Are You Walking by the Flesh or by the Spirit?

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. - Romans 8:1 KJV

Many today say that they are walking with Yeshua, but are they truly walking with Him? How can we know for sure that we are walking with Yeshua?

Scripture tells us that we are not to walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. What does this really mean? Walking after the flesh means you are satisfying your natural desires, the sinful nature. You are doing things that brings pleasure to your flesh - yourself. When you are walking after the Spirit, you are doing the things that please God. You no longer do what satisfies or pleases you, but that which pleases God. You die to yourself, you die to your flesh, you die to your sinful nature. The life that you now live is unto God.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit, Romans 8:5 KJV. Let’s look a bit further into what the things of the flesh are, versus what the things of the Spirit are. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature (the flesh), the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God – Galatians 5:19-21 NLT.

Walking in the Spirit looks like this: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 NLT. The scriptures continue on and say, Those who belong to Yeshua have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there, Galatians 5:24 NLT.

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions, Galatians 5:17NLT. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh, Galatians 5:16 KJV.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So, letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God, Romans 8:5-8 NLT.

So, I ask the question again, are you walking after the flesh or after the Spirit?