How much of who you are do you want to be?
Nearly all of us want to be more, whether it be by learning or the accumulation of experiences, we want to increase who we are, but just how much of you do you want to get rid of? Another line from an old song, “I love my life, but I hate my taste.”
There is a duality in all of us, but for the born-again believer that “other side of us,” the old man (Eph. 4:22) is more than distasteful to us, it is despised, and yet, because of our duality, we still desire that which we do not want at times.
Much of this can be attributed, to a degree, by how we were raised, those that led us in our youth. The moral construct, or lack of it, brings with it a receptive nature to that which is wicked, no matter how pure and clean it may seem, if it is of the world, it is not of Christ. If the leader is corrupt, the followers will be corrupt. “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” (Matt. 7:18) For those who are raised in a home that is filled with the love and obedience of and to Christ, there comes a time, different for each, when our cognitive thoughts begin to go their own way, and since we live in a sinful world, the nature of sinful man is to emulate, or at least desire those things of the world that are against the will and Word of God.
How much of that temptation that we act upon is the amount of ourselves that we will not want to be.
This is the pull of the world of Satan, and it is strong indeed. It brings to truth 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” And echoes the words of the Holy Spirit through Paul, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19)
There is a continuous, lifelong battle that we fight, and although we have the strength of the Holy Spirit enabling us to wage this battle, ultimately, we are the ones that must decide just how much of the battle we will engage ourselves in. To die to self, (Gal. 2:20) means to attempt to forcibly kill that which is dishonoring to the Lord within us, and herein is the beginning of the path of works, both for the right and wrong reasons.
Denial, guilt and fear are the statutes placed before religious men by religious organizations, denial, for that is the path that is pleasing to God, so they teach, guilt, for that is the catalyst they proclaim that enables the so-called man of God to interpret properly how he should feel when he succumbs to those temptations, and fear, for the vengeance and wrath of God will fall upon all those who disobey the Lord Most High.
Those who have been crucified with Christ fall for none of those tricks of the adversary, they do not do those things that they want to do because of these reasons, but only because of He who first loved us. (1 John 4:19) There are many who call themselves after the name of Christ who are attempting to “pay Him back” for what He did for us on the cross, they believe that the works they do in this regard are pleasing to the Lord, it is indeed a great deception. What they have missed is 1 Samuel 15:22, “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
To those of you who are living, as best as is within you, a life of obedience to the Word of God, that obedience is what will destroy, at least as much as is possible in this life, the old man inside of you. The works that are done through us, not by us, are the fruits that are produced by the Lord, all that we attempt to do to kill that old nature, to appease the Lord, or seek His favor, are nothing more than filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) It is by our obedience that we are drawn closer to Him, and further away from that within ourselves that we detest.
