Commentary: The struggle of walking in the Spirit 

Ralph Fudge

God is the Father of all true Christians, and He wants, as earthly parents do, to hear from His children.”

Walking in God’s Spirit requires a relationship with the Holy Spirit. It means to be led by the Spirit. All believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but not all believers follow Him.

According to psychiatrist, Dr. M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled), this results from laziness. He claims that we are all lazy to some extent. Dr. Peck calls it entropy and suggests we must fight it to make mental or spiritual progress.

All people have an inborn tendency to do bad deeds. It is programmed in our flesh. And before redemption, most people give free rein to their fleshly desires, such as selfishness, love of money, other forms of idolatry, sexual expression, and other things.

The sad truth is that everyone remains evil to some extent even after being saved. That is the reason we are forbidden to judge others. Jesus even called His followers “evil.” (Matthew 7:11). But the most wonderful news (the gospel) is that all who believe in Christ and trust their souls to Him are not seen by God as evil but righteous. This is thanks to the fact that Christ imputes His righteousness to all true Christians.

However, all saved souls still struggle with sin and temptation. Walking in the Spirit of God involves struggle. Satan still tempts us all, and he always will until we die. Walking in the Spirit requires a preoccupation with truth. And real truth is primarily found in God’s Word, the Bible. The problem today is that most people, even many Christians, do not bother to read the Bible. A closed Bible is only good for collecting dust. Open, it reveals God’s thoughts and instructions for earthly success and life eternal. The more familiar we are with truth, the more easily we recognize sin and error.

In Philippians 4:8, the Apostle Paul tells us to think about “whatsoever is good.” All acts that one commits begin in his mind. Thoughts become actions when we dwell upon them. Good thoughts become good deeds; bad ones, bad deeds.

Dr. Charles Stanley said, “To walk in the Spirit, we must get serious about guarding our minds.” Reading and studying Scripture is a great help in guarding our thoughts. So is fellowship with other believers, especially in church. C. S. Lewis stated that we need reminding of what we believe, and that this points out the importance of church attendance.

As I stated at first, walking in the Spirit requires a relationship with the Holy Spirit. James tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). God is always near to Christians because He is in our hearts. But sin grieves Him and makes us feel that God is distant. The truth is that God never moves; we move away from Him when we yield to sin.

Other than Bible study, prayer is the essential element of walking in the Spirit. God is the Father of all true Christians, and He wants, as earthly parents do, to hear from His children. So, may we all cultivate the habits of Bible study and prayer. The more we do this, the more we will be able to truly walk with God.

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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.