Bible Study: Matthew 5:29-30 "The Sin Nature"
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Posted By: Branden Jones on August 05, 2008 Bible Study: Matthew 5:29-30 “29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matthew 5:29-30 Jesus is professing the need for the individual to address the root of the problem of sin. Of course, he is using a physical example with the body, but he is truly addressing the sin nature. The sin nature is the root cause of acts of sin. It is in us; an inherent nature or bent toward evil and wrongdoing. Satan’s mark on humanity, passed down from Adam to every generation thereafter. The world does not understand the sin nature, as it has tried throughout history to try to overcome the problem by either denying its existence, or seeking after religion, philosophy, and/or psychology to rationalize behavior or attempt to overcome its effects. None of these can clear the conscience of man about his sin. Only the blood of Jesus Christ, the power of God, can do it. Many Christians don’t understand that after conversion, being born again, the sin nature still exists. And the believer must ever keep his faith and trust in Christ and the cross, where this problem was addressed, in order to live victoriously over sin. Many preachers have tried to attribute the struggle with sin to many different things, or else they address the problem of sin erroneously. Here are just a few examples and the truth behind them: 1) Demon possession: “You need the demons cast out of you.” Many try to make it seem as though, now that a believer is born again, saved by faith in Christ, that individual must now have demons cast out of them. Jesus says “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32 And further, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 The former tells us how a person is set free from the bondage of sin---KNOWING THE TRUTH; Not casting out demons. What is the truth? Christ crucified--- the answer to the man’s sin problem. Can a Christian be demon possessed? No. After being born again, that individual belongs to Christ and has His Spirit. Christians can be demon oppressed, meaning influenced from the outside. Demon spirits are behind depression, false doctrines and heresies, divisions, homosexuality, etc. They can have influence in a Christian’s life, but they cannot possess them. Furthermore, demons cannot influence the Holy Spirit, but are subject to Him. Therefore, when we submit to God, by simply trusting in Christ and the cross, we will be victorious over them. 2) Accountability- “You need to be accountable to somebody,” someone will say to a Christian who is struggling with lust. I once heard a young minister badgering the members of a cell group telling them that lust will send them to hell (them being saved). And as if this wasn’t bad enough, he then turned around and told them that they needed to be accountable to someone, namely himself and the other members of the cell, in order to overcome the problem. Now, we know that lusting after anything can lead into sin; but the answer is not accountability to someone. That puts MEN in the place of the Holy Spirit, who ALONE can give person victory over sin. The scripture that is often used to justify accountability is James 5:16, which says “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” Let’s explain this scripture in proper context: Isaiah prophecies that “by his [Jesus] stripes we are healed.” So the former must refer to another type of healing. That healing is among the brethren, not between God and man. If I do wrong to someone, the Holy Spirit will convict me to repent to that person, that we may continue if the fellowship of the faith of our Lord. We ought to be healed in the Lord among one another, not holding grudges and doing evil to one another. Our love for one another is a demonstration of our faith, and a testimony to the world. The sin nature still abides a born-again believer, even one who is Spirit-filled. The presence of sin will not cease to exist until we have been given our glorified body at the resurrection/rapture. Our only hope for victory over sin is the power of the God (the Holy Spirit). “For the LAW of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the LAW of sin and death.” What is the Law of sin? As long as you are under sin, sin and Satan have the legal right to rule you. And “the soul that sins shall die.” What is the law of the Spirit of life? If the sinner looks to Christ and what he did at the cross, the Holy Spirit can give life and victory because of the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. Man does not need to be accountable to anyone accept the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the one to whom we submit. Many individuals, who have been under the guise of accountability, are bound to have to attend meeting after meeting, some to the destruction of their work and family life. 3) The Covering- “Who is your covering?” This one often is tied to the doctrine of accountability. People often refer to a particular pastor or cell group “leader” as the spiritual covering for an individual or body of believers. This is nothing more than egotistical and self-righteous positioning on the side of the “leader,” and slavish ignorance on the part of the followers. The covering is JESUS CHRIST. I need no man to cover me. Only the blood can do that. Furthermore, the Bible says “the Holy Spirit will teach you all things.” This doesn’t rule out the Five-Fold ministry of the Apostle, Evangelist, Prophet, Pastor, and Teacher; but the ministry is implemented to teach people HOW to live for God, and build them up in the faith, that they may learn how to walk with him, and hear from him. We don’t preach to be someone’s covering, but to teach the believers about the ONE who is. And any leader who wants to be contentious about this is vain and conceited in himself. NO MAN is above the Word of God. NO MAN is the “covering” of another. Period. 4) Christian Psychology- “You need professional help.” I’ll respond with one word--- IDIOTIC. Why would any Spirit-filled Christian recommend the WORLD to anyone? According to the dictionary, psychology is the study of the mind and of mental and emotional processes and human behavior. I can sum it all up in one word--- Sin. We are born in sin, we are ruled by sin, we act in sin, we react in sin, we ARE sinners who need a Savior. The only answer is the power of God--- CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED. Only then can we be changed. “ 4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4 To opt for the world’s principles is enmity and hatred for what Jesus Christ has paid so great a price to give us--- his righteousness. The Holy Spirit is God’s righteousness given to us---FREELY. If we would simply obey the Gospel by faith, we will reap victory and blessing. The 12-Step programs go right along with this filth. There is one step to victory--- FAITH in Christ and him crucified. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and THIS IS THE VICTORY that overcometh the world, EVEN OUR FAITH (1 Step). Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5 5) EE for Extra EFFORT- “Try harder!!!” Sin is NOT overcome by our efforts. Meaning we can’t make ourselves righteous or more holy. Flesh cannot overcome sin; for it is weak and deadened by its effects. Only the Spirit of God can overcome the power of sin, and we receive that power through faith in Christ and him crucified. We can only depend, trust, rest, and rely on the Holy Spirit through FAITH in Christ and the cross. That doesn’t mean that we ought to seek out sin, condone or live in sin, or make unwise decisions. But human efforts do not make the Holy Spirit work. One of the reasons that people tend to fail in their Christian walk is because they opt for humanistic psychology to direct them in their unwillingness to WAIT on the power of God. “Those that WAIT on the Lord shall renew their strength.” 6) Say It Loud! “Keep confessing it.” Confession is not the key to victory. Many preachers teach their members to just keep confessing their victory, confess their blessings, confess, confess, confess. Confession is not wrong in and of itself. But it is not going to influence the Holy Spirit to work. The Holy Spirit has only one switch for the child of God, and that is Christ and the cross. If confession truly was the way to victory, Paul, who exclusively was given the meaning of the new covenant by Jesus Christ himself, was severely lacking in his usage of the revelation. Why didn’t Paul confess away his thorn in the flesh? Why didn’t he confess away his beatings? His chains and imprisonment? His vision problems? It would seem like these would be opportune times to use confession. a. Confession does not overrule the will of God. Oftentimes God allows for an individual to go through something so that he might be glorified in their life. b. Confessing the Word of God can remind us of his goodness and assure us of his promises, but it is not the confession that brings about the results; rather, the Holy Spirit who acts upon our faith in Christ and him crucified through which we are assured all things. Here’s something that the Lord showed me while laying on my bed. I looked up and saw the light and the fan. The fan, of course, is in the shape of a cross. When the light switch is switched on, the light comes on AND the fan blows. The light switch is our faith in the fan (cross) the holds the light (Jesus Christ crucified) and the wind (the Holy Spirit) moves throughout the room. It blessed me when the Holy Spirit revealed this to me. THE LIGHT SWITCH OF FAITH IN CHRIST AND THE CROSS. 7) Desire “You wanted to sin.” The faith of an individual can easily be destroyed by this rationalization. Not everyone who falls into sin WANTS to sin. Furthermore, the question is, what can a person do to NOT want to sin? Sin is enticing. Temptations come. We still have a sin nature. So how can a Christian be victorious over sin. Paul, struggling with this problem says, “If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” Romans 7:16-17 Paul is addressing the problem at the root. He recognizes that even in his Christian experience, the desires came from the sin nature. He later teaches an individual how to overcome those desires--- faith, trusting in what Christ has accomplished for us. Now, whoever rejects the message of the cross is accepting sin, its effects, and its result. But to them that look to Christ victory and blessing shall they inherit. These were just a few examples of things that many have been taught to put their faith in. Note: I am not trying to make fun of preachers who have taught these things, as even I went head first into a world of things to try to attain victory. But God’s “grace is sufficient for thee.” We should understand that sin brings about a world of problems. In the opening text he addresses the eye and the hand, representative of the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh, which both come out of the sin nature. There may be some things that the Holy Spirit will lead us cut out of our lives, but he will work that in us. Please don’t go gouging out your eyes. You need them to read your Bible. LOL And please don’t cut off your hands. You need them to turn the pages and clap when you praise. If you fall into sin, repent and confess it to the Lord, and he will forgive you. Jesus Christ has atoned for all sin, and we can have a victorious Christian life simply by trusting in his grace that came through the cross of his shed blood. We are justified simply by believing on his Name. And we are sanctified by the same. Amen. May the Lord bless you, that you may grow in grace and in knowledge of the Lord. Your brother in Christ, BJ Feel free to repost, email, or print this message. But do not alter the content. We welcome comments and questions. 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Branden Jones
Workforce Development Consultant II, Louisiana Workforce Commission Dillard University class of 2002 Member Since April 2005 |
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