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.
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Rom 8:1-14 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
The Apostle Peter wrote in 2Pe 3:15 , And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Peter warned us right here that people will twist the writings of the apostle Paul to their own destruction, and also to the destruction of those who embrace their false teachings. There are two major twistings that are being promoted and published in a big way in our time, that will bring destruction to many that are embracing them. So much of this goes straight back to John 3 where Jesus said that He did not come to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. This is the condemnation that light is come into the world (Jesus/the truth) and men loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil and they will not come to the light lest their deeds should be reproved. This is why many are happy to receive false teachings, because of the condition of thier hearts. One of these twistings is right here in Rom 8:
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
This scripture is talking about the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Father. If you don't have the Spirit of Christ you are none of His.You are not born again. You haven't received Him. If you are born again:
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father; The Spirit of Christ is in your heart. You are His. And you have been baptized into his death. You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. You have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. The Spirit is life because of righteousness; you are called to walk in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit to do the will of the Father every day. That is why the Father sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. You cannot walk in the Spirit unless you have been filled with the Spirit. However many twist these scriptures in Romans and elsewhere to say that you received the Holy Spirit when you received the Spirit of Christ into your heart. No, you received Christ, and He dwells in your heart by faith, you have been born of the Spirit, but you must be baptized in the Holy Spirit to receive power, Acts 1:8, and to be His witness, to walk in the Spirit. If any man says that he abides in Christ, let Him walk as He walked. How did Jesus walk? He said of Himself: I only do what I see the Father doing, and I only say what I hear the Father saying. How did He do that? He was filled with the Holy Spirit at the Jordan river when John the Baptist baptized Him, then He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to overcome the Devil and the world, and he came out in the power of the Spirit. We must have the power of the Spirit with us to put to death the deeds of the flesh that we may live in the Spirit and do the Father's will, denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Jesus every day. He is going to lead us by the Holy Spirit.
Another major twisting of Paul's writings is turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, Jude 4. Sin is no longer a problem. We are not under the law but under grace, Jesus took care of all sin once forever, I'm in faith so I'm not in sin, I'm being led by the Spirit so it's not sin, etc, etc, etc. The only problem is, if you are going to follow Paul's writings, you need to read them all and follow the whole counsel of God's Word, and right here in Gal 5 Paul gave a very clear list of the works of the flesh and he said if you do those things you will not inherit the Kingdom of God, but he said if you walk in the Spirit you won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh. In Romans: If you live after the flesh you shall die, but if you through the Spirit do mortify, put to death, the deeds of the body, you shall live. The Lord has promised that He will give to every one of us according to our works:
Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Rom 2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
Rom 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Rom 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Rom 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
We are without excuse. He has given us His Son, He has given us His Word, and He has given us His Holy Spirit. We only need receive and walk in all that He has so kindly given us, and we will overcome and enter into His kingdom. So ask yourself honestly, Am I really walking in the Spirit or am I walking in the flesh? If you are walking in the flesh you can repent and ask the Father to fill you with His Holy Spirit and lead you and help you to walk in the Spirit every day. Then you will have the fruit of the Spirit manifesting in your life: Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance, against such there is no law.
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