What Fans Your Flame?

Within every Christian there is a battle.

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." Galatians 5:16-18

Within every Christian there is a conflict being waged between our sinful nature and the Spirit.  If we are going to have a say in who wins this fight we must begin by examining the combatants.

The sinful nature, also translated the flesh, is what our fallen humanity is by default before our conversion.  This nature has no interest in glorifying God or obeying Him.  This nature rejects Jesus as Lord and/or Savior.  It will reject Jesus as Lord be disobeying His commands and it will reject Christ through trying to be its own Savior by being, as Paul calls it, under the law.

The Spirit is not the Holy Spirit.  At least not exactly.  The Spirit is the new heart in a Christian as it has been renewed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  I say this because if the sinful nature were waging a war against the Holy Spirit Himself the sinful nature would lose each and every battle decisively, but since we all experience wins and loses by both parties we know that the Spirit refers to something else.  So, the Spirit is the new nature given to us by God that is moving toward its promised completition (Philippians 1:6).

The war between my sinful nature and the Spirit is fought on the battleground of desire.

In verse 16 we see the word "desires" associated with the sinful nature.  This word in Greek is "epithumia" which Pastor Tim Keller in his study on Galatians says is best translated "over-desires" or "inordinate desires".  See, St. Augustine defined sin as disordered desires.  Our sinful nature often desires things that are flat out wrong, but it also overly desires good things and turns them into idols.  It desires things inordinately.  We see this with the good gifts of sex, wine, family, sleep, etc. 

The Spirit has desires, too.  Our new nature has strong desires.  Above all, our new nature desires to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  The Spirit unhindered will stop at nothing in its pursuit of enjoying God.  As Pastor John Piper's cornerstone doctrinal statement says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."  The Spirit longs to be satisfied by the pleasures that are at His right hand forevermore.

"You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11

We have these two natures at war: the sinful nature and the Spirit a.k.a. the new nature.  Who wins in your life?  Now, as a Christian who is not yet glorified there will be wins and loses on both sides, but as we are being sanctified the Spirit grows and the sinful nature shrinks.

There are several ways to join in this fight and I've written about this topic in the past from the book of Colossians, but today I want to focus on perhaps the most important way to fight this battle.

What fuels your joy?

I've described the battle between these two forces with the old proverb about the two dogs that fight and the one that wins is the one you feed.  That's a good analogy, but I now think there is a better one:

Which fire do you fan?

Our lives are controlled by our passions.  What we have a deep love for, we will sacrifice for.  What we desire most deeply, we will chase most swiftly.  What we are most passionate about, we will risk the most to get. 

What most spurs you on to love the ways of God?  What disciplines or activities fan the flame of your passion for Christ?  Identify those things and then use them as the billows of your new heart.  Pour them like gasoline on the fire of your joy in Christ.

Let's help each other.  Comment with the things that fan the flame of your love for Jesus today.