Make No Provision for the Flesh

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

In this verse, Paul uses the term "flesh" to denote the sinful nature. We may not speak of it as "flesh" or "sinful nature," but we know what he means.  There is an internal compulsion that drives us. Usually, it drives us to do the things that we want to do.  At other times, it drives us to do things we would rather not do. We call it cravings, addictions, or obsessions.  Call it what we will, it is sin seeking to rule our hearts.

It is the same compulsion that compels us to hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off. It drives us to scarf down donuts and Twinkies, when we should be watching our weight. It sabotages our efforts for self-improvement and complicates our relationships. The flesh seeks to keep us in a state of rebellion to the will of God. It seeks to preserve its dominion.

However, as believers we don't live by the flesh.  That is to say, we don't live to satisfy our sinful nature. Paul calls us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. It may sound like Paul is comparing Jesus to an article of clothing, but he has something bigger in mind. Jesus acts as a covering for us. He shields us from the wrath of God and God's enemies.  He is a refuge, a hiding place.

By faith, we are to cloth ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, just as God clothed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  He prepared for them a covering, animal skins that hid their nakedness. In order for their to be a covering, their had to be blood shed. Through Jesus' sacrificial death a covering has been made for humanity. Our sins have been covered by the Lord Jesus Christ.

With that reality in mind, we are called to stop making provisions for our sinful nature. We move the clock away from the bed, so that we have to get up to turn it off (then we don't allow ourselves to go lay back down).  We replace the donuts in our shopping cart with apples. We replace the My Name Is Earl marathon with a run on the treadmill, and trade our recliner for an incline press. We set a definite time for prayer and Bible study every morning, and we prepare for it as if we were meeting with royalty or celebrity (because we are really meeting with the High King of Heaven, the Creator and Redeemer of the Universe).

In order to put an end to making provisions for the flesh, we have to stop making and stop accepting excuses for our behaviors. We have to nip that kind of behavior in the bud. Sure there may be things that arise that throw off our lives, but if we have plan in place it is much easier to make the proper adjustments.

It is hard to overcome the desires of the flesh.  In fact, we cannot do it alone.  That is why Paul compels us to put on Christ. It is only through faith in the gospel that we can succeed. Only by apply the gospel to our lives can we stop providing for the flesh.  We may not kill the flesh's desires, but we can keep from feeding it.