Sermon 163A
Sermon 163/A
ABOUT THE WORDS OF THE APOSTLE (GAL 5:16 AND FOLLOWING):
"Walk in the Spirit and do not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
SERMON GIVEN ON THE LORD'S DAY
That we may dare to speak to you, faith makes.
That we may dare to speak to you, faith makes, by which we believe that you pray for us. For I know that we are in your hearts to die together and to live together; the affection of your charity nourishes us with this hope. Therefore, whatever the Lord has granted, I beseech you to deign to hear willingly.
The flesh and the spirit are opposed to one another.
We heard the apostle Paul, when his epistle was being read, admonishing with apostolic authority and saying: Walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh; for the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do the things that you want. He placed before our eyes a certain war, in which flesh and spirit clash in such a way that we do not do what we want; and since the lust of the flesh must be subjected to the command of God, he has preached to those engaged in the struggle, and said: Walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Fight, he says, bravely, and conquer, not an alien nature rebelling against you, but the lust that reigns in your members. I see, says the Apostle, another law in my members. Attack, conquer; it rebels, restrain; do not grant your members, and your soul will not be killed. Let not sin reign, he says, in your mortal body, nor yield your members to sin as weapons of unrighteousness. Deny lust its weapons, and your victory will prevail. Fight, labor; no athlete is crowned without sweat. In the stadium and in the contest, you are set in the struggle; against the lust of the flesh, your spirit fights. The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. The flesh suggests lust, the Spirit commands chastity; the flesh kindles to anger, the Spirit commands mercy. Set in this struggle, when you have not given your members to rebelling lust, which were weapons of unrighteousness to sin, they become weapons of righteousness to God.
Do not presume on the strength of your free will.
Therefore, beloved, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Situated in this battle, do not presume upon the strength of your free will; for the adversary conquers you. Implore the help of God's grace, and then you will overcome the rebellious desire of the flesh against you. But perhaps it has already been defeated, and you may say: I have already been defeated, the lust holds arms against me, sin already reigns in my mortal body, urging obedience to its desires. Cry out, and say with Paul: O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Such a learned man is led into captivity; what should I do, captor and invalid? Therefore, implore the help of grace; you will be answered, and it will be said to you: The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He says, Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? O Manichean, he spoke of the body of this death, not of the captivity of that nation. He says, The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. O Pelagian, he says, through Jesus Christ our Lord, not through our free will.
Of the assistance of God's grace.
Therefore, beloved, if we live by the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. Let us not become desirous of vain glory. You have heard the apostolic reading: Walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh; for the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. Therefore, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law anymore. The works of the flesh are evident, which are fornication, impurity, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these; I warn you, as I did before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Put to death in yourselves the desires of the flesh with the help of God’s grace; despise the works of the flesh, love the fruit of the Spirit. For the fruit of the Spirit is joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Do these things, and be in them, and the God of peace will be with you.