Putting Sin to Death

          As I share more truths from the book The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges.
     I don't mean to imply that these words are for you, and not for me.

          This book has convicted me and made me realize how far I am from being the
    holy man God wants me to be.  With the Holy Spirit's help, hopefully I'm making
    progress in this never ending pursuit of holiness.


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          Chapter Nine -- Putting Sin to Death


                                    "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your
                                     earthly nature; sexual immorality, impurity, lust,
                                     evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry."
                                                                                        Colossians 3:5


          The New Testament leaves no doubt that holiness is our responsibililty.  If we are
     to pursue holiness, we must take some decisive action.  The action we are to take is to
     put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13).

          What does the expression put to death mean?  The King James Version uses the term
     mortify.  According to the dictionary, mortify means "to destroy the strength, vitality, or
     functioning of; to subdue or deaden."  To put to death the misdeeds of the body, then, is
     to destroy the strength and vitality of sin as it tries to reign in our bodies.

          It must be clear to us that mortification, though it is something we do, cannot be car-
     ried out in our own strength.  Well did the Puritan John Owen say, "Mortification from
     a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto the end of a self-righteousness
     is the soul and substance of all false religion."  Mortification must be done by the strength
     and under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

          Owen says further, "The Spirit alone is sufficient for this work.  All ways and means
     without Him are useless.  He is the great efficient.  He is the One who gives life and strength
     to our efforts."

           But though mortification must be done by the strength and under the direction of the
     Holy Spirit, it is nevertheless a work which we must do.  Without the Holy Spirit's strength
     there will be no mortification, but without our working in His strength there will also be
     no mortification.

          We must be convinced that "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
     Not only must we develop conviction for living a holy life in general, but we must also de-
     velop convictions in specific areas of obedience.

          These convictions are developed through exposure to the Word of God.
     We are bombarded on every side by temptations to indulge our sinful natures.  That is why
     Paul said, "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-
     make you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed" (Romans 12:2).

          Only through God's Word are our minds remolded and our values renewed.

     Jesus said,

                               "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one
                                 who loves me" (John 14:21).

          Obedience is the pathway to holiness, but it is only as we have His commands that we
     can obey them.  God's Word must be so strongly fixed in our minds that it becomes the
     dominant influence in our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions.  One of the most ef-
     fective ways of influencing our minds is through memorizing Scripture. 

          David said,  

                               "I have hidden your word in my heart that I
                                might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11).


          To memorize Scripture effectively, you must have a plan.  The plan should include a
     selection of well-chosen verses, a practical system for learning those verses, a systematic
     means of reviewing them to keep them fresh in your memory, and simple rules for con-
     tinuing Scripture memory on your own.

          Of course, the goal of memorization is application of the Scripture to one's daily life.
     It is through the application of Scripture to specific life situations that we develop the
     kind of conviction to see us through the temptations that trip us up so easily.

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          Years ago a friend gave me (Jerry Bridges) what he called his "Formula:  How to Know
     Right from Wrong."  The formula asks four questions based on three verses in 1 Corinthians.

          * "Everything is permissible for me' -- but not everything is beneficial"
     (1 Corinthians 6:12). 
          Question 1:  Is it helpful -- physically, spiritually, and mentally?


          * "Everything is permissible for me' -- but I will not be mastered by anything"
     (1 Corinthians 6:12).
          Question 2:  Does it bring me under its power?


          * "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat
     meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall"
     (1 Corinthians 8:13).   
          Question 3:  Does it hurt others?

          * "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God"
     (1 Corinthians 10:31).
          Question 4:  Does it glorify God?


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          We must develop the quality of commitment if we are to put to death the misdeeds of
     the body. 
          Jesus said,

                                  "Any of you who does not give up everything he has
                                   cannot be my disciple."
                                                                                   Luke 14:33


          We must honestly face the question, "Am I willing to give up a certain practice or
     habit that is keeping me from holiness?"  It  is at this point of commitment that most of us
     fail.  We prefer to dally with sin, to try to play with it a little without getting too deeply
     involved. 

          We have the "just one more time" syndrome.  We will indulge ourselves just one more
     time, and then we'll quit.  In all of this we are postponing the day of commitment, the day
     when we say to sin, "Enough!"

          The apostle John said, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin"
     (1 John 2:1).  He was in effect saying, "Make it your aim not to sin."


          Jonathan Edwards, one of the great preachers of early American history, used to make
     resolutions.  One of these was,

                                                "Resolved, to never to do anything which I
                                                 would be afraid to do if it were the last hour
                                                 of my life."