F is for the Flesh (how to fight it)

I had a very flesh-provoking week. 

As I shared with the dear WCC ladies at Bible Study, last week I had a headache that lasted six days, Heidi (who is completely potty-trained) wet the bed every night last week, we had a very important meeting at our house on Saturday night, during which both kids got diarrhea, then after church on Sunday Dutch admitted that he’d gotten a time-out in Sunday school for sitting on a girl’s face, and the grand finale was Dutch spilling his huge bowl of popcorn all over carpet and as I sighed, “Dutch!” and put my hand down on the counter I flipped my own bowl of popcorn up in the air, popcorn scattering all across the kitchen. At that point we both burst out laughing and I told him, forget it, just eat it off the floor. We did. (And yes, you already read my secret here that I do not keep it spotless.)

But those are just the funny things. Strewn among those were plenty of non-sharable and not-funny flesh-pokes that had me understanding more than ever before that we are in a battle. 

It’s no surprise the week turned out like it did, seeing that I was teaching Galatians 5:16-26 (Audio of the message here).  The flesh/Spirit battle is alive and well in our lives and quite literally in our bodies.

As long as we have bodies of flesh we’ll have battles with flesh. 

What is the flesh? Sarx:

Refers to moral and spiritual weakness and the helplessness of human nature still clinging to redeemed souls. It is the Christian’s propensity to sin, their fallenness that awaits redemption.

Simply put, our flesh fights against the Spirit’s work in our lives, keeping us from living the fruitful life of glorifying God and blessing those around us. What does it look like? Scripture says it’s obvious:

Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

While certainly some of these have never presented themselves as a temptation, certainly anger and jealousy and selfish ambition have reared their ugly heads at times, even this past week. Like Paul we cry,

“Who will set me free from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)

Thankfully, there is another verse. And another force:

“Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v. 25)

Jesus Christ crucified His flesh so we can crucify ours. Galatians goes on to say that

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (5:24)

Positionally, we have already been crucified with Christ. Experientially we continue in His crucifixion by living the crucified life. Blessed theologian John Stott, who’s now with the Lord, says this:

“The first great secret of holiness lies in the degree and the decisiveness of our repentance. If besetting sins persistently plague us, it is either because we have never truly repented, or because, having repented, we have not maintained our repentance. It is as if, having nailed our flesh to the cross, we keep wistfully returning to the scene of its execution. We begin to fondle it, to caress it, to long for its release, even to try to take it down again from the cross. We need to learn to leave it there. When some sinful attitude or thought enters our mind we must kick it out at once. It is fatal to begin to examine it and consider whether we are going to let it live or not. We have declared war on it, we are not going to resume negotiations. We have settled the issue for good; we are not going to re-open it. We have crucified the flesh; we are never going to draw the nails.”

Have we really declared war on our flesh? Do we hate it enough, are we tired enough of its bondage that we’re ready to fight and find freedom. Yes, there will continue to be battles, but we are more than conquerors as we face the fight each day.

{What area of the flesh are you ready to fight? More on this next week, but I pray Stott’s words can encourage you today. Bless your Friday and thanks for reading.}