登陆注册
34889900000074

第74章

No man is to despair of salvation just because he is aware of the lust of the flesh. Let him be aware of it so long as he does not yield to it. The passion of lust, wrath, and other vices may shake him, but they are not to get him down. Sin may assail him, but he is not to welcome it. Yes, the better Christian a man is, the more he will experience the heat of the conflict.

This explains the many expressions of regret in the Psalms and in the entire Bible.

Everybody is to determine his peculiar weakness and guard against it.

Watch and wrestle in spirit against your weakness. Even if you cannot completely overcome it, at least you ought to fight against it.

According to this description a saint is not one who is made of wood and never feels any lusts or desires of the flesh. A true saint confesses his righteousness and prays that his sins may be forgiven. The whole Church prays for the forgiveness of sins and confesses that it believes in the forgiveness of sins. If our antagonists would read the Scriptures they would soon discover that they cannot judge rightly of anything, either of sin or of holiness.

VERSE 18. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Here someone may object: "How come we are not under the law? You yourself say, Paul, that we have the flesh which wars against the Spirit, and brings us into subjection."

But Paul says not to let it trouble us. As long as we are led by the Spirit, and are willing to obey the Spirit who resists the flesh, we are not under the Law. True believers are not under the Law. The Law cannot condemn them although they feel sin and confess it.

Great then is the power of the Spirit. Led by the Spirit, the Law cannot condemn the believer though he commits real sin. For Christ in whom we believe is our righteousness. He is without sin, and the Law cannot accuse Him. As long as we cling to Him we are led by the Spirit and are free from the Law. Even as he teaches good works, the Apostle does not lose sight of the doctrine of justification, but shows at every turn that it is impossible for us to be justified by works.

The words, "If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law," are replete with comfort. It happens at times that anger, hatred, impatience, carnal desire, fear, sorrow, or some other lust of the flesh so overwhelms a man that he cannot shake them off, though he try ever so hard. What should he do? Should he despair? God forbid. Let him say to himself: "My flesh seems to be on a warpath against the Spirit again. Go to it, flesh, and rage all you want to. But you are not going to have your way. I follow the leading of the Spirit."

When the flesh begins to cut up the only remedy is to take the sword of the Spirit, the word of salvation, and fight against the flesh. If you set the Word out of sight, you are helpless against the flesh. I know this to be a fact. I have been assailed by many violent passions, but as soon as I took hold of some Scripture passage, my temptations left me. Without the Word I could not have helped myself against the flesh.

VERSE 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these.

Paul is saying: "That none of you may hide behind the plea of ignorance I will enumerate first the works of the flesh, and then also the works of the Spirit."

There were many hypocrites among the Galatians, as there are also among us, who pretend to be Christians and talk much about the Spirit, but they walk not according to the Spirit; rather according to the flesh. Paul is out to show them that they are not as holy as they like to have others think they are.

Every period of life has its own peculiar temptations. Not one true believer whom the flesh does not again and again incite to impatience, anger, pride. But it is one thing to be tempted by the flesh, and another thing to yield to the flesh, to do its bidding without fear or remorse, and to continue in sin.

Christians also fall and perform the lusts of the flesh. David fell horribly into *****ery. Peter also fell grievously when he denied Christ. However great these sins were, they were not committed to spite God, but from weakness. When their sins were brought to their attention these men did not obstinately continue in their sin, but repented. Those who sin through weakness are not denied pardon as long as they rise again and cease to sin.

There is nothing worse than to continue in sin. If they do not repent, but obstinately continue to fulfill the desires of the flesh, it is a sure sign that they are not sincere.

No person is free from temptations. Some are tempted in one way, others in another way. One person is more easily tempted to bitterness and sorrow of spirit, blasphemy, distrust, and despair. Another is more easily tempted to carnal lust, anger, envy, covetousness. But no matter to which sins we are disposed, we are to walk in the Spirit and resist the flesh.

Those who are Christ's own crucify their flesh.

Some of the old saints labored so hard to attain perfection that they lost the capacity to feel anything. When I was a monk I often wished I could see a saint. I pictured him as living in the wilderness, abstaining from meat and drink and living on roots and herbs and cold water. This weird conception of those awesome saints I had gained out of the books of the scholastics and church fathers. But we know now from the Scriptures who the true saints are. Not those who live a single life, or make a fetish of days, meats, clothes, and such things. The true saints are those who believe that they are justified by the death of Christ. Whenever Paul writes to the Christians here and there he calls them the holy children and heirs of God. All who believe in Christ, whether male or female, bond or free, are saints; not in view of their own works, but in view of the merits of God which they appropriate by faith. Their holiness is a gift and not their own personal achievement.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 天行

    天行

    号称“北辰骑神”的天才玩家以自创的“牧马冲锋流”战术击败了国服第一弓手北冥雪,被誉为天纵战榜第一骑士的他,却受到小人排挤,最终离开了效力已久的银狐俱乐部。是沉沦,还是再次崛起?恰逢其时,月恒集团第四款游戏“天行”正式上线,虚拟世界再起风云!
  • 天行

    天行

    号称“北辰骑神”的天才玩家以自创的“牧马冲锋流”战术击败了国服第一弓手北冥雪,被誉为天纵战榜第一骑士的他,却受到小人排挤,最终离开了效力已久的银狐俱乐部。是沉沦,还是再次崛起?恰逢其时,月恒集团第四款游戏“天行”正式上线,虚拟世界再起风云!
  • 天行

    天行

    号称“北辰骑神”的天才玩家以自创的“牧马冲锋流”战术击败了国服第一弓手北冥雪,被誉为天纵战榜第一骑士的他,却受到小人排挤,最终离开了效力已久的银狐俱乐部。是沉沦,还是再次崛起?恰逢其时,月恒集团第四款游戏“天行”正式上线,虚拟世界再起风云!
  • 天行

    天行

    号称“北辰骑神”的天才玩家以自创的“牧马冲锋流”战术击败了国服第一弓手北冥雪,被誉为天纵战榜第一骑士的他,却受到小人排挤,最终离开了效力已久的银狐俱乐部。是沉沦,还是再次崛起?恰逢其时,月恒集团第四款游戏“天行”正式上线,虚拟世界再起风云!
  • 末世中的英雄联盟

    末世中的英雄联盟

    其他人都是极其七颗龙珠来召唤神龙,而我,就是不一样。当游戏和末世联系在一起,不得了啦,集齐英雄,还会获得相应的奖励哦!
  • 顾少的腹黑妻

    顾少的腹黑妻

    她,曾是华国第一公司——“温氏集团“的下一任总裁,她的母亲却在十八年前死于车祸,十八年后,她突然接到父亲病危的消息,为拯救公司的危机,她从国外赶回来奉旨成婚。他,是华国最年轻的总裁之一,仅用五年的时间就将手下公司运营成华国第一公司,而他却突然接到父亲的旨意——与素未谋面的温氏大小姐结婚。本是一场没有感情的政治婚姻,又会碰撞出怎样的火花?而她母亲的车祸,是否真是意外?父亲为何突然病危?这一切的背后,又是谁在操纵?本文男强女强,全程走向高甜(中间有些许苦虐,但苦尽甘来~)喜欢的小可爱就加个收藏吧~?
  • 灭虚

    灭虚

    太虚大陆,太虚之心,化为五虚,五虚即五族,生亡一瞬息。黑夜传说,夜族少年的征途,一场场与众不同的梦幻奇遇与经历,于时空的夹缝中挣扎着。夜舞倾城,魅夜水草,花叶的共同语言,虚境的神秘,在波涛汹涌的命运长河上,稳步前进……前进……前进…………
  • 噬魂使徒

    噬魂使徒

    我光怪陆离的一生从得到一本书和得到一只狸猫开始!至此我的世界慢慢变得离谱起来。看着手中那本古朴书籍,再看看眼前铺天盖地的黑色雾霾。真的是应证了电影里的情节!“能力越大,责任越大。”我不是什么超级英雄,只是一个普通人。一个身为噬魂使徒的人!
  • 暧昧下载

    暧昧下载

    意外安装了来自未来的超级系统,一段妖孽人生就此开始。从此考试不再是事儿,数学语文英语理综,都变成几分钟就可以下载下来的小玩意儿。甚至资深花花公子的泡妞能力也可以直接打包下载下来占为己有,更不用说国术高手浸淫数十年出神入化的好身手、国际大总裁纵横商场操纵人心的大手腕、奥斯卡影帝水滴不漏感人至深的神演技……当然,也少不了各种暧昧情怀的点缀,校花女神、青梅竹马、女王总裁、清纯萝莉、诱惑人妻……妖孽的人生,没有什么不可能,一座名为暧昧的11,正在轰然建起……书友群:333107401,期待大家加入~
  • 双面魅殿:宝贝,你不乖

    双面魅殿:宝贝,你不乖

    他,血族夜之帝国的殿下;Z国皇室的第一继承人;更是商业帝国的少东殿下!人前他是完美的天使,她被欺负,他说“我的人,谁敢动!”人后他化身为邪魅的恶魔,以欺负她为乐“宝贝,乖,过来,本殿下饿了,让我咬一口解解馋!”终于有一天,她反了“白夜汐,你个双面人格的混蛋,我要向你宣战!”于是烧了他最爱的收藏珍宝,某殿下美眸一挑“没事,宝贝开心就好!”炸了他的高级别墅,某殿下随意的挥挥手“没关系,宝贝玩的尽兴就好!”他被逼相亲,她也去钓帅哥,那一天他终于怒了,邪魅勾唇:宝贝,居然背着我出去打野味,你不乖哦,过来接受惩罚吧!