I think there is the general assumption that if we have believed in the Lord Jesus that this necessarily means that we walk in spirit. That, or else we think if we know the bible pretty well, or know all the bible stories, or many doctrines or if we are a pretty good person compared to others, then we MUST be walking in spirit. This is not necessarily the case. Many unbelievers act better than lots of Christians but this does not make them a believer. We must never try t o compare ourselves with others however as this is to judge on the sliding scale of fallen humanity. There is one standard by which all are judged and that is Gods absolute holiness in obedience and righteousness in accordance with His will. There is one way to examine ourselves however if we are of the truth in that we will no longer excuse our bad thoughts, words and deeds for to walk in spirit we must also walk in truth in absolute light which reveals all. One easy way for us to determine our own level of walking in spirit is by our own fruits for: 16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5 If we sow to or even simply gratify our natural hearts desires we begin to reap from the flesh corruption. Those who have tasted much of the walk in spirit have their senses trained to discern good and evil at a much higher level of sensitivity. Even myself, I can sense or feel the flow of corruption seeping in when I allow myself to be entertained by watching much TV or listening to music or other. Mind you, these TV shows I watch are mainly animal shows, history, science or on rare occasions a sport. Even the listening of Christian music can actually become entertainment which will gratify the flesh. To sow to or to satisfy, or gratify the flesh does not necessarily have to involve outright sin, though in the case I mentioned, this may fall into the category of dissipation (wasting time) but what I wish to show here is that even a little bit of self gratification serves to bring us out of the walk in spirit and back into the flesh. When I feel or sense this, I have to turn back to the Lord, which can be quickly and easily done simply by calling on His name in repentance. We must never assume we are walking in spirit but to be sure that we crucify the flesh and not allow for much in the way of self gratification because sinful or not, this facilitates the flesh by stirring it up so that it is not long before it becomes the task master and leads to the fruits of the flesh. I have been around many a Christian brother in the past who may meet briefly after church and begin to engage in saying humorous things. It is not long before you begin to see the flesh become manifest in them and they are bearing fruit for the flesh because they have no self control. There is a principle of life which associates with and is applied whether it be by the spirit or the flesh. If we set our minds on the things above, we walk in life and will naturally grow and develop in that life and manifest its fruits but if we gratify the soul, even for a short while, we will find ourselves in the principle of death and corruption and will in short order manifest its fruits in jealousy, outbursts of anger, impatience, gossips, complaining and etc. Those who have a higher degree of maturity in the walk in spirit have a much greater sensitivity to these things and can quickly and easily detect them and make the necessary corrections governing their lives. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:14 This is not sensing by the natural powers of the soul but by the spirit! All people have a sense of good and evil in their soul but Hebrews speaks of a sensing and a sensitivity altogether of another kind than that of the souls senses for the Spirit within searches the depths!
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 12:08:54 +0000
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