Jesus asked a Pharisee
in the crowd a question once, “Why do you entertain evil in your heart?” Do
you? Doesn't everybody? Most do at one point in time. Why do we cater to what
we are supposed to put to death? It’s our nature or at least the old one. It’s
that pesky sin nature thing. We’re dragging around an old stinky body and it
just hangs on! I heard a teacher say it was an old Roman punishment. What? “Sentence:
you are hereby sentenced to be handcuffed a dead body for life.” Did they
really handcuff a prisoner to a dead body? It’s a good illustration. Perhaps that’s
how we feel or seem to be, especially if we have a, I shutter to say, a “besetting
sin.” Yet, it appears to be a pastoral urban legend. Yes, they fall prey to
those too. Stories to prove points oft’ fail upon any research. Even so, we
feel that way! Until death we have two natures, the one fed grows. We've heard
that I suppose, yet it’s true. Experience will prove it out. Why would you want
to starve the life given from your Savior?
“ Those
who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;
but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what
the Spirit desires. The
mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed
by the Spirit is life and
peace. The
mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to
God’s law, nor can it do so. Those
who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
You,
however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm
of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not
have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in
you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the
Spirit gives life
because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of
him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he
who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives
in you.”
Roman 8:5-11 NIV
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