The Battle Against the Flesh – Trusting in the Holy Spirit
VBC Albuquerque · Jun 30, 2024
This sermon presents the spiritual battle of believers which cannot be won by human effort or willpower alone. Christians can only stand firm and be victorious through the help of the Holy Spirit, not by striving to keep the law. The sermon emphasizes that the law was given to reveal sin and lead people to Christ, not to provide salvation.
The first section of the sermon clearly presents that the life of a believer is a spiritual battle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil, powers, and authorities of this dark world. The three main enemies are the world, the flesh, and demons. Human beings with their own strength, willpower, and morality cannot defeat these enemies—it is like bringing a sickle to fight against tanks. However, if forgiven, saved, and given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Christians will surely not fail but will triumph completely.
The second section develops the argument about the purpose and role of the law according to the teaching of Paul and the teaching of Christ. The law was not given to prevent sin but to reveal sin, helping people see more clearly the cunning and evil nature of sin hidden in the flesh. The main purpose of the law is to lead people to recognize that they cannot keep God's law by themselves, thus bringing them to Christ to seek forgiveness and redemption. Paul in Romans 7 and 8 shows that the law has another aspect: it awakens sin in human nature, making sin come alive. However, this is not a fault of the law but serves to expose the true nature of sin and make it extremely evil.
The third section applies the message to the practical life of the congregation by emphasizing the lament that only Christ through the Holy Spirit can save us from this body of death. After being saved, believers need to rely on the Holy Spirit to transform the old self, not on their own effort and morality. Many believers mistakenly think that Christian living is an effort to keep all of God's law, but this is completely wrong. The purpose of salvation is not for believers to keep all the law but for them to increasingly understand and be grateful to God for Christ's love and sacrifice, thereby increasingly becoming like Christ.
The fourth section explains specifically the evidence of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life and how to live according to the Spirit. According to Romans 8:9, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Him. The evidence of the Holy Spirit is shown through a mind directed toward things in Scripture rather than the flesh, a desire to glorify Christ rather than self, a decrease in deeds of the flesh, and an increase in the fruits of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Living according to the Spirit means following the path He opens, recognizing what aligns with the Spirit's desire and what follows the flesh, then acting according to what aligns with the Spirit and avoiding what follows the flesh.
The fifth section presents specifically how the Holy Spirit helps us in the spiritual battle. The Holy Spirit helps us in prayer when we do not know what to pray for; He intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. The Holy Spirit also reminds, teaches, convicts, and corrects us through Scripture. God's discipline through the Holy Spirit is evidence of God's love for His children, and although it seems painful now, it will later produce the fruit of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.