Romans 12:2

Sin is not a list of bad actions. It is an industry.

Paul never speaks of it as a slip. He speaks of it as a power with a payroll. "The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23. Wages. It employs. It pays. It has a whole body of operations working inside a man: "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind." Romans 7:23. A law. A system. A supply chain whose only product is death.

And the thing about an industry is that it never sleeps. It doesn't take your rest days off.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴

When we are young in the faith we fight like soldiers. We fast. We pray at midnight. We listen to messages until the phone dies. We are desperate to be free from the thing that keeps besetting us, and God honours it. The chains fall.

Then something subtle happens. Having been delivered, we want a holiday from the disciplines that delivered us. We ease off the Word. Prayer becomes occasional. Feeding becomes grazing. We call it rest, maturity, balance.

It is like a man who was filthy, had a thorough bath, and now reasons that since he is clean he need not bathe again. He wants the one bath to last forever.

Jesus said the opposite. "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." John 13:10. Once-washed, yes. But feet, daily. The world is dusty and you walk in it. Paul calls it "the washing of water by the word." Ephesians 5:26. Washing, present continuous.

𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲

Here is where Romans is unrelenting. "They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit." Romans 8:5. The battle is not won at the point of temptation. It is won at the point of diet. What you mind is what you are feeding, and what you feed grows.

Victory is not achieved by struggling harder against sin but by living from another Life, and that Life is sustained only by continually drawing on Christ. The flesh cannot be improved. It can only be starved while the Spirit is fed. "Make not provision for the flesh." Romans 13:14. Don't stock its pantry.

And Psalm 8:2 is the hidden key. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger." Strength to silence the enemy is ordained from the mouths of sucklings, the ones still feeding. Not the mature who stopped nursing. The strength is in the mouth that is still at the breast.

Stop sucking, and the avenger speaks again.

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘆

This is the part that exposes us. Many people want to be free from sin, but not for God's reasons.

A man will fight masturbation because it is shameful, dirty, something he'd never confess aloud. He'll hate pornography because it makes him feel small. Good. But that same man feels nothing about his pride. Nothing about ambition that quietly dethrones God. Nothing about the gossip, the cutting tongue, the love of money, the unforgiveness towards a brother. Those feel natural. Normal. Sometimes morally respectable.

That is not hatred of sin. That is hatred of shame. He is not offended that sin grieves God. He is offended that it embarrasses him.

True repentance hates sin because of Whom it offends, not because of how it looks. "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned." Psalm 51:4. David's adultery and his murder were equally against God, though one was more scandalous.

𝗡𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁

There is no level of growth, no title, no anointing, no years in the faith where the little besetting things cannot trap a man again. "The sin which doth so easily beset us." Hebrews 12:1. Easily. Not for beginners. For runners. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12

The moment the dutiful attention to the soul is taken for granted, the moment feeding stops, the industry resumes production. It never closed. It was only starved.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀?

Only those who take up the discipline of living the life daily, who adopt the culture and the art of purifying themselves unto holiness, maintain a healthy spiritual life. "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself." 1 John 3:3. Present tense. A culture, not an event.

Reckon yourself dead to sin daily. Romans 6:11.
 Mind the Spirit daily. Romans 8:5.
 Renew the mind daily. Romans 12:2.
 Make no provision daily. Romans 13:14.
 Wash the feet daily. John 13:10.

You did not bath once. You will not feed once.

The enemy is still waiting for the day you stop sucking.

Don't give him the day.

#Faith #Holiness #Romans #SpiritualDiscipline

How does a man who is easily offended become quite peaceable?
How does a man who is prone to speaking hurtful words become one who speaks gracious and uplifting words?
How does a man who once struggled with anger, pride, impatience, or selfishness become gentle, patient, and full of love?

First, he believes that he can change because Christ has made provision for his transformation. He must first believe that he is not condemned to remain the way he is. In Christ, he has become a new creation:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17

The new birth gives him a new life, but he must yield himself to the work of the Holy Spirit. Transformation comes as his mind is renewed by the Word of God:

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” — Romans 12:2

So, the easily offended man begins to learn how to bear with others and forgive:

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another…” — Colossians 3:13

The man who once spoke hurtful words learns to submit his tongue to the government of the Spirit:

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying…” — Ephesians 4:29

The angry man learns that God’s way is not to give free expression to his anger:

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” — James 1:19

And the man who once reacted according to his flesh learns to walk in the Spirit:

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” — Galatians 5:16

But believing he can change is only the beginning. He must submit himself to the dealings of God. He allows the Word to expose what is wrong in him, and rather than defend himself, he receives correction and yields to the Holy Spirit.

A man changes when he stops merely trying to appear better and begins to allow Christ to be formed in him:

“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” — Galatians 4:19

This transformation happens little by little, through obedience, choosing the way of Christ even when the flesh wants its own way.

Ultimately, a man changes as he continually beholds Christ, receives His Word, and cooperates with the work of the Holy Spirit:

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image…” — 2 Corinthians 3:18

The goal is not simply to become a “better person.” The goal is that Christ is formed in the man, until his words, reactions, relationships, and decisions begin to reveal the nature of the One who lives in him.

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” — Philippians 2:13

A man begins to change when he believes God can change him, submits to God’s dealings, renews his mind with the Word, walks in the Spirit, and continually beholds Christ. The life of Christ in him will eventually become evident in the character he expresses.