Human beings are curious creatures by nature. We want to understand the logic and reasoning behind a thing. We want to know the why of a matter. However, motives are difficult to discern without some kind of self-revelation of the doer.
If we don't get an explanation from the doer of an action, then we have no way of truly answering the question. Eyewitnesses can fill us in on the nature of the action, but they can't explain why the action happens. Behavioral analysis may help us speculate on potential reasons why an event has happened, but it doesn't offer definitive answers.
Today 20 children were gunned down, and a county is reeling in shock. The question why is being thrown around, but answers aren't forthcoming. In a tragedy of this kind, there are no satisfactory answer. There is no making peace with a loss of this nature.
Life's have been shattered by this act of savagery. If we knew the reasons for such an attack, it wouldn't satisfy us. There is no making sense of it. The truth of the matter is that a sinful individual has acted out of his sin nature, and the results are devastating.
The human heart can be a savage place. It can be cold and cruel. For these reasons, we need new life on the inside. We can get that life in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Jesus, we can find peace in spite of the cruelties of others.
Showing posts with label Sinful Nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sinful Nature. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Make No Provision for the Flesh
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Rom. 13:14, HCSB).
In this verse, Paul uses the term "flesh" to denote the sinful nature. We may not speak of it as "flesh" or "sinful nature," but we know what he means. There is an internal compulsion that drives us. Usually, it drives us to do the things that we want to do. At other times, it drives us to do things we would rather not do. We call it cravings, addictions, or obsessions. Call it what we will, it is sin seeking to rule our hearts.
It is the same compulsion that compels us to hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off. It drives us to scarf down donuts and Twinkies, when we should be watching our weight. It sabotages our efforts for self-improvement and complicates our relationships. The flesh seeks to keep us in a state of rebellion to the will of God. It seeks to preserve its dominion.
However, as believers we don't live by the flesh. That is to say, we don't live to satisfy our sinful nature. Paul calls us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. It may sound like Paul is comparing Jesus to an article of clothing, but he has something bigger in mind. Jesus acts as a covering for us. He shields us from the wrath of God and God's enemies. He is a refuge, a hiding place.
By faith, we are to cloth ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, just as God clothed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He prepared for them a covering, animal skins that hid their nakedness. In order for their to be a covering, their had to be blood shed. Through Jesus' sacrificial death a covering has been made for humanity. Our sins have been covered by the Lord Jesus Christ.
With that reality in mind, we are called to stop making provisions for our sinful nature. We move the clock away from the bed, so that we have to get up to turn it off (then we don't allow ourselves to go lay back down). We replace the donuts in our shopping cart with apples. We replace the My Name Is Earl marathon with a run on the treadmill, and trade our recliner for an incline press. We set a definite time for prayer and Bible study every morning, and we prepare for it as if we were meeting with royalty or celebrity (because we are really meeting with the High King of Heaven, the Creator and Redeemer of the Universe).
In order to put an end to making provisions for the flesh, we have to stop making and stop accepting excuses for our behaviors. We have to nip that kind of behavior in the bud. Sure there may be things that arise that throw off our lives, but if we have plan in place it is much easier to make the proper adjustments.
It is hard to overcome the desires of the flesh. In fact, we cannot do it alone. That is why Paul compels us to put on Christ. It is only through faith in the gospel that we can succeed. Only by apply the gospel to our lives can we stop providing for the flesh. We may not kill the flesh's desires, but we can keep from feeding it.
In this verse, Paul uses the term "flesh" to denote the sinful nature. We may not speak of it as "flesh" or "sinful nature," but we know what he means. There is an internal compulsion that drives us. Usually, it drives us to do the things that we want to do. At other times, it drives us to do things we would rather not do. We call it cravings, addictions, or obsessions. Call it what we will, it is sin seeking to rule our hearts.
It is the same compulsion that compels us to hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off. It drives us to scarf down donuts and Twinkies, when we should be watching our weight. It sabotages our efforts for self-improvement and complicates our relationships. The flesh seeks to keep us in a state of rebellion to the will of God. It seeks to preserve its dominion.
However, as believers we don't live by the flesh. That is to say, we don't live to satisfy our sinful nature. Paul calls us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. It may sound like Paul is comparing Jesus to an article of clothing, but he has something bigger in mind. Jesus acts as a covering for us. He shields us from the wrath of God and God's enemies. He is a refuge, a hiding place.
By faith, we are to cloth ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, just as God clothed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He prepared for them a covering, animal skins that hid their nakedness. In order for their to be a covering, their had to be blood shed. Through Jesus' sacrificial death a covering has been made for humanity. Our sins have been covered by the Lord Jesus Christ.
With that reality in mind, we are called to stop making provisions for our sinful nature. We move the clock away from the bed, so that we have to get up to turn it off (then we don't allow ourselves to go lay back down). We replace the donuts in our shopping cart with apples. We replace the My Name Is Earl marathon with a run on the treadmill, and trade our recliner for an incline press. We set a definite time for prayer and Bible study every morning, and we prepare for it as if we were meeting with royalty or celebrity (because we are really meeting with the High King of Heaven, the Creator and Redeemer of the Universe).
In order to put an end to making provisions for the flesh, we have to stop making and stop accepting excuses for our behaviors. We have to nip that kind of behavior in the bud. Sure there may be things that arise that throw off our lives, but if we have plan in place it is much easier to make the proper adjustments.
It is hard to overcome the desires of the flesh. In fact, we cannot do it alone. That is why Paul compels us to put on Christ. It is only through faith in the gospel that we can succeed. Only by apply the gospel to our lives can we stop providing for the flesh. We may not kill the flesh's desires, but we can keep from feeding it.
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