Kill It

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”
—Colossians 3:5-6

The movie, Jurassic Park, successfully showed what the world would be like if dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Large, beastly, ghastly creatures that lived according to their animal instincts, they destroyed everything around them. Our sinful nature is similar to those beasts. Like the misguided scientist, we believe that we can control our pet and nourish it, but the dinosaur will always be and act like a dinosaur and our sinful nature will always be and act like our sinful nature. It will always desire what is contrary to the Spirit, it will always wage war against us, it will never be quiet, it will never go away, and it will never quit. Which is where Christ comes in.

When Jesus died, something amazing happened. While on the cross, the Scripture says that He actually became sin, and not just any sin, but OUR sin,  

“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”—2 Corinthians 5:21. 

Christ became sin and thus suffered the penalty for it. He suffered what we deserved. He died so that we might die to sin, and He rose so that we might too rise with Him. So great is His love that He endured the inexplicable anguish on the cross, in order that we might not have to. What love!

What about this sinful nature? To be sure, the cords of sin have been cut and we are no longer slaves to it. But, many believers nourish the sin in their life just like the scientist with the dinosaur eggs. Yet, like the dinosaur will grow, so will our capacity to sin and do evil as long as it is nourished and kept away from the light of fellowship. It is only when exposed to the light of who Christ is that it can be defeated. And God wants us to drag this horrid creature into the light of His presence in order that it may be destroyed. We need to drag it to the guillotine, the gas chamber, or the firing range. Place our sinful nature in the chair so that it will get the needle. We need to kill it, execute it and not permit it to live. It must die! It is a liar and destroyer of life. It knows nothing else. Like the dinosaur in Jurassic Park, our sinful nature cannot be controlled and only thrives on instinct. And its instinct is to destroy.

Bring your sin to the light of God’s presence. Confess it before the Lord and before a brother and sister. Ask Him and ask them to help in the execution. It is idolatry to permit it to live. Do not survive in the dark and damp places where sin dwells, but thrive in the presence of He who is truly love! Bow before Him and worship at His feet! Know that His love, grace, and mercy, are greater than we can imagine. More dazzling than the uttermost outreaches of space, more marvelous than any sunset, and more fantastic than any pleasure offered by the five senses, He is God and has given Himself for you. Bow in praise and adoration! Amen.