The Way of Deliverance

The Way of Deliverance

ROMANS 6 LAYS THE FOUNDATION for the Christian’s deliverance from sin. Such deliverance God provides for every believer; all may enter in. Moreover, let us be unmistakably clear that this liberation from the power of sin may be experienced the very hour a sinner accepts the Lord Jesus as Savior and is born anew. He need not be a long-time believer and undergo numerous defeats before he can receive this gospel. Delay in accepting the gospel according to Romans 6 is due either to the incomplete gospel he has heard or to his unwillingness in wholly accepting and fully yielding to it. Whereas actually this blessing should be the common possession of all the newly born.

Chapter 6 begins with a call to reminisce, not to anticipate. It directs our attention to the past, to what is already ours: “Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with him, that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin” (v.6 Darby). In this single verse we find three major elements—

(1) “sin” (singular in number) ;
(2) “old man”; and
(3) “body” (the body of sin).

These three are vastly different in nature and play unique roles in the act of sinning. Sin here is that which commonly is called the root of sin. The Bible informs us that we were formerly slaves of sin. Sin had been the master. First of all therefore, we need to recognize that sin possesses power, for it enslaves us. It emits this power incessantly to draw us into obedience to its old man so that we might sin. The old man represents the sum total of everything we inherit from Adam. We can recognize the old man by knowing what the new man is, because whatever is not of the new man must belong to the old. Our new man embraces everything which flows newly from the Lord at our regeneration. Hence the old man betokens everything in our personality which is outside the new—our old personality and all which belongs to the old nature. We sin because this old man loves sin and is under its power. Now the body of sin refers to this body of ours. This corporeal part of man has become the inevitable puppet in all our sinning. It is labeled the body of sin because it likewise is subject to the power of sin, fully laden with the lusts and desires of sin. And it is through this body that sin manages to express itself, else it will be merely an invisible power.

To recapitulate then, sin is the power which pulls us to do sin. Old man is the non-corporeal part of what we inherit from Adam. The body of sin is the corporeal element we inherit from him.

The process of sinning follows this order: first, sin; next, the old man; lastly, the body. Sin exudes its power to attract man and force him to sin. Since the old man delights in sin, he condones sin and bends to it, instigating the body to sin. Wherefore the body serves as the puppet and actually practices sin. It is through the joint enterprise of these three elements that sin is committed. Present always are the compulsion of sin’s power, the inclination of the old man, and the practice of the body.

Now how can a man be delivered from sin? Some theorize that since sin is the first cause we must annihilate it in order to attain victory; accordingly they advocate “the eradication of sin.” Once the root of sin is pulled out, think these, we never shall sin again and are obviously sanctified. Others argue that we must subdue our body if we desire to overcome sin, for is it not our body, they ask, which practices sin? So there arises in Christendom a group of people who promote asceticism. They use many techniques to suppress themselves for they anticipate that once they overcome the demands of their bodies they shall be holy. None of these is God’s way. Romans 6.6 is transparent as to His way. He neither eradicates the root of sin within nor suppresses the body without. Rather, God deals with the old man in between.

I wrote this just now.

I think the reason why Christians have so many troubles is because they are not appropriating the full gospel of salvation. Accepting Jesus died for all is the start. You have eternal life which can never be lost as a consequence. But let's get the full gospel right, by also accepting we have died on the cross with Christ to our old man so that the body of sin is withered or left unemployed (Rom. 6.6). Sin still stirs but has no outlet because the old woman or old man has died with Christ, and we are in Christ united with Him. There is more though. There is the sinfulness of the flesh with its passions and desires; but there is also the high and noble element of the flesh that needs to die also. Having died with Christ put to nought the deeds of the flesh, both the sins of the flesh and the self of the flesh. By self I mean self-righteousness, high and mighty self. But that's not all. There is still more. We must bear our own cross daily. This is another cross, not the cross of Christ, but your own cross. While sin is conquered by the cross of Christ from the power of sin and shedding of His precious blood for forgiveness, we still must bear our own cross daily. While our death with Christ occurs in an instant, bearing our cross daily occurs over our lifetime, like you said, in your video, the Holy Spirit works in you daily to do this. Bearing our cross daily by the power of the Holy Spirit deals primarily with the self of the flesh (our soul life, the flesh of our soul). That's why it gets confusing because we don't draw the distinction between our own cross bearing and the cross of Christ.

Every day I read several pages of the Bible and also The Spiritual Man. The latter is like I have a teammate with me on the team fighting alongside me getting the words right.

Tell me when you have finished reading the two prefaces, explanatory notes and say the first chapter of this 700 page book,

http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/SMCFP.htm

If you start down this path it will strengthen you when you are struggling on meanings.

God’s Fact - We Have Been Crucified With Christ

The Lord Jesus in going to the cross took with Him not only our sins but also our beings. Paul enunciates this fact by proclaiming “that our old man has been crucified with him.” The verb “crucified” in the original is in the aorist tense, connoting that our old man was once and forever crucified with Him. As the cross of Christ is a fact accomplished, so our being crucified with Him is additionally an accomplished fact. Who ever questions the reality of the crucifixion of Christ? Why, then, should we doubt the reality of the crucifixion of our old man?

Many saints, upon hearing the truth of co-death, immediately assume that they ought to die, and so they try their best to crucify themselves. Either lack of God’s revelation or lack of faith accounts for this attitude. They not only do this themselves; they teach others so to do as well. The results are too obvious: no power is theirs to be freed from sin and their old man they feel will not die.

This is a grievous misjudgment. The Bible never instructs us to crucify ourselves. Precisely the opposite are we told! We are taught that when Christ went to Calvary He took us there and had us crucified. We are not instructed to begin crucifying ourselves now; instead the Scriptures assure us that our old man was dealt with at the time Christ went to the cross. Romans 6.6 alone is sufficient to substantiate this. There is not the remotest idea conveyed of desiring to crucify ourselves, nor does the Word in the slightest sense imply that our crucifixion awaits realization. The verse in Romans 6 permits no room for doubt when it categorically pronounces that we were crucified with Christ, a fact already accomplished. This is truly the effect of the most precious phrase in the Bible—in Christ.” It is because we are in Him and are united with Him that we can say that when Christ went to the cross we went there in Him, that when Christ was crucified we too were crucified in Him. What a wonderful reality that we are in Christ!

Mere mental assimilation of these truths cannot withstand temptation, however. The revelation of God is positively essential. The Spirit of God must reveal how we are in Christ and how we are united with Him in one. He must also show us distinctly how our old man was crucified with Christ for the simple reason that we are in Christ. This cannot be simply a mental comprehension; it must be a disclosure of the Holy Spirit. When a truth is unfolded by God it most naturally becomes a power in man, who then finds himself able to believe. Faith comes through revelation. Without the latter the former is impossible. This explains why many do not have faith, for though they mentally understand they do not have God’s revelation. Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation so that “knowing this” in our spirit we may truly confess “that our old man has been crucified with him.”

What is the consequence of the crucifixion of our old man? Again the answer comes to us unequivocally—“that the body of sin might be annulled.” “Annulled” should be rendered “withered” or “unemployed.” Beforehand when sin stirred, our old man responded and consequently the body practiced sin. With the crucifixion of the old man and its replacement by the new man, sin may still stir within and attempt to exert its pressure, but it fails to find the consent of the old man in driving the body to sin. Sin can no longer tempt the believer for he is a new man; the old has died. The body’s occupation was formerly that of sinning, but this body of sin is now disemployed because the old man was set aside. It is not able to sin and hence has been denied its job. Praise the Lord, this is what He has furnished us.

Why does God crucify our old man with Christ and render our body jobless? His purpose is that “we should no longer serve sin.” What God has done in this regard makes it possible for us not to yield thereafter to the pressure of sin nor to be bound by its power. Sin will exercise no dominion over us. Hallelujah! We must praise God for this deliverance.

I am unable to lose weight when I am not deeply in the word of God. In other words, if I am not reading several chapters a day of the Bible and several pages a day of Watchman Nee's The Spiritual Man to help alongside, I gain weight. This is my relationship with Christ.

Watchman Nee wrote, "If we persist on holding onto something which God wants us to relinquish, sin shall have dominion over us, and our reckoning shall be futile ("reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" Rom. 6.11). If we fail to yield our members as godly instruments of righteousness to speak and do what He desires and go where He directs, should we be surprised we are not yet delivered from sin? Whenever we refuse to relinquish or we offer resistance to God, sin shall return to its dominion. Under such circumstances we naturally lose the power to reckon, that is, to believe God's Word."

Even our apologetic work is holding onto something we may need to let go.

The Two Essentials

How shall we enter into such blessing? Two elements are indispensable. First, “reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6.11 Darby ). This is the essential of faith. When God avows that our old man was crucified with Christ we believe His Word and “reckon ourselves as dead.” How then do we die? “We reckon ourselves as dead to sin.” When God affirms that we are resurrected with Christ we again trust His Word and “reckon ourselves alive.” How then do we live? “We reckon ourselves as alive to God.” This reckoning is none other than believing God according to His Word. When God says our old man was crucified, we account ourselves dead; when He insists we are made alive, we reckon ourselves as alive. The failure of many lies in the desire to feel, to see and to experience this crucifixion and resurrection before trusting in the Word of God. These do not realize God has done it already in Christ and that if only, they would believe His Word by reckoning that what He has done is true, His Holy Spirit would give them the experience. His Spirit would communicate to them what is in Christ.

Second, “neither yield your members instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God as alive from among the dead and your members instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6.13 Darby). This is the essential of consecration. If we persist in holding on to something which God wants us to relinquish, sin shall have dominion over us, and our reckoning shall be futile. If we fail to yield our members as godly instruments of righteousness to speak and do what He desires and go where He directs, should we be surprised we are not yet delivered from sin? Whenever we refuse to relinquish or we offer resistance to God, sin shall return to its dominion. Under such circumstances we naturally lose the power to reckon, that is, to believe God’s Word. In our ceasing to exercise faith and to reckon, can we still be said to be positionally in Christ? Yes, but we are living no longer in Him according to the sense of the “abide in me” of John 15. Accordingly we are unqualified to experience what is factual in Christ, even our crucifixion.

Now we may infer from any defeat of ours that it is due either to lack of faith or failure to obey. No other reason can suffice. Conceivably a defeat could flow from both these reasons; if not from both, then from one or the other. We ought to learn how to live in Christ by faith, never seeing or thinking of ourselves outside of Him. Learn to believe daily that we are in Christ and that whatever is true of Him is true of us. Likewise, through the power of God we must learn daily to keep our consecration unspotted. Count all things as refuse, for there is nothing in the world we cannot relinquish for the Lord and nothing that we should want to keep for ourselves. Let us be disposed to respond positively to God’s demands, however difficult or contrary to the flesh they may be. For God no cost is too high. Anything can be sacrificed if only we may please Him. Let us daily learn to be obedient children.

Had we so reckoned and so yielded, we would now be enjoying what the Word of God has manifestly declared: “sin will have no dominion over you.”

Be careful when you read this because the two essentials are not “reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6.11 Darby).

Rather, that was the first essential. The second essential is as follows:

Second, “neither yield your members instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God as alive from among the dead and your members instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6.13 Darby).

The first essential is trusting you are dead and alive in Christ. Believe it. Know it.
The second essential is experiential as a consequence to the first essential: don't yield your members to sin, but yield to God and your members to righteousness INSTRUMENTS of God.

Wow! We often overlook the intricacy of Scripture because we don't read carefully enough.