Because of the sin of one man, Adam, all mankind was sold into bondage to sin, (Romans 7:14); and having been sold into bondage to sin, we are incapable of overcoming it, as Paul says, “For the good that I wish, I do not; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish,” and then he says, “But if I am doing the very thing that I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good,” (vs. 19-21). In these verses of Scripture, we find there is nothing we can do to contain the sin within us; it is beyond our control. We wish to do good, only to end up doing the things we don’t wish to do. In and of ourselves we are absolutely helpless; we cannot overcome our sinfulness.
In Psalm 51 David says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin, my mother conceived me.” When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were no longer in the pure image of God in which they were created; that image had been stained, and sin dwelt within them from that day forward. As a result, every descendant of Adam is born with sin in them, because they were conceived after Adam and Eve became sinful beings; and the minds of all mankind have been dominated by the flesh and have been hostile to God throughout history, Romans 8:7. “Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…” Romans 5:12.
In Romans 7:24-25 Paul continues, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” and, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
In Romans 8:1-4 he continues, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Jesus became sin for us so that the sin we inherited from Adam might be done away with so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
In Romans 6:6-7 Paul says, “…knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” And in verses 17-18 he says, “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
According to these Scriptures, there is only one way to be freed from our carnality and sinfulness, and that is to believe in the Son of God, that He is the Savior of your spirit, mind, soul, and body, and offer all four to Him as a living sacrifice, as vessels of righteousness. Our body of sin was crucified with Him, resulting in our release from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and of death. Have faith in Jesus; He is a complete Savior, and we are saved to the uttermost.
We were crucified with our Lord Jesus Christ, my friends, and our sins were forgiven, and the sin that dwelt within us was on the cross with Him. We are now to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him, walking by faith in Him, not according to the flesh as we once did, but according to the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law,” (Romans 5:16-18). “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh,” (Galatians 5:16). As we abide in Jesus we find there is no sin in Him, 1 John 3:5.
Never entertain impure thoughts, praise the Lord instead; submit to Him and He will deliver you because of your faith in Jesus. Our God is good, and His mercies are new every morning.
Please weigh everything I say on the scales of the word of God.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
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