by[13] “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” – Romans 8:13 (NIV)
One profound truth that has somehow swayed many Christians is that if we live according to the flesh, we will experience death. On the other hand, if, by the Spirit, we put to death the misdeeds of the body, we’ll experience life. For the purposes of deeper understanding, imagine having a life but being unable to walk. Will you enjoy that life to the fullest? Of course not. But why? Because that inability to walk derails you of several things.
In the same way, you can be saved and still become irrelevant to the purposes of God if you choose to live according to the flesh. By saying that, I mean any Christian who decides to consciously follow the way of unrighteousness, knowing well that God frowns upon that lifestyle, will get to a point where he’ll lose satisfaction in God. For such people, if God wants to preserve their lives so they will not commit apostasy, God will judge them by taking their physical life completely. He can also hand them over to the devil to teach them a lesson about how bad and suffocative it is to abandon the gospel of Christ. Many believers have fallen victim to this. But it doesn’t have to be you.
When you are saved, God gives you the Holy Spirit, who is capable of helping you put to death every sinful craving in your body, even to the point that it will not become a part of your thoughts. So, just because you used to commit a sin, say, sexual immorality when you weren’t saved, doesn’t mean such thoughts and tendencies will cease popping up in your mind. They will come. But when they do, you use your spiritual authority through the Holy Spirit to deal with such thoughts, lest you act upon them and give space to the devil to condemn you. Put to death the misdeeds of the body, and you will enjoy eternal life to the fullest in Christ.
You are a blessing.
Prayer:
Father, help me to mortify the deeds of my flesh. May I continue to live according to your ways wherever I am. In the name of Jesus. Amen!
Devotional Code: KGD – 2026 – 213
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