If you’ve been around church teachings for any length of time, you probably are familiar with the words of lament that Paul expressed in Romans 7, talking about how he agrees that God’s law is good, but also recognizes that within his own self (his flesh)… there is ‘no good thing’. We read in those passages (13-21) how he seems to ‘want to do good…but he does not’, and that the ‘evil he doesn’t want to do…he does’…because of the ‘indwelling sin that is in him.’

I only say we are familiar with those words because that is how many people are made to feel better about themselves and their ongoing sin problem…because if Paul continued to live as a ‘sinner’, who were we to think we could do any better? There’s just one problem with that ‘spin’ on scripture- Paul was NOT suggesting that we will continue to live as sinners ‘saved by grace’ as many presume, or that he did himself. Paul was merely expressing rather well, the conflict we all find ourselves in when we hear ‘the law’, and know we are incapable of fulfilling it.

I mean, think about it…if Paul continued to struggle with sin and lived as a ‘chief of sinners’ ( 1 Tim. 1:15), then why bother admonishing us to ‘imitate me as I imitate Christ’; or to ‘follow his example’. (1 Cor. 11:1) His example to what…continue ‘sinning’?.

And what was he implying to suggest that anyone who continues to ‘live according to the flesh nature’…will ‘die’….and ‘not enter the kingdom of heaven’? (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 5:21). It makes no sense to believe that Paul did not overcome that sin nature, which is how the majority in the ‘church’ have been led to believe. In fact, when you read his words there in Romans 7, he identifies the main problem we ALL have to deal with, which is this ‘body of death’, this ‘wretched old man’ (23-24). And he cries out: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

Then he answers his own question (Rom. 7:24)…giving praise and thanks to God Almighty for sending Jesus Christ, our Lord (25). Next, he goes right into to chapter 8 that explains exactly ‘how’…we are set free from this ‘old man’…as the Spirit of God leads us to ‘put it to death’ (8:13). Look what he wrote Gal. 5:24, identifying those who truly ‘belong to Christ’ and what they have done (by the power of God’s Spirit). They have….what ____?

Welcome to the 2nd ‘pillar’ of truth in the outline I have been laying out here for us to review this past week, which I refer to as ‘The Flesh’. As previously mentioned, the core of what all I have spent the past five years addressing, reviewing, pointing out, circling back to address again…all focus on these three areas… that I would submit to anyone who will take the time to study these things out…have been missing in our basic Biblical teachings. They are three specific areas that I believe much ignorance exists when it comes to our understanding of what God is trying to do in us, and yet because of our ignorance, many sincere people have suffered needlessly (Hosea 4:6). The first area we’ve been going over had to do with ‘The Law’.

You and I …and anyone else within earshot of these lessons…are incapable of fulfilling God’s law, which in a nutshell…is summed up to ‘Love Him with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourself’. And the reason we are incapable of living this out is because of this thing we all deal with, which is our ‘flesh nature’, or as many fondly refer to him as…’our old man’. (Rom. 6:6).

Do you know what Jesus came to do through this process of ‘saving’ us? He came to perfect His love in us so that we in turn could go out and ‘do the will of God’ by loving others as He first loved us (Romans 8:29). The ‘goal of all this instructions leads to us loving others from a pure heart’ (1 Tim. 1:5). Who are the ones that Jesus said would ‘see God’ in Matt. 5:8? I’ll save you time and answer that for you: “The pure in heart”.

What are we told in Hebrews 12:14 is the ‘condition’ in which one must be found in in order to ‘see God’? You can look it up but it declares “without holiness…no one will see God”. Guess what true ‘holiness’ is? It’s having one’s heart purified or cleansed, which is what we call being ‘sanctified’ as we are ‘made holy’ and ‘set apart’ by the Spirit of God’s grace and power.

What on earth do you think must have happened to those ‘many’ folks in Matt. 7:22-23 who just ‘assumed’ all was well with their soul/heart, but found out differently? Take a look at Philippians 1:6-11 real quick. Paul expresses confidence that “He who began a good work in us…will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (6). What ‘good work’ do we think Paul was referring to? He then goes on to pray that our “love abounds/increases more”…and that “we may be pure and blameless (without offense) until the day of Christ…”

Care to guess who this work is being completed in? It’s those who have come to Jesus with ALL their hearts, have ‘taken up their cross’ and are being led by God’s Spirit to ‘put to death ALL the deeds of the flesh nature’, which is what true ‘children of God are doing. (Rom. 8:13-14; Gal. 5:24). And IF…we are cooperating with this ‘process’ (Heb. 5:9; Luke 6:46), then we are indeed being ‘conformed to His image/likeness’ (Rom. 8:29). This is how we will be ‘known…by our love for one another’ (John 13:34-35).

Have you ever come across that passage in Revelation 3:1-3, where Jesus is addressing the church at Sardis, telling them: “I know your deeds/works…and that you have a name, or reputation for being ‘alive’, but I say you are dead.” Then, look at vs. 2 , where they are exhorted by Jesus to ‘wake up’, or ‘be watchful…for I have not found your works to be complete, or perfect before God’. “Works”? What ‘works’?

Care to guess how serious He was about this? Look at His follow up warning if they fail to ‘wake up’ and ‘repent’…Jesus tells them that He will ‘come upon you as a thief’ , and that they will ‘not know what hour He will come upon them’. Do I need to remind anyone what a ‘thief’ comes to do? (John 10:10). Does this not sound pretty serious to anyone else…or is it just me?

It seems I read back in an earlier parable told by Jesus, about a bunch of ‘virgins’ who were awaiting the return of the bridegroom…and they got drowsy and ‘fell asleep’. That couldn’t possibly happen to the modern day church today…who claim to be awaiting the return of the bridegroom now, could it? Do yourself a favor and go revisit Matt. 24:36-44, in closing. I still remember being told years ago… that scene describes a how ‘one will be taken and one will be left’…had to do with ‘rapture’. You might want to take your time with that passage as you read through it again; because Jesus is not talking about being carted off to heaven there.

I hope you can join me here tomorrow.