If a Christian can be defined as one who is living out the Great Command, then what exactly does living out the Great Command look like?  The term “Christian” is used so loosely in today’s culture, so much so that I don’t even like to use the term.  Therefore, if we define a Christian as one who is living out the Great Command, then one who is not living out the Great Command is one who is not a CHRISTian; for sake of my terminology, this person is a CHURCHian (one who follows perceived Biblical morals).  The passage from Mark reads:

“One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘What commandment is the foremost of all?’  Jesus answered, ‘The foremost is, “HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD YOUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.” And the second is this, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”  There is no other commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:28-31, NASB).

One thing to note is that with these four aspects of who we are, it is pretty much impossible to separate out one from the other.  Basically I am stating that the mind, heart and soul have influence over what the flesh does.  And likewise the actions of the flesh have direct influences to the heart, mind and soul.  So in this writing we will look at one aspect of flesh, noting that it is not just an action of flesh alone.

As stated in the previous post, we summarized loving God with all our strength by stating we shall love our God with all our flesh.  What does loving God with ALL our flesh look like?  The truth is, we are always battling two different natures; the sinful nature of flesh (darkness) in which we were created and the nature of the Spirit of God (light) as in the nature God calls to live in.  We cannot live under both natures.  Therefore, if we love God with 100% of our strength, then there is no part of our body left to even desire the sinful nature of the flesh (Gal. 2:20).

If we love God with 100% of our body, then we are not enticed to commit the only sin against the body, immorality (1 Cor. 6:18).  We are not enticed to be fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, or homosexuals (1 Cor. 6:9-10) if our entire bodies are sold out for Jesus.  For sake of clarity, we will quickly define these four sinful desires of the flesh that we are not partakers in whenever we love God with 100% of our bodies.

A fornicator is one who has consensual sex with another individual of the opposite gender outside of marriage; commonly called pre-marital sex.  An adulterer is one who has sex with an individual who is married to another person.  An effeminate is one who submits there body to unnatural lewdness, indecent sexual conduct such as forced sex or sex with an underage individual; and an effeminate has also been defined as masturbators such as that stated in the NRSV.  A homosexual is one who has sex with another of the same gender.

The reason these are listed out is because of the effect these actions have on not just the flesh, but on all four aspects of a person since the body is made up of all four aspects.  We must take note of what Paul is stating when he quotes Old Testament in stating that a sexual act unites the two persons (1 Cor. 6:16).  There is a spiritual uniting that takes place in the act of sex.  In the marriage of a male to a female, this is a beautiful connection of oneness, but in regard to the four immoral sexual acts it is the connection to the nature of flesh, the nature of sin.  In the uniting of two spirits in sin, a spiritual bond is formed that the enemy uses for destruction on a person’s heart, soul, mind and body, restricting the fullness of the love of God to both individuals.

Please understand that my whole point of writing this is not to condemn anyone for any previous acts in their life.  The enemy is a deceiver and tries to say that these acts are okay as long as you remain a good person (a CHURCHian).  I do not want anyone to be deceived and miss the fullness of the love of God.  God loves you and desires you to be free of this bondage to the nature of flesh, so you can live in the freedom of His Nature.  God says you can be washed and sanctified from this old nature (1 Cor. 6:11) and be joined completely to Him (1 Cor. 6:17); no longer living to obey the law of Biblical morals, but instead living in the fullness of a love relationship with God.  Repent, and ask God to break the unhealthy soul ties in your life.  Then give God your flesh, so that you can love Him with all your strength.

I desire to live a Faith-Full life, in the fullness of His love, as a CHRISTian.