5)
For if we
have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in
the likeness of his resurrection:
6)
Knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7)
For he that
is dead is freed from sin.
8)
Now if we be
dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
For
the individual looking for an excuse for either not getting saved or staying
saved, one need look no farther than the devil. He and his suggestions are particularly
attractive to those who continue to “dabble” in the flesh after salvation. Of
course, anyone still “alive” to the flesh is “dead” to Christ.
You
see, in the natural sense, one does not marry and continue relationships with
others. If he does, he is an adulterer. In like manner, one who gets saved
(i.e. marries” Christ), yet attempts to live by the dictates of the flesh and
be “alive” to Christ is an adulterer. You see, hearkening to that “first husband”
(the flesh) after salvation can lead only to destruction.
The
people of God must stop minding the flesh and begin to mind the things of God.
After all, it is His things at are to be the focus of our attention. But, flesh
deals with us and therefore, as long as we are consumed with it, we will be
consumed with ourselves.
The
devil has deceived many into believing that what they think, feel, want, or believe actually is important and is to be considered. This
is, perhaps, the last vestige of self man is being forced to abandon. When one
is brought to the point where he understands that his very being is the Lord’s,
to be operated upon as He chooses, he will be able to be actually used of God—and
not just play at it.
For,
you see, we are not saved to deal with anything about ourselves. We are saved
to deal with the truth of the Word of God. And why can’t we deal with what we
think, even if we really are intelligent? Because any
thinking not directed by the Lord (any thinking initiated by us) will be about
us and our interests. Total control is what God is requiring and the
point He intends for us to reach.
Do
you sometimes wonder why your life and that of others seems fraught with
conflict? Check where your interests lie. When one consults his flesh at all,
he will continually encounter conflict, for when one looks at anything through
fleshly eyes, God seems unreasonable. Therefore, nothing about one’s old life
can remain. We must go so far as to put it to death. We can never forget that
the mind of the flesh is “...enmity against” (or, “at odds with”) God.
There
is no doubt that we are involved in a competition: the Lord wants to know to
what we are willing to commit ourselves. Of course, attempting to avoid such a
commitment is popular, today. How do most attempt to avoid it? By changing
“location” which, unfortunately, does not ever change one’s situation.
You
know, as stubborn as we are, the Lord is that much more “stubborn”. He will
have His way and His standard—and that standard is holiness. In resisting Him,
we attempt to fight a battle that we cannot win. Some of us act as if we feel
that living that standard is beyond our means. What we fail to do is to
exercise the power and authority that has already been given to us by God. This
is all that keeps us from victorious living.
Obviously,
some of us do not realize what we are doing to ourselves. One cannot operate
spiritually sometimes and fleshly at other times. You see, the fleshly man
cancels out the spiritual man. And once flesh is loosed, it will take priority
over everything else. But, when it is mortified (killed), then
one becomes concerned solely with pleasing God.
One
who concentrates on his fleshly existence really shortchanges himself, for
there is a greater life awaiting us than this fleshly one.
One becomes alive only through forsaking flesh and comes to know joy only
by making a commitment to serve God.