Although we can give way to the flesh and not fight the good fight at times to overcome the flesh by the Spirit, these should not be a bondage because the bondage of sin was removed/broken at regeneration. We are no longer slaves to sin. With the Holy Spirit within us, sin no longer will reign in our bodies but that doesn't mean it will quit trying to reign. Yes, we need the continued grace of God, the overcoming power over sin. This is called the filling of the Holy Spirit or coming under the Spirit's influence. If we pursue this on-going filling or on-going yielding to the Spirit's control, we will not give way to the flesh and suffer from sin's on-going consequences.Josh wrote:The unforgiving servant got turned over to the tormenters, who will not let him out until he pays the very last cent.
I don't think unforgiveness and resentment are things we can tolerate in our lives. We must seek Jesus' grace continuously to be healed of this sin and set free from this bondage.
Whoops, see you have a new post - I agree it is a combined work of the Spirit and our resolve to deal with sins and sometimes fleeing is the right response. Giving something up entirely may be another right response. And there may become a time in our Christian growth where we may no longer need to flee that area of sin anymore. I agree that giving the Spirit a chance to do His part in overcoming sin is important. He wants us to become like Jesus and continues to point us to Jesus. I think most of my failures was not relying enough on Him but rather on my own resolve. We need both.