Compiled By: Lisa K Gonzales
Source: The Life Application Study Bible
4 “You adulterers! Do you not realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of GOD? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can not be a friend of GOD. 5 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom GOD has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful? 6 HE gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, ‘GOD sets HIMSELF against the proud, but HE shows favor to the humble’.” ~ James 4:4-6
Having friendship with the world involves seeking pleasure at others’ expense or at the expense of obeying GOD. Pleasure that keeps us from pleasing GOD is sinful; pleasure from GOD’s rich bounty is good. It is thought that verse five may mean that because of our fallen nature, we have a tendency toward envy. James is not quoting a specific verse or passage – he is summing up a teaching of Scripture. – 6 “Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share His new life.” – Romans 6:6-8 – The power of sin over us died with Christ on the cross. Our “old sinful selves,” our sinful nature, died once and for all, so we are freed from its power. The “power of sin” refers to our rebellious sin-loving nature inherited from Adam. Though we often willingly cooperate with our sinful nature, it is not us but the sin in us that is evil. And it is this power of sin at work in our life that is defeated. Paul tells us that through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, “not guilty” before GOD. In these verses Paul emphasizes that we need no longer live under sin’s power. GOD does not take us out of the world or make us robots – we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we were saved we were slaves to our sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ.
16 “So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Sprit. Then you will not be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. 18 But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20 idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of GOD.” – Galatians 5:16-21 – Being led by the Holy Spirit involves the desire to hear, the readiness to obey GOD’s Word, and the sensitivity to discern between your feelings and HIS promptings. We should live each day controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. Then the words of Christ will be in our minds, the love of Christ will be behind our actions, and the power of Christ will help us control our selfish desires. We all have evil desires, and we can not ignore them. In order for us to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we must deal with them decisively – crucify them. These desires include obvious sins, such as sexual immorality and demonic activities. However, they also include less obvious sins, such as hostility, jealousy, and selfish ambition. Those who ignore such sins or refuse to deal with them reveal that they have not received the gift of the Spirit that leads to a transformed life. The Holy Spirit is stronger than our evil desires or inclinations that stem from our body. But if we rely on our own wisdom, we will make wrong choices. If we try to follow the Spirit by our own human effort, we will fail. Our only way to freedom from our evil desires is through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
The cure for evil desires is humility. – 18 “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. 19 It is better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.” – Proverbs 16:18-19 – Proud people take little account of their weaknesses and do not anticipate stumbling blocks. They think they are above the frailties of common people. In this state of mind they are easily tripped up. Ironically, proud people seldom realize that pride is their problem, although everyone around them is well aware of it. Pride makes us self-centered and leads us to conclude that we deserve all we can see, touch, or imagine. It creates greedy appetites for far more than we need. We can be released from our self-centered desires by humbling ourselves before GOD, realizing that all we really need is HIS approval. When the Holy Spirit fills us, we see that this world’s seductive attractions are only cheap substitutes for what GOD has to offer.
Father GOD, we ask YOU to save us from ourselves!! We all, at some point and time in our lives, can be self-centered and full of pride. Help us LORD to live humbly, with wisdom and the desire to be led by the Holy Spirit and not our own earthly, sinful desires. Father, we do not want to be slaves to our sinful nature, but rather we choose to live for Christ. We want to be led by the Holy Spirit which involves the desire to hear, the readiness to obey YOUR Word, and the sensitivity to discern between our feelings and YOUR promptings. We want to live each day controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit, then the words of Christ will be in our minds, the love of Christ will be behind our actions, and the power of Christ will help us control our selfish desires. We recognize that we all have evil desires and we are all slaves to whatever controls us. We also know that in order for us to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we must deal with these desires decisively and crucify them. Through YOUR Holy Spirit Father GOD, we can see that this world’s seductive attractions are only cheap substitutes for what YOU have to offer. Once we accept YOUR Holy Spirit into our lives and follow His guidance we are free at last from sins grip. Free at last, free at last, thank GOD Almighty we are free at last!
Photo: Port of Bandon Seagull (Oregon)
Photographer: Lisa K Gonzales
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