What Doesn’t Change: The Spirit & Flesh

Do People Change?

“Why am I tempted with this again?!” This is very common And we all wonder about this at times. Much has changed in your life over the years, but some things have stayed the same. Maybe you feel like you are the same person you were 10 years ago.

Do people change? I love getting to sit with people for weeks or months and witness changes in their lives. There is something that does not change though.

Romans 8:13 states, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Galatians 5:17 states, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

1 Timothy 1:15 states, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into The world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.”

Paul shares in Philippians chapter 3 that before becoming a Christian he was perfect in the flesh, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to righteousness under the law, blameless! Yet not long before Paul is martyred for being a Christian he states In 1 Timothy 1:15 that he is the chief of sinners. Did he get better after becoming a Christian? His flesh did not get better (nor worse), especially if he was chief of sinners.

The Flesh does not Change

The flesh does not change. Your flesh is the same at age 20 as it is at age 80. Billy Graham’s flesh was just as bad at age 19 as it was when he died at age 99. You may be thinking, “Well I don’t struggle with those things that I did when I was younger.” Is this because your flesh has gotten better? No. You are just walking in the Spirit more, whether you realize it or not. It’s an either/or more so than better/worse.

It’s been 10 years since you struggled with that one thing and now you are tempted to do it again. Have you gotten worse? We especially see this with pornography addiction. Temptation and desire in the moment have changed. What hasn’t changed? In the past 10 years, God’s Spirit has not changed and the flesh has not changed. It’s more either/or than better/worse.

Remember, if you are struggling and/or sinning less, It means you are walking more in the Spirit (whether you recognize it or not), not because your flesh has gotten better.