Brethren, you’re dead to sin, but doesn’t mean it’s easy, that doesn’t mean we go to sleep or sit back and relax. God does make us dead to sin, that’s true, but He means to demonstrate that reality by exerting His own power upon us, and in the us to create within us, what? A militancy! To fight sin and mortify sin and put it to death. He means for us to have this determination of will but it’s a determination of will that’s based on what we know, it’s based on what we believe. It’s grabbing hold of truths about my being united to Christ. I’m dead to sin. And in the light of that reality, with the militancy of determination in my will to say, “Yes I believe I am dead to sin, I am going to fight this!”
That pride that just keeps holding on and lingering, I am going to fight that.
That sexual lust, I am going to fight that, controlling my eyes, I am going to make a covenant with my eyes and I believe by the power of Jesus Christ that I can keep control, and I may fall, but I’m gonna get back up and I’m going to confess that sin and I’m gonna go on in the power of the Spirit of God. Clinging to Christ.
Brethren and we’ve got to have that mindset, that is what this is all about. This is war. This is war brethren. Those passions of the flesh seek to destroy your soul. That’s what Peter tells us (1 Peter 2:11). You better take this dead serious. As John Owen said, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” And it will, it’s one or the other. There’s no in-between. There’s no neutrality here. You’re either killing sin or it’s taking your life. This is serious.
I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this but they’re definitely spiritual parallels between Joshua and Israel going into the land of Canaan. What did God tell them? You kill everybody, you go in there and you wipe them out. Young and old. Man and woman. Children, you wipe them out. You go in there, wipe them out. That is a spiritual parallel to our Christian life.
No longer brethren! No longer. No longer. You are dead to sin. No quarter.
It will plead mercifully, those little children will plead mercifully, “Don’t kill me.” The women… nope, you kill them all. You kill them all. You know what I’m talking about, I’m not talking about actual women and children. I’m talking about every sin, and they will plead mercifully, “Just spare me, just spare me.” “I’m just a little one.” No quarter. You gotta have the mindset to know that you’re dead to sin. You can do this. You must do this and God commands you to think right.
Brethren, this is huge. This is huge.
