Galatians 5
vs 1. For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore, and don't submit again to the yoke of slavery.
13. For you were called to freedom, brothers.
16. But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
In the card Steve gave me at DTS graduation he included Galatians 5:1 and talked about how he felt that God was saying thta freedom in an area that God has blessed me in and I exemplify freedom (after writing this I went home and found the card and his exact words were: One of the great things God has put in you is freedom. This is not to say you will always feel that way, but it is in you more than most.) I found it very interesting because I don't feel free most of the time. I feel bound in insecurity and lies. I feel bound and enslaved to the fear of man and to sin.
I was struck by verse 16. We are constantly asking how to be free from sin and the answer is found here: walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. That is what most sin is, especially sexual sin: a gratification of the desires of the flesh. Verse 17 says, "for the desired of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh."
But how does one "walk by the Spirit'? When I think of this I am reminded of Ephesians and the "five walks" in chapters 4 and 5. "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling", "walk in truth", "walk in love", "walk as children of light", and "walk as wise."
I don't know if this is the best theological answer to the question of how to walk in the Spirit, but it's a good place to start, I suppose. So, in light of the topic of walking in the Spirit so as not to gratify desires of the flesh, what do each of these look like and why might they help?
