Pam Padgett - teacher
Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh,
to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall
die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye
shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God.
The flesh sets out to get what it desires with no thought for what is
right in the sight of God.
I recently saw a television show in
which a married man was attracted
to a women at work. He and those he spoke with focused on, approved,
and supported how he felt and what he wanted. But no one mentioned that
he was not free to pursue such
a relationship because he was already married. The flesh seeks to
please itself and the flesh of others without regard for how God views
the matter.
Even though we are born again, our flesh still seeks to please itself
and others. However, we no longer have to follow desires of the flesh
which are contrary to the ways of God as we once did.
Instead we have
the Holy Spirit leading us and strengthening us in ways of God. And
the Holy Spirit is able to show us how to keep our flesh from ruling in
the various matters we face in our lives. We are able to
mortify (kill) what the flesh wants to do which is opposite to the word
of God, refusing to do those things.
Years ago a man named Johnny told me that he and his high school girl friend had
planned to marry when he finished college. While he was in college,
however, she married someone else. When we spoke he was probably in his 30's and said he had never met another
woman he loved as he had loved this high school girl friend, so he had not
married.
Meanwhile his high school girl friend had
decided she made a mistake in who she married. She had divorced her
husband and wanted to marry Johnny. He said he
still loved her very much but didn't want to do anything that
would cause her to sin. He wanted to know if marrying her would cause
her to sin.
Hearing his story, my flesh was stirred up wanting to approve and
support him marrying this woman as he wanted. But the Holy Spirit
reminded me that God has told us in the Bible that they would commit
adultery.
Mark 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
Matt. 5:32 But I say unto you, That
whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is
divorced committeth adultery.
Clinging to the word of God and fearing God enabled
me to refuse (kill) what my flesh wanted to do and to tell Johnny that
they would commit adultery if they
married and gave scriptures dealing with this to him.
The Spirit leads us to uphold the word of God instead of casting it aside in order to serve flesh.