Galatians 5:16-26 – “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”  NKJV

Some time ago I had a young believer ask, “How can anyone resist temptation?  It is so appealing, looks so good and I just can’t seem to resist.”  I can empathize with that individual for the works of the flesh, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life are often appealing IF…   If we do not have the house or heart filled with something greater and that will satisfy so deeply in the core of our beings those things lose their natural appeal.

Paul made it simple and yet complex saying:  “Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”  Simple, right?  Hardly for we know that UNLESS we continually keep the Word of God alive and active in our hearts and minds the flesh will grow stronger and the appeal of temptation will surface and bring great heartache.

Paul identified the works of the flesh and by the time you finish the list you realize that it was not meant to be an exhaustive listing of what one could or could not do but an identification of the sweeping vastness of carnality.  He then identified the fruit of the Spirit in much the same manner and through those two listings sought to inspire his hearers to seek to be saturated with the fruit that comes from the Spirit of God as the Life of Christ permeates our hearts crowding out the glitter and appeal of the world and unwholesome and unrestricted worldly pleasures.  He never said that we were to be void of earthly or physical pleasure but they could not supplant the Spirit of God or be uncontrolled and within the contexts and confines of right relationships.

Paul often brought to the forefront the incredible fullness of the Abundant Life that Jesus brought to us and the Holy Spirit administers in us on a daily basis.  If we are filled with God’s love, joy reigns in our hearts, walk in peace, demonstrating the quality of longsuffering, patience and forgiveness we receive and allow the Spirit of God to guard and guide our lives we find the fruit produced not only satisfies but draws others. It is completely opposite of that which the world exhibits and demonstrates and their pleasures and wantonness produce only temporary and passing satisfaction.  We are talking about a life in which out of our innermost being there is a fountain that springs up and satisfies continually.

May the Lord help you incorporate and apply the best possible defense against worldliness in your daily life!  God bless!