The sinful nature desires
what is contrary to the Spirit.
—Galatians 5:17
“God prohibits all those things in life that are fun,” growled a disgruntled miscreant. Someone caricatured God as a “celestial Scrooge” peering over the balcony of heaven; spotting a happy person, he yelled, “Now cut that out!”
The only things prohibited by God are things that will cause heartache and suffering.
Peter urged his readers “to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul” (1 Pt 2:11). There is a civil war between the new nature and the old. Even though we have committed our lives to God, the desires of the old self continue to tempt us.
The “sinful nature” of Galatians 5:18–21 includes not only sexual immorality but also hatred, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition, and envy. These wrongs war against the soul. Now cut that out!
Curb sinful desires.