The House on the Rock - Part 8
Matthew 7 (KJ2000)
24 Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Romans 7 (KJ2000)
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
If we know and understand and remember what the Word of God says, why don’t we always do it?
We’re not alone in having this challenge, the Apostle Paul paints it as a universal problem, and identifies the cause as “my flesh”. There’s something about us that seems to have its own desires which do not always align with God’s desires.
Galatians 5 (KJ2000)
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would.
Some translations like the KJV and the KJ2000 capitalize the first letter of the word “Spirit” in the verse above, suggesting a reference to the Holy Spirit. But many Bible scholars agree that the reference is actually to the human spirit, not to the Holy Spirit. In other words, Paul was describing a perpetual conflict between the desires of your recreated human spirit, and your flesh. If you’re born again, your spirit wants to do the right thing and convicts you when you don’t, while your flesh wants to please itself and throws a tantrum when it doesn’t get what it wants.
Well, how can you make sure that in this contest of wills between your spirit and your flesh, your spirit is the consistent winner?
Keep Looking at the Man in the Mirror
James 1 (KJ2000)
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and extreme wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:
24 For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what manner of man he was.
25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
We’re right back where we started.
To ensure that the flesh doesn’t get its way in our lives, we need to keep looking at the picture God’s Word paints of who we are in Christ Jesus, and what we’re going to be when we mature in Him. We will need to hear this, understand this, and remember this regularly.
James uses the metaphor of a mirror to illustrate this. A man could look in the mirror early in the morning, and walk away looking great. His hair is groomed right, every fold of his robes is in the right place and his shoes have a great shine. But if he does not pay attention to his appearance after that, he may end the day looking slovenly.
On the other hand, a woman could look in her mirror while starting her day, and carry a smaller mirror in her bag. If she keeps stealing glances in the mirror and making adjustments here and there when her looks seem out of place, she could end the day looking as good as she did when she left the house.
If we keep looking at God’s Word and meditating on it, it helps us to consistently side with the desires of the spirit rather than those of the flesh. When the flesh expresses its desires, it’s easier for us to say, “Oh no you don’t! I’m not that type of person. I don’t want think that, say that, or do that!”
In the next post, we’ll look at two other things we need to do to deal with the flesh.
Continue in grace!