GOD'S BREATH PUBLICATONS

Kill It, Bury It and Don't Dig It Up!

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© August 20, 2003

Galatians 2:19‑21

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

J. Vernon McGee the famous preacher, teacher and theologian once told a story about a woman who was extremely dedicated to her husband. Her whole life revolved around showing him affection and serving his needs. Unfortunately one day, he died. The wife was stricken with grief and couldn't fathom being separated from her dear and departed husband. She decided that rather than have him buried or cremated, she would have him mummified and placed on display in a glass cabinet by the front door in her living room. This way, in her comings and goings of daily life, she could say goodbye and hello to him each day. She would also have his company, in a manner of speaking, throughout the rest of her life. The lady arranged all the legal necessities of such a project and continued on with her rather strange relationship. One day she decided to take a trip to Europe and left her dry and desiccated husband to watch over the house. While in Germany she met a wonderful man and fell head‑over‑heels in love with him. They were married and traveled together for several months. Upon returning home, they entered the living room and the first thing the new husband noticed was of course the dead petrified man in the glass case next to the couch. He asked his new wife who this was and she told him it was her “old man.” The new husband promptly carried the “old man,” glass case and all, out into the back yard and buried him in the garden. He was heard to say, “I don't want to see your ‘old man’ ever again!”

I doubt the story is true, at least I hope not, but there is an analogy here for us in our Christian lives. When we accept Christ as our Savior we are a new creation. Our “old man or woman,” if you will is crucified and put to death. Through God’s grace we receive the gift of salvation that puts to death our flesh and grants us eternal life. But just like the wife who couldn't seem to comprehend living without her dead husband, we often cling to our flesh, our “old man.” Reluctant to put away our dead fleshly desires, we continue to entertain them by allowing them to hang around and interfere with our new spiritual growth. Just like the musty mummified remains of the woman's husband probably didn't do much for the atmosphere of her home, living the life of a Christian with fleshly desires is not going to stimulate growth in our Christian life.

Romans 6:6‑14 addresses this when it says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin‑because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”

Here, very plainly, we are told that when we accept Christ as our Savior and commit our lives to serving Him, our old self is crucified with Him on the cross. This old body of sin is done away with. We are no longer slaves to this fleshly body; we are free to live in Christ. Just as Christ was raised from the grave, we also have new life through the atoning work of Christ. The relationship we have with God, now that we have been reconciled through grace, is a life that is to be centered on God’s word and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

It is interesting though that even though this is stated factually; Paul goes on to give a command. He tells us to die to sin and to live in Christ. He encourages us to not let sin reign in our bodies. What Paul is saying is that even though we have been saved, have established a relationship with God as our Heavenly Father, we still choose daily whether to live according to the Spirit or the flesh. He instructs us not to obey the “old self's” desires. When we do, we offer ourselves to serve the flesh that was crucified. Choosing our “old man” we allow our body, heart and mind to be instruments of evil and wickedness. We become the servant of our flesh rather than Jesus Christ.

If the wife in the story had refused to allow her new husband to bury her “old man” or had gone out and dug him up and placed him back in the living room, their marriage would be in for some dramatic struggles. It’s the same in our relationship with our Savior when we fail to let ourselves be led by the Spirit. It’s as if Jesus comes into the living room of our heart and mind, and there we are on the couch with our old dead flesh arm in arm in a great big bear hug. He asks us who this dead person is and we say, “Oh, its just my old self. I kinda missed him.” I don’t believe that would honor Jesus. You might even call it spiritual adultery. We are flirting with evil when we allow our “old man” back into our lives.

God desires a monogamous relationship with us. He doesn't want to share us with anyone else and demands the same from us. He knows that the old flesh that was crucified brings death and destruction. The new husband in the story wanted his wife committed to him. He did not want his wife to share her love with anyone but him. Christ is the same way. He wants our undivided attention. He wants us to dedicate ourselves to Him and Him alone. When we dig up our old man or remove him from the cross he has been crucified on, we bring back into our lives the very sin we so desperately needed salvation from. We renew our vows to our flesh and allow ourselves to become slaves to its sinful desires. God wants our bodies, minds, hearts and souls to be committed to the new, living, pure, holy relationship we have with Him.

He knows we will stumble and fall at times. Even though we have received salvation and are new creatures, we still have a difficult journey before us. The Christian life begins when we accept Christ as our Savior. This is when we are spiritually born. Just like a child, we must gradually grow in our spiritual maturity as we feed upon God’s word and allow His Spirit to guide us. The old man, almost like a reanimated zombie, often attempts to re‑enter our lives and strives to dominate us. That's our opportunity to seek the Holy Spirit for help and choose to obey God's word. We have enough struggles with the flesh as we strive to live for Christ without going out and digging him up ourselves.

So take a look in the living room of your heart, mind and soul. Is there a glass case in it with a dead person in it staring back at you? I hope not. Explore the house of your life. Check every closet and cubbyhole. Make sure you haven't hidden away your old self in some corner, hoping that Christ won't find him. You can't fool your Heavenly Father. You may think God won't find your old self, but the fragrance of death will float forth and reveal your deception.