by Ivan Maddox
Atlanta, GA


In Galatians 5 we are given the key to living a life that is pleasing to God.

Galatians 5:16-17.
5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

This sounds so simple, but it means nothing if you don't understand what the words mean. What does it mean to walk in the spirit? What is there about walking in the spirit that means victory against fulfilling the desires of the flesh?

One way we can better understand walking in the spirit is by looking at what it is not. In Colossians 2 Paul lays out for us the wrong way to walk.

Colossians 2:20-23.
2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
2:21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
2:23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

This is a strange description of how not to walk, especially since so many people are trying to live the Christian life this way. There are three things we need to notice about this wrong way to walk.

1. It is based on following rules and regulations.
2. It is based on the commandments and doctrines of men.
3. It looks good and productive from a five-senses point of view, but is actually worthless.

Let's take a closer look at each of these observations.

It is based on following rules and regulations.

At first glance it might seem that any attempt to walk with God starts with following rules and regulations. After all, the New Testament is full of rules for living. "Let him that stole steal no more;" "Put away lying;" "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers..." And in fact that may well be where we need to start in the Christian walk: learning what is and what isn't in accordance with God's will. But sooner or later we are going to discover that we are powerless to live the kind of life God wants us to live this way.

Galatians 3 warns us that following even God's rules will not give us life.

Galatians 3:21.
3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

And Romans reminds us that the more we know of God's law, the more opportunities we have to disobey God.

Romans 7:7-11.
7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
7:10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

The more we know of God's Word, the more aware we are of subtle sins. Stealing is an obvious sin. Most folks can figure out that stealing is wrong even without a Bible. Covetousness, though, is a more subtle sin. Most people, left to themselves, would see nothing wrong with it. As you grow in your understanding of God's Word, though, you become aware that even wishfully desiring what belongs to another is sin. Suddenly you are confronted with a whole new area of combat, where you had known only blissful ignorance and defeat before.

Things would be hard enough if we were dealing only with the commandments of God. But, as Colossians points out, we are not.

It is based on the commandments and doctrines of men.

Mankind has a problem when it comes to God's Word. We are not satisfied with it as it is. It is not specific enough for us; it does not seem to cover every eventuality.

Our tendency is to cover the gaps we perceive in God's Word with our own word, with commandments and doctrines of our own. These have the advantage of looking very much like God's Word, much like counterfeit money looks a lot like the real thing. But, as Jesus pointed out so clearly, our homemade rules and regulations are worthless when it comes to building a relationship with God.

Matthew 15:9.
15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Today we make church rules by the volume, and in many cases we honor these more highly than we honor the Word of God itself. We are not even aware that we substituted what is worthless for what is priceless. We govern our lives and we govern our churches by the word of men rather than the Word of God. Yet the scripture makes it clear that man's word is worthless when it comes to walking with God.

Why do we persist in substituting our way for God's way? Because it looks good.

It looks good and productive from a five-senses point of view, but is actually worthless.

That's the trap. Our words really look good. They look wise. They look like steps to God, or steps to "spirituality." Paul goes into detail about why they look good.

1. They look wise. They seem logical. They make good sense to the flesh. Yet Paul warns that this is an illusion.
   
   
2. They involve self-imposed worship. What could possibly be wrong with worship? Since these rules and regulations increase our worship of God, they must be good, right? The problem is, God is looking for a new kind of worship, and a new kind of worshipper.
   
   John 4:23
   4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
   4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
   
   The same old outward worship we've come to know and love isn't going to make it. Worshipping God any old way we feel like it isn't going to make it, either. Our worship must start with walking in the spirit; then what ever worship we offer will be acceptable to God.
   
   
3. It involves humiliy. What could possibly be wrong with anything that makes us more humble? But God has called us to submit ourselves to Him, not just to submit ourselves. When we replace obedience to His Word with obedience to our own rules and regulations, we are really rebelling against himeven while we are being humble with each other.
   
   
4. It involves denying the flesh. Again, what could be wrong with that? While it is true that walking in the spirit involves denying the flesh, it also true that not all denying the flesh is walking in the spirit.
   

We've seen how we are not supposed to walk. How, then are we supposed to walk so as to please God? Colossians 3 gives us the answer.

Colossians 3:1-7.
3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
3:6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

Wait a minute! It looks like we're right back where we started, with a bunch of rules and regulations! We were doing all right as long as we were talking about Christ being seated at the right hand of God; but all of a sudden we've got to start talking about fornication and covetousness and stuff. Aren't we still following a bunch of rules?

There's a critical difference.

Let's look again at the first two verses of chapter 3.

Colossians 3:1-2.
3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Right here is the key to what it means to walk in the spirit. It starts with the question, what are you seeking? What are you pursuing in this life? What is your priority? What is real to you?

Either God and His Word are real to you, or this world and the things in it are real to you. Either God's Word or this world are important to you. Which is it? Which one is real to us depends on whether we see things from God's Word's point of view or from this world's point of view. If we are looking at this world from the world's point of view, we are "fleshly" or carnal. If we are looking at this world from God's point of view, we are spiritually minded.

Jesus asked the question, what's valuable to you? What do you treasure? Whatever it is, that is the direction your heart will go in.

Matthew 6:19-21.
6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also...

You see, we often make the mistake of thinking that walking with God is a matter of choosing between good ways and bad ways of pursuing earthly things. It's not. It's a matter of choosing between pursuing earthly things and pursuing heavenly things.

In Matthew 6, Jesus cuts right down to the bone. He starts by talking abut pursuing riches, but he ends up talking about pursuing your next meal, or your next pair of shoes. We've got to choose between pursuing God and pursuing lunch! One or the other must come first. We cannot choose both.

Matthew 6:24, 31-33.
6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon...
6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

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