But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh;
Summary: Paul advises us on how to use our freedom. As is often the case, we have to dig to figure out what he is telling us.
Paul says bluntly, “… do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh.” My question to Paul is, “Why not?”
Why not indulge the flesh, Paul? Didn’t Jesus enjoy “eating and drinking”? (Luke 7:34) Isn’t that indulging the flesh?
The questions raised by this brief passage are not easy to reconcile with our faith. Jesus was indeed called a “glutton and a drunkard” (ibid) by those who hated him, but as Matthew adds in his rendering of the quote, “… wisdom is proved right by her deeds” (Matthew 11:19). Let’s not forget that Jesus was also known for going without if needed. Mathew recounts the story this way:
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” (Matthew 4:1-2)
Jesus didn’t use his freedom to indulge the flesh. Instead, he endured the flesh to be among us for a time. Jesus endured life in a primitive and cruel time in history when he could have come at any point in history that he wanted. He suffered unjust punishment willingly because he knew that was the price that had to be paid for our freedom.
So what does it mean to “indulge the flesh”?
Imagine that you are a ship. You have a motor, propeller, a crew, fuel, and a wheelhouse. The wheelhouse is where the steering wheel or “helm” is located. All decisions about where the ship goes, how fast it moves, and what it does are made in the wheelhouse.
Now imagine that the captain of your ship (you!) leaves the wheelhouse and wanders off. Perhaps he needed a nap. With the wheelhouse empty, there is no one to give commands. That is when the “flesh” shows up. In our analogy of a ship, other crew members come into the wheelhouse and fiddle with the controls.
“Let’s go closer to shore so we can see it better,” says one. Another says, “Make it go faster. Let’s see how fast we can go.” A third says, “Let’s go fishing! I’m hungry!”
Without a captain, the command of the ship shifts like the wind. Whoever is closest to the helm takes a turn at guiding the ship where they want to go.
When Paul says, “… do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh,” he is really saying, “Don’t leave the wheelhouse to your impulsive crew. Keep control of the ship God has given you.”
Freedom from accountability to the law doesn’t mean you can give up the responsibility for your life. What it means is that for the first time, you are free to decide to follow God’s will on your own.
Application: Stay in command of your ship.
Food for Thought: What does God see when we use our freedom to indulge the flesh? How does he respond?
At least part of the answer to your question could be seen in the larger context of the passage. God sees truth, and the truth is when we live by the flesh we are full of characteristics antithetical to God’s purpose for our lives.
Galatians 5: 16 – 21: So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever c you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
God sees us as enabled to sun and we need to be freed. We are trapped in “ever increasing wickedness” for which the wages is death – separation from God. Thankfully, while the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God’s response to our condition was the Incarnation and the cross. Faith in Christ is essential.
Romans 6: 19 – 23: I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Thank you, Rich!
What you are describing is the pain a parent suffers when their child does something wrong. Most of the time we are not even aware that what we are doing hurts our Father. Yet his love is constant even in the face of our failings. For our part, as you point out, “Faith in Christ is essential.” Amen!!
What does God see when we use our freedom to indulge the flesh? How does He respond?
Early in my life as a believer, I discovered the Bible is teaching once saved, always saved, which meant to me, no matter what I did, I was guaranteed eternal life through Jesus Christ. My early response was my flesh pouncing on this, I now had salvation as well as freedom to do whatever I wanted to do.
To counter this, the Spirit of God began to speak to my heart and show me all He had done to provide this eternal freedom to me, and I fully knew my doing what I wanted to do was to serve God.
We grieve God as we use our freedom to indulge our flesh.
Genesis 6:6, Psalm 78:40, 34:18, Isaiah 63:10, Ephesians 4:30, Ecclesiastes 1:18, 7:2, Lamentations 3:32, Matthew 5:4, 2 Corinthians 7:10,
Thank you, Ron!
Isn’t it wonderful how God reaches into our lives and begins to mold us into the image he originally intended for us? The verse that comes to mind for me is Hebrews 12:6
“…because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Yes indeed. And He always has an arm to wrap around you in the end.
Blessings Brother!
Ron
Thank you R2T2
Sin
Amen. Good one word answer
Thanks Randy!
🙂
What does God see when we use our freedom to indulge the flesh? How does he respond?
Well God doesn’t see His Son in us. We know that God won’t affiliate Himself with sin.
I know that I myself feel shameful in sin and that I deserve to have God turn His face away from me. I know that with repentance I can be forgiven for falling back into sin. I’m just thankful for Jesus’s friendship and wanting to be in a relationship with me. Loving me so much that He gave His life for me.
Amen
Ditto what Rich said — “Amen!”