Galatians 5:24-25
24 Now those ⌊who belong to Christ⌋ have crucified the flesh together with its feelings and its desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. 26 We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening" is a mediation on living in and following the Spirit. He says this:
You will never find true faith unattended by true godliness; on the other hand, you will never discover a truly holy life which has not for its root a living faith upon the righteousness of Christ
godliness is the "following the Spirit" in our daily lives - it is living
"like god". What then is "true faith"? I think I can take Spurgeon to be saying
that upon internal meditation do I find my faith to be secure and genuine.
"true faith" is between me and the Lord.
The meditation this morning though... "If I live by the Spirit, I must also follow the Spirit" is once again heavy on my heart as I wrestled through reflecting-on-romans-7-7-13 a few weeks ago - the reality that I daily choose things contrary to my faith.
I think Paul is saying "because you have crucified the flesh" as the parallel point to "we must also follow the Spirit". He's saying "if you say you've crucified the flesh, show your faith by following as well" - it's James' "show me your faith by what you do"
So who am I today? Whom will I serve?
These morning meditations are like my 100x push-ups a day... the days I do
them just seem marginally better, and in a season of consistency the value
seems to compound... I thank Jesus for the conviction in the first place to
strive for holiness, and for the strength faith to say no to the flesh, but
yes to the Spirit.