passage today), notice how many
times Paul uses the pronoun, “I”.
Paul speaks of wrestling with his carnal
nature; his tendency to sin.
Here’s what I know:
The
Christian life is not hard; it is impossible – if I am trying to walk in the
Spirit on my own. Using my own will
power.
There’s the true story of a Christian
who was driving home from work each day and had the temptation to stop at a
certain bar, but he knew he’d stay too long and his family would get made over
his drinking too much.
So to keep from going in, as soon as he
got into his car, he’d pull of his shoes and socks, because you don’t ever go
into a bar without shoes and socks on.
Then he’d pull off his tie, and he’d pull of his shirt, and he’d be
saying to himself, “Now I can’t go into the bar.”
But as he drove down the Pasadena freeway
from Los Angeles, he’d get to about Avenue 64 and he’d be pulling at his socks;
and as he kept driving he’d be toeing his way into his does. On would go his shirt, and when he go to the
bar he’d go on.
Why?
Because, as Paul says, “What I
hate I do.”
Here is one of the principles we will
look at this evening:
Your
Christian life was begun by grace and it must continue by grace.
Every Christian must experience the “second
crash.” The first “crash” came when you saw
you were spiritually bankrupt, a sinner with no righteousness to present to god
on your own.
The “second crash” comes when you see you
can’t even live the Christian life on your own.
You need God’s help.
Watchman Nee writes, “Living in the
Spirit means that I trust the Holy Spirit to do in me what I cannot do myself.”
It
is not a case of trying but of trusting; not of struggling but of resting in
God.”
If you have a temper, or impure thoughts
or a quick tongue or a critical spirit, you can’t change yourself with your own
will power, but your must consider yourself dead in Christ to these thing and look
to the Holy Spirit to produce in you the needed fruit that you need in your
life.
When you are struggling with the flesh -
the Holy Spirit will see you through.
The
object of temptation is always to get us to do something.
Watchman Nee writes, “During the first three
months of the Japanese war in China we lost a great many tanks, and so were
unable to deal with the Japanese armor, until the following scheme was
devised. A single shot would be fired at
a Japanese tank by one of our snipers in ambush. After a considerable lapse of time the first
shot would be followed by a second; then, after a further silence, by another
shot; until the tank driver, eager to locate the source of the disturbance, would
pop his head out to look around. The
next shot, carefully aimed, would put an end to him. As long as he remained under cover he was perfectly
safe.”
The whole idea was to get the soldier to
come out into the open.
In the same way, Satan’s temptations are
not designed primarily to make us do something particularly sinful, but to
cause us to act in our own energy; and as soon as we step out from the covering
of the Holy Spirit and try to overcome the flesh on our own – the enemy has
won.
That’s why Paul says, “Walk in the
spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” (Galatians 6:15)
Walk in the Spirit. Choose to walk in the spirit – and then let
the Holy Spirit give you the power to overcome the flesh.
The
cross has been give to obtain salvation for us – God’s Holy Spirit has been
given to produce salvation in us.
Would you pray this prayer with me
today?
“Lord, I cannot live the Christian life
on my own. Therefore I will take my
hands off; from now on I will trust in your to lead me in the ways of
righteousness.”
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