Breaking the Stronghold of Addiction
How Can we Cleanse Our Way?
(Part 2 of 5)
Walking in Freedom
One thing we must remember is that something in our character is always growing. Either we are feeding the flesh or the Spirit; either we are submitting to the will of the flesh or the Spirit. Without Christ a man or woman has nothing but the flesh (or human nature). Before we are born as a new creation, there is not a spiritual nature (or new man) and we are already dead in the flesh. Look at these passages:
Colossians 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:17 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
We were dead, but Jesus has made us alive in Him and we have become a new creation because God puts a spiritual nature within us. Not only are we a new creation, but our old man (or nature) has been put to death. These passages explain this principle:
Galatians 5:24-25 24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Romans 6:6-7 6 knowing 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. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
The great message of the gospel is that we have been set at liberty and made free from the old sinful nature that once dominated us. While some teach in error that we are free from God’s commandments, the Bible teaches that we are free from sin and death. Jesus proclaimed that he came to set at liberty all who are oppressed. This is exactly what the addict needs to hear and understand. Sin always oppresses. The flesh always seeks to bring us into bondage and make us slaves to sin. If you live in sin, you will be a slave to sin. You are the slave of the one you submit yourself to obey (Romans 6:16).
If Jesus came to set the oppressed free, why are so many people still oppressed? I believe it is because we do not understand the Spirit and the power of God given to us. This is basic discipleship, yet it remains untaught within the church. While it is true that we will be at war against the flesh throughout our lives, it is also true that the Spirit within us is greater than our flesh. Our old man was crucified with Christ, but sin still dwells in this body of flesh. Look at Romans 7:16-25
16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Within each Christian a war is raging. If you serve in the flesh, you will serve the law of sin and your flesh will seek to bring you back into bondage, but if you serve the law of God, you will walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. The flesh lusts to sin against the Spirit and the Spirit is at war against the flesh (Galatians 5:17). The key to understanding the passage above is in verse 25, with the mind I serve the law of God but the flesh serves the law of sin. You must choose which to follow. The mind is the battleground for the war of holiness.
The Battle for the Mind
God has given you the right to set your mind on the things of God but you must choose to do so. Look now at Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
The mind is the doorway to the heart. Only by guarding your mind can you protect your heart. Look at Mark 12:30
'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
This portion of study will use a lot of scripture because the Bible has a lot to say about your mind. The foundation of everything begins in the above passage. The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Out of this commandment everything else flows. If you surrender your mind to sin, you cannot fulfill the commandment to love God and therefore cannot overcome or fulfill your calling in this life. If your mind is in bondage, so is your heart, soul and strength. Sin in your flesh wars against your mind and if allowed to succeed it will bring your mind into captivity. Look again at Romans 7:23-25
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
The law of sin dwells in the flesh and will always seek to rule your life, but you should rule over it. Sin’s desire is to rule over you and bring you into captivity. If you allow sin to reign, it will bring you into bondage. Take time to read Romans chapters 6 thru 8. The Bible describes our response to sin. In Christ, we are no longer under the law of sin but we have been set free; however, if we submit ourselves to sin, we will be under bondage. It is vital that you overcome sin, not by resisting the flesh, but by serving the law of God. I will go into this in detail shortly. There is a war and you are a soldier in this war. While the battle does get easier as we grow spiritually the battle never ends. If you become idle and quit pursuing righteousness, sin will take advantage of any opportunity and you will again fall into temptation.
I cannot stress this enough; you cannot allow your mind to be overcome by sin. According to Women Today Magazine, the average man thinks about sex 39 times a day. For those who struggle with sexual addictions, that number likely falls short. I can remember the time in my life where I constantly was filled with impure thoughts and even could not drift to sleep at night unless I was entertaining those thoughts. This was the problem in the world when God destroyed mankind in the flood. Look at Genesis 6:5-6
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Jesus foretold that the same would apply in the end times. Jesus said that as in the days of Noah were, so will it be when He returns (Matthew 24:37). In Proverbs, God declares that 7 things are an abomination to Him. One of the seven abominations that God hates is a heart that devises wicked imaginations. When a heart turns to sin, that person becomes an enemy of God. Look now at Romans 8:6-9
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
As I stated earlier, if you are not in Christ, you do not have the Spirit within you and you cannot overcome sin in your life. The fleshly mind cannot please God and is at war against God. You cannot subject your mind to lust and be subject to God. While you are in the flesh, you are at enmity with God. If you are living for the flesh you are disqualifying yourself from the inheritance of God. If you are practicing the works of the flesh, you are in need of repentance. The works of the flesh are explained in Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
This study has focused on one particular struggle, but any of these works of the flesh take us outside of the will of God. We must apply the principles of God so that we bring the flesh under subjection. The Bible explains this to us. Look at these two passages:
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Ephesians 4:22-24 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Each day you must renew your mind. Each day you must put off your former conduct and be renewed as you put on the new man – or set your mind on the things of God. If you are born into God’s kingdom, you have the Holy Spirit within you who teaches you the things of God, convicts you of sin, and empowers you to live according to the ways of God. Jesus taught that if anyone wanted to be a disciple of His, they must deny themselves, take up the cross DAILY and follow Him. Each day you must set your mind on the things of God.
The flesh is at war with the Spirit; therefore, you cannot do the things you want to do in the flesh. You cannot practice gratifying the flesh or else you will be rebelling against the law of God and conforming yourself to the flesh. Each of the men I described at the beginning of this study are guilty of this passage. They subjected themselves to the works of the flesh and sin now rules over them. They found themselves acting according to the works of the flesh and obeying the commands of the flesh. Some of them drove 4 hours to meet a young teen in order to gratify the flesh and instead found themselves being destroyed by their lustful passions. If you watched the videos I have prepared you saw that many of these men said that they did not know why they were acting on these sins. Some of them said things like, “I don’t know why I am here. Something kept saying to me, ‘what are you doing?’” Each one of us fight the same battle daily. I have been ruled by the flesh, but the scriptural principles I will be discussing shortly reveal how that I found freedom and indeed each Christian also has freedom in Christ. The Bible teaches that sin shall not have dominion over you; however, you can submit yourselves under its slavery. We submit to sin by doing the things of the flesh and then subject ourselves under sin’s bondage again.
Jesus set us free but if we live according to the flesh, we are not free in the Spirit. You are no longer under the law if you walk in the Spirit. If you are walking under the flesh, you are under the law of sin and death.
Whom the Son sets free is free indeed
Let’s begin this portion of study by looking at John 8:34-36
34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 "And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
If this is true, why aren’t more people free? The Bible speaks so often on this issue that it is difficult to determine what passages to include. We have already looked at a few passages in Romans where we are also warned that if we submit ourselves to sin, we become the slaves of sin. I have selected a few additional passages that complement our instructions from Romans. First, look at Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
You can become entangled again into the bondage of sin. The Bible warns against this throughout the New Testament. You must choose to stand fast in the liberty of Christ. The problem is how we define liberty. Many teach in error that sin no longer applies because we have been freed from the law; however, anyone who spends any time in the word will find many passages that instruct us that ‘IF’ we walk in the Spirit, we are no longer under the law. If you do not walk in the Spirit, you will be entangled in the law of sin and death again. We are set free from the law of sin – not set free to commit sin at will.
The reason the Christian is free from the law of sin is because we receive a new nature. We become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and our old nature is buried with Christ in baptism (Romans 6:4). We were already dead while we walked in the flesh, but when we come to Christ, we are made alive (Colossians 2:13-14). Once we are made alive in Christ and received new life and have become a new creation, we now must stand fast in the Spirit. If we do not choose to stand in the Spirit, our flesh will rise up and entangle us again. Without the regeneration of the Spirit, it is not possible to depart from the law of sin. The Bible teaches that we must die in order to be free from sin.
Breaking free from the law of sin.
Let us spend a few moments looking at the law of sin. The flesh is not subject to God nor will it be until our redemption is complete. This is explained in Romans 8:22-23
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
This is completed at the resurrection of the just. Those who are dead in Christ will be raised with an incorruptible body and those who are alive at His return will be changed, or transformed into incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:52-53). This is the first resurrection and only applies to those who are in Christ. Until this day arrives, you will have to put your flesh to death each day. Each time your flesh rises up, you must put it to death with its passions and lusts (Galatians 5:24-25).
The unregenerate man cannot do this. If you do not have the Spirit of Christ within you and have never become a new creation, it is impossible to live in the Spirit or overcome your flesh. It is possible to overcome habits but it is not possible to change your flesh. People resist certain sins out of a fear of getting caught or fear of the consequences but people do not become new by their own will. Through maturity you will depart from many of the destructive behaviors as you see the lack of value they have, but you will still serve the flesh until you are changed by the Spirit of God. In order to be set free from the flesh, your natural man (or fleshly nature) must die. You cannot divorce the flesh or the world, you must die to it. Look at Romans 7:1-6
Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another -- to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
In your old nature of flesh, you were married to the world but when you come to Christ, your old nature is put to death and buried with Christ in baptism and then you are raised as a new creation with a new spiritual nature that is free to live for Christ. Many neglect the commandments of God and desire to live in the flesh. Some live in the flesh because they have never been reborn by the Spirit while others have neglected their spiritual lives and allowed the flesh to rise up again to bring them back into bondage. Many feel the urges of the flesh and desire to gratify their passions and therefore attempt to justify their actions by claiming that sin is freedom. Never buy into this lie. Sin is NEVER freedom. If you submit yourselves to sin, you will become a slave of sin, but if you walk in the Spirit you are free from sin.
The last verse we just read is often misused to claim that we are no longer under God’s moral law. The fleshly mind always seeks to justify itself in order to feel comfortable in sin. We should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not the oldness of the letter. This passage does not say that the law has been made irrelevant, but that our perspective has changed. Before Christ, external laws guided us and forced us into good behavior. We did not steal because we feared the consequences of the law. Like children, we obeyed because we do not want to be punished for our disobedience. Even the new Christian struggles to obey and have the right motives.
When we receive the newness of the Spirit the law of God is written in our hearts. We now serve God because we value the things of the Spirit. We understand the benefits of walking in obedience and we are pursuing the promises of God rather than fearing the consequences. Whether we serve in the Spirit or by the letter of the law, we are still subject to the law of God. Christ fulfilled the practices of the law such as circumcision and sacrifices; however, the moral laws of God will never pass away. The law is required, but the law cannot save. Salvation changes us within and after salvation we keep the law out of a heart for God. The law has no power to save, it only serves to protect and convict.
Even when we keep the law, we are still dead in our sins. If someone comes to Christ, the law has not changed and violations of the law are still a declaration of war against God’s authority. The only thing that has changed is that in Christ, we are no longer under the condemnation of the law because Jesus Christ paid the penalty of my sins. In Christ, there is no condemnation if we walk in the Spirit. Look now at Romans 8
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
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5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
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13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Notice the key to this entire passage: who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. If you are walking in the flesh, you are disqualified from this promise. Those who walk in the flesh and claim that they are freed from the law and have no consequences to sin are deceiving themselves. If you return to the flesh, you are at war with God. To be carnally minded (or fleshly minded) is death. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. You must live by the Spirit and put to death the fleshly deeds of the body. In a short time we will look at this in detail.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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