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NASB | Galatians 5:16 ¶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Galatians 5:16 ¶ But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts]. |
Bible Question:
Genesis 8:8-13; In verse 11, "Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other." It is my believe that Lot didn't seem to realize, as most don't realize, that he was blessed by God because of Abraham. He should have said to Abraham, that whatever the Patriarch desired, that's what he desired. But instead, he chose for himself, and as the future will prove, chose very unwisely. When he separated himself from Abraham, he separated himself from the Blessing. My question: How do we know within ourselves that it is truly the Holy Spirit leading us, and not a mask of the flesh saying it's the Holy Spirit, which takes us in the wrong direction? My thoughts are this, What if I have a ladder against a wall and I'm climbing to the top and when I get there I find out I've got the ladder against the wrong wall? Are there any reference books or any reference scriptures that may help me determine the answer? Thanks John Ryals |
Bible Answer: I alway cringe when i hear someone say, "I was led by the Spirit', or 'the Holy Spirit showed me'. What it usually means is 'I decided what I wanted to do' or 'this is my opinion' given a tinge of spiritual repectability. Different people have been 'showed by the Holy Spirit' views which were diametrically opposed. Churches acting as a whole have been 'guided by the Holy Spirit' to appoint ministers who turned out within a short time to be a disaster. The way to be guided by the Holy Spirit is through careful and prayerful study of the Scriptures and careful assessment of what we are thinking of doing while in prayer before God. Then we must assess whether we have peace in our hearts about our decision. While this cannot guaranteee that you are being led by the Spirit, it makes it more likely. But at the best of times we are not pure and unprejudiced recipients of truth. Thus even acting in the way described above will be no guarantee that our ownviews have not overridden the Holy Spirit. We must seek to 'walk with God' prayerfully and Scripturally and trust God to lead us. But we are foolish if we believe that this means that our decisions will always be right, or indeed will be the leading of the Spirit. Fortunately for us, however, God is able to overrule our mistakes when they have been genuinely made. |