“Put to Death the Desires of the Flesh”

Tuesday, June 06, 2023

BIBLE READING: James 4.1-4

Our desires are a serious problem. They are the source of our struggles against others (James 4.1). They are the source of our discontent with our circumstances (James 4.2). They are what motivate us to act and speak in ways that are godless (James 4.3-4). And yet it is our desires with which we most easily agree. They often allow us the easiest acceptance and quickest fulfillment. But we must never forget that it is our desires that put us at odds with God.

James depicts our worldly desires as an enemy to God’s rightness. In other words, they cannot coexist as forces in our lives. We will love one and hate the other (Matthew 6.24; James 4.4). The strong language and clear dichotomy reveal a profound truth. We are naturally bent away from obedience to God. In other words, “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…” (Galatians 5.17). To be right with God requires a choice to obey something other than what is most comfortable and easy.  

If we are to bear fruit of the Spirit, we must first understand the climate of our heart. There are things that must go, and that will require intentional effort. We harbor thoughts and feelings that will not simply submit to what God wants. We've all experienced this: you know the right thing to do, but in a moment of passion your natural wants get your blood pumping, quicken our heart and motivate you to do and say what you know you shouldn't (Romans 7.21-24). This is our battleground and it is not enough to only pursue the positive. To put on the new self, we must also put off the old self (Ephesians 4.22-24); and that means we must put to death the desires of the flesh (Romans 8.13).

We must take an offensive position against our natural desires by actively putting ourselves in submission to Jesus. We must take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10.5). We must set our mind on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8.5-7; Philippians 4.8). We must control and compel our body to obedience (1 Corinthians 9.25-27). The call to “let the word of Christ dwell richly within you” (Colossians 3.16) is really about informing our minds with the tools for obedient submission to Jesus.

We must have no delusions about our goodness or the role of our desires. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3.10-12; cf. Psalm 14.1-3). Our natural persuasions are deceitful and godless. The way that seems right to us must not be viewed as permissible and congruent with God’s way. It is in fact death for us (Proverbs 14.12). We must not trust our think-sos to improve our circumstances or bring us peace. Only God’s direction, through Jesus, his word, and the Holy Spirit, can do that for us. If we belong to Jesus, we must crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5.24) and set our mind to do the Father’s will above all things.

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away… [having] put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3.5-10)

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