And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  Galatians 2:20 HCSB

The Bible tells us that we, as human beings, are evil from the start (Genesis 8:21). You don’t have to teach a child to lie or steal, it comes naturally. In fact, you have to teach children not to do things like lie and steal. Romans 3:23 tells us that all sin and fall short of the glory of God.

Back in the days of the Old Testament, obtaining forgiveness for sins was quite a laborious process. Can you imagine loading up your ox, calf, sheep or goat and hauling it to your church in order to kill it so your pastor could burn it on the altar as a sacrifice for your sins? We no longer have to shed the blood of animals to be forgiven for our sins because Jesus blood was shed for us. He paid the ultimate price for our sins, He gave His life so that we might have eternal life (John 3:16).

We are assured in 1 John 1:9 that if we will confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus gave His life so that we might be forgiven and made righteous through our faith in Him.

Yesterday, I was watching a game show. The question was asked, “If you could only treat one person well today, who would it be?” The contestants answered with, “Your spouse” and “Your mother.” Sadly, the number one answer was-myself. In 100 people, the majority considered themselves as the most important person in their lives. This says a lot about the state of our nation and our world.

What about you? Who is the most important person in your life? Is it you? You don’t have to answer that out loud. It is obvious to anyone who knows you. When we put Christ first in our lives, it shows. When we consider others needs as important as our own, it shows. When we are grateful for all that God has done for us, it shows.

We are told in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come. That’s a big if. If you profess to be a Christian, in order for that to be true, you must be in Christ. If you are in Christ, you must be a new creation. You must die to your old deliberately sinful self. Paul said in Galatians 5:24 that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Are you willing to crucify your flesh?

Jesus died for us. There is no doubt about that. But, for whoever is unwilling to die to their fleshly, sinful desires, it does them no good. We can carry our Bibles, we can preach to others, we can warm a pew every Sunday, but we cannot have eternal life without killing our flesh. It takes dying. Jesus had to die to save us from our sins and in order for us to accept His sacrifice, we must crucify our flesh.

Our pastor often puts it this way, “If you say you have been saved, what have you been saved from?” Have you crucified the old sinful you so that the new creation in Christ shines through? Have you crucified your doubt and chosen to walk in faith? Have you crucified your fear? Have you crucified the desires of the flesh? If you feel that you are not strong enough to do this, that’s okay. God is willing and able to help you with that. You need only to ask Him. Are you willing to do that?

Jesus died to save us, but we must be willing to die to save ourselves. For many years, I was afraid to die. I don’t mean just a physical death, I was afraid of letting go of my sin. I was afraid of crucifying my flesh. But eleven years ago, I cried out to God and He guided me through the process. I have never regretted that decision.

I now live with peace and joy in my life. I live knowing that this life is temporary and there is a much better one awaiting me in glory. You can do the same. Let it go. Crucify the flesh. Allow your old sinful self to die so that you can experience rebirth. You can be born again in the Spirit.

Have a great day!