The New Bereans

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

-Galatians 5:6

I have one question; please consider it for a few moments before you proceed in reading this post.  What exactly does it mean to, “Walk in the Spirit?”

At one point in my walk I would have given some sort of amorphous response like, well…uh, I guess that means I should listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling me to do in my heart.  Unfortunately through this method, I found that the decisions I made were often poor decisions; I frequently made really bad ones as a matter of fact.  I played some strange form of spiritual roulette which proved to lead nowhere fast.

The Bible tells us that our hearts are deceitfully wicked; and our consciences can be seared.  If our conscience were enough to guide us, then what would be the point of Jesus suffering the wrath of his Almighty Father?  Our inner conscience is only capable of moving us so far; that being said, how in the world would anyone ever be able to differentiate between a lackluster conscience, and some sort of inner voice leading us in our walks? Not that the Holy Spirit cannot or does not direct our steps, His primary job, however, is conviction of sin and righteousness.

The answer is astonishingly simple; the Spirit guiding us in our walks is synonymous with convicting the world of sin, and righteousness, not just to guide us in all sorts of extra biblical manifestations, or fantastic directions.  How can we expect the Spirit to guide us in our decisions about work, ministry, or life in general, while we are living a life that is fulfilling our fleshly lusts?  Are we seeking first His kingdom, or are we seeking first our kingdom?  And by seeking first his kingdom, I don’t mean spending two minutes in the morning choking down a pop-tart while reading a proverb.

Am I just redefining this to fit my theology?  No, read the next verse, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other and ye cannot do the things that ye would.  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”  The act of walking in the Spirit is in opposition to me, to my way, to self as well as opposition to the burdens of law.  If you read Romans chapter eight you will find that this is a requirement of Christianity.  There is no gray area when Paul says, “So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.  Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.”

So, if you have a compulsion to do something exemplifying the life of Christ, this is God, proving his capability of transforming you into a new creation, thus showing what it means to walk in the Spirit.  Walking in the Spirit is living a life that conforms to Christ’s character: not Luke Skywalker using The Force by following his feelings.  Remember, the contrast to walking in the Spirit, is fulfilling fleshly lusts.

Addendum: I am not trying to negate the Spirit leading us in a supernatural fashion; I am saying that it is not the primary function of walking in the Spirit.

Dedicated to R.C. Sproul who mentioned this concept in the following quotation. . .

- “Perhaps what is even more alarming is that even within churches and organizations that still profess a high view of Scripture, there is an alarming ignorance of the content of Scripture.  For many, being “led by the Spirit,” means being led by some inner light or impulse rather than by the Spirit’s testimony to the written Word of God.  Edwards says, ‘And accordingly we see it common in enthusiasts who oppose Christ that they depreciate this written rule and set up the light within their souls or some other rule above it.’”  The Spirit of Revival: Discerning the Wisdom of Jonathan Edwards by R.C. Sproul and Archie Parrish