Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

I have a friend who grew up in the Baptist church. When he was old enough, he made the decision to be baptized. He was so excited to wash all his sins away and be born again of water and the Spirit. But he was utterly disappointed the next morning to find that there were still sinful desires lurking within his mind and heart. Had he understood the Scriptures, he would not have been surprised, because this is exactly what St. Paul speaks of in our Epistle text: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17). You, along with every other Christian, have a set of conflicting desires within your heart. My friend was convinced that his baptism hadn’t worked. He thought that the struggle within himself meant that he was not a true Christian. But on the contrary, this conflict was proof of his baptism, proof that the Holy Spirit had given birth to a new spiritual being that loves God and desires to do his will.

Every one of us is born with a sinful, fleshly heart. And at first, we are completely at peace with this. Before baptism there is no conflict within a person. The spiritual nature is not wrestling with the fleshly nature because there is no spiritual nature. We are born spiritually dead. We are slaves to the sinful passions, and frankly, that doesn’t bother us at all. There is no inner turmoil within our hearts because the sinful nature has complete control.

But everything changes when you are baptized. Jesus calls this being born again. After your first birth you were physically alive but spiritually dead. The second birth is the spiritual birth. You who were dead in sins and trespasses were made alive in Christ Jesus. And with this new spiritual birth comes conflict. “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

Perhaps you’ve wondered, “How can I be a Christian if I still struggle with these sinful temptations?” But the fact that this struggle exists shows that you are a Christian. As long as you are on earth, your new spiritual nature will be engaged in a war with your sinful passions. If this conflict doesn’t exist then one of two things has happened: Either you have died and gone to heaven—where the sinful nature is finally and completely purged away—or you have surrendered altogether to the desires of the flesh.

An addict will often tell himself, “What’s the use in resisting temptation? I’m only going to give in anyway.” And in that moment, the inner turmoil ceases. He takes the first drink and is at peace. But St. Paul warns us, “Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). We must not grow weary in well-doing. As Christians, as members of the Church Militant, that is, the church on earth, we are called to fight the good fight against sin until our Lord calls us home. This is what Jesus means when he says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

We do not and cannot bear our Lord’s cross, by which he paid for the sins of the world. That is his cross alone, not your cross. Your cross is to resist the temptations of the flesh, to deny yourself, to fight against the sinful inclination of your own heart until Jesus grants you rest from your labors.

St. Paul lists the works of the flesh. It’s an interesting list. Certainly, some of the big bad sins are included: sexual immorality, idolatry, sorcery, orgies, and things like that. But also included are sins that we might consider relatively minor: strife, jealousy, dissensions, envy. In Romans, Chapter 1, Paul includes gossip and boastfulness in the same list with adultery and murder.

And then St. Paul gives us this admonition: “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). Here’s a good example of why it’s important for our pastors to be able to read the New Testament in the original Greek. Is the Bible saying that anyone who gossips or commits adultery can’t go to heaven? No. If so, none of us would be going. There is a present, ongoing sense in St. Paul’s words: “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who [keep on doing] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Every Christian falls into sin. Each of us gets caught up in things that we don’t want to do, and yet, find ourselves doing. That’s why the life of a Christian is always one of daily repentance. “Lord, I’m sorry that I fell into sin once again. I didn’t want to do it anymore, but here I am again. Please forgive me!” This is the prayer of a Christian, and God will never withhold forgiveness from those who ask. Whether you fall into sin once, twice, or a thousand times, Jesus will never turn you away. His Holy Spirit will always be there to assure you that you are forgiven, and to strengthen you in the struggle against sin.

But St. Paul warns against abandoning the fight. Walk by the Spirit and do not give in to the desires of the flesh. I warn you that those who keep on doing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. The danger that every Christians faces is the temptation to give in to sin entirely, to say, “What’s the use of fighting? I’ll just do it eventually, so I might as well embrace sin now.”

To willfully choose sin, while hardening one’s heart to the voice of the Holy Spirit, is spiritual suicide. If a man persists in this way until death, he commits the unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy Spirit, who seeks to lead us to repentance and faith in Christ. But as long as your sins still trouble you, so long as the battle against the flesh continues, you have nothing to fear. This is proof that the Holy Spirit is still operative within your heart, convicting you of sin, comforting you with the words of Jesus, teaching you to trust in the One who bore the cross we could not bear.

As long as the Christian remains here on earth, this struggle will continue. Some days victory will seem close at hand. At other times the battle will appear to be nearly lost. But as you bear your cross, that of crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires, you are never alone. You received the Holy Spirit of God in Holy Baptism. He is at work within your heart, bringing you again and again to repentance, and keeping your eyes focused on the cross of Jesus. There is our salvation. For unlike you and I, who often fall prey to the whispers of Satan, our Lord Jesus resisted every temptation, bearing his cross for the sins of the world. There is no sinner too vile, no leper so unclean, no pit too deep, that our Lord cannot reach out and say, “Rise and go your way; your faith has saved you.”

My Baptist friend was horrified to discover the struggle against sin within his heart after his baptism. But this is actually a source of great comfort for you. As long as that struggle continues, there is the proof that the Holy Spirit is still present within you. This is the evidence that He, who has begun the good work in you, will be faithful to complete it until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.