SALVATION'S REMEDY FOR FEAR AND BONDAGE

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb 2:14-15). "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Rom 8:15).

Devotion 14 of 18

INTERPRETING STRUGGLE CORRECTLY, #2

When the child of God is unsure of his standing with God, fear crouches like a lion at the door of the heart. Doubt and fear always go together. Where one is found, the other is soon found also.

When the child of God finds a contrary law within, and does not understand the nature of spiritual life, it is possible to conclude no real life from God is possessed at all. When "our old man is crucified," it is to the intent "that the body of sin might be destroyed" (Rom 6:6). However, the destruction of "the body of sin" does not mean it is nonexistent, just as the destruction of the devil does not mean he is nonexistent (Heb 2:14). The "flesh" is powerless to enslave us if we live by faith, but we must contend with it.

Life in Christ is much like Israel arriving in the promised land. When they got there, enemies inhabited it that had to be driven out. The Israelites' commission was precisely that–to drive the inhabitants out of the land. "And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it." Should they choose NOT to do this, the Lord said, "But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell" (Num 33:52,55).

The "flesh," "old man," or "body of sin," is to the life of faith what the inhabitants of Canaan were to Israel. It is an enemy to be driven out, or crucified, or mortified (Rom 8:13; Gal 5:24; Col 3:5). If, however, you do not view the intrusions of the old nature as an enemy, but as an expression of your basic person, doubts will arise in your heart. Doubt will, in turn, open the door for fear to enter. With these things in mind, we will review Romans 7:18-21.

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me."

I have heard people express wonder at how Paul could say "no good thing" dwelt in him. In their wonder, they have acknowledged their own fundamental ignorance of the good fight of faith. Paul is careful to say the "me" in question is not the renewed person, but "my flesh," or the natural part of himself. He will now confirm that this is the case–that absolutely nothing good dwells in the part of him that is traced back to Adam. Keep in mind, Paul is speaking here as a believer, not as an Apostle. He is identifying something that is common to all believers. The difference is that he sees it, and wants us to see it also.

With the redeemed, it is not a matter of not wanting to do what is right. An integral part of the new birth is a changed will. Where there is no willingness to do the will of God, there simply has not been a new birth, or the person has retrogressed back to the flesh. The circumstance that evidences the flesh is totally incapable of doing good, is that it keeps the believer from doing fully what he wants. That is expressly stated in Galatians 5:17. "For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want."

The thing that Paul wanted, and what he could not perfectly execute, was the total subjugation of the flesh, and total involvement in the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. But the sinful nature, though crucified, kept him from doing that. He did not want to deal with the eruptions of the flesh, but had to do so anyway–like Israel had to content with the inhabitants of the land. His utter hatred for sin and pure love of God, Christ, and the truth, produced this attitude.

"The good" that he wanted to do was not a specific work, like showing hospitality. And the things he did not want do were not sins like murder and adultery. The "good" speaks more of a consistent life toward God, and moral perfection. But he still needed a Savior and Intercessor. His intellect could not deliver him from this dilemma. There was no secret discipline of life that could successfully keep the flesh from intruding into his thinking.

There is a grand conclusion that is drawn from this situation. It is one that requires a sensitive heart and a strong faith. If he was contending with unwanted manifestations, it was not his essential person that was expressing them. Instead, it was sin that dwells in him. By "sin," he means the principle of sin. Later it will be called "the law of sin and death" (Rom 8:2). Within the persons of the saved, and as long as they are in the body, the principle of sin remains. It is not resident in the new creation (2 Cor 5:17), but in "old man," which is integral to the body. It is a glad day when the believer sees such eruptions are not really his own. It is then, and only then, that they can be successfully denied and the flesh crucified.

Here, then, is another law. "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me." There is a competing principle within every child of God. It rises to assert itself whenever there is a determination to do good. If this truth is not known, however, that assertion will cause fear to rise in the heart. Guilt will plague the person, even though no sin has been committed. The "evil" to which our text refers is a temptation to do evil–the tug of the flesh upon the individual. How vital it is to know the truth about it.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You through Jesus for revealing the nature of the good fight of faith. I anticipate deliverance from this warfare. But until then, and by Your grace, I will cast down the expressions of the flesh.

– Tomorrow: WHEN MEN BEGAN TO CALL –