10/08/2020
The sins of the world; when we come to know Jesus do we rid ourselves of them entirely, or just place them in a storage closet? Are we like a hoarder who has no further use for something, yet can’t quite bring himself to let go of it? Or, are we truly transformed, and ready to crucify the old nature; and the possessions of the sinful life we once lived? Many of us let go of the outward evidence of our sin, while still allowing the memory, and temptation of it to live on. So let’s ask ourselves to honestly answer this one question... “Have I put to death my old sinful life, and allowed it to crucify me?”
“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Galatians 6:14 ESV
It is easy to say that our old life is dead to us, and we can even fool ourselves into believing that we have accomplished this by simply turning a blind eye to that past existence, but until we learn to crucify who we once were, and rise again as a new person, then we are just suppressing a portion of who we still are. We haven’t actually died. There is a litmus test regarding how successful we have been in crucifying the old person in us... We are spiritually like anyone who has physically died, we can’t bury ourselves... someone else must do that for us, and in our spiritual death it is Jesus... He buries the old man we once were in Himself. When we can honestly say that our life is hidden in Christ then the old worldly person is dead.
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Colossians 3:2-3 ESV
When we are buried in this spiritual way, then our outward self will reveal the fruit of that inward crucifixion. Once we have died to sin, and been buried in Jesus, then we will awaken as a new person, and suddenly the worldly things that were impossible for us to let go of are easily shed.
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV
Sin, by its very nature, is gratifying. By that I mean that no one would do those things unless they found them to be pleasing, or find something in them that makes their life easy, bearable, or profitable. Oh, sins have a physical dark side, like the addicts tremors and failed life, or the glutton’s clogged arteries, but the initial allure of sin is pleasant. That is Satan’s subtle lie at work. The pleasant part of our old sinful life is what we are so reluctant to let go of, and this is what we put up on the shelf, and hoard. No addict takes that next pill or drinks the next glass of alcohol so that they will destroy their liver, or ruin their family... they drink to find pleasure, or tolerance... at least until they reach the point where the pain of delirium tremors and withdrawal makes it impossible to stop. The pain and negative portions of sin often lead people to their initial faith in Jesus, but unless they lean on Jesus, and crucify the old person, then the temptation of why they initially sinned will keep calling to them back.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 ESV
So, how did we answer the question that we posed to ourselves...” Have I put to death my old sinful life, and allowed it to crucify me?” are we free at last from the portion of sin we placed on the shelf, and that has called to us?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, His crucifixion, resurrection, and our cross that He told us to pick up when He first invited us to follow Him. Help us Lord to crucify every scrap and vestige of sin that we once carried, and give us the strength of faith needed to resist hoarding the memories of past sin that once appealed to us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who saved us through the redemptive power of Jesus, and for adding enough misery to our sin to lead us away from it, and back to you. Praised be your name Father for your mercy, and grace. We praise you for your patience as you wait on us to crucify our old person... complete with its lingering memory. Great are you who strengthens us, and allows us to lean on you as we learn to love you with all our heart, soul, mind and the bolstered strength you have provided. Hear our prayers of contrition Holy Father, and see us standing before you washed clean by the blood of Christ, and made pure by His crucifixion. Look upon us Lord, and see new sons and daughters worshipping you, and pleading for your forgiveness from our sin, and the hoarded memories that once lingered; then welcome us home, forevermore.
Rich Forbes