10 Practical Tips For Overcoming The Works Of The Flesh.

Overcoming the works of the flesh Galatians 5:19-21 talks about can be a challenge indeed and many Christians struggle with this very same problem.

But this post today will give you the 10 practical biblical tips you must implement in your life if you want to overcome the flesh once and for all.

Without wasting much of your practical time, let’s look at the 10 tips that will help you in overcoming the works of the flesh wreaking havoc in your Christian life once and for all.

What Are Works Of The Flesh?

The works of the flesh are simply evil fruits our sinful flesh produces such as fornication, witchcraft adultery, murder and so on Galatians 5:19-21 speaks about that come from our fallen sinful nature.

Since our flesh is fallen, it naturally desires to do evil things that the above verses talk about which are opposite to the fruits of the Holy Spirit found in verses 22 and 23 of the above-mentioned chapter.

Therefore, all the moral and sexual perversion you are seeing in society especially in the times we are living in are just the manifestations of the works of our fallen sinful flesh which is controlling many lives.

10 Effective Ways Of Overcoming The Flesh.

Below are the 10 effective ways that will help you overcome the flesh that’ leading you into sin and various sinful addictions you may be wrestling against.

Be Born Again.
Pray Daily.
Read God’s Word Daily.
Flee Youthful Lusts.
Live Godly.
Stop Living In Willful Sin.
Be Sanctified.
Guard Your Heart.
Revive Your Faith.
Abstain From Evil Appearances.

1. Be Born Again.

One of the very first steps you must take in overcoming the works of the flesh that are wreaking havoc in your Christian life or life, in general, is to ensure that you are truly born again.

The reason for this is that when you become truly born again, you receive the new nature of Jesus Christ that will help you overcome the flesh and its sinful desires (Galatians 5:16).

And since we are all born with a sinful nature, it’s the reason why our sinful flesh will naturally desire to do evil things such as sexual immorality, drunkenness and so on due to the old nature of sin active in you.

But when you become born again, that old nature of sin that makes you lust and want to fulfil the sinful desires of the flesh is done away with and replaced with the new man or new nature of Christ Jesus that makes you desire righteousness.

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2. Pray Daily.

Another thing you need to do if you want to overcome the flesh in your life that’s leading you into various sins such as sexual sin which is common among many young people today is pray.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we don’t war against flesh and blood but principalities and spiritual forces of wickedness in high places and since overcoming the works of the flesh is a spiritual battle, you need to have an active prayer life.

Prayer is among the most formidable spiritual weapons you have at your disposal as a Christian and you need to make good use of it by praying daily because the battle of overcoming the flesh and its lustful sinful desires is a spiritual warfare and not a carnal one.

So, if you are struggling with various sins of the flesh such as sexual immorality, evil immoral thoughts, fornication and so on, prayer combined with faith is all you need.

3. Read God’s Word Daily.

Reading God’s word is also crucial if you want to overcome the works of the flesh you may be struggling with as it’s among one of the most important spiritual weapons in your Christian armoury.

If you don’t read God’s word daily, you will be weak spiritually and you will be easy prey to Satan’s temptations which come in various forms that will entice you to desire to sin.

No wonder the Psalmist David said in Psalms 119:11 that he has hidden the word of the Lord in his heart so that he might not sin and many believers today struggle with various sins because they don’t spend enough quality time to equip their spirit man with God’s word.

Remember, our Lord Jesus Christ as we see in Luke 4:1-13 was able to overcome temptations from Satan by quoting God’s word which was in His heart and that same applies to you as well if you want to overcome the sinful temptations of the flesh, fill your heart with God’s word.

4. Flee Youthful Lusts.

Another important thing you must do in your Christian life, you need to flee youthful lusts which come in many forms such as the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life 1 John 2:16 talks about.

Many people including many believers are unable to overcome the evil desires of their sinful flesh because they are not fleeing youthful lusts and pursuing righteousness but desire to do those very lusts to fulfil their fleshy desires.

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:22 that we must flee all youthful lusts and pursue righteousness. Sadly, this godly advice from the above verse has been ignored by many which are why sexual immorality is rampant in many young people and believers of this current generation we live in.

If you don’t flee various youthful lust rampant in our current generation especially among young people such as immorality, fornication, drunkenness and so on, forget about overcoming the works of the flesh in your life.

5. Live Godly.

You need to desire and aspire to live a godly life if you want to be victorious over the flesh which just brings spiritual death to all those who live according to the flesh and not the Spirit.

Many believers today are not interested in living a godly life of holiness that will empower them to overcome the lust of the flesh such as sexual sin or fornication which is now commonplace today among many young people.

Instead, we now have the very people who claim to be believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ but indulge in various lusts of the flesh such as sexual immorality drunkenness, witchcraft and many other works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21.

So, if you want to overcome the flesh, you need to start living a godly life that’s above sin and if you are struggling with that, all you need is to ask for God’s grace to help you be victorious over the flesh and commit yourself to not fulfilling the evil desires of the flesh.

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6. Stop Living In Willful Sin.

If you want to stop living in sin, then you need to repent because true repentance means turning away from sin which is the first step in overcoming the sinful desires of the flesh that come with our sinful nature (Acts 26:20).

Once you turn away from sin then you can flee from it. In 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Paul says that we should run away from immorality because our bodies are temples of God where His Holy Spirit dwells.

Many believers today have difficulties in overcoming the flesh because there are still living in willful sin in one way or the other which they are still clinging on to or are unwilling to turn away from.

And these willful sins many cling on to maybe drunkenness, sexual immorality, witchcraft etc. but if you are serious in desiring to overcome the flesh, willful sin must be eradicated in your life.

7. Be Sanctified.

Sanctification is also crucial in your Christian life as a believer if you desire to overcome the flesh and any evil lust you may be struggling with within your heart.

To be sanctified simply means to be made holy and set apart for God which is done by the inward removal of the Adamic sinful nature we are all born with and this is done by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit as we see in Titus 3:5-7.

Without sanctification, you will struggle big time dear in overcoming the various sinful lusts of your sinful flesh that have bogged your Christian life down.

No wonder Leviticus 20:7,8 tells us that we must sanctify ourselves and be holy because He who has called us is holy so that we can be set apart for Him only. Only then, will you find it easy to overcome your sinful flesh and its evil desires.

8. Guard Your Heart.

Guarding your heart diligently as Proverbs 4:23 instructs us is crucial in overcoming the works of the flesh because it’s from the heart all issues of life come from whether good or evil.

And Jesus Christ goes on further to say in Matthews 15:19 that it’s out of the heart all manner of evil desires of the flesh such as fornication, murder, adultery and son which defile a person.

This is why you need to guard your heart desires so that they conform to God’s word and not just blindly follow the desires of our hearts as our heart can deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9).

If you are not guarding your heart, you will end up fulfilling its sinful desires which come as a result of the inherently evil nature of our hearts. All the evil and immorality you see now is a result of people not guarding their hearts diligently and making them subject to God’s word.

9. Revive Your Faith.

If you are to be victorious over the flesh, faith is also another crucial component you need in your life as a believer as without faith, we can’t please God nor can we receive anything from Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Remember dear saint that faith has the power to move mountains which is why our Lord Jesus Christ said in Luke 17:6 that if our faith is like a mustard seed, no mountain will be impossible for us to move and overcome.

And spiritual mountains come in various forms and one of them is the flesh. You must know that our sinful flesh is a formidable mountain we need to overcome as it’s the one responsible for us doing sinful and evil things that don’t please the Lord.

So if you are struggling with sexual lust which has led you into sexual immorality many times, you can overcome it today only if you have faith and resolve that you no longer want any lust in your life leading you into sexual sin and other moral perversions of the flesh.

10. Abstain From Evil Appearances.

Last but not least, you need to abstain from all appearances of evil as the apostle Paul instructs in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 which sadly most people who claim to be believers don’t do.

Not abstaining from all evil appearances that are everywhere be it on the internet or T.V gives provision for our sinful flesh to desire sin which the above verse discourages us to do.

Many Christians wonder why it’s difficult to overcome the sin they are struggling with be it fornication and the like but on the other hand, these very same people don’t make an effort to abstain and keep their eyes from all evil appearances they see on T.V or internet.

And this is the reason why many people including Christians struggle with pornography as they have not disciplined their eyes from watching such dirt on their phones or PCs but if you want the flesh not to overcome you, abstinence from all evil appearances is the solution, dear.

Conclusion.

I hope the above 10 tips for overcoming the works of the flesh will now help you have victory over the flesh and its sinful desires. In closing, if you found this post helpful and edifying, let me know in the comments below along with any questions you may have on what you have just read. Stay blessed and don’t forget to share.

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2 thoughts on “10 Practical Tips For Overcoming The Works Of The Flesh.”

Apetet leah

January 26, 2024 at 3:28 pm

thank you so much for a wonderful message it will help me and the enter Christian family bcoz I will make sure I make the same message known to them
- Samuel
  
  January 26, 2024 at 6:16 pm
  
  You are most welcome dear sis and glad you found this post a blessing to you. God bless.