You Have Died

Reminder: your Old Man is dead!

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You have died!

I am not kidding you.  If you have scarcely given it a thought it’s high time you do so; it will change your life for good. Not just a thought, let this fact sink in and grab hold of you, and be absolutely sure about this: your Old Man is dead. You can live by it.

There can hardly be better news than this. Imagine one day Mr. Sin wakes up and wishes to dispatch his slave to run some errand – inevitably something bad: to steal; to worry; to get sick; to condemn a cell group member because she failed to turn up in cell group (mind you, all these and more the Old Man used to faithfully comply) – but alas, the slave is no more. He is dead! Mr. Sin has just lost the instrument to propagate darkness in your life and in the world around you.

What Jesus has done on the cross is not only to put your sins on Himself so that He could pay the penalty on behalf of you. More than that, He put you – your Old Man the sinner, Mr. Sin’s slave – in Himself so that you were crucified together with Him.

Do the following scriptures mean anything to you? These should do in convincing you that you have been crucified with Christ and died with Him.

… our old man was crucified with him… (Rom 6:6, NKJV)

 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me… (Gal 2:20, NKJV)

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3, NKJV)

How God managed to do so I don’t know, but the result is far-reaching. Mr. Sin used to have a legal right over you – your Old Man. But because your Old Man died, even if you are alive now Mr. Sin has no right over you. His relationship was with your Old Man. He knows that your Old Man is dead.

The problem is that many believers don’t know. Perhaps I should put it this way: many believers are not sure what it means that their Old Man is dead and they act as if he is still alive. They do things only meant for the Old Man. They pull out God’s Law and try to become righteous by trying to fulfill the Law. They get miserable when they cannot. They try to become righteous when they are already righteous. They try to become wealthy when they are already rich. They try to become healthy when they are no more sick.

It’s vitally important that you realize your Old Man is dead. Don’t try to do anything to him. Don’t try to resurrect him! Be very glad that he is dead.

Photo Credit: renjith krishnan on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Get the Old Man Killed

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How God solved the sinner problem?

The sinner was the old “you” – called the “Old Man” - before you became a born again believer. The Old Man was a slave to sin, to the extent one might say he could be expected to sin. Anyway, being a slave meant he’s bound to heed the bidding of his master, to do what his master wanted even if he didn’t like it.

When you read Romans you cannot fail to notice that most times “sin” takes on personality. That is to say it is quite alright to regard “sin” as a “he”. This “Mr. Sin” was the master of the Old Man. Mr. Sin is a tyrant. He loves to dominate and wants things his ways. If he is a good man than it’s still okay, but the fact is that he is evil personified. His very nature is evil and he is not capable of good. All that he could think of and all that he could do are opposite to what’s good.

Now, imagine what it’s like to be a slave under Mr. Sin. That was the lot for the Old Man. Sad, isn’t it? How could our Old Man be freed from this miserable state? How could we be separated from Mr. Sin?

In the first century slavery was commonplace. Paul expected everyone to understand what it meant to be a slave. Bonded to his master, a slave could only be free when either of two conditions was met. First, a ransom was paid. Second, the slave died.  According to Paul, God did work by way of the second. He said that we must know this:

that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that  we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. (Rom 6:6-7, NKJV)

So that’s how God solved the problem for us: get the Old Man killed!

Somehow, when Christ was crucified our Old Man was crucified with him and we died with him. It’s only logical that once the slave has died his master has no more claims over him. He is now free. In the same manner, we are now free from our old master Mr. Sin. He can no longer command us to do this or do that. Sure he would still want to boss us about but we have the liberty to say no to him and he can’t do a thing.

This is a most liberating truth: we don’t have to listen to Mr. Sin any more. He could yell or holler all he like, but the man who was bound to obey him is dead. The Old Man is no more.

Have you ever said no to Mr. Sin? Of course, if you didn’t know that the Old Man was dead and thought that you were him you would obey Mr. Sin. But now you know. If Mr. Sin comes around and ask you to do this or to do that, tell him off like this:

You got the wrong man, the Old Man is dead!

Sins and the Sinner

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Overheard somebody evangelizing his friend:

“You will agree with me that everyone has sinned,” said the evangelist.

“No. I don’t steal or kill; I don’t drink or womanize. I have done nothing that will put me in jail. I am a good man, not a sinner,” replied the non-believer.

“But you do lose your temper on your wife; and you couldn’t quit smoking though you wanted too,” the evangelist pressed.

“Well… I admit to that, but who could be perfect?”

“Jesus said you must be perfect like God. His standard is very high. Elsewhere – in Rom 3:23 – the Bible says all have sinned and fall short of God’s standard. That’s why you need Jesus; He can wash away all your sins."

…                             …                             …                             …                             …                         ...

Can you see through the simple technique? Most people like to think of themselves as being good, no matter if they believe in God or not.  You agree with them that they are no big sinner but press them to admit to their “little” sins. Play with their conscience, it is always more than happy to back you up. When they say no one can be perfect, you go along with them but stress that God has a different standard that He requires of us. There you have them cold. If they are still with you, bring out Rom 3:23 – memorize it if you need to. What about Matthew 5 where Jesus claimed that so much as you gaze at a sexy girl you committed adultery? Nudge them in that direction and before long you’ll have them confessing.    Since the non-believer admitted he has sinned, and that makes him a sinner, it follows that he needs a savior - here comes Jesus. Job done; give yourself a pat at the back.

Before, I would be elated if I manage to pull this off. I reckoned even Jesus would have been proud of me. I don’t mind telling you I’ve tried this many times over. But now I know better.

The problem with the above presentation is that it speaks only half the truth. And if we are not careful, we could find ourselves propagating a lie. What is true is this: Jesus could wash away all your sins – all the wrongs you’ve committed. What is not true is this: because you sin – commit wrongs - that constitutes you as a sinner. The truth is that because you are a sinner you sin; it’s not because you sin that you become a sinner.

Hold your fire if you feel like shooting me, I can prove to you what I say rather easily. But just think for a moment the implication of my proposition. If it’s true that because one is a sinner thereby he sins, then it’s not enough that Jesus only takes away his sins. The sinner will still sin. There are essentially two problems: the problem of sins (related to our actions and behavior) and the problem of the sinner (related to our nature and identity).

The question to ask is this: Does Jesus’ finished work provides for the forgiveness of sins only, or does it also deal with the problem of the sinner?

Make no mistake about it; I think the forgiveness of sins is most important. If we only have this it is still fantastic. It is still very good news. But if Jesus has also dealt with the problem of the sinner, then many have only heard half the truth. There is much more.

Photo Credit: chanpipat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net