St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote to the churches in Galatia saying, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ 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). The sanctified life, or the baptismal life, is one of constant wrestling between the Spirit and the flesh. It is one long ju jitsu match in which the Spirit is submitting the flesh to the will of God. The flesh fights back against the Spirit and prevents we the baptized from living lives in faith toward God and fervent love toward each other. The sanctified life is a constant wrestling match, but praise the Lord, it is not a match that we fight in and of ourselves, but rather one that Jesus fights for us.

For the Formula of Concord Solid Declaration asserts the life of the baptized saying, "But in this life Christians are not renewed perfectly and completely. For although their sins are covered up through the perfect obedience of Christ, so that they are not reckoned to believers for damnation, and although the Holy Spirit has begun the mortification of the Old Adam and their renewal in the spirit of their minds, nevertheless the Old Adam still clings to their nature and to all its internal and external powers" (FCSD VI.7) We see in this confession that in this life we still struggle with the sins of the flesh. In this life, we still grapple with the Old Adam, the world, the devil, and death because we are still sinful, but that sin is not counted against us because of Jesus. In Christ, we are no longer condemned for our failures, our transgressions, and our sins. In Christ, we are rescued, freed, and forgiven unto life eternal. In Christ, our sins are absolved and we are now children of the eternal God. It is also in Christ that we live in this life of sin and death. We are no longer living as unbelievers or pagans, but rather we live as those who are children of the light, children of truth, those born of the Spirit. Because of who we are in Christ, we now struggle with this world, with win, and with the devil. Our life is not one of accomplishment and achievement, but rather looks like daily failure. When we look at ourselves, it looks like we are giving in habitually. As St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said to the churches in Rome, "¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me" (Romans 7:19-20). 

My friends, let us not look at our failures as if it means that we are caving into the desires of the world and worshiping them. Do we sin and cling to the things of this life? Yes, we do. This is our struggle. We who fail, are guilt stricken, and repent are found in Christ and forgiven our sins. IN short, if you experience guilt and feel bad because of your failures, that's a good thing, it means that the Spirit is fighting within you and bringing you to Christ while crucifying the flesh. If you commit sins and feel nothing, or worse, justify your actions, then this means there is no struggle within you. The presence of the struggle, of the Simul, means that we are in Christ and the flesh is fighting back. Let us build one another up then and encourage one another as we struggle together against sin, death, world, and the devil. Let us forgive each other and preach Christ to each other in the midst of our failures. Let us encourage one another to continue fighting and not submit, for it is Christ who is at work in each of us. Take heart my friends, for it is not you who are fighting, but the Spirit within you, and He is one good wrestler who will submit the Old Adam and usher you into life eternal with Him, The Father, and The Son, one God, now and forever, unto all the ages.

Peace be with you. May the devil be silenced, the world be hushed, and the Old Adam drowned anew so that you hear only the voice of your Savior Jesus who says, "I forgive you. I fight for you. DO not despair in your failure, for I have overcome it and accept you as my dear little lamb and friend," Amen.

Jesus' Sheepdog,

Pastor Hull