Romans 7:25 – “So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
Our life on this earth is a continuous war between our mind and body or flesh, and it is a big spiritual challenge for a true Christian.  Saints are those who have won this war and pleased God.  Some people do not feel the war between the mind and body as they blindly follow the desires of the body and stay ignorant about what God wants us to do.  The war between the mind and body occurs only when we are aware of how we can become a child of God.  If one is not aware of how a child of God should be, he will keep on satisfying his bodily pleasures as a child of the world or the devil.  When he is completely under the control of the devil, those who are around him will start noticing him.  He will be in a stage of denial blindly, and reaching out help will seem impossible.  Considering people like this it is said, “Save others, snatching them out of fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh”( Jude 1:23).
To bring people like that to God is like snatching them out of fire.  So it should be very important for all to examine ourselves from a very young age if we are serving the law of God or the law of sin with our mind and body.  Here goes the importance of knowing the Bible, keeping the faith in God, attending church services, attending prayers, doing confession, listening to parents, elders, teachers etc.  

Why do people serve the law of sin with the body?
 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.  But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good”( Romans 7:19,20).  Sin dwells in every person or the evil is present in every person.  Sin is in the world from the very beginning.  The devil tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.  Jesus Christ redeemed us from that sin through His crucifixion, but sin is not removed from the world or the devil is around everyone.  It is our job not to follow what the devil prompts us.  The devil will prompt us to sin using our body.  ”Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour”( 1st Peter 5:8).

What are some ways people sin with the body?

1) Using the tongue 
 “And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell”( Jacob 3:6).  “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison”( Jacob 3:8).  Revelation 22:15 says that those who lie with their tongue will not inherit the kingdom of God.  The more we talk, the more chance of sinning is there.  We have to choose our words carefully so that we do not hurt other people.  This is true in our home, in our community, in our church, in our work place and everywhere.

2) Drunkenness (Galatians 5:21)
Unlimited use of drug and alcohol affects the proper functioning of our brain, and it enables us to do wrong to others without the person knowing about it, which leads to losing of relationships, especially in a family.  1st Corinthians 6:9 says that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God.

3)Fornication and adultery 
 This is an era of  too much freedom, which Satan is offering to people.  The children of the world has the tendency to use that freedom to the maximum.  “ You must not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).  This is the 6th commandment of God.  “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge”( Hebrews 13:4).

4)Other sinful deeds of the flesh
According to Galatians 5:19-21, other deeds of the flesh that take away the kingdom of God from us are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, and  carousing.  According to Revelation 22:15, sorcerers, murderers, immoral persons, idolators, and everyone who loves and practices lying will not enter the kingdom of God.

5) Outbursts of anger (Galatians 5:20)
It is a sin that takes away the kingdom of God.  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; an whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool’, shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell”( Matthew 5:22).

How do you serve the law of God with your mind and body?

1) Set your mind on the Spirit, not on the flesh 
 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit  is life and peace, because the mind on flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God”( Romans 8:6,7). 
For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”( Romans 8:13, 14).  Those who are living to satisfy the pleasures of the body are dying in spirit.

2) Keep your body holy as the temple of God
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are”( 1st Corinthians 3:16,17).

3) Crucify the flesh
“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”
(Galatians 5:24).  We should not make any effort to entertain the pleasures of the body.  By putting the pleasures of the body away, we are partaking in the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  According to the chapters of Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4, when Jesus fasted for 40 days, the devil approached him and tempted him to sin.  When Jesus used the power of the word of God, Satan ran away.  If the devil tried to tempt Jesus, how much more we can be tempted.

4) Control your tongue – The sins committed by the tongue in a day are numerous, but we think that it is nothing compared to adultery and murder.  We should watch every word that comes out of our mouth.  Slandering and gossiping with our tongue is like a poison that can kill numerous people mentally and emotionally.  We should use our tongue only in a positive way: to praise God, to counsel others, to give them verbal support, and to bring them to God.   “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear”( Ephesians 4:29).

4)Ask Jesus for help
Jesus faced all kinds of trials – hunger, physical pain, mental pain, lack of love, lack of support, mean and cruel behaviors, crucifixion and death, all for our sake.  Those who have faced difficulties are able to understand the pain of others. Himself being God and human at the same time, Jesus can help us to control the emotions of our body and not to sin with our body.  “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted”( Hebrew 2:18).  Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal”( John 12:24-25).  We should make sure that the desires of our body drop down to the ground and die just like a grain of wheat so that we can obtain the fruits of the Holy Spirit as said in Galatians 5:22.

More than saying prayers and going to church, on a daily basis we should make it a priority that we do not sin using any part of the body.  Let us take it as a challenge day by day and see how much we can sanctify ourselves and imitate Jesus Christ so that we can be with Him in eternal heaven. 

Cicily Sunny, M.A., B.Ed., MSE