The Lord has been putting this subject on my heart lately. I think that this is an important subject and necessary to understand properly for any kind of spiritual maturity.
Now we all indulge our flesh to some degree and at some point if we are walking in our own strength. There are different levels of indulgence of the flesh...some quite innocuous but others quite or very harmful.
Just when we may think we are not indulging our flesh in carnal things, we may then become indulgers of religious judgment on others for THEIR more obvious indulgences. And this is the very worst kind of indulgence we can undertake. How can we judge others for their indulgences as we indulge our own flesh in judging them?
So we are all in the same boat when we are walking in our own strength...no matter how much or little we seem to be in control of ourselves. Sin is ever present. It is like trying to put too much water into too little a glass. There will be spillage. There will be indulgence. It is our responsibility to see that that spillage is kept under some control...especially in regards to others.
Of course ALL that is not of faith is sin. We sin when we indulge our flesh. But not all sins lead to death (the 2nd death). Some sins are petty sins....sins of omission or carnal preference. We should go easy on people, and ourselves, for these things (unless the Holy Spirit is convicting us).
I have already spoken on the death away from holiness and the presence of God...that is the first death. It was the death experienced by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.
But there is another layer of death...and that is a complete loss of life through the destruction of the soul. That is the 2nd death.
There are sins (indulgences) that do lead to death.
So in the flesh we struggle to keep our flesh at bay. Of course no one can do this perfectly (there will be spillages along the way). But this is the human condition of all people that are NOT yet crucified with Christ.
Now we all indulge our flesh to some degree and at some point if we are walking in our own strength. There are different levels of indulgence of the flesh...some quite innocuous but others quite or very harmful.
Just when we may think we are not indulging our flesh in carnal things, we may then become indulgers of religious judgment on others for THEIR more obvious indulgences. And this is the very worst kind of indulgence we can undertake. How can we judge others for their indulgences as we indulge our own flesh in judging them?
So we are all in the same boat when we are walking in our own strength...no matter how much or little we seem to be in control of ourselves. Sin is ever present. It is like trying to put too much water into too little a glass. There will be spillage. There will be indulgence. It is our responsibility to see that that spillage is kept under some control...especially in regards to others.
Of course ALL that is not of faith is sin. We sin when we indulge our flesh. But not all sins lead to death (the 2nd death). Some sins are petty sins....sins of omission or carnal preference. We should go easy on people, and ourselves, for these things (unless the Holy Spirit is convicting us).
I have already spoken on the death away from holiness and the presence of God...that is the first death. It was the death experienced by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.
But there is another layer of death...and that is a complete loss of life through the destruction of the soul. That is the 2nd death.
There are sins (indulgences) that do lead to death.
So in the flesh we struggle to keep our flesh at bay. Of course no one can do this perfectly (there will be spillages along the way). But this is the human condition of all people that are NOT yet crucified with Christ.