I know you have heard the illustration. “Everybody has two dogs living in them. A white dog and a black dog and the one we feed the most will overpower the other.” Although this sounds like it illustrates spiritual truth, it is heresy at best and a lie that will keep you in bondage. The funny thing is when I have heard this illustration; preachers have revealed the true source of the illustration which is an old Native American proverb. I have nothing against Native American proverbs as long as they line up with Biblical truth. So the questions remain do we have a raging battle within us as believers, if we do what is the source of this battle and what does the Bible say? 2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. It starts with understanding what it means to be a new creation, what was it that passed away and what has become new? If we are a new creation after the cross then what were we before the cross? Ephesians 2:1-3 Paul gives us a detailed description: Eph 2:1 ¶ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 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: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. We were spiritually dead, at the complete mercy of the world and flesh, and driven by a sin NATURE! We inherited this condition from Adam (Romans 5:12). The identity I carried within me before the cross was sinner, due to a sin nature. The good news of the gospel goes a lot farther than many of us realize and have been taught. According to 2 Co 5:17 the gospel is more than your sins being forgiven and your name being written on heavens reservation list. You have been changed child of God! We were dead before the cross and after the cross we live (John 10:10)!! We walked according to this world’s system and the flesh, but after the cross we can walk in the newness of life (Romans 6:4). So what about that annoying sin nature ( aka black dog)? According to Paul “HE GONE,”!! Ro 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. The old things that passed away was more than your sin record, but your sin nature had to be dealt with as well and it was crucified with Christ. We may still battle flesh patterns or as Paul put it in Col 3:9 “the deeds of the old man,” or Eph 4:22 “the former conversation,” that still linger in this flesh, but Praise God the old man is dead. We were ounce rotten to the core, but now we are righteous to the core. Jesus said a house divided against itself shall not stand (Mark 3:25). For had Christ not dealt with the root problem of man which was the sin nature, we could never have fellowship with a Holy Father and we would be set up for constant failure instead of eternal victory.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 05:40:04 +0000
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