Scripture: Romans 8:1-17, Galatians 5:16-26

Romans

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Galatians

 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Observation: If we have the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, then we too will be given that same opportunity. When we invite Jesus into our lives and accept Him as our risen savior, we receive this spirit. And we are given a new title, Sons of God. Think for a moment about this. Son of the creator of the universe. That is huge. And because of this, we are no longer under the law but under grace. However, it does warn us to live according to the Spirit. Just because we have the Spirit, we should not live like we are untouchable. It does not give us license to sin just because we are saved and forgiven. No, we need to “keep in step with the Spirit”.  We should want to. In Galatians, it tells us what the fruit of our relationship with the Spirit should start looking like. More loving, more kind, more patient, etc.., and the fleshly desires mentioned should be things we are avoiding and should find completely disgusting to us.

Application: We have been given an incredible gift. Are we abusing it? are there areas that  we are abusing the grace given to us? Are we still living by the flesh in some areas? Do we have unforgiveness? Are we always angry? Sexually immoral? Lets bring this before God today. Lets give it all to Him, our father, who wants us to be completely free.

Prayer: Thank you today for your incredible gift of your Spirit. Lord reveal to me any areas where i am holding on to fleshly desire. Lord, I give these over to you, set me free from this. Help me to live according to your Spirit. Help me to grow good fruit in my life, fruit that lasts. Fruit that others can see, not for boastful purposes, but for the purpose of growing your kingdom. Thanks you for calling me your son. In Jesus name, amen.