Dailyword August 27,2014 (Rom. 6:12–13).let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of Righteousness unto God Sin as a principle of evil dwells in the Christian’s mortal body in the sense of the sin nature; but it is not to reign there; it is, in fact, to be dormant. If Sanctification were based upon the principle of law-obedience, i.e., upon works, it would be impossible to escape from the lawful dominion of the sin nature, because a perfect obedience to Divine Law on the part of man is impossible. But being based upon the opposite principle of Grace, liberation from the power and dominion of sin as a Master is secured and may be enjoyed on a constant basis. No! We are not teaching sinless perfection, because the Bible does not teach such. But we are teaching victory over sin, and in every capacity. Under Law, sin has a dominion, but it has no dominion under Grace. These are two totally independent realms. The Believer actually has three natures. They are: 1. The Human Nature. 2. The Sin Nature. 3. The Divine Nature (II Pet. 1:4). The human nature of the Believer is either controlled by the sin nature or by the Divine nature. Within itself, the human body is neutral. It is neither holy nor evil. If the Believer is totally trusting Christ and what Christ did at the Cross, doing so on an unending basis, this means the sin nature is dormant, and the Believer can then yield the members of his physical body as “instruments of Righteousness unto God.” It’s just that simple! However, if the faith of the Believer is in something other than Christ and the Cross, then the sin nature is in control, and the Believer will be forced, despite all of his efforts otherwise, to yield his “members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin.” It comes as a shock to most Believers when they are told that Satan can override their will, that is, if their Faith is in anything except Christ and the Cross. The reason is simple: The Holy Spirit is God. As such, He can do anything; however, He will not go against His Own nature. In other words, the Holy Spirit will not force Satan out of the way if our Faith is in anything other than the Cross of Christ (Rom. 8:2). In the Bible, we aren’t told to fight against sin. If we are struggling with sin, this means that our Faith is not properly placed in Christ and His Finished Work. While the Christian experience definitely entails a struggle, the struggle is to be in the arena of Faith. Paul told us to “fight the good fight of faith” (I Tim. 6:12). The disobedience of the First Man, Adam, assured death for all men, and the obedience of the Second Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, secured life for all men, at least all who will believe. That is, all the sons of the First Adam, by reason of their relationship to him and because they possess his sinful nature, stand in death, and all the sons of the Last Adam, in virtue of their relationship to Him, because they possess His Spirit, stand in life. In that “Life,” the Holy Spirit works. Faith alone on our part, which means Faith in Christ and the Cross, guarantees His participation. Only then will the sin nature no longer rule and reign in your mortal body. Without proper Faith in Christ and the Cross, the Believer is forced to “obey sin in the lusts thereof.” Proper faith guarantees obedience to Righteousness!
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 12:51:02 +0000
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