“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
(Galatians 5:16 NIV)
Do you know what temptation feels like? If you have put your faith in Jesus, you experience war within you daily.
You know what it’s like to want two things simultaneously—good and evil—and to endure the pain of resisting evil or the shame of giving into it.
The presence of war within you is a good sign. If there were no internal battle, well, that would mean that you do not have God’s Spirit in you fighting for all that’s right. Instead, you would be following your own heart, the course of the world, and the promptings of the devil, like the rest of humanity (Ephesians 2:1-3).
If you’re a follower of Jesus, you know what it’s like to be tempted to do something God says not to do. In a way, you want to do what God forbids. In another way, you do not want to sin, and you so badly want to honor God.
How Do I Not Give Into Temptation?
The tension in our souls that arises from temptation is painful, and sometimes we feel stuck (1 Peter 4:1–2). What will keep us from gratifying the desires of our sinful nature? What will keep you and me from giving into the seduction of sin?
Saying “No” to Sin Is Possible
Listen to this one powerful line of truth from Galatians 5: “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
That short line of God’s Word brings us immense insight! Consider what this verse says.
First, there is a way not to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Although I may have desires that are contrary to what God wants for me, there’s a way to resist them! The rest of the Bible affirms this. If you are a follower of Jesus, then Jesus has broken the power of sin in your life and has given you the power of his Spirit who can enable you to say no to sin (Romans 8:2). We can say no to sin. We can choose to not give way to temptation.
So, it’s possible for you, believer, and for me not to sin. Praise the Lord! Honoring God is possible when we are being tempted.
But what’s the way to refuse saying “yes” to sin? How do we not gratify the desires of our sinful nature?
How to Say “No” to Sin
Galatians 5 says we “live by the Spirit.” In short, this means pursue what is good. If you want to avoid doing what’s wrong, actively do what’s right instead!
A few lines later in Galatians, the author lists what the sinful nature does: “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21).
Yikes! All those things look so wicked when stacked together in a list. But here is what is tricky about them: These activities feel less wicked when we are entertaining them in our hearts, listening to music about them, watching movies including them, and indulging in them behind closed doors. These are the things our sinful nature desires.
In contrast to that ugly list, look at what the Spirit produces in our lives: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
See the stark differences between life in the flesh and life in the Spirit?
Back to Galatians 5:16—how are we going to resist indulging our sinful nature, and giving into temptation? In living by the Spirit. The Spirit pursues everything in that list of beautiful virtues above.
We all know that humans aren’t good at listening when someone says, “Stop!” In fact, when we hear “stop!” our natural inclination seems to be not to stop. God in his Word does not tell us to avoid sin by just staying Stop! Instead, he says, “don’t pursue that, pursue this!” He gives us a new direction to run, a new pursuit. He says that in order to stay away from the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil, we should seek the things of Jesus, of the Spirit, of heaven.
How Will You Live by the Spirit Today?
What might it look like in your life to “live by the Spirit?” If you want to quit listening to raunchy music, listen to worship music instead! If you want to quit cursing, take every opportunity to speak words of blessing to others. If you want to say “no” to laziness, say “yes” to serving someone else. If you want to say “no” to ugly and evil content, find beautiful and Christ-exalting content to fill your mind.
What a wonderful word of freedom and counsel we find in Galatians 5:16! We can say “no” to temptation! How? It’s not by sitting in place, gritting our teeth, or telling ourselves to stop, but we do so by the hand of God’s Spirit, stretched out, welcoming us to join him in his work—to get moving in the way of righteousness. So where are you tempted today to gratify sinful desires? What would it look like for you to instead live by the Spirit today? What will you pursue instead of that sinful desire?