To avoid destruction, the space-opera-fantasy character Luke Skywalker battled against the Sith, the Death Star, and his own failings by letting go of his guidance and directional system, trusting in his own feelings to accomplish his mission.
Is this what it means to walk in the Spirit?
Without the guidance and direction provided by the Holy Spirit through the Word, the flesh naturally[1] hates God’s Law.[2] Written into cold tablets of stone within the heart of man,[3] the Law is a mirror[4] of his sinfulness and a reminder of his complete inability to fulfill it.[5] Lacking repentance, man serves sin and continues to be a slave to sin.[6]
After the gift of the Holy Spirit[7] and faith is freely provided through His Word in repentance, man’s cold tablets of the heart are melted into a warm fleshy heart[3] and the Law within his heart and mind becomes enlightened.[8] Now freed from the curse and condemnation of the Law,[9] rather than hating the Law he now delights in the Law[10] as a free servant of Christ.[11]
With guidance from the Holy Spirit through the Word[12] and strengthened by the faith in His promises, with love he fulfills the Law.[13] His standing before the face of God is counted righteous solely due to the finished work of Christ alone, through faith alone, without any works or merit of his own.[14]
Through the Word, he recognizes sin[16] and strives against it, seeking to destroy it.[17] His faith is a busy active thing,[18] with the love of God it does not ask how he might help his neighbor[19] as he has already done so! He strengthens his faith through the love and growth in the knowledge of His Word.[20] The man’s standing before the face of the world (both inside and outside of the Church) is considered righteous[15] by his example[21] and through the fruits of his good works.[22]
Yet his faith is tried by the daily temptations of sin.[23] He repents daily through the Lord’s prayer.[24] The man’s works are not perfect (because he is still in the flesh[25]) but they are sanctified through the salvation work of Christ.[26] He looks forward to the day of resurrection when the sinful flesh will be transformed into a new creature completely devoid of sin and corruption.[27]
This is what it means to walk in the Spirit!
It is to do His Will,[28] not the will[6] of Satan. If you do not know what God’s Will is, then review the Law.[29] If you need a summary (and expansion of it) see Christ’s explanation of His Commandments.[30] If you need examples, see the Gospel[31] and the Epistle[32] exhortations.
To avoid damnation, believers must battle against Satan,[33] the World, and our own sinful flesh. Due to our fallen state, we need all the guidance and direction freely given through God’s Word and His gifts of faith and the Holy Spirit. We must deny our own feelings, trust in God’s Word and the Spirit’s work[34] of daily sanctification, and remember that our New Hope is in Christ and the mission He accomplished for us.
Is your faith based on the Force of Enthusiasm[35] or on the pure doctrine found in Scripture? I look forward to your reply.
[1] Romans 2:15
[2] Romans 8:7
[3] Ezekiel 11:19-20
[4] James 1:23-25
[5] Romans 3:19-20
[6] John 8:34
[7] The various operations of the Holy Spirit include the works of vocation, regeneration or conversion, renovation or sanctification, and preservation.
[8] Ephesians 1:18, Ephesians 4:22-24
[9] Romans 6:12-15
[10] Romans 7:22, Psalm 1:2
[11] 1 Peter 2:16, Galatians 5:13
[12] Ephesians 6:17, John 14:26, 2 Timothy 3:16
[13] Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 6:2, James 2:8
[14] Also known as “passive righteousness.” (See: Dr. Martin Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian”, 1520.)
[15] Also known as “active righteousness.” Ibid.
[16] Romans 3:20, Romans 7:7
[17] “…we strive unceasingly against sin, to destroy it…” (Dr. Martin Luther, “Grund und Ursach”, Art. 2, 1521.)
[18] “Oh, it is a living, busy, active, powerful thing that we have in faith, so that it is impossible for it not to do good without ceasing. Nor does it ask whether good works are to be done; but before the question is asked, it has wrought them, and is always engaged in doing them. But he who does not do such works is void of faith…” (Dr. Martin Luther, “Preface to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans”, 1522.)
[19] Galatians 5:13
[20] Hosea 4:6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Acts 17:11
[21] 1 Peter 5:3, Philippians 3:17, 1 Timothy 4:12
[22] Matthew 7:16-20, James 2:17
[23] Romans 7:20-24
[24] Matthew 6:9-13
[25] Matthew 19:25-26, Isaiah 64:6
[26] 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 2:21
[27] 1 Corinthians 15:52
[28] 1 Peter 2:15-16
[29] Exodus 20:1-17
[30] Matthew 22:37–40, A Catechism According to God’s Word: The Ten Commandments.
[31] Mark 16:15
[32] “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16-25)
[33] 1 Peter 5:8-9
[34] “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63b)
[35] Enthusiasm is a heresy that subverts the Word of God claiming the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a higher authority that can overrule Holy Scripture on-demand.