I Like Big Buts

Galatians 5 says, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh , for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing these things you want to do." 

That's definitely not encouraging. I'm a human, so I'll want to do human things & not what God wants me to do. Luckily it doesn't stop there.

"BUT if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Okay, we solved the first problem. If give up my selfish desires and allow myself to be led by the Spirit, I'll do what God wants me to do. But that doesn't mean that I stop sinning all together. Paul lays out a list of some human sins. While some of these we consider to be "big" sins, some of them we deal with every day. People who are involved in these sins won't be in heaven. That seems kind of harsh, especially since we all sin. Once again, things turn around in our favor.

"BUT the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

If we give our lives to Christ we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit doesn't eliminate sin, but it fills us with qualities that are supernaturally holy. Belonging to Christ means that we have killed our old life of sin and are living a new life in him.  We slip up and sin constantly BUT the Holy Spirit gives us the ability and desire to glorify God in all things. We are humans that crave sin and its fatal consequences BUT Christ came to the earth and died in our place. We deserve to face God's wrath BUT his grace and mercy cover our shortcomings and we receive his glorious blessings instead.