Being a born-again Christian means you have become a new creation
in Christ. Christianity is not a modification, or an improvement, or a purification
of your old life. It is receiving a completely new life, the life of Christ,
in exchange for your old sinful life that was executed on the cross of Christ.
This is what the Bible means by the experience of conversion or regeneration,
which we covered in our last study.
The moment you experienced the new birth, you passed from death to life,
or from condemnation of the law to justification unto life. This is the
beginning of the Christian walk. Now that you have the life of Christ, through
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, your goal in life must be to manifest
that life, so that all may see “Christ in you.”
The work of subduing the sinful desires of the flesh and reproducing
the holy and righteous life of Christ in you is the work of the Holy Spirit.
This work is the process of sanctification. And while this experience of
sanctification does not contribute one iota towards your title to heaven,
it witnesses the salvation you already have in Christ through justification
by faith. Hence, sanctification, which is the fruit of the Spirit, is witnessing
true justification by faith or the power of the gospel.
But for this to happen, you must learn to walk in the Spirit. In Adam,
all you were capable of was to walk in the flesh, satisfying the drives
of the sinful nature. But now, as a born-again Christian, you are able to
walk in the Spirit as Christ Himself did when He was on this earth. This
is what this lesson is all about—the experience of walking in the Spirit.
1. What is the only way you can overcome the sinful desires of our
sinful natures?
Galatians 5:16 __________________________________________________
Note: When God created our first parents, Adam and Eve, He created
them with certain desires such as hunger, thirst, sex, etc. While these
were created by God, they were supposed to be created with the Holy Spirit
indwelling Adam and Eve. When Adam sinned, the Spirit departed from him
and his mind became a slave to the flesh. Thus the natural desires God created
in our first parents became lusts. This is what they passed on to us. If
you try to control these desires in your own strength, you will meet with
nothing but failure.
2. What happens to your lifestyle when you walk in the Spirit?
Galatians 5:22-25 __________________________________________________
Note: Notice that when Paul talks about the flesh in verse 19
he uses the word “works” because works are what we humans can
do. In verse 22 he uses the word “fruit,” because it is the Holy
Spirit that produces fruit; we simply bear the fruit.
3. What blessing does a Christian experience in Christ?
Romans 8:1 __________________________________________________
Note: The reason that there is no condemnation for the Christian
who has accepted the truth as it is in Christ Jesus is because on the cross
Christ condemned the law of sin that is in the flesh (read verses 2 and
3).
4. What will happen if you walk in the Spirit and do not live to please
the flesh?
Romans 8:4 __________________________________________________
Note: God wants you to walk in the Spirit so that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in your life. This is not to save you but
to witness that salvation.
5. Through what part of the body does the flesh or the Spirit control
us?
Romans 8:5 __________________________________________________
Note: The mind is the battle ground in the Christian warfare.
The question is, “What is your mind occupied with?” Those who
are walking in the flesh are always thinking about pleasing the desires
of their sinful nature. When you walk in the Spirit, you want to please
Christ. This is the battle of the mind from which you cannot relax. The
moment you do so, the devil comes in with all kind of sinful ideas.
6. What is the result of being carnal or fleshly minded?
Romans 8:6 (first part) __________________________________________________
Note: The word “carnal” means controlled by the sinful
desires of the flesh, your sinful nature. The flesh can only bring death
to you, not life, because all that the flesh can produce is sin and “the
wages of sin is death” (see Romans 6:23).
7. When you are spiritually minded what two things do you have?
| Romans 8:6 (last part) | (i) _____________________________ |
| (ii) _____________________________ |