Sin Management Never Set Me Free.

Someday when I get my hands on one of those model skeletons that are used in biology or anatomy/ physiology class, I am going to use it for an object lesson about our sin nature being dead. I will drag it out on to the stage, set it up in a chair and tell everyone I dragged in my sin nature here for all of them to see. I will remind them that I had to go dig it up from where Christ was buried. You know it says in Col 2:20 that we all died in Christ and we know that means our original sin nature we were born with due to being good 'ol Adam's descendants.

Then just for kicks I will demonstrate how we do our best to fix up our sinful nature due to a misunderstanding of what it means to live the Christian lifestyle. With all the dramatic flair I can muster up, I will put on a pretty hat to show that I'm renewing my old sin nature so that it will finally understand God's will. Then I will put on pretty scarf or maybe a colorful wrap to show that I need to be clothed in Christ. I'll put on some jewelry to show I'm trying my best to look good to others and to the Father so I can impress Him and maybe some of those blessings I hear about will come my direction. Then the icing on the cake would be some make-up to make my DEAD nature look good to others... See how silly this really is to try to fix our DEAD sin nature.

What does the word say about who we are now? If our sin nature died and was buried with Christ then what happened at our new birth?

It is clear in Roman 6 in the Message Bible about why we use baptism as a public act of our belief in what Christ has done for us.

"That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country.

Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection."

This passage in Romans 4 makes it clear that our New Nature is due to the fact that we BELIEVED that what Christ accomplished to changed us. We have no need to fix up our old dead sinful nature... leave it buried where it belongs.

So what do we do since we still see sin in our lives? We don't want to have sin in our lives since we know it bring painful circumstances and really does not glorify our Father in Heaven. If we don't fix our old sinful nature what do we do to allow the Spirit to live through us?

When I realized that knowing what the Word of God says about me being completely accepted and hidden in Christ and that I died with Him, was buried and rose again to a New Life in HIm. I don't try to fix up my old nature. It says in Romans 1 that grace or the Gospel is the power unto salvation to all who BELIEVE. You may know from previous posts here that salvation or soteria is not just a ticket to heaven but the benefits of our Savior residing inside of us. We are vessels of the Holy Spirit which is Christ's Spirit. We believed in what Christ did for us and that caused us to be saved.

So the same is true of this process that some call sanctification. Sin management NEVER set me free. I tried to beautify my old nature and it never worked. I was only set free by the renewing of my mind and having REVELATION of what Christ did for me. SAVED by GRACE and SANCTIFIED BY GRACE never by my fixing or managing my old nature.

2Peter 1:3 This is about KNOWING His nature and who we are IN CHRIST...

"Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust."