5Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
12Therefore, dear brothers and sisters,you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
15So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
How many times do we give into or "let our sinful nature" control our minds? I know it's not a popular thought as Christians. But I have to admit that one of the things I'm realizing as I go through this "give God a year" is that I do give into my sinful nature more than I should. I certainly do when it comes to food. Sometimes with the tv shows I watch or movies I allow myself to see. How much better off would I be if I let the Spirit control my mind 100% of the time. What would that look like? I believe that I'd think about food less. I wouldn't celebrate as many moments in life with icecream. I'd probably read my Bible more. I would like to think I might even spend more time outside my four walls and in the lives of others.
I find it interesting in verse 15 in this context we're told we did not recieve the spirit that makes us fearful slaves. When we give into our sinful nature we are slaves to it. Often what holds me back from doing what I believe the Spirit wants is fear. What if I'm wrong? I'm learning to step out again in faith and recognize that this is not a time to be a fearful slave but to stand up in Christ in boldness.
God help me to be bold in you. Help me to let your Spirit lead me, not the sinful nature I was born into. amen
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