10/09/2026
Are we living out our lives claiming to be Christians while continuing to allow our own wills to reign over us? How is it that we can be satisfied with this? How is it that we can savor a taste of God’s will, experience the touch of sanctity, holiness, and joy, and then retreat back into our own earthly humanity? This is the age-old struggle of faith... we struggle to place God’s will first in our lives and to deny our own flesh, nature, and will, that we might accept the sanctification of God and His perfect will.
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor....
For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, 7 ESV
It is God’s will for us to be sanctified and holy, but this requires more from us than to simply say “Alright Father, I accept your will... sanctify me!” It requires that we abandon those things in ourselves that are contrary to Him. It means we begin to walk FULLY in His Holy Will, not just when it feels good, but also when it challenges us.
In this portion of the letter to the Thessalonians, Paul was teaching them several actions that they needed to refrain from... sexual immorality, the passion of lust, transgressing against and wronging their brother. These are all sins of the flesh... and by yielding to them they are relapsing into pleasing themselves by falling back into their old nature and will. It was common at the time for gentiles to behave in this manner, but Paul warns the church that this is not sanctified or holy behavior for Christians.
These are just examples, but there are many desires of the flesh and mind that are contrary to the will of God, and they are hard to deny because they represent the sweet spot of our fallen nature and will... these are the earthly things that make us feel good, and in which we are comfortable (even if just momentarily). These are the things we often do in secret, and these are also the things we see the ungodly society around us not only accepting, but glorifying.
When I was young there was a great basketball player named Wilt Chamberlain. He was an inch over seven feet tall, and in a single game he scored more than 100 points; In a single season he scored 4,029. He was a remarkable basketball player. Yet there is another statistic that he is also known for... he claimed to have had sex with 20,000 women. There is some debate about this number, but you get the drift of what he was claiming... he was much more than simply promiscuous. What is also amazing is that people glorified him nearly as much for this statistic as they did his accomplishments on the basketball court. He was the talk around every office water cooler. The sins of the flesh are just as alive today as they were when Paul wrote his letter to the Thessalonians. Gossip is just as prevalent today, and if it involves sexual subjects it spreads even further. Our natural will is not God’s.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Galatians 5:19-21 ESV
So simply saying the words “I will follow the will of God!” is not enough. Going to church on Sunday and leaving your sins outside the sanctuary door with your umbrella, then picking them both up again after you shake the pastor’s hand is not living in God’s will. This is not the life of Christ. We listen to Jesus as He intercedes for a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, and we might conclude that He tolerated her actions, but He didn’t... instead He used her sin of the flesh as a lesson regarding our own sins. He knew she was guilty, after all she had been caught in the act... but who was pure enough to stone her? The crowd left because they saw their own sins, but Jesus gave her another chance... “Go and sin no more.”
“Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."
John 8:10-11 ESV
So, did she? Did she go and sin no more? Was she able to overcome her natural desire, and to adhere, from that moment forth, to God’s Will? We are not given the answer to this question in scripture. Maybe we aren’t because this isn’t about a woman long ago... this is about us, and the story is still unfolding. Let’s look at ourselves and ask “How will it end?”
God desires us to abandon our own will, and our own sinful nature, so that we can successfully adhere to His, and conform to His character. He wants us to become sanctified and holy, but the task is daunting while we are surrounded by so much temptation and evil. So, God sent Jesus, and He sent His Holy Spirit to help us. Listen to Jesus as He teaches His apostle’s how to avoid temptation by asking for God’s help as they pray...
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:13 ESV
This should be our prayer every day too! We should also lean on the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and ask God to give us the wherewithal to deny our own will.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Galatians 5:16-17 ESV
This is the road to sanctification, and this is the way to a deeper and more fulfilling relationship with Jesus and God. In God there is Holiness, and inasmuch as we abide in Him and He abides in us we will be in His will, and will be made Holy as He is Holy. Are we ready to pray as Jesus taught? Are we ready to lean on the Holy Spirit, and walk closely with God? Are we ready to be Sanctified, and to become Holy?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Holy Desire that pulls me out of my own worldly will, and calls me to adhere to yours. Help me Father to leave behind the sins of my flesh and to be sanctified. Thank you Father for your Son Jesus, and your Holy Spirit, who work as one to remove the temptations of the flesh from me, and to replace them with the fruits of the Spirit. Holy Father, the road to you and holiness is fraught with evil and temptation; I pray that you deliver me from all evil, and lead me not into temptation. Keep your hand upon me Lord and strengthen me so that my will diminishes, and yours will increase within me. Let my days be spent walking with you, and learning to be perfect as you are perfect. Draw me near Father, and abide within me. In this way, Merciful Father, I will always desire sanctification, and to be Holy as you are... let nothing hinder my longing for you. Hear my prayers each day as I ask for your forgiveness, and protection; and in this way I wish to stand before you every day as your Son Jesus did... pure, and blameless... wash me clean with His blood, and fill me to perfection and sanctification by His flesh. In this, my faith, I praise you Father, and in this I find my deepest longing and desire. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God. Great are you who sanctifies and makes holy! By your will I am made to be like you, and as I receive you, I pray that I might glorify you more with each passing day.
“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.“
Leviticus 19:2 ESV
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”
Hebrews 12:14 ESV
“Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Matthew 6:9-15 ESV
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Rich Forbes