God calls every Christian to wage war on his sin. As John Owen, the Puritan, put it, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” Join us as we study the doctrine of the Mortification of Sin.
[powerpress]
Waging War On Sin
Romans 8:12-14
1 Peter 2:11 says, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” Your sins are waging war against your soul! Therefore, we must wage war against our sins! The great Puritan theologian, John Owen, put it like this, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”
Romans 8:12 says, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die…” Did you notice that there is a dash at the end of verse 12. That clues us in on something. It tells us that Paul never finished his sentence. Instead, he went off on a bunny trail. Now, what was Paul going to write, but never got around to it? How would we finish his sentence in verse 12? “We are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, but we are under obligation to the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit.” However, Paul doesn’t finish the verse that way, because as soon as he tells us that we are not under obligation to the flesh, he must jump in and tell us why. We are not under obligation to the flesh to live according to it, because if we live according to the flesh we must die. The flesh has never done anything for you, and will never do anything for you. The flesh has been trying to kill you since the day you were born. We must not join forces with our enemy and bring about our own destruction. The only thing we owe the flesh is war. If Christ had not saved us, our flesh would have dragged us down to the deepest, darkest, hottest places in Hell. Why would we ever yield to our murderer?! We aren’t debtors to the flesh!
If Paul had gone on to finish his sentence, he would have told us that we are under obligation to the Spirit. Why? Why? Because the Spirit has done everything for us:
- The Spirit has united us to Christ and set us free from the law of sin and death.
- The Spirit enables us to fulfill the requirement of the Law.
- The Spirit brings life and peace.
- The Spirit dwells in us and makes our spirit alive.
- The Spirit is going to raise our mortal bodies from the dead one day.
I am really glad that Paul went off on a tangent in verse 13, because he gives us some extremely valuable teaching on the mortification of sin. Today when someone says they are mortified, they mean they are ashamed or humiliated. But the word mortification originally meant “to put something to death.” God is calling us to wage war on our sin for the purpose of putting it to death.
This morning we are going to ask some questions of the text, and seek to get Biblical answers for them.
- Who must kill their sin?
- Why must we kill our sin?
- What does it mean for us to kill our sin?
- How do we kill our sin?
-
Who Must Kill Their Sin?
You. “But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body…” Who is this “you”? Who is Paul writing to? It is the same “you” of verse 9 that Paul says is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. It is the same “you” of verse 10 in which Christ indwells. It is the same “you” of verse 11 in which the Spirit of God dwells and whose body the Spirit will raise from the dead. It is the same “you” of verse 12 that is called a brother. In other words, Paul is giving this warning to Christians. Now, that makes perfect sense, because a non-Christian can’t obey this exhortation. A non-Christian is spiritually dead. A dead man can’t kill his sin. He is under the dominion of sin himself! He’s a slave to sin. A person who is a slave to sin, can’t kill his Master.
Notice that the apostle puts the responsibility for killing sin squarely on us. He says, “but if by the Spirit YOU are putting to death the deeds of the body, YOU will live.” He doesn’t say “but if the Spirit puts to death the deeds of the body you will live.” If you ever quit sinning, it will be because you quit sinning! You are going to have to make the decision, the choice to not do this thing, and instead do the other. You can’t do this without the Spirit, and the Spirit won’t do this without you.
Well, just who is Paul calling upon to put to death the deeds of his body?
First, he is a person for whom Christ died. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died to bear the penalty of our sins. Christ died for sinners. Christ died for sin.
Second, he is a person that died with Christ. Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Then in verse 6 Paul says, “knowing this that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” These passages tell us that we have died with Christ to sin. How did this happen? Through our union with Christ. At the point of our new birth we were united to Christ, so that what happened to Him also happened to us. That’s why Paul says in verse 4-5, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
Romans 6 is teaching us that if we are Christians, we have died to sin. We died with Christ. So, does that mean that sin is dead in our lives? Does it mean that holiness will be automatic? Does it mean we don’t have the potential to fall into sin? Absolutely not, because Paul says in Romans 6:12, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Overcoming sin does not happen automatically by virtue of the fact that we have died with Christ. We must refuse to let sin reign, and we must present the members of our body to God.
The “you” that Paul calls to put sin to death is a person who is a new creation in Christ. He is a person who has been united to Christ. He is a person who has been cut off of the tree of Adam, and grafted onto the tree of Christ. He is a person who has died with Christ and been made alive together with Christ. He is a person who possesses a new nature. The first principle we must understand is that a person must be born again if he is ever to put sin to death. You see those 500 ton jumbo jets, and you wonder “How in the world is that hunk of metal ever going to get into the air and stay there?!” Well, picture one of those jumbo jets with no wings. All it has is a narrow body, tires, and a big engine. Now, I don’t care how fast that thing goes down the runway, it’s never going to get into the air. Why? Because it needs wings. That fast moving tube, needs to be reconfigured. However, if you put wings on that racing tube, all of a sudden it is able to lift off the ground and move through the air. It’s exactly the same with us. As long as we were dead in sin, we were like a jet without wings. We were never going to be able to get into the air. We needed to be remade, reconfigured. In the New Birth, God recreated us, and gave us the apparatus to fly. It’s called a new nature.
So here is the formula: “He was killed for your sin. You were killed in him. Kill sin in yourself.” Notice carefully – Paul doesn’t say, “Christ died for your sin, and you died to sin with Him, therefore you don’t have to do anything.” No, we do have to do something. We have to wage war on our sin! Paul says, “Don’t let sin reign in your mortal body.” Don’t let it! That means, you can stop it. But you are going to have to fight it to the death. We must kill in ourselves what killed Christ.
-
Why Must We Kill Our Sin?
Die and Live. Here’s the short answer: because if we don’t, we will die, and if we do, we will live. Well, it is immediately apparent that to die can’t mean to die physically, because everyone dies physically whether or not he lives according to the flesh. People who live according to the Spirit also die physically. So, if this does not mean physical death, what does it mean? It must mean what Paul said in Romans 6:23, “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In this text, “death” is opposed to “eternal life.” That tells me that Paul has in mind eternal death. He is speaking about Hell! Notice that the verbs “die” and “live” are in the future tense. Paul says “you will live.” He’s talking about everlasting life with Christ in heaven. In other words, your eternal destiny is at stake in this verse!
It’s important to note that Paul is not teaching that if a Christian falls into sin he has forfeited his salvation. Notice the tense of the verbs: “living according to the flesh” and “putting to death the deeds of the body.” In both cases, it is the present tense, which in Greek speaks of an ongoing continual action. Paul is not talking about the person who occasionally falls into sin and then repents. He’s talking about the person who lives continually according to the flesh as a lifestyle.
Now, does Paul really mean that if a professing Christian lives according to the flesh he will perish eternally under the wrath of God? Well, one way to find out is to ask if the Bible teaches that truth anywhere else. If this is the only place in Scripture that says such a shocking thing we might conclude that we are misunderstanding his meaning. But is this the only place? Well, let’s take a look.
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” Here we read that if a person is not pursuing sanctification (holiness) he will not see the Lord. We could turn this around and say that anyone who is not putting to death the deeds of the body will not see the Lord.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” In other words, those that live according to the flesh will never inherit God’s kingdom.
Ephesians 5:3-6 “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Here Paul tells us that if you live according to the flesh the wrath of God is going to come upon you! Paul is telling the Romans that there is a very real danger that those who call themselves Christians could end up in hell!
Now, does this mean that Paul is teaching that a Christian can lose their salvation? I don’t think so. Verse 1 tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Verse 30 says that all who are called are justified, and all who are justified are also glorified. And verses 38 and 39 teach us that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We need to remember that Paul is writing to all those who have professed faith in Christ and have attached themselves to the church. Paul has never been to Rome, and can’t know if everyone he is writing to is “in Christ” or not. Paul does know that many who profess to believe in Christ are not true believers. They may have been baptized and joined the church, but if they are living according to the flesh, they prove that they are not regenerated.
Killing the sin in our lives is not the way we get saved. It is the way God shows us that we are saved. It is not the root of our salvation. It is the fruit of our salvation. It is not the cause of our salvation. It is the effect of our salvation. It is not the ground of our salvation. It is the evidence and proof of our salvation. But make no mistake. Killing our sin is the absolutely necessary evidence of salvation. No unsanctified people are going to heaven.
You see, God saves His elect, not only through the promises of Scripture, but also the warnings of Scripture. A worldly professing Christian hears “for if you are living according to the flesh you must die” and concludes that it can’t be talking about him. After all, he is secure in Christ. He doesn’t need threatening words like “if you live according to the flesh you must die.” That’s for other people. He doesn’t believe that his eternal life hangs on whether he kills sin or not. And he takes no heed to the warning, and lives according to the flesh and perishes. But one of God’s elect hears that warning and trembles with fear that he might perish if he lives according to the flesh, and so he turns from sin and flies to Christ for grace and power to kill his sinful deeds.
You see, a person who kills their sin by the power of the Spirit proves that he is a true child of God. That’s what verse 14 is saying, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Who are “all who are being led by the Spirit of God”? They are the ones in verse 13 who put to death the deeds of the body. We know that because verse 14 begins with the word “For”. That tells us that verse 14 is explaining verse 13. You see, He is the Holy Spirit. The way He leads His people is into holiness. And all who are being led out of sin and into holiness are the true sons of God and make their calling and election sure.
-
What Does It Mean For Us To Kill Our Sin?
Paul says that it is those who are putting to death the deeds of the body that will live. Now, what is he referring to? Paul can’t be talking about all the deeds of the body, because in a believer’s life many of his deeds are good and pleasing to God.
In chapter 6:12-13, Paul writes, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” The members of your body can either be instruments of unrighteousness or instruments of righteousness. Your mind, and eyes, and ears, and tongue, and hands, and feet, can all be used as instruments of unrighteousness. Your mind can dwell on evil. Your eyes can look on evil. Your ears can listen to evil. Your tongue can say evil things. Your hands can do evil things. Your feet can take you to evil places. But, on the other hand, all of those members can be used for righteousness. Your mind can dwell on the Word of God. Your eyes can be used to read the Bible. Your ears can be used to listen compassionately to the needs of others. Your tongue can be used to speak of the gospel of Christ. Your hands can serve others. Your feet can take you to help people in need.
That’s why some modern translations, like the NIV translate it “the misdeeds of the body”. The NLT translates it “the deeds of your sinful nature.” God is calling His people to kill all of the sinful thoughts, words, and deeds that flow from our fallen nature.
So, what does Paul mean when he tells us we must put our sin to death? I believe he means that we must strangle it, so that it becomes weaker and weaker, and eventually loses any power over us.
Putting something to death is not a pretty picture. God intends to use all human suffering to demonstrate the ugliness and offensiveness of sin. Now, maybe to you and I, sin looks nice, and pretty, and appealing, and fun. But to our all holy God, it is infinitely ugly and offensive. It is so ugly and offensive that the only remedy for it was the suffering and death of an infinitely worthy and beautiful divine sacrifice. It is so ugly, that it has caused the death of billions and billions of people. It is so ugly and offensive that eternal conscious torment is the only just and holy response to it.
If we are obedient to the Lord, every time we meet sin, we meet it with a sword. We make no truce with it, make no compromise with it, and take no prisoners. It is a fight to the death. Either sin must die, and we will live, or we must die, and sin will live. It’s like those two gladiators that are put in the ring in the old Roman coliseums. Only one man was going to walk away from that fight. The other would be laid in the cold, hard ground by nightfall. And, this fight with sin, will go on for the rest of your life! At some points in your life, the battle will rage wildly, and at other times, there is not near as much of a battle, because of your ongoing struggle with it. But you can never let down your guard. You must be willing at all times, in all places to face this enemy and battle him to the death. At the end of Paul’s life he could say in 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight of faith.”
- How Do We Kill Our Sin?
In verses 12 and 13, Paul is focusing on the flesh and the Spirit. Now, back up to verses 5 and 6, and you will notice that he does the same thing there. “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” To verify that Paul has the same thing in mind in both places, notice that the mind set on the flesh is death. That is the very thing he tells us in verse 13a, “for if you are living according to the flesh you must die.” He also says that the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. This is the very thing he tells us in verse 13b, “but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” That tells me that there is a direct link between setting our minds on the Spirit, and putting sinful deeds of the body to death by the Spirit. So, the real question is, how do we set our minds on the things of the Spirit? It is patently clear that the way we kill sin is not by focusing on the sin, and telling ourselves “No! No! No!” Romans 8:5 tells us we do it by setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. Our mind and heart must be focused, not so much on the sin, but on the things of the Spirit.
So, what are the things of the Spirit? Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:17 when we engage in spiritual warfare, we must “take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The only piece of armor that is used to kill our enemy is the sword of the Spirit. This is not just called “the sword”, but the “sword of the Spirit.” So, to put sin to death by the Spirit, we must use the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit.
Now, one final principle. Turn to Galatians 3:5, “So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” Of course, the correct answer is “by hearing with faith.” Now, why does Paul speak about hearing? It’s because that which they are to exercise faith in is the word of God spoken to them. We must believe the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, if we are ever going to be able to kill sin.
What does all this mean? It means when a powerful temptation comes, you are not left desolate. Along with a determined “No!”, you must also say “Yes!” to God’s Word. Just saying “No!” to sin, will never be enough to kill it in your life. You must have a word from God that you cling to with all your might. What kind of a word from God? If the root of all sin is preferring something to God, then the word from God you must believe is a promise that God will be more for us than what sin promises. If we believe God’s Word, that sin will die! The power of sin’s promise is broken by the power of God’s promise.
Conclcusion
Therefore, believers, I exhort you to store away promises from the Word of God with which you can do battle against sin.
Here is a sampling of promises that you might use to wage war on sin:
Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Hebrews 13:5, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”
Philippians 2:12-13, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Christian, take up the sword of the Spirit, and fight the sinful deeds of the body! I pray that when you come to the end of your life you will be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith!”
© The Bridge
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.
Follow Us!