Q.-Why in the Feb. B. T. the censure on saying “the old man is gone in the death of Christ?” C.
A.-Because of so speaking as to ignore the flesh still in us. This is a very real danger, because it oversteps the truth; especially as most confound “the old man” and “the flesh.” And we know that, however delivered and blessed the saint may be here, the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh (Gal. 5:17). The more precious the truth (and it is precious to know that our old man has been crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be annulled), the more important not to go beyond the word. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.” The terms “gone,” “removed,” &c., are liable to convey what is unscriptural and misleading, and in particular where no careful guard accompanies the term. “They that are of Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts.”