and let not thy soul spare nasa; lift up

for his crying. muwth; die, kill

This is a difficult verse to translate, and we note J N Darby translates it thus: "Chasten thy son seeing there is hope; but set not thy heart upon killing him." If we look for balance we find it in the New Testament, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Eph.6:4. Here we have the balance. The parent is not to provoke the child to anger. That is the first point, and so it should be. For example, the child when wrongly punished could be provoked to anger, but with admonition and correction, anger should be unlikely. Chastisement should always be given because of some wrong doing about which the child has been previously warned. In other words, chastisement is punishment for willful disobedience. Not only so, but also it must have been preceded by patient teaching and admonition. For the next point, we go to the Old Testament and this verse quoted demonstrates the mind of God with respect to repeated and willful disobedience. We repeat that it is the mind of God.

Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, taphas; seize, arrest

and bring him out unto the elders of his city,

and unto the gate of his place; sha’ar; gate, public meeting place

We should also note very carefully that they do not call the police. They, both the father and the mother, were to arrest him and bring him to the public meeting place of the city for judgement. It was the parent’s responsibility. So far, we have noted at least two responsibilities of the parents

1. They were to train the child as seen above, and

2. they were to uphold the law, and in this case bring the rebellious child to trial.

One can imagine the distress of the parents in having to arrest and charge their own child before the public court. In this case the child would have been taught, directed, admonished, and the parents, from natural affection, would have done everything possible to direct the way of the child. However there is more to follow.

And they shall say unto the elders of his city, zaque; elders, judges

This our son is stubborn carar; unmanageable

he will not obey our voice; marah; disobeys rules, not bound by them

he is a glutton, zalal; riotous

and a drunkard. caba; an alcoholic

In this day and age, we can say once again, the matter of child discipline is almost unknown yet it is of the utmost importance to understand the mind of God regarding it. In this verse it is not talking about a young child being trained, but rather an adult who is quite capable of making up his own mind, and as such is responsible for his own actions. Let us now look at the charge laid against him by his own parents. They claim that:

1. He is unmanageable

2. He refuses to obey lawful directives and apparently any other directive

3. He will not obey his parents

4. He lives a riotous life

5. He is an alcoholic.

Let us carefully note that no decision could ever be made in this case, or in any other case, under the law without supporting witnesses. In other words it must be proved beyond a doubt that he has disgraced the nation. "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:" Heb.10:28.

In review we see the repeatedly disobedient, rebellious son taken before the Court of the city Elders on the charge that he has broken God’s law.

Specifically the charge was that their son was stubborn and rebellious. That is, he refuses to listen to and obey lawful authority.

The lawful authority was his parents even though he was an adult. The Word of God is abundantly clear: "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." Ex.20:12. The word "honour" carries with the express meaning of obedience apart from anything else. In the same book we also read, "And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death." Ex.21:15. and "And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death." Ex.21:17. Above we have seen the stern commandment of God.

The one salient point that comes out of this passage is that God Himself commands that the judges act, and must know with absolute certainty that the person charged is responsible for his own actions. There is no defense in bringing up his bad upbringing, the deficiencies of his parents or any other excuse. We repeat once again, he is being judged on the basis that he is responsible for his own actions, and that the judgement is based on his own actions. The major charges are that he was unmanageable, rebellious, and an alcoholic. This being so we should note what God has clearly stated in His Word about these actions. "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king." 1Samuel.15:22-23. That is the mind of God.

Concerning this matter, God’s own judgement against this kind of sin is clearly stated in the following three verses. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Ex.22:18. "Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD." Jer.29:32. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Rev.21:98. Here again is the mind of God.

At this point, someone may say, these were commandments under the law, but we are under grace. That is perfectly true, however the mind of God is stated thus: "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Num.23:19. Yes, the mind of God is clear, but the government and mercy of God is also made evident through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God may still dispense summary judgement , but first He, in great mercy, has provided man with a Saviour. He allows us, in infinite grace, the opportunity to be saved. Yes, He allows us to make up our own minds about the work and person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will either accept or reject His free offer to be saved. In the ultimate the judgement for all sin, not forgiven by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, is certain at the Great White Throne.

Under the law man was responsible to govern himself and the Children of Israel were to judge by God’s standards and law. Today judgement is still the mind of God for man, but in this day of grace, the world has substituted Satan’s standard for that of God’s. The result is obvious. "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2Tim.3:2-5.

Previously we have noted the charge brought against the rebellious one. What we have to keep in mind, and be brought back to, is that, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" Rom.5:12. That includes everyone either in the age of law or the church age. Every descendant of Adam, in either age, has been found guilty of breaking God’s laws, and the absolute certainty is that, at death, judgement will be executed at the Great White throne. In one sense, there is very little difference between the church age and the age of law for one can only be saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Under law, they looked forward to the cross, but we look back. Let us also note, "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jer.17:10.

We often hear these words today, "but that was under the law, we are under grace." One most sincerely hopes that the speaker of those words does not mean that God is changeable. That is, He has one law for the Old Testament and another for the New Testament. That would be a most vicious and blasphemous slander. God is unchangeable, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Jas.1:17. God’s thoughts regarding sin never change. "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel.18:4.

The Ten Commandments are moral laws. They set forth what man should be, whereas grace, on the other hand, opens up to us more of God’s mind, and shows us what He is. Furthermore we are not left on the fiery mountain with all our faults exposed, but we find that grace, another character of God, is perfectly revealed to us. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John.1:17. Did grace and truth change the law? It certainly did not. In answer to the question "Which is the first commandment of all?" Mark12:28, we read the Lord’s words, "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." Mark.12:29-31.

In the verse below we are shown that God’s thoughts of sin have not, do not, and will not change. "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:" Rom.5:20. God’s thoughts regarding sin are clear. The sinner has been judged, and it is only at this point that grace enters the scene. The two things are totally separate and can never be mixed. It is not God’s intention that man should be cast into the lake of fire so grace comes in and makes a way of escape. Christ died for our sins. That is grace. Why should He care about an undeserving sinner? He does so because grace is part of His nature. Once again we quote C H Macintosh, "Law sets forth what man ought to be, grace exhibits what God is."

One of the worst errors christians fall into is to think that God unconditionally forgives sin and that they should do the same. Whereas it may be true for the individual christian, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." Mat.18:21-22. Now let us notice, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." Luke.17:3,. Truly the offended one, in his heart, has forgiven the offender, but to no effect. The rift remains between the two believers. Reconciliation can only take place when the offender repents. If the believer walks in the Spirit he will show the Lord’s character by forgiveness, and that is as far as he can go. Under no circumstances is it the exercise of grace to gloss over the offender’s sin, and claim that reconciliation has been effected. It has not. Furthermore the government of God rolls on and the unrepentant believer will most certainly feel the chastisement of his Heavenly Father.

Similarly it is not grace to gloss over sin or cover it up in the church, and call it grace as is common today. It is sin of the worst kind. Let us consider the Lord’s commandment about this matter. "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." Math.18:15-17.

Without question the church has almost totally failed to acknowledge and obey the Word of God because christians generally fail to exercise government and discipline in the church. This is large subject, generally unknown to christians, in which the church believer is expected to exercise a number of steps in discipline. The final step is commanded in these verses: "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." 1Cor.5:11-13. To argue that we are to sin the sin of disobedience, and then claim that we are exercising grace is an unspeakable evil

Should any believer think that this is applicable only to the Old Testament, as it is before the cross, they would be terribly wrong. Let us note these words to the church of God which was at Corinth; "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:" 1Cor.5:7. "But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." 1Cor.5:13. It is of the utmost importance that the believer, first of all believes the Word of the Lord, and secondly acts on it. The strict command is that the church member described above be put out of the church. Then being without, God will judge him and that according to His Word. What is forgotten is that forgiveness does not cancel out judgement or even chastisement. Government is the purpose of God, both in the world and in the church. For christians not to exercise government and judgement in the church is a most vicious evil as it totally destroys the church’s witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s Word is crystal clear about a christian’s sin.

If the christian sins against the world, the world’s government comes into play. Our relationship to the world’s government is clearly commanded in the following verses. "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." Rom.13:1. and "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; "Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." 1Peter.2:13-16. In the following verses we note that it has always been the purpose of God to judge the world. "And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgement to the people in uprightness." Ps 9:8, again, "Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice. Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. Psa.96:12-13

There are some people who believe that, as we live in the age of grace, all sin should be forgiven unconditionally. We have mentioned this before, but it is so prevelant that it has to be emphasised. In the paragraph above we clearly see that

1. the christian is to submit himself to every ordinance of man.

2. because there is no power that is not allowed by God

It is not the christian’s function to suggest to the world that, for example, the murderer should be set free with no punishment. Government is of God. The verses in the paragraph above state that government is for the punishment of evil doers. To suggest anything else is vicious, evil, and contrary to the mind of God.

We have been talking about God’s judgement in the world, and most emphatically not the christian’s judgement of it. It is true; the christian is not under law but under grace. What does that mean? It means that we obey the Word of God. "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Mat.5:44. Notwithstanding all that, the christian is still to be subject to the powers that be. That is the government set up by God in that place. Does that mean the world’s government is good? No, it certainly does not. It will be a reflection of the people that it governs. The further the people are from God the worse that government will be. It may be true to say that the distance a particular society’s government is from God’s Old Testament law is the distance that society’s morals are from God’s Word and standards.,

In all respects judgement of the world by the church is totally out of place. The believer is called to walk in the footsteps of the Lord in meekness. He will suffer for righteousness, but to deal with the world in righteous judgment is unscriptural. How the world deals with the world is the world’s business. The believer’s walk in the world is first to maintain fellowship with the Father and His Son. Then he should walk in that light, and in doing so he has fellowship with the brethren as well.

We should never think that the world, that is the system of things in a culture, is a neutral factor. It is not! The christian is guided by the Word of God in no uncertain manner about this thing. We live in this world system and it constantly affects us in one way or another, and it is essential for the believer to understand just what it is they are dealing with. In these last days christians seem to have lost all understanding of the Lord’s commandments and are almost solely guided by their own ideas.

This we will see is, in effect, rebellion against the One who loved them, and gave Himself for them. Could such statements as these be wrong? Unfortunately definitely not! "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" Rev.3:17.

This self satisfied condition is saying that they "have arrived’. There is no further progress to be made. Worst of all it indicated a close relationship with the world. Let us see what the Creator God states concerning the world; "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness." 1John.5:19. Wickedness in this verse means "the wicked one", that is Satan. Further, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:" Eph.2:2. This verse confirms that Satan controls the whole world, and every unsaved person. That is the whole world. Terribly true also is the fact that the believer may allow Satan to control him.

Our next steps are to hear the commandments of the Lord concerning our position with the world. First; "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." 1John.2:15-16. These two verses are clear and descriptive.

First of all "lust" here has nothing to do with immorality. It simply means a strong desire, nothing more nothing less. Lust of the flesh is a strong desire to please oneself as a person. Lust of the eyes is to see something and have a strong desire to have it. Pride of life is simply self promotion, or having a strong desire to make a name for oneself. Gambling is a symptom of these things, now let us see further, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" Jas.4:3-5. Now remembering the words, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.Php.4:19, we should have every reason to obey this commandment; "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom.12:2.

No doubt we have followed a side track with respect to the christian, the world, grace and Government. What we can say, however, is that without an understanding of those principles there is no way a christian can understand the reasons for Deuteronomy chapter 8. Our side track was from the judgement of a rebellious son, and in doing so we had to examine ourselves accordingly. In particular, towards examine our attitude to the government of God, and also the possibility of confounding grace and government. In short we have noted the holiness and righteousness of God, and in particular His wonderful character revealed in grace. Grace is the conferring of favours on an undeserving people. Most importantly we noted the infinite cost to our Heavenly Father in the conferring of that grace.

And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, ragam; slay, or kill by stoning

that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; ba’ar; burn, put away

In this verse the criminal was found guilty, the judgement passed, and he was executed. That was the commandment of God. Yes, the Children of Israel were to consider all the ways in which the Lord dealt with them both in government and grace. It is unfortunate that we probably learn more in our chastisement than we do from a concentrated study of the Word and then obedience to it. We would like to point out that what is common in our day and age is totally unacceptable to God. What He judges as worthy of death are not acceptable to present day society. We are indeed in the last days.

Now before we go to this verse in Deuteronomy chapter 8 we may remember that previously we said that believers have two looks forward. One was to the walk of newness of life, and the other, our eternal place in the heavenlies when we are absent from the body but present with the Lord.

Very especially we know that at His appearing we would experience the words of this verse, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." 1John.3:2.

In order to understand the picture presented by Deuteronomy chapter 8 we first of all have to realise how it applies to us for our learning. They were to bring to mind "all the way" the Lord had led them. Not just some of the way, but "all the way". They were to consider His actions toward them, not only when He acted in grace, which He certainly did, but also most particularly His government of them due to their failures. Perhaps we are looking more at His government, but this is due to the fact that in the last days the believer has virtually no knowledge of His government. Again, it is an absolute fact that we learn more by our Heavenly Father’s training of us than by any other way.

In the case of the Children of Israel none of the adults who left Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, entered the Promised Land; no, not even Moses. The judgement for their sin was exclusion from the Promised Land. The nation’s history of their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land was one of continual failure. Prior to their entry into the Promised Land, that flowed with milk and honey, the remaining Children of Israel were asked to evaluate their past history. The nation never did, and as a result the judgements of God befell them in the land

As we began, so we review again. This chapter is built around two most important points:

1. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do,

2. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee

They had arrived at the border of the land flowing with milk and honey, and it was theirs to take. You will note that it was not actually given to them, but there to take. They had to earn it, and that was by obedience to His Word. All their God desired of them was that they would look to Him for all their needs. This certain individuals did, but the nation never did, not even to this day.

The spiritually minded christian will see himself pictured in the Children of Israel because his promised land is before him. He reads the word: "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Php.4:19. What an incredible promise! Our heavenly Father is saying that He will supply all our needs. Not some of them, but all of them. This means that there will never be a spiritual or physical need that will not be ours. Our Father, the God who cannot lie, has made the statement. There may well be many who will say, "this is not my experience, why is that? The reply is simple. Have you obeyed all the Word of God? Have you considered "all the way" the Lord led you? Invariably the answer to those two questions is no.

The believer who thinks that the christian life is a bed of roses is far out of the way, self satisfied, and carnally minded. If this is so then the Old Testament warning is applicable, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!" Amos.6:1. We should also note the message of the apostles to the early believers, "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Acts.14:22.

The unbelievable grace of our heavenly Father is beyond imagination because we discover that no matter what the trial and problems in the pathway of life may be, if we allow the Lord to work in us, we receive unbelievable blessings, "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Rom.5:3-5 For further strengthening we read, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." Jas 1:2-3. In this passage "trying" means, "the trial of man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy"

Once again this chapter’s context is important if the believer is to understand the lessons to be learned from the history of Israel. When going in to take over the land Israel was given a list of duties to perform (Deut.7:1-5).

They were to destroy the people of the land, and to have no contact with their evil religions and ways. We can say that, in type, the land represents the world, and our commandments from the Lord are similar in the spiritual field. That is, Israel had to deal with the literal world, but the christian deals both with the literal and the spiritual world. "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Eph 6:11-12. If we consider it carefully we might come to the conclusion that we may be our own worst enemy. We are engaged in a spiritual battle, and we conclude the influence of the world is our enemy. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1John.2:15.

1. It is Satan’s kingdom, totally controlled by him.

2. There is absolutely nothing good in it whatsoever.

3. It is used by Satan to appeal to the believer’s flesh for their downfall.

4. It crucified the Lord. That was its judgement of Him.

It should be easy for a christian to see that the world is a real enemy, but the truth is that christians generally do not. This is because they are carnally minded. Unfortunately when this is mentioned to them they feel insulted because they think that carnally minded means that they indulge in the grossest sins of the flesh. It most definitely, positively does not. It means that the christian concerned has a life which may be perfectly respectable in every way. In short it means that the individual christian is controlling their life as best they can according to what they think is correct.

It is their understanding of the Bible. It their interpretation of what is right and what is wrong. They generally go by tradition. They has attended their church since they have been saved, they live an upright life, and believe that they are an example to all. They even go so far as to say that by doing all of the above they are obedient to the scriptures. This, of course is patently untrue. One will notice that their doctrine is self centered. Saying, "self centered" means that it is their own opinion that they abide by in their christian life. The Lord or His Word does not appear to have any relevance at all. Having said this we can say they live in a world of their own making.

That last statement is not a proper description of their position. The real position is that they are still operating in the plane of their old nature, and the old nature is totally corrupt. They are definitely not able to say with conviction as did the apostle Paul, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:" Rom.7:14. For all christians this is a shattering experience. The self centred one discovered that everything that originates from the old nature is totally evil. He had previously been born again and he thought that all he had to do was to follow the dictates of his heart and mind. The Holy Spirit had now convicted him, and he could see, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jer.17:9. He discovered the next verse described him correctly, "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." Prov.28:26. The heart and the flesh are essentially the same thing. Both are referring to the old nature when the bible connects them with sin. Again the old nature is also referred to as the "flesh" in the scripture.

The old nature is what we are, what we were born as, and what we grew up to be. That is the total unsaved personality, which by the world’s standard may be true, upright, very good, generous, and religious. What is vitally essential for the born again christian to understand is that the old nature never changes, no never, and that God reckons it to be totally corrupt, and unchangeable. It is very simple to agree with God’s judgement about the old nature because Christ paid the penalty due to the old nature which was death. Knowing this, it is the vilest blasphemy to think that the old nature could be improved by our attempted obedience to His Word or any effort on our part. Had this been possible then the Lord’s death was absolutely unnecessary as He could have improved us Himself.

That true facts are; "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;" Eph.2:1. It is important to carefully note what God’s Word is saying. We were dead. That is spiritually dead. Now what happened to us at salvation? We were "quickened". The Greek word is "suzoopoieo" which means, to give life together with. This fact is further expressed "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" Eph.2:5.

We now have the emphasis placed on the fact that we were "dead in sins". This means that we are spiritually dead, separated from God, and at death we will spend eternity in the lake of fire. However on being saved we are given "life together" with Christ. What this life is must be understood by the believer. Let us note God’s Word; "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2Cor.5:17. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." Gal.6:15.

To understand what is meant by a "new creature" The Greek word is "ktsis" meaning "a creation." The above verses clearly indicate that there are two distinct and entirely different things being spoken about. The first is the believer in his unsaved state, and the second is a completely different being new creation altogether. These two things are never confused in the scriptures, but believers are continually doing so. They do it because the new convert:

1. is not generally taught doctrine properly in this day and age. , and

2. does not have the information to "rightly divide the word of truth",

It is essential to review the status of the two entities. The old nature has been judged, found guilty, and is beyond redemption. It is forever separated from God.

The old nature is part of us, as believers, until death or the Lord comes. In order to clarify the bible use of the word flesh we now note some descriptions. "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death."Rom.7:5. "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Rom.8:8-9. Let us now note the sphere of the flesh or old nature. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." 1John.2:16-17.

The old nature’s sphere of activity is in the world, but the new nature’s sphere of activity is in the heavenly places, and is empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The scriptures say we are, "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;" Col.2:12-13. From these and other scriptures quoted above we should note, "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Eph.2:6-7. It is of utmost importance to note that the new nature’s (new creation’s) place is in the heavenly places. The new nature or (creation), immediately upon salvation is seated with Christ in the heavenly places. That is a place which the old nature can never reach or even remotely understand.

The young believer may well be confused, and may be thinking, how can I possibly have two natures with one so totally opposed to the other? The fact is that we do. We still have the old nature with us which is totally corrupt and can do nothing but sin. That does not cease to exist until we die or the Lord comes in the air for us. This is where our faith comes in. We are to "reckon"; that means to "consider", "count", our old nature as having been dealt with as a result of the work of the Lord on the cross. Christ died for our sins, the penalty has been paid, and it is no longer a factor in the mind of God as far as judgement goes. Our old nature is still with us because we breath and live, but our command is, "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." Rom.6:11-12. This commandment with respect to the old nature is that we are to believe the Word of God as it has been written with emphasis on two words. The first is dead, the second is alive

The believer is to "reckon" himself dead, that is dead to sin. How can this be done. It is almost impossible unless the believer fulfils two requisites. First, he is to recognise what sin is, and second, he must realise that he has the indwelling power to neutralise its effect on him.

Over and above all this is the fact that the believer must be in a condition where he has not grieved the indwelling Holy Spirit by previous disobedience to His prompting, and not having confessed that sin. Now it is at this point that failure is most likely to come in. The believer can not under any circumstances whatsoever overcome the propensity, bent or predisposition to sin by his own efforts

Sin comes from the old nature, and the old nature can only produce sin. This is the lesson the believer is slow to learn as we have mentioned before. It is very hard for the believer to realise that his very best intentions, his very best efforts, and his very best acts for and on behalf of the Lord should they come from that believer’s reasoning and intentions (old nature) are only sin.

For example should the believer say to himself?

1. I must serve the Lord with more fervour,

2. I believe I should, for example, become a missionary,

3. I think the right thing to do is such and such, then all the above comes from the old nature, and is totally opposed to the Lord.

The believer who acts thus is operating on his own reasoning and thoughts. We note that no scriptural commandments are given for these actions. Even if texts are quoted for their thoughts and actions they will not be relevant or may be taken out of context at random. They will emphatically claim that they are acting on their interpretation and opinion. Rarely, if ever, will they be told that they are wrong. It is of the vital and utmost importance that every christian comes to the same conclusion about his old nature as did the apostle Paul. "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:" Rom.7:18. Yes we have noted this before in the notes, but the repetition may be very important. We have a fundamental and vital lesson to learn.

When the apostle says, "in me, in my flesh" he is talking about the total personality. The Lord has forced him into a position in which he has discovered that no matter what he thinks, what he intends, or what says or does it comes from his own personality. It is totally opposed to the purpose of God. Has that been our experience? If not, then we are still operating in own strength as were Isaiah and Job. This is described in the next verses: "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Isa.6:5. "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:5-6. We now have three believers who have had the experience of knowing just what they were in the flesh, the "old nature". Each agreed that they were totally corrupt. Further, however, they realised that every human being descended from Adam was also formed in the same mould, and cannot under any circumstances help them in the sphere of the spirit. The young believer must realise that the old nature did not disappear at his salvation, but co-habits with him until the Lord comes. That should be clear from the notes above.

Now it is at this point that the new believer is faced with the choice of either following the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit or following his old nature. It is unfortunate in these last days that at this point the new believer is not taught , and as a result he is unable to avoid traps set by the enemy of souls. It is important to know that at this point should the new believer sin he will be convicted by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

In these two verses we notice three enemies, the devil, the flesh, and the world. We particularly notice that without the whole armour of God we cannot stand. It behoves us to quickly note some of the "traps" each of the three present. The first mentioned is the devil who may invite us to sin, but also lead us into wrong doctrine.

The scriptures are quite clear as to what our actions should be if we sin for example, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ 1John.1.9

We are to respond to the leadings of the indwelling Holy Spirit and acknowledge the fact that we have erred. What we also have to do is to believe the Word of God when it also says that we are forgiven. That action is past, but further action may be necessary on the part of the one in error in that he may have to rectify his position with anyone he may have offended. The vitally important thing is that the believer is led by the indwelling Holy Spirit and in doing so he will be led to do the right thing.

It is important to note that sin breaks the fellowship with the Lord, and the only way it can be regained is by confession. It therefore now should be evident that we should note the context the above verse comes from. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." 1John.1:7-10