“11For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”
Titus 2:11-14 (NIV)
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”
I Peter 4:1-2 (NIV)
We have been going through the apostle Paul’s list of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 as part of our study of Colossians 1:10: “…bearing fruit in every good work.”
On Day 48 we started studying SELF-CONTROL and saw that only those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior can produce the fruit of self-control by the Spirit.
On Day 49 we looked at self-control and our emotions.
Today we are going to continue with our definition of self-control, taking a closer look at our desires.
Defining Desire
Self-control is “control of one’s emotions, desires, or actions by one’s own will.”
The American Heritage College Dictionary, 4th edition, 2002
Desire is…
| 1. A wish or longing. 2. A request or petition. 3. The object of longing. | AHCD, 4th ed. |
| 1: conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment | merriam-webster.com |
| 2a: LONGING, CRAVING b: sexual urge or appetite | merriam-webster.com |
| 3: something longed or hoped for : something desired | merriam-webster.com |
| 1 A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. | lexico.com |
| 1.1 Strong sexual feeling or appetite. | lexico.com |
Desire is wanting, wishing, hoping, craving, longing for something “that promises enjoyment or satisfaction.”
Desire in the Bible
Desires for Other Things
“18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
Mark 4:18-19 (NIV)
“Desires for other things” besides God’s Word and His Will can choke the Word in someone’s life so that it does not bear fruit. They hear the Word, but nothing good comes from the hearing of it because their desires are wrong.
The Devil’s Desires
“43Why is My language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me!”
John 8:43-45 (NIV)
If you don’t belong to Jesus, you do belong to the devil — Jesus said so! Those who belong to the devil want to carry out the devil’s desires whether they are aware of it or not.
Given Over to Sinful Desires
“21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”
Romans 1:21-25 (NIV)
If you neither glorify God nor give thanks to Him, you will be given over to the sinful desires of your own heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” WE CANNOT RELY ON OUR HEARTS TO DESIRE ANYTHING GOOD ON THEIR OWN. We desperately need the intervention of the God who can do this: “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,” (Ezekiel 11:19).
Before & After
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
Ephesians 2:1-5 (NIV)
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Galatians 5:24 (NIV)
Before Christ, we were DEAD: dead in transgressions and sins, following the ways of the world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. We deserved wrath.
After we put our faith in Jesus, receiving His free gift of salvation, “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” We have been saved by grace!
Now that we belong to Christ, our flesh has been crucified — our flesh is what is dead now.
When I was spiritually dead, I gratified the cravings of my flesh and followed its desires and thoughts. Now that I’m alive in Christ, I am not to gratify the cravings of my dead flesh or follow its desires and thoughts.
Why would I want to dig up dead flesh? Eww. And yet…
Right Desire, Wrong Action
“15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
19For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.”
Romans 7:15-23 (NIV)
Even when our desires are right, we find ourselves like Paul: not being able to do what we want to do but instead doing the very things we don’t want to do! What can we do about this? With Paul, we cry out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24,25).
Now No Condemnation
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)
I am ever thankful that I don’t have to live under condemnation for every mistake I make! As a young Christian I didn’t understand this. I carried around guilt for my imperfections, for doing “the evil I do not want to do” (Rom. 7:19). I knew what was right (most of the time), I wanted to do what was right, yet so often I would act or react in the opposite way. I thought that if I could “get my act together,” then I would be free from the guilt and that God (and people whose opinions I highly valued) would be pleased with me.
Praise God! “The righteous requirement of the law” is fully met in me because God through Jesus condemned sin in the flesh, and I now live according to the Spirit.
No Condemnation, But an Obligation
“12Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.”
Romans 8:12-17 (NIV)
There is now no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus; there is now an obligation to live according to and be led by the Holy Spirit of God.
- condemnation: From the Greek katakrima (2631), “an adverse sentence (the verdict);” “From katakrinó (2632), to condemn. Judgment against” (AMG’s Annotated Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament); “The action of condemning someone to a punishment; sentencing” (lexico.com).
- obligation: From the Greek opheiletés (3781), an ower or a debtor, “one morally bound to the performance of any duty” (AMG’s Annotated Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament); “An act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment” (lexico.com).
We are free from the eternal death penalty; however, we are not free to live however we want. To Jesus we owe everything! Now we are obligated to live by the Spirit.
We are obligated as children to our Father. We no longer live in fear of punishment, but in reverence with a desire to please the Father.
So how do we handle those pesky, leftover desires of our sinful nature?
We will address this question in our Day 51 post.
Day 50 PRAYER:
Father God in heaven & here with us,
Hallowed be Your Name. Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever, Amen.
Lord God, help us grow in our knowledge of You and in understanding of our relationship with You and all that it means. You are our Father; we are Your children. To live in reverence of You and please You in all we do is our desire.
We want our desires to align with Your will, yet we still have the desires of the old, dead flesh of our sinful nature to contend with. Help us learn how to walk by the Spirit so we don’t gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
We love You, Father God. Thank You for first loving us. Thank You that through Jesus we can stand before You, no longer condemned, but as Your beloved children and heirs.
In Jesus’ Name we pray,
Amen.
