Yesterday's Bible Study |
In this verse from Galatians, we are reminded of the power that Christians have over sin. Before we were Christians, we had no power over our passions or desires. We were slaves to them, in fact. Now that we belong to Jesus, He has given us power over sin and new life in Him. Today, we will look at what this verse tells us about having our flesh crucified.
Crucifying the flesh is an ongoing process. The moment we become Christians, we are not immediately dead to all of our sins. It is an ongoing process that leads to further sanctification throughout our lives. Even though it will take time, we can trust that Jesus will work in us and help us become more like the people He has intended us to be.
Learning to crucify the flesh is the same thing as getting to know Jesus. When we experience the love of the Lord, we will not want to do anything that displeases him. It isn't so much that our sins are crucified; it's that we begin to fall in love with Jesus and realize how much better He is than our sin. This begins with spending time in the Bible, worship, and prayer. As we get to know God, we begin to see sin as He sees it, and reject it just as He has instructed.
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Indeed, the best way to crucify the flesh is to spend as much time with the Lord as possible. While we will not become perfect overnight or even in our lifetimes, we can trust that He will continue to sanctify us as long as we continue to seek Him. This means we can have hope even if we fall into sin because we know that we are becoming more like Jesus.
A crucified flesh brings freedom. It frees us from having to satisfy lusts of any kind, from getting caught up in the world and its sinful pleasures to acting dishonestly. It makes it possible to follow the Lord even when it is difficult--especially when it is difficult. We have freedom because we have surrendered our desires and exchanged them for the incomparable love that we find in Jesus. We know that He is better than anything and that He is the only One who will ever truly satisfy us.
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