Today I read Galatians 5. There is a section that really encouraged me. Paul starts out this chapter reminding the Galatians that Christ had set them free and that they were no longer under the law. He then goes on to discuss the Holy Spirit and how the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit are set against each other. Then comes the part that really sobered me up:
"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...those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
That was me. For the most part, to at least a certain degree, the works of the flesh were so evident in me. People around me may not have known it because I worked so hard to hide it. But inside, and in the secret, that was me. And if left to my own devices, I would have continued to do such things, and most definitely would not have inherited the kingdom of God.
But praise the Lord for the next verse.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who BELONG to CHRIST JESUS have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Oh what a blessing to belong to Christ. That last sentance could be written as a conditional statement. "If you belong to Christ, then you have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Before I was saved, I did all of those wicked things because I was missing something. I was trying to satisfy this void in me. But God created me for worship. And that hole had to be filled by Him. In Christ we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, and now, instead of fruits of unrighteousness, we have the fruit of the Spirit, and what wonderful gifts they are.
Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit! This isn't all He does either. But I'm just sharing what I read about today, so that will be for another time.
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