From http://www.joshharris.com/2007/02/feeding_the_flesh.php

1. This is you. Or us, a human made in God's image. Ladies, sorry you have to identify with a little guy. I'm not sure why he doesn't have a shirt. 

2. This is the flesh. He's kind of a Jabba the Hut meets WWF wrestler. The Flesh represents the sinful, corrupted desires of our heart. It's not a reference to our bodies—our bodies are created by God and are good. The flesh represents our sinful cravings to live for ourselves and disobey God's laws and commands.

3. Before Jesus saves us, this is how all of us relate to the flesh. The Bible says that we are slaves to our sinful desires. Our flesh is boss. If you're not a Christian, I'm not trying to offend you. I know this isn't a flattering picture of your current condition but it's true of all of us apart from God saving us.

4. This is what happens when we trust in Jesus. Because Jesus died on the cross and conquered sin and rose again, we are freed from the power of sin. It's no longer our boss. See how the chain is broken? And we get clothes, which is really great.

5. But our flesh doesn't disappear. It still hangs around to entice us. After we're Christians, we're no longer slaves to sin, but the flesh can still tempt us. We can choose to give into temptation and indulge the flesh. This is what theologians call "indwelling sin." Jesus broke the power of sin, but we still live with the presence and influence of sinful desires.

6. That's why the Bible is full of encouragement to fight our fleshly desires. We can't live at peace with it. We have to attack it and deny it. (In hindsight, I guess the "sword of the Spirit" would have been a bit more biblical. Oh well.)

7. The problem is that too often Christians make friends with their flesh. In fact they feed their flesh. We give into our sinful desires. We pamper our flesh. We provide it three rounded meals a day with snacks and dessert. We might think that since we've been freed by the cross it's okay to indulge the flesh.

8. But there's a real problem. When we feed the flesh, it grows! And before you know it, the flesh is bigger and stronger than you and starts to push you around.

That's why Paul is telling us in Romans 13 that we need to,

9. Starve our flesh!
That's what we want our flesh to look like. We want the flesh gaunt and feeble.

When Paul says "make no provision for the flesh" he's saying don't feed your sinful desires. Don't do things—don't think things, don't watch things, don't meditate on things—;that strengthen your sinful inclinations.

Romans 13:14 "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."

I like illustration #5, because it seems that's where the problem starts for many believers. After being saved, they become dramatically aware of the 'flesh' but don't seem to understand its seriousness or how to deal with it in practical terms.

@ Poster,

This is a Brilliant and well-rounded illusrtation on what sin (flesh and the devil) can do to us. Its also a very enticing, creative and educating way to evagenlize to others. May God bless you as he lifts your head and places the "stars on your crown". . .

Please, No ROOM for [b]crticism [/b]O!

Peace :-)

@Viaro: LOL thanks! My personal favourites in descending order are #7 and #5 and then #8 (LOL!)

@fellabrims: God bless you too! But I didnt write it, I just picked it off Pastor Joshua Harris' blog at http://www.joshharris.com/2007/02/feeding_the_flesh.php

I want to add that the more reason why 'christians' fine themselves continuing in sin:$:$:$ is because of a lack of faith. Many do not believe that children of God can really live above sin. They spend their life in unbelief and end up defeated.

John 8:34
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Many people don't understand this, they defend themselves by going on at length about original sin and Adam. Wake up Christians.

Thanks, Image123!

fellabrims:

Please, No ROOM for crticism [/b]O!

Aw shucks. There's usually at least one naysayer and I guess in this instance its going to be me  . Now don't get me wrong. Please, I loved the strip. Simple, informative humourous and to the point.

^{But to allege no room for criticism ke? Are we not on NL? and amongst some of the planets most hardened religionists. Here, there is always room for criticism - and of the harshest kind. Just joshing  !}

But seriously, I quite like the cartoon. And I feel most will be able to correctly extrapolate, but I think it is somewhat incomplete.

[b]Galatians 5:16-17
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

Galatians 6:8
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

My point? I don't see the flip side illustrated. Subduing the flesh is only one half of the equation.

God bless
TV

@TV01: The topic is why they find themselves sinning / feeding the flesh. I suggest you may create a new thread for growing in the Spirit

Thanks bro!

I'm all laughsmile. You're welcome.

I feel that No. 4 makes no sense at all.

I do not see that embracing the cross can make any person, or has ever made any person free from fleshly desire.

I doubt altogether if it is really possible in this realm to be completely free from fleshly desire: given that our very hormones are designed by the Creator to crave certain things ad infinitum. But i digress.

The point i really want to make is this: freedom from the things of the world is an individual thing that every person must take a conscious inner spiritual decision on. This decision must be reinforced through meditation and a focus on the immaterial truths of existence.

In this way the puristic Buddhist monk is able to renounce "the flesh" more comprehensively than many a person looking to the Christian cross might ever conceive. A study of the ascetic lifestyle of some of these monks and their focus on spiritual as opposed to material development might make it abundantly clear that freedom from the material cycle does not, and cannot come from clinging to the memory of the execution of a radical jewish carpenter 2000 years ago. That seems to me to be entirely beside the point, aside from reeking extensively of a materialistic and ritualistic mentality that is entirely at odds with genuine spirituality.

The claim may long be made that the "freedom" of which you speak is a "spiritual" thing which can only be understood by "christians" who have the "holy spirit" - i will not counter that save to urge each and every person in his quiet moments to reflect within his soul what spirituality really means, and what it would take to free one's self from the grip of the materialist cycle.

I dare add that whereas No. 7 is how most of us live our lives, all we need to do is adopt No. 6 - fight our desires - and we are sailing home.

This can be acheived by any person of any religious or cultural persuasion: and it is well advised not to be decieved into believing that the battle has been fought for you already as each man must gird his loins and take up his sword to face his fight.

@Deep Sight:

I feel that No. 4 makes no sense at all.

The OP read Why Christians Still Find Themselves Continuously Sinning (illustrated). 

I do not see that embracing the cross can make any person, or has ever made any person free from fleshly desire.

I doubt altogether if it is really possible in this realm to be completely free from fleshly desire: given that our very hormones are designed by the Creator to crave certain things ad infinitum. But i digress.

The point i really want to make is this: freedom from the things of the world is an individual thing that every person must take a conscious inner spiritual decision on. This decision must be reinforced through meditation and a focus on the immaterial truths of existence.

In this way the puristic Buddhist monk is able to renounce "the flesh" more comprehensively than many a person looking to the Christian cross might ever conceive. A study of the ascetic lifestyle of some of these monks and their focus on spiritual as opposed to material development might make it abundantly clear that freedom from the material cycle does not, and cannot come from clinging to the memory of the execution of a radical jewish carpenter 2000 years ago. That seems to me to be entirely beside the point, aside from reeking extensively of a materialistic and ritualistic mentality that is entirely at odds with genuine spirituality.

The claim may long be made that the "freedom" of which you speak is a "spiritual" thing which can only be understood by "christians" who have the "holy spirit" - i will not counter that save to urge each and every person in his quiet moments to reflect within his soul what spirituality really means, and what it would take to free one's self from the grip of the materialist cycle.

Did you REALLY read this:

Mavenb0x:

3. Before Jesus saves us, this is how all of us relate to the flesh. The Bible say[/b]s that we are slaves to our sinful desires. Our flesh is boss. [b]If you're not a Christian, I'm not trying to offend you. I know this isn't a flattering picture of your current condition but it's true of all of us apart from God saving us.

And:

Deep Sight:

I dare add that whereas No. 7 is how most of us live our lives, all we need to do is adopt No. 6 - fight our desires - and we are sailing home.

This can be acheived by any person of any religious or cultural persuasion: and it is well advised not to be decieved into believing that the battle has been fought for you already as each man must gird his loins and take up his sword to face his fight.

All I said is that Christ gives you that initial opportunity before you can then resist the flesh on your own! He validates you for the opportunity by giving you a clean slate to start from, so that you won't begin on the "owing" side.

Just like a genius can gain admission to Harvard, it does not mean he will be the very best of researchers when he gets there: it will afford him a valid chance to use state-of-the-art technology as opposed to someone of the same intelligence who rigs up crude machinery in his backyard and tries to conduct advanced techno-experiments. 

Can anyone show me where I asserted that the battle has been fought for you and you don't need to gird your loins and defend yourself against the flesh? 

Deep Sight, are you seeing invisible posts on this thread? 

I would say d environment,cus dis sometimes influences us more than we can control.But may God help our faith

Can anyone show me where I asserted that the battle has been fought for you and you don't need to gird your loins and defend yourself against the flesh?

I did not say YOU suggested that. I needed to warn against it because i see many many christian friends of mine (not on this forum) who have the "Jesus has done it all" attitude and i think it is a dangerous attitude for a seeker of truth to have.

All I said is that Christ gives you that initial opportunity before you can then resist the flesh on your own! He validates you for the opportunity by giving you a clean slate to start from, so that you won't begin on the "owing" side.

Might i ask: do muslims and buddhists also have this "initial oppurtunity" you are talking about?

What makes you think anybody is on any "owing" side? What substance can you deduce from the legend of Adamic sin?

What gives you the impression that an all-powerful God could not by an act of his WILL, cleanse man of sin? Why do you think he had to come to the world to be murdered for sin to be dealt with? And does it make any sense that he would complete that onerous task (and at some point during the task pray to himself to avert the task) and yet sin still persists: nay - is on the increase in the world today? Did he fail in his mission?

Particularly does it not strike you that the spiritual state of turning away from the flesh, is what was required of man before christ, and is STILL REQUIRED OF MAN TODAY? Thus what did Christ's coming change?

Deep Sight:

I did not say YOU suggested that. I needed to warn against it because i see many many christian friends of mine (not on this forum) who have the "Jesus has done it all" attitude and i think it is a dangerous attitude for a seeker of truth to have.

In the future, I would appreciate clarity about such assertions.

On a discussion thread like this, any response NOT directed at any of the earlier respondents is taken as a point directed at the OP.

-------------------------------------------------------

Deep Sight:

Might i ask: do muslims and buddhists also have this "initial oppurtunity" you are talking about?

Everyone has the initial opportunity, as much as everyone can choose to be a vegetarian is they want, whether they were born into a vegetarian family or not.

Deep Sight:

What makes you think anybody is on any "owing" side? What substance can you deduce from the legend of Adamic sin?

I never mentioned Adamic sin, which I have known you to consider a myth. I mentioned an "owing side" because it is clear to me that human beings have a natural tendency to chaos and evil. If there were no human laws against murder, rap'e and other such stuff, mankind will not be the way we see it today. So you think there's no fundamental human debt that we are owing to the natural order? That's really rich. No wonder dodos are extinct.

Deep Sight:

What gives you the impression that an all-powerful God could not by an act of his WILL, cleanse man of sin? Why do you think he had to come to the world to be murdered for sin to be dealt with? And does it make any sense that he would complete that onerous task (and at some point during the task pray to himself to avert the task) and yet sin still persists: nay - is on the increase in the world today? Did he fail in his mission?

What gives you the impression that an all-powerful God cannot carry out his intents however he pleases, without facing incredible scrutiny from Deep Sight? What other suggestions do you have, what other means would you, if acting on God's behalf, have utilized? And when you have done them, how would you silence people such as Deep Sight who, in the future, think they have better methods than the one rationalized by the greatest mind ever, by the almighty God?

Deep Sight:

Particularly does it not strike you that the spiritual state of turning away from the flesh, is what was required of man before christ, and is STILL REQUIRED OF MAN TODAY? Thus what did Christ's coming change?

This is like saying that no one should be sent to a correctional institute (prisons, etc) after committing a crime because even after they leave the institute, they will still have to abide by the same state laws that they broke before the institute; so nothing will change. Saying that if they could keep the laws before getting busted, then there's no need to go to prison before returning to the same society?
Does that make ANY sense to you?

Mavenb0x:

@TV01: The topic is why they find themselves sinning / feeding the flesh. I suggest you may create a new thread for growing in the Spirit

Thanks bro!

Hmmmm. So because I did'nt proffer a pat on the back or give a resounding thumbs up, I am advised to "waka" in no uncertain terms  . The very merest, non-judgemental of quibbles on what was not even an original piece of work. _{Small mercies I suppose, under a different regime, I'd have had to seek permission to post and then have my submissions vetted .}

I - seemingly mistakenly - assumed starting a thread was to seek/engender dialogue? I suppose there's no point in adding the piece also appears to be incomplete as it doesn't explicitly delineate an end point for this struggle with the flesh. Although it does seem to imply a never ending battle?

Anyway, waka I go. Quietly (I dare say, inroads have been made to "dying to self" ). And I promise I won't make a huge fuss, secretly hoping forumites will laud me, extoll the qualities of my body of work and beseech me to stay. Then stay and post like both the printing press and qwerty are personal patents.

I do apologise - sis'.

God bless
TV

TV01, you are so funny!!! I am laughing like a jennyass pronounced genius right here!

My point was that the topic you are addressing has nothing to do with the topic of the thread. It builds upon it, in truth, which was why I suggested you open a new thread for that. What? Don't tell me you are offended 'cos I have met you on threads like e.g. the "Christian Women Make-up" thread shortly after I joined NL and I saw your posts, you don't strike me that way (I'm good with usernames )

If you check out my posts, I always remind myself not to derail thread titles, and ask lovely people like JeSoul, Ancel and Nuclearboy to keep me in check so I don't go off tangent; and I open new threads to pursue the engendered topic, if necessary. So, saying the same to you is not a big deal IMO. But I apologize if you were offended. Sorry.

Have a great week ahead.

Everyone has the initial opportunity, as much as everyone can choose to be a vegetarian is they want, whether they were born into a vegetarian family or not.

Please clarify what you mean here for me. Does that "initial oppurtunity" only apply to them when they convert to christianity?

Also another question: Were there not persons who were "saved" or "went to heaven" ever before Jesus walked the earth? What does that suggest about the necessity of his sacrifice - or about your claim that it is that sacrifice that "frees" mankind from the flesh?

@ Poster. Thanks for spreading the good news.
Well done. Some pple think they know it all , but dey dont know nothing.
I have learned from this.

Deep Sight:

Please clarify what you mean here for me. Does that "initial oppurtunity" only apply to them when they convert to christianity?

The initial opportunity IS choosing Christ, the same way every criminal goes to prison and they can decide to let the correctional institute change them, or they can just "serve time" and exit the same way. Jesus' coming was like US going to prison, we can come out of prison a changed person, or we can ignore it all. Or like an option to become a vegetarian because you got credible information that all the forms of available meat has been poisoned by some nuclear radioactive mishap. The choice of adhering to the prison teachings OR believing the nuclear news, is available to everybody. What they do with the choice is an entirely definite matter.

Deep Sight:

Also another question: Were there not persons who were "saved" or "went to heaven" ever before Jesus walked the earth? What does that suggest about the necessity of his sacrifice - or about your claim that it is that sacrifice that "frees" mankind from the flesh?

There was nobody saved before Jesus Christ. They were not in heaven before Jesus came. In particular, the holy Jews were in a section of hell called "Abraham's bosom" where the throes of hell could not get to them (see the parable of Lazarus and the rich man). It can be likened to Goshen in Egypt during the 10 plagues in Egypt, they were there but they were holy i.e. untouchable.

I believe every "people" had such a special section, because there were just men like Enoch and Noah and Job who were not Jews.

But even then all of these "holy ones" still had to ACCEPT Christ's Gospel to enter into heaven when the Paradise project ended.

1Pe 4:6  For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

When Jesus died, he told the thief on the cross beside him "You will be with me in paradise today" and that was true because they both went to paradise that day. Three days in paradise, and Jesus overcame the devil and made a mockery of him IN HIS OWN DOMAIN. And then, whoever BELIEVED his gospel the same way YOU have a choice to believe the gospel today, went on into heaven.

There was no human agent in heaven before Christ rose.

The dead received their last opportunity when Christ was about to rise from the dead.

The paradise project is now and forever CLOSED.

All those AFTER Christ died have the same opportunity as those ones because God is Just.

1Pe 4:6  Listen to the Message. It was preached to those believers who are now dead, and yet even though they died (just as all people must), they will still get in on the life that God has given in Jesus.

ssumpta:

@ Poster. Thanks for spreading the good news.
Well done. Some pple think they know it all , but dey dont know nothing.
I have learned from this.

Thanks ssumpta. Im glad you found it useful All credits to Pastor Joshua Harris.

there are too many people that are claiming to be Christians but have the heart of the devil, they are mean, wicked, selfish, greedy and callous.