Romans 8 (NKJV)

Free from Indwelling Sin

     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. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 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.

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. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

 

The Human Being is made up of three distinct parts, working together to allow us to function, learn, obtain knowledge and use knowledge to our advantage. The three parts of mankind are The Spirit, (Our eternal life), The Body & The Mind. Having all three of these parts working in sync is vital to having a productive, peaceful, happy life. Having imbalance in any of these three areas, can cause us to struggle through life. However, if we can find health in all three areas, we can be productive, while also being at peace.

This lesson will focus upon The Mind and how to do a cleansing of excess junk and re-establish things that are by nature, healthy and productive for our minds.

 

WHY THE MIND TENDS TO FOCUS UPON SIN

Remember that before Adam and Eve ate of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil…they had no mental knowledge of evil. The lived in the Garden of Eden, “naked and unashamed,” because God had their minds covered. Although there was evil…Adam and Eve had no knowledge of it, so there would have been no shame, no guilt, no hard feelings, no fear.

They lived in peace and harmony with each other and nature. However, upon their ‘sin of disobedience’ (eating the fruit that God had forbidden them to eat), they suddenly were overwhelmed with the knowledge of evil. Instantaneously, they were hit with the fear of the repercussions of their actions, the shame of being naked, and the fear of having to face God in their disobedience.

Because we were not ‘equipped’ to handle the knowledge of evil, our minds can quickly become overwhelmed with thoughts that do not promote peace and life, in Christ. Anyone of us can let our minds wander back to events from our pasts that are unsettling and fill us with painful ‘mind-scenes,’ followed by painful emotions, that leave us feeling horrible.

Few people can completely forget certain ‘mind-scenes’ from their past. For example: a soldier who views the horrors of war ‘up close and personal,’ can rarely forget the ‘mind-scenes’ that have been indelibly en printed upon the brain. In some cases, the constant replay of these scenes becomes a mental illness known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, that can completely ruin a person’s ability to function normally thereafter. The mind can become a House of Horrors…filled with horrible sounds, scenes, and monsters of our past, leaving us fearful, feeling alienated from God, and a complete emotional shipwreck.

But remember…these things happen when we are locked into “Carnal Thinking.”

WHAT IS CARNAL THINKING?

My own definition of Carnal Thinking, is thinking that forgets the work of Christ in and for us, and places the burdens of our past, present and future squarely upon ourselves. Because of our ‘weakness in the flesh,’ we condemn ourselves AND PUNISH OURSELVES with overwhelming feelings of guilt, failure and shame, that steals our joy and peace.

In these instances our minds condemn us and accepts guilt as the price of our self punishment. However…it is important to realize that it is indeed ‘SELF-PUNISHMENT,’ and not punishment that is coming from God. Therefore, we are being “mentally tricked” by Satan to feel these awful emotions…generated by our pasts.

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL THINKING?

In my view, to be ‘spiritually-minded,’ means that we allow our minds to be consumed and covered in the work that Christ accomplished upon the Cross for us…embracing and accepting that our fleshly acts have been washed away by His Blood, forever. Not just once…but continually, day by day.

Only in humbling ourselves to His salvation can we ever hope to put the horrible feelings of our past failures to rest, and live in the “newness of life in Christ Jesus,” free from guilt, shame, self-condemnation and defeat.

THE PROCESS

In order for us to walk free of the horrible ‘mind-scenes,’ of our past (or even our current), we must stop and process the events in light of the Cross and the Blood that flowed from the Crown of Thorns, over the Head of Christ. That precious blood was shed to cover our minds from the pain of the knowledge of evil in our own lives.

Our human nature is to “bury the past,” rather than having the past completely washed away. If we bury it, it is still there and our minds can easily “resurrect” it…even when we don’t want to. However, if it is “washed away,” it is no longer there. It is not ‘buried under The Blood of Christ,’ but it is ‘Washed Away under The Blood of Christ.’

COMING TO TERMS

As I said, we tend to try and ‘bury’ bad mind-scenes. However, to be free of them…or at least the power of them, we need to submit each one to The Cross. If I asked you to sit for a bit and think of five major events in your life…five memories that are very difficult to replay in your mind…what would they be? If those scenes foster painful emotions within you…they have been buried, not washed away under the Blood of Christ.

As a mental exercise…close your eyes…replay the horrible or sad events one more time and then take them, (as if in a small cup), and place them at The Cross…allowing the Blood of Jesus to wash each one clean…and not only clean but whiter than snow.

After that is complete…make a mental record that each event has now been dealt with once for all. At that point, refuse to ‘dig it up anymore.’ Only then can we embrace spiritually-minded thinking. Thinking that embraces forgiveness and peace with Christ. No longer guilty, no longer a victim.