This past Sunday I preached a message from Romans 13 in our A Firm Foundation series regarding Putting on Christ and Making No Provision for the Flesh to fulfill its lusts. In that sermon I gave a list of ideas to help those who desire to do a better job of making no provision for the flesh. Today, I share those with you as well.
Why Make No Provision for the Flesh
Paul explains in Romans 13:11-14 how the follower of Jesus must take seriously the responsibility of living for Jesus Christ. Notice what he writes:
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (Romans 13:11-14)
In this section, Paul challenges each of us to pay special attention to our own hearts and lives now. He explains there is no time to wait. We must live in a God-honoring way right now. In order to do that, he wants us to cast off works of darkness and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the main command in this paragraph. As a means to help us, he says to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts too.
The Connection between Putting on Jesus and Making No Provision for the Flesh
When we strive to put on Jesus, we essentially seek to live a Christ-centered, Christ-exalting life. This kind of life honors God, or you could say, lives with an appropriate fear of God. To fear God means that one respects God and reveres Him, recognizing His sovereign role as our Sovereign Creator God. As such, we look to know and honor God more and more as we learn the Scriptures and apply them to daily living.
Jesus did this perfectly. Jesus said, “I have glorified You on the earth” (John 17:4). Isaiah describes Jesus in a similar fashion:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord,… (Isaiah 11:1-3)
Jesus delighted in fearing the Lord.
If one fears the Lord, he or she lives in light of everything that God desires, which includes holiness, putting off sin, casting off darkness, and putting to death sins of the flesh. In this vein, Paul challenges us to put on the lifestyle, characteristics, values, and attitude of Jesus while starving out the sinful flesh.
To make no provision for the flesh means that we seek to take everything away from the flesh that would allow it to have any strength at all. The ultimate power of the flesh was broken at salvation; the flesh does not on its own dominate the saved person. The flesh only has strength when we provide for it, or in other words, when we feed it or make provision for it.
Therefore, after Paul commands to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, he also commands to make no provision for the flesh.
Ideas on How to Make No Provision for the Flesh
The following list of ideas are many that I have tried over the years to make no provision for the flesh – in no particular order.
Note: All of these things take an intentional effort. As you read through these, you can add, “Intentionally…”
- Walk in the Spirit
- Keep a long-term outlook or keep eternity in view
- Renew your mind
- Contemplating Christ, Christ’s will and desire
- Memorizing Scripture
- Reading Scripture – for breadth and depth
- Meditating on Scripture
- Identifying key passages on the Gospel, Grace, Hope, and Jesus Christ
- Quoting the Bible
- Remember the Gospel through verse cards, visual reminders, reminders in nature, and so forth
- Take thoughts captive through lists, “think these thoughts” journals, and other types of journals
- Considering sin
- Recognizing sinful patterns
- Identify areas of temptation
- Identify what sin looks like and sounds like in various stages
- Create a battle plan or growth plan which includes boundaries, protective barriers, radical amputation
- Create a consequence list which includes the nature and impact of sin on me, others, the church, my relationship with God, and other consequences
- Make a pleasure verses consequences list of honoring God and not honoring God
- Prayer
- Cultivate a love for what God loves seeking to grow the new affection of the inner man in Christ
- Practice defensive living (similar to defensive driving)
- Keep a preemptive mindset
- Carefully consider the “put offs” to make sure I have replaced those with measurable and compelling “put ons”
- Choose friends wisely that will help in the process of growing in Jesus Christ
- Create accountability where needed
- Remember God’s purpose for my life, “to glorify God by becoming like Jesus Christ”
- Review regularly the benefits of the Gospel, position in Jesus Christ, being accepted in the beloved, adoption by God through Christ
- Create a music play list to help encourage you in Jesus Christ in the journey
This list can get you started.
What else would you add that has helped you in the past? Leave a note in the comments section and share it.
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