Deceitfulness of the Flesh

PART A: IS NOT THE OLD MAN DEAD?

Deceitful - Webster’s Dictionary: intending to deceive, apt to lie or cheat, to mislead or to make a person believe what is not true.

Vine’s Expository: to beguile; that which gives a false impression, whether by appearance, statement, or influence; to use vain words to belittle the true character of sins; to corrupt by mingling the truths of God with false doctrines (II Corinthians 4:2).

Satan has taken on the task of convincing the saints of God that he is still supreme in their lives. He has been very effective in this endeavor. He has convinced the children of God that they are still under the captivity of their arch enemy.

John 8:32-36

32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

33. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

35. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

36. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Here, Jesus explains that those who choose to commit sin, are the servants of sin or satan. This is where the devil was able to capitalize in the lives of the children of God. He knows that the saints of God have been made free from the bondage of sin and death. However, he uses the sinful deeds of the saints to persuade them that the liberty of the Spirit is far from them.

As Paul stated, you are servants to the one to whom you yield your members (Romans 6:13). Here again is an opportunity for the enemy. If the Church does not receive thorough teachings on this matter, it will continue to believe that the power of sin in them is greater than the presence of God. This is proven by the mindset that exists in the church. It believes that no one can live free from sin. It even proudly states that as long as we are in this body, we will sin.

With such a mindset, there is no hope of ever reaching the mark of perfection. To strengthen such a mindset, scriptures are taken out of context, such as, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Satan is having a field day with this belief system, for it totally contradicts the truth. Unbelief is the rejection of known and witnessed truth.

When the soul is serving Satan's purpose, it remembers its former training by Satan and it also takes on his attributes and confirms a lie in us.

Romans 6:6-23

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.

7. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

11. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

17. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

18. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

19. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

20. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

21. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

22. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There was a time when we were servants of sin, belonging to the devil. We were his children and the fruit of his sin. However, the master has come and made our conscience free from the spirit of iniquity. We have received the Spirit of life and liberty. The old man is dead. The old conscience of sin has been crucified and resurrected with Christ.

Nevertheless, when the soul of the born again believer has not truly accepted the death of the old man. It will give mental assent to it; as long as there is no temptation to reveal the weakness of the soul in the flesh due to choice. Therefore, when the church commits sin, the devil persuades it to submit to the fact that it is still under his control. He proclaims that in reality, when it comes to sin committed by the soul using the flesh, he the devil is the greater one. The question is why does the soul operating from a sinful disposition so readily accept this lie?

First of all, the carnal disposition of a soul remembers its former training by Satan and also buys into whatever he is currently doing. Despite the absolute renewal of the mind, the soul in rebellion refuses to fully accept its divorce from its old master. For example: A person may lose a limb due to a traumatic illness, in which they experienced constant pain. If this illness persists for a long period of time, the soul that controls the brain will cause it to spend countless days, weeks, months, and sometimes years, processing that pain.

Once the limb is removed, you would think that the pain would cease. However, several months later the pain is still present. This is called phantom pain. The soul has a memory of the pain caused by the infection in the limb. Since it remembers the pain, it also remembers the source from which it originated. Therefore, it reacts as if the limb is still there.

This makes it very difficult for the victim. He must suffer the pain of a missing limb, until the spirit of the mind (soul) accepts the fact that the source of the pain is no longer a part of the body. Once this happens, then the pain will cease.

PART B: HOPELESSNESS

The state of hopelessness will cause you to regress in your spiritual walk. You will not expect to be victorious over sin. Therefore, you could never expect to triumph over the devil’s work in the lives of others.

The soul must accept that the old man is dead, before it will reckon itself, its new body and its perfectly purged conscience as dead to sin. Unless this truth is accepted, the saint will move to a place of hopelessness against the sin issue. You will never believe that you are able to live free from sin until your heart accepts the truth about the salvation experience.

Remember, Satan’s primary purpose is to discredit the power of God in your life. Therefore, he will try to lessen or rob you of the joy of your salvation. Your joy is your strength. We find strength in knowing that the Lord is in control of our lives and that we can overcome the enemy of our salvation.

However, when sin is present, or when we fail the Lord, we tend to feel helpless and depressed. This is the condition of fallen saints, when they have accepted a lie concerning the sin that they have committed.

The activities of a saint under Satan's evil influence have been successful in convincing you that the grace (influence of God), which was dispensed in your life, was ineffectual. This is truly the deceitfulness of walking after the flesh which means to live opposing God's grace or influence in your heart.

DELIVERANCE

Thank God that faith is faithful to reveal the lie to us. Read the following scripture carefully.

2 Peter 1:3-10

3. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7. And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

10. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Peter does an excellent job of explaining the deliverance and the development of this erroneous mindset. Since identification is 99% of deliverance, it behooves us to take a good look at the truth.

1. We are partakers of the divine nature. We are the children of God. The old man is dead. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. Satan has been cast out. He is no longer the dictator of our emotions and appetites. We have been born again. The mind must accept this as truth.

2. The Lord has made provisions for us to come into the perfection of the children of God. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have the necessary tools to walk in the Spirit. The word and the Spirit are “all sufficient.” We have been given the ability to walk free from sin. We must accept this as truth.

3. The indwelling of the Spirit of Christ quickened our mortal bodies alive unto God. The yielding of our members to sin is strictly by choice.

We can choose not to serve the devil in the lust of the flesh. He wants you to believe that he is still in control. You remember the pleasures of sin, thus you feel the emotions connected with those desires.

Those emotions will cause you to forget that you were once purged from your old sins. All the desires and pleasures are so real. They seem to pull you the same way they did before you met the Lord. This is so because temptation is a reminder of past pleasures and/or an introduction to new ones. If the soul is fed the Word consistently it will replace the emotions, appetites, desires and will of the soul.

4. Peter outlines for us the progression of godliness or spiritual growth. As we sit under the Word and allow it preeminence in our life, we will find that it will develop: faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity, which is love indeed. If you do these things, you will never fall.

SUMMARY

The deceitfulness of the flesh (which means your soul is in rebellion against God) will bring you to a place of unbelief. In order for this operation to be successful, you must reject direct or indirect truths relative to what the Word says about a situation, circumstance, or relationship.

You can not reach back and extract the pleasure out of sin without partaking of the captivity of the sin. You must accept this as truth. To whom you yield your members, it is to him that you are subservient.

Accordingly, you have received the Spirit of liberty, you are able to deliver yourself from the snare of the devil. Therefore, should you find yourself in a fallen state, you can get up. You have the power to get up. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

2 Timothy 2:24-26

24. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

25. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

26. And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

The instruction of the Word of God is powerful enough to bring deliverance to those that allow the enemy to take them captive. This is another distinction between saint and sinner. Allow your mind to suffer truth. It is then that you will be free indeed.

I love you,

Doc.