Submitting to God
We are all undergoing a transforming of the
mind (Rom 12:1-2). It’s not easy, is it? If we’re going to live
differently than the world, we must think differently, and that’s
possible only when our minds are renewed by the Spirit of God. First of
all, you and I need to submit ourselves to God. What does that look
like? Instead of thinking only how we can change for God, consider that
our desire to change is from God because God alone gives us the power to
change by His Spirit. James touched on this somewhat when He said that
God can draw near to us only if we humble ourselves (James 4:6), if we
submit to Him so that the Devil will flee us (James 4:7), but we must
have clean hands and a pure heart (James 4:8), meaning that we must
confess our sins to Him (1 John 1:9). We must also submit ourselves to
one another since we are members of the same family (Eph 5:21) and also
submit to those in authority (1 Pet 2:13; Rom 13:1).
Slaves of Christ
Only God can give us the heart operation that is necessary to respond
to Him by taking out our stony hearts and giving us a heart of flesh
(Ezk 36:26) because we can walk with God only if He sends His Spirit to
live within us (Ezk 36:27). It is useless to try and do this in our own
human strength because we just can’t do it (John 15:5). The irony is
that we were once slaves to sin but now have become slaves to Christ (1
Cor 7:22), and being set free from the slavery of sin, we are now slaves
to God (Rom 6:22). When Christ sets us free from the slavery of sin, we
are absolutely free (John 8:36), and it is the truth about the Son of
God that sets us free (John 8:32). As a slave to God, we should seek to
be an obedient slave from the heart (Eph 6:6) and not out of compulsion,
but the danger is that we must not use our freedom from sin and the
penalty of that sin as a cloak to sin (1 Pet 2:16).
Crucifying the Flesh
Paul saw himself as being crucified to his flesh, and it wasn’t really
he who lived any longer, but Christ who lived in him (Gal 2:20) because
the old man is dead. If you are indeed in Christ, your old body and sin
nature were crucified, and now, instead of being a slave to sin, the old
crucified man is gone. Did you not get the obituary notice and miss the
funeral? At that point, the new man or woman in Christ has been freed
from that bondage for good (Rom 6:6). Anyone who claims to belong to
Christ must crucify or put to death the old flesh nature with all of its
passions and desires (Gal 5:24). When someone comes to the door of your
heart seeking the old man or woman, tell them that he or she has been
put to death and that you can’t even take a message for them; the new
resident who lives here is a new creation in Christ (1 Cor 5:17). If
they’re looking for the old man or woman, tell them to visit the
cemetery.
Conclusion
Jesus Christ has set us free from the
bondage of sin. Here is how I would describe how he did it for me: He
sought me, He caught me, He bought me, He taught me how I ought to be.
Nothing about this is from me, but it’s all about He! I am a slave to
Christ; therefore, I must submit to Him since my old man has been
crucified. Does that make sense? I pray it does.
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