Our Gospel Jump-Start post this week comes from John Stott’s comments on Galatians 6:8. Stott reminds us that in the life of a Christian, holiness is a harvest. Let us be reminded that we have been gloriously saved by grace (Gal. 2:20) and adopted into God the Father’s family (Gal. 4:4-7). As those who have been brought into the family, we are to seek to live according to the family ethic of holiness. Therefore, we should seek to mortify sin and cultivate holiness, or as Paul says; “walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16). Here Stott’s Words are helpful, he wrote:
To ‘sow to the flesh’ is to pander to it, to cosset, cuddle and stroke it, instead of crucifying it. The seeds we sow are largely thoughts and deeds. Every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take a risk which strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh. Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where we sow. (The Message of Galatians, pg. 170, emphasis mine)
We are all sowing. The question is, are you sowing to the flesh or to the Spirit? Take heart, the Lord has given us His Spirit and grace to empower us in this sowing. As we begin this week, let us set out to sow to the Spirit.
Written by Matt Baker