Grace Classics: Escape to Reality Greatest Hits, Volume 2 (5 page)

Ever since our ancestors ate the
forbidden fruit, we humans have had an innate sense of good and evil. Help a
blind person cross the street and
you just know
you’re doing something
good. Use a cat for a football and
you just know
you’re doing something
bad. You don’t need anybody to tell you.

Knowing
how to separate good from bad is a handy skill when buying apples or recruiting
a babysitter. It’s also the basis of every man-made religion under the sun. But
your knowledge of good and evil does nothing to promote a life of dependency on
Jesus.

Consider
the person who treats the Bible as little more than an instruction manual for
living. That is, they don’t read it to grow in the knowledge of Jesus but to
answer the question, “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” Their
line of thinking runs like this:
If I do good and avoid evil I will be
judged to be a good person.
From a religious perspective, this makes
perfect sense. It also explains why so many are asking,
What must I do?

But
there’s a problem. In the Bible you will find some good things that are bad for
you. Other things are good for one person but not for another. And then there
are things that used to be good but aren’t good any more. It’s almost as if the
Bible was designed to frustrate the religious quest for being good. It’s almost
as if the Author is trying to say, “Why do you ask me what is good? That’s the
wrong question.”

The law is good…

The best example of something that
is good yet bad for you is the law. Paul said the law is “holy, righteous, and
good” (Romans 7:12). He also said, “the law is good if one uses it properly” (1
Timothy 1:8). When a moral person discovers the law their initial response is
delight. “Finally, some good instructions to live by!” But when they try to
keep the law they find themselves breaking it despite their best intentions.
They try harder and fail again. Then the law—which is good—begins to condemn
them (2 Corinthians 3:9). Worse, sin which they did not know they had until
they met the law, rises up and begins to kill them (Romans 7:10–11).

Paul
said the law is good but those who rely on it place themselves under a curse
(Galatians 3:10). This seems paradoxical. How can something that is good be bad
for us? Is the law defective? No—it’s good! The problem is not with the law but
your flesh. Your flesh cannot cope with the law (Romans 8:3). And it’s not just
the law. Anything that is good will become bad for you once your flesh gets involved:
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die…” (Romans 8:13).

…but your flesh is weak

Every day the believer gets to
choose between walking after the flesh or walking after the spirit. It’s a
mutually exclusive choice; it’s one or the other. We walk after the flesh when
we rely on our own resources—our resolve, our abilities, our understanding—and
we walk after the spirit when we rely on his. It’s the difference between
walking by sight or by faith.

The
problem is that walking after the flesh comes naturally to us. We’ve had a lot
of practice. Before we were born of the Spirit the flesh was all we knew, and
old habits die hard.

An
illustration may help. I lived in Hong Kong for close to 15 years but now I
live in New Zealand. Even though I am in New Zealand, I can still walk after
the ways of Hong Kong—and to some extent I do. (I love Chinese New Year!)

The ways
of Hong Kong are no better or worse than the ways of New Zealand, but the same
cannot be said of the flesh. Walk after the flesh and your life will be barren
and unprofitable: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing”
(John 6:63, NKJV).

The
supernatural and abundant life that we’re called to live can only be received
by faith and experienced when walking in the spirit. It’s a choice we get to
make. This is why the New Testament writers admonish us to put off the old ways
of the flesh and put on the new ways of the spirit:

You were
taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which
is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of
your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22–24)

We don’t put off and put on to
become
spiritual; we do it because we
are
spiritual. Everyone who is born again
is born of the spirit. Since we are already in the spirit, let us walk after
the spirit (Galatians 5:25).

The great religious blind spot

One of our biggest blind spots is
we’ve bought into the idea that good things are good for us while bad things
are bad for us. But this good versus evil logic is fruit off the wrong tree. It
gets us keeping score in a game God isn’t playing. The real issue is life
versus death. And if you sow to the flesh you will reap corruption regardless
of what you do.

“Wait a
second Paul. Are you saying I can do no good walking after the flesh?” You can
do a lot of good walking after the flesh, but it won’t do
you
much good.
“The flesh profits nothing.” Live like this and you will be functionally
identical to a moral atheist. You will miss opportunities to reveal the kingdom
of God supernaturally. You will be acting like a “mere man” (see 1 Corinthians
3:3).

Jesus
didn’t suffer and die to make sinners good but to make the dead live. Christ is
your life. When you walk after the flesh you are acting like the dead man you
used to be. You are wasting your life in dead-end pursuits. You can spend all
your days doing good works but none of it will result in praise to your
heavenly Father because they are your works and not his. You may feel like
you’re making a mark but in reality you’re just accumulating fuel for the fire.

Sadly,
this is exactly how many Christians choose to live. Ask them to define the
works of the flesh and they will recite Paul’s list of manifest examples in
Galatians 5. These are the biggies, if you like. It never occurs to them that
walking after flesh can also bring death to the humdrum activity of everyday
life, as the Bible describes elsewhere (e.g., through worry, serving God out of
a sense of obligation, blaming others when things go wrong, etc.).

Do you
see the dangers of walking after the flesh? Here’s a simple test to find out:
Which of the following gives you greater concern as a Christian?

1. Doing something bad in a moment of
   rash passion, or
   
2. Wasting my life doing my good works in
   the power of the flesh.
   

I suspect more people are fearful
of doing something bad in a rash moment than they are of wasting their lives
walking after the flesh. But a Christian who, in a momentary loss of sanity,
fools around with sin, may be more likely to come to his senses than one who
has been dulled by years of service done in the flesh. I am certainly not
encouraging you to go out and do bad things. Nor am I trying to discourage you
from doing good things. (Galatians 6:9 exhorts us not to grow weary of doing
good.) What I am trying to do is show you that we can walk after the flesh
regardless of what we do and even if we doing something good. When we walk
after the old way of the flesh, what seems good and right to us now will
eventually lead to death and disappointment.

It’s
time we discarded the forbidden fruit and got our nourishment from the Tree of
Life which is Christ. Our innate tendency to judge ourselves as good or bad
based on the good or bad things we are doing, is doing nobody any good at all.

A word after

“Paul, let me get this straight.
Are you saying I can spend my life doing good works and have it all count for
nothing? That I can actually do harm by doing good?” That is exactly what I’m
saying. In fact, this is probably the oldest mistake in the book. When Adam and
Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they thought they were doing something good.

The tree
of knowledge of good and evil was not a bad tree; God doesn’t do bad trees
(Genesis 1:31). Everything in the world was good so the serpent had to tempt
Eve with something that seemed “good and pleasing” to her (Genesis 3:6). It’s
an old trick that still works.

Most
people think of themselves as good and decent people. Most aren’t tempted to go
out and do bad things but they are quick to do things that seem good at the
time, and this is where the danger lies. The danger is not what they are doing,
but what they are trusting. Adam and Eve trusted their own good judgment and
got into serious trouble. So can we.

“Paul,
can you give me some examples?” In this chapter we looked at one example of
walking after the flesh in the pursuit of something good, namely, trying to
keep the law. But there are plenty more, as we shall see in the next chapter…

If you’ve ever taken young
children to the zoo, you will know that the big animals tend to be more popular
than the small ones. Elephants, rhinos, and tigers get more attention than otters,
turtles, and geckos. And so it is with works of the flesh.

Ask any
Christian to list the works of the flesh and they will likely respond with the
list found in Galatians 5:19–21: adultery, hatred, idolatry, murder, etc. Paul
calls these the manifest or obvious works of the flesh. They are the biggies,
the elephantine examples of what it means to live apart from God. But the Bible
also provides dozens of lesser examples that you may not be familiar with. I’ve
listed some of these lesser works of the flesh below.

What
does it mean to walk after the flesh? Walking after the flesh is when you
attempt to get your needs met independently of God. It’s trusting in yourself
(your abilities, your understanding) and living solely from the basis of your
earthly experience (what you see, hear, touch, etc.). Now here’s something you
may not know: You can walk after the flesh in the pursuit of both good things
and bad things. Paul’s manifest works of the flesh—the biggies—are all clearly
associated with bad deeds, but some of the lesser works below are not bad at
all. This is a critical point. We are not comparing good deeds with bad, but
flesh with spirit. And when you’re walking after the flesh even good things can
be bad for you.

As we
saw in the last chapter, a classic example of something that is good yet bad
for you is God’s law. It is not sin, it is good! But try to live by it and you
will find yourself walking after the flesh every time. Paul said his ability to
keep the righteous requirements of the law was ineffective because he tried to
do so in the puny strength of his flesh (Romans 8:3). Living under self-imposed
law is one of the main ways we walk after the flesh—hence its position at the
top of my list.

Just a
reminder: The wrong way to read this list is the carnal way—identifying things
you should or should not do. We are less interested in the
what
than in
the
how
. So how do we walk after the flesh? Here are twenty ways:

20 ways to walk after the flesh

1.
     
Try to keep God’s law (Romans 7:9–25):
Think that you have to do stuff to be blessed and that you have to perform to
stay saved.

2.
     
Set your mind on earthly things
(Philippians 3:19): Keep your eyes on the here and now. “What you see is all
there is” (see Colossians 3:2). Entangle yourself in the affairs of life (2
Timothy 2:4).

3.
     
Think about how to gratify the lusts of
the flesh (Romans 13:14): If it feels good, do it.

4.
     
Pursue your goal through self-denial
(Colossians 2:21–23): Don’t look, don’t drink, don’t touch. Fast twice a week.
Worship perfectionism (Galatians 3:3, KJV).

5.
     
Make sacrifices to impress God (Hebrews
10:8): Be conscious of your debt to Jesus and consider it your duty to serve
him. Put your ministry or business before your marriage and family.

6.
     
Load others with heavy burdens (Luke
11:46): Expect your Christian staff to work harder for less pay. Send the
message that the work is more important than their families or health. Shackle
them to your vision. Use emotional manipulation and scriptures to pressure
people to support you.

7.
     
Take pride in your independence
(Jeremiah 17:5): Respect no one, scorn authority, flaunt your freedom. Say
things like, “Who needs fathers? I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:12).

8.
     
Worry about your life (Matthew 6:25,
Luke 8:14): “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear?”
Entertain fear and doubt. “I can’t do it” (Philippians 4:13).

9.
     
Cultivate self-belief (2 Corinthians
12:10): “I can do it!” Boast in your accomplishments (2 Corinthians 11:30).
Boast in your wisdom, strength and riches (Jeremiah 9:23).

10.
 
See yourself as a victim (Romans 8:37): “Woe is me. I’m not
worthy. My sinful nature made me do it.” Blame God (James 1:13). Blame the
devil (1 John 4:4). Blame your circumstances.

11.
 
Be a man-pleaser (Galatians 1:10): Wonder, what will my
boss think? How will the board react? How will this affect the tithers? Say
only what they want you to say.

12.
 
Make plans in a worldly manner (2 Corinthians 1:17): Do a
SWOT analysis; list the pros and cons; make decisions based on money. Manage
the risks and stay in control.

13.
 
Try to grow a ministry (Psalm 127:1, 1 Corinthians 3:6).
Work hard to make things happen.

14.
 
Define success by human standards (1 Corinthians 1:26):
It’s all about the numbers. “How many soldiers do we have? How many attend the
prayer meeting? Are donations increasing? Are we doing better than last year?
Am I doing better than my predecessor or rival?”

15.
 
Nurture your reputation (Philippians 3:8): Put on a good
show and make a good impression (Galatians 6:12). Be face conscious. Make a
name for yourself (Genesis 11:4) and blame the wife when things go wrong
(Genesis 3:12).

16.
 
Pray long prayers, especially if others are listening
(Matthew 6:5–8).

17.
 
Regard others from a worldly point of view (2 Corinthians
5:16): Engage in office politics. View new-comers as potential recruits for
your programs. Cultivate task-based friendships. Choose the best-looking man
for the job (1 Samuel 16:7). Show favor to the one with money (James 2:3–4).

18.
 
Sacrifice people on the altar of your principles (1
Corinthians 3:3): “I’m right, you’re wrong.” Judge the weak (Romans 15:1).
Distance yourselves from those who aren’t as doctrinally pure as you (1
Corinthians 9:22).

19.
 
Combat problems with worldly weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4):
Put your faith in politics. Start fights (Zechariah 4:6). Picket the abortion
clinic. Protest the gay parade (Isaiah 42:2).

20.
 
Pretend to be Jesus (Matthew 24:24): Draw people to your
ministry and build toward yourself (1 Thessalonians 3:8). Teach others to
depend on you. Stand in the gap. Crucify yourself (Galatians 2:20).

This is a yukky list and frankly,
I didn’t enjoy writing it. Just about everything on this list, I’ve done. God
help me, some of the things on this list I’m still doing! Don’t let this list
condemn you. A better response is to get mad because we’ve been misled. We’ve
been raised to believe that this is how things are done and that the fleshly
way of life is normal. But this is
not
normal life for one born of the
spirit.

Why do
we walk after the flesh? Most of the time we do it out of habit and ignorance.
We don’t realize there’s a better way. We walk after the flesh because when we
were in the flesh this was how we lived: “You used to walk in these ways, in
the life you once lived” (Colossians 3:7). The good news is that now we get to
make a choice. We can choose to walk in the old way of the flesh or the new and
better way of the spirit.

I have
to say this again: Some of the activities on this list are good. Please don’t
think I am against the law or fruitful ministries or planning or praying
without ceasing. I am not.

But
understand that the natural mind longs to be told what to do when God is much
more interested in how we are doing it. Are we trusting in the power of our
might or are we resting confidently in his? Are we walking as we used to or are
we being revealed as mature sons and daughters of our Father? Flesh cannot give
birth to spirit. Neither can walking after the flesh empower you to live the
life God has called you to live.

A word after

Trying to please God by keeping
his law is a common way of walking after the flesh. However, I am more tempted
to lean on the flesh in other ways; number twelve, for instance, the one about
making plans in a worldly manner. I’m fairly sure I’m taking that scripture out
of context, but the larger point stands—trusting in your own understanding is
an inferior way to live (see Jeremiah 17:5).

I love
to make plans. When I was a business school professor I taught people how to
write business plans and do SWOT analyses. This sort of stuff comes easy to me.
That’s the problem. It’s not hard for me to run ahead in my own strength and
leave God entirely out of the equation.

After
reading this article a lady who works in a Christian organization said to me,
“We do SWOT analyses, set goals, and try to grow the ministry. It feels very
business oriented, but it’s
kingdom
business. And it has been successful
with many people coming to Christ.”

I told
her that her story testifies to the goodness of God in drawing people to
himself and I reminded her that there is nothing inherently wrong with planning
and goal-setting. But being plan-led can get in the way of being spirit-led,
especially if our plans are constrained by what we see and understand. This is
a limited way to live.

The
story of my life is this: I made a plan; God had a better one. I thought I
could attain a certain level; God took me higher. This pattern has been
repeated so frequently I often wonder if my best-laid plans are nothing more
than set-ups for divine jokes, as though God was saying, “You thought you were
going to accomplish
what
by
when
? That’s funny!”

I have
learned not to hold tightly to my plans and that when you walk after the
spirit—when you are open to his gentle leading and direction—God will often
take you places that were far better than you could imagine or conceive. My
plans may be jokes, but the good news is that God’s punch lines are awesome.