You're Dead to Sin, but Still at War

Brethren, you're dead to sin, but that doesn't mean it's easy. It doesn't mean we go to sleep or sit back and relax. God does make us dead to sin.

That's true. But He means to demonstrate that reality by exerting His own power upon us and in us to create within us what? A militancy to fight sin and mortify sin and put it to death. He means for us to have this determination of will, but it's a determination of will that's based on what we know.

It's based on what we believe. It's grabbing hold of truths about my being united to Christ. I'm dead to sin.

And in the light of that reality, with a militancy of determination in my will to say, yes, I believe I am dead to sin. I am going to fight this. That pride that just keeps holding on and lingering.

I am going to fight that. That sexual lust. I am going to fight that, controlling my eyes.

I am going to make a covenant with my eyes and I believe by the power of Jesus Christ that I can keep control. And I may fall, but I'm going to get back up and I'm going to confess that sin and I'm going to go on in the power of the Spirit of God. Clinging to Christ.

Brethren, we've got to have that mindset. That is what this is all about. This is war.

This is war, brethren. Those passions of the flesh seek to destroy your soul. That's what Peter tells us.

You better take this dead serious. As Owen said, what did he say? You better be killing sin or it will kill you. And it will.

It's one or the other. There's no in-between. There's no neutrality here.

You're either killing sin or it's taking your life. This is serious. The Lord sends all His children, brethren.

I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but there are definitely spiritual parallels between Joshua and Israel going into the land of Canaan. What did God tell them? You kill everybody. You go in there and you wipe them out.

Young and old. Man and woman. Children, you wipe them out.

You go in there, wipe them out. That is a spiritual parallel to our Christian life. No longer, brethren, no longer! No longer.

You are dead to sin. No quarter. It will plead mercifully.

Those little children will plead mercifully. Don't kill me. The women.

No, you kill them all. You kill them all. You know what I'm talking about.

I'm not talking about actual women and children. I'm talking about every sin and they will plead mercifully. Just spare me.

Just spare me. I'm just a little one. No quarter.

You've got to have the mindset to know that you're dead to sin. You can do this. You must do this.

And God commands you to think right. Brethren, this is huge. This is huge.