In my blogs last week, I considered how we should walk as Christians. This week I am going to continue on the theme of walking; however, I am going to be emphasizing how we should not walk. A fitting place to start is looking at the opposite of walking after the Spirit, that is, walking after the flesh.

Romans 8:1 (KJV)
¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh…

Romans 8:4 (KJV)
⁴ That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh…

Clearly, if we are going to reap the benefits of the cross of Calvary, we cannot walk after the flesh. The question is, what does it mean to walk after the flesh? The key is understanding how Paul used the word flesh in these instances. Obviously, Paul is not referring to the skin on our bones. So, to what is he referring?

To walk after the flesh is to be controlled by the old man who was corrupted by sin. We all allowed this to happen to us. Paul said, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Now, let me be clear—the Calvinistic doctrine of inherited sin is a false doctrine. God would not create us as sinners and, then, condemn us for being so. Genesis 6 reveals what has happened to all men. Moses wrote, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:11-12). So, man was not born corrupt, but he corrupted himself by deliberately sinning.

Nevertheless, the nature of all of us became corrupt when we sinned. Thankfully, by the grace of God, when we obeyed the gospel of Christ, we were renewed. Paul put it like this:

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

When did this happen? It happened when we crucified the flesh. Paul said, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” {Galatians 5:24). It must now be our fixed purpose not to allow that old man to come to life. We must determine not to walk after the flesh by giving in to the passions and desires of the old man.

We are surrounded by sin and the temptation to engage in it. The wise Christian will stay away from things that put him in harms way spiritually. Things would have turned out differently for Adam and Even if they HAD done this. Do you remember what God commanded them not to do? They were commanded, not only to refrain from eating of the tree that was in the middle of the garden, they were told not to even touch the fruit thereof (Genesis 3:3). Think about it. If that first couple had kept their distance from the tree, they would never have touched the forbidden fruit, let alone eaten it. We must do our best to separate ourselves from sin. Paul’s advice was to flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:14; 2 Timothy 2:22). This I know—we cannot flee sin and walk after the flesh at the same time.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.