You Cannot!

"I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."

Galatians 5:16-17

During the lives of Christians on earth there will be tension between the the desires of the flesh and walking as led by the Holy Spirit.  The efforts of the flesh are not sufficient to enable us to desire, think, speak or do righteously.  The Spirit of God and the sinful flesh are ever at odds, and it is only after we are born again and walk in the Spirit we are divinely enabled to do what is right.  We are born into the bondage of sin, and we are thus natural slaves of the flesh.  Praise be to God Jesus Christ has been sent to set us free and has provided the Holy Spirit to help us overcome the tyranny of the flesh.

Though we realise to a degree our natural limitations, spiritually we can remain in the dark.  God wisely shines the light of His Word upon our assumptions and reveals how sin and hypocrisy hinders us from walking in the Spirit.  Take for example the words of Joshua to the people of Israel when he challenged them concerning idolatry.  After Joshua uttered the famous words about how the people needed to choose this day whom they would serve, the people answered with one voice in Joshua 24:16-17, "...Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; ¹⁷ for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed."  The people sounded resolute in their commitment to honour and obey God only, and I believe they said these words sincerely.  But see how Joshua responded to them in Joshua 24:19:  "But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins."

No one appreciates being told they "cannot" do something.  It is one thing to withhold permission or say "I would rather you not" or "It will be difficult."  But to say "You cannot!" stirs up our indignant flesh.  I imagine people did not appreciate Joshua's words after they pledged themselves to God, but he spoke the truth.  They could not serve the LORD because they remained in bondage to idols their fathers had carried out of Egypt.  They could not be forgiven because they would not repent.  If they would serve the LORD, repentance before God was needed.  More was needed than simply the destruction of the images they carried.  They needed a change of heart before God (a transformation which comes only by faith in God demonstrated by obedience) or they would easily be ensnared by the next shiny idol which caught their gaze.

This same message was repeated to the early church in Corinth by Paul.  After establishing the fact God judged the children of Israel He brought out of Egypt because they sinned against Him by their rebellion, lust and idolatry, Paul lovingly pointed out serious faults in the church.  Their "love feasts" were anything but, for their gatherings were devoid of God's love.  There were divisions among the people, some people went hungry while others were full, and people even drank wine to excess.  The excesses and vulgarity of the flesh were on full display when they should have considered the glory of God and the good of others more important than self.  In the previous chapter Paul said plainly concerning their sinful practices in 1 Corinthians 10:21:  "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons."  You cannot - there it is again.  God's people were deceived to think they could do both, but if they would serve and honour God they needed to repent and walk in the Spirit.  Those who drank of the cup of demons could drink the wine of communion with Christ, but for them it was an empty ritual.  In attempting to drink from both cups communion with God was broken.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."  "Mammon" is not a word often used today, but it basically means "wealth" or "money."  In this human frame we will always be a slave to something or someone.  We are born slaves to all manner of sin, and for many money is their master.  People seek freedom, security, and power for self in money, and the insatiable appetite for the "almighty dollar" has seen many men prematurely go to their grave "pierced through with many sorrows".  Jesus lays out the principle oft repeated in scripture, that we cannot truly serve two masters (though we assume we can).   You cannot serve God and be mastered by anything else:  we can serve God truly when only He is our Master and we are His loyal, joyful slaves.  If we are serving ourselves, how can we say we serve God?  May His words ring in our ears when tempted by sin:  "You cannot!"  It is by walking in the Spirit we will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.  By virtue of His grace and love for us we delight to please Him, and only this change in our hearts will cause the beauty and goodness of Jesus to outshine all other potential suitors.

How glorious it is when God brings us to a point of surrender and repentance, when we say to Him with all our hearts, "I cannot!  I cannot keep on living this way; something must give.  I cannot keep being torn apart with divided allegiances.  You are right God, and You always have been.  I have been wrong.  I cannot."  It is in this agreement with God through repentance, brothers and sisters, where we discover a place of blessing, rest, and peace with God.  The flesh dreads these moments, but they work in us growth in grace and fruitfulness not to be repented of.