Making spiritual choices
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom. 8:13 ESV)
Every day we are faced with choices
We decide what we wear, what we eat, what music we listen to, what programs we watch on electronic devices, how we respond to electronic postings, and how we respond to and treat other people. What makes the difference in how we behave is where we place our trust. It is either on God, and about pleasing Him, or it’s about pleasing only ourselves. When you seek to please God, it is called “living according to the Spirit”, and when you seek to please only yourself, it’s called “living according to the flesh.” The Bible has a lot to say on the subject.
The “flesh” defined
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21 ESV)
Being made alive together with Christ
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” (Eph. 2:1-22 ESV)
Walk by the Spirit
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Gal. 5:16-18 ESV)