Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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And with the two natures in the believer.
And let us start first of all with the third chapter of John's Gospel. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher, come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, unto thee.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, He must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, And we speak, that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and you receive not our witness, if I have told you earthly things and you believe not.
How shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?
And no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is in heaven. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
When we hear a bit, quite a bit today about being born again, and in the minds of many people, it's just sort of a new way of life. But you know, in the Scripture teaching, it is the giving to us of an entirely new life. It's not an improvement of the old nature, but God imparts a new life to the one who is born again. And when Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus here by night, he was looking to the Lord as a teacher.
One who would teach him the way to God. But the Lord Jesus immediately replied to show Nicodemus that it isn't just teaching that the natural man needs, he needs a new life. And nothing can be more clear from the word of God than the fact that you and I, every one of us, were born to this world with a sinful fallen nature. And it says very clearly in Romans chapter 8, they that are in the flesh.
Cannot please God now that is, there is absolutely no fruit for God from our natural first.
Natural life that we receive by our first birth into this world. And that's what the Lord is bringing before Nicodemus here. And so a Nicodemus asked about these miracles, the Lord said except the man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Well, Nicodemus did have some understanding and that the Lord was speaking about getting a new life because he knew how a baby was born into this world. And he said, how can a man be born when he is old? He knew how when a child is born into this world, it's born with a certain kind of life and nature. And we know very well that that is a nature that is.
Characterized by disobedience, None of us who are parents ever had to teach our children to be naughty.
We didn't have to teach them to be disobedient. We didn't have to teach them to do wrong things. They, like ourselves, were born with that kind of a nature. As we read, we read in the 51St Psalm that we are born in sin, conceived in iniquity.
And So what the Lord is telling Nicodemus is that what is necessary is an entirely new life. Nicodemus couldn't understand. And the Lord said, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Now when the Lord said that, he is Speaking of the fact that God.
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Uses His word by the Spirit for the new birth of a soul.
When he speaks of water here, he's not speaking about baptism. Christian baptism hadn't even been instituted at this time. What the Lord was speaking about is the application of the Word of God. I say this because in James it tells us that we are born again by the word of truth. We're told in Peter's epistle that we are born by the word of God.
Which live us and abide us forever. So what God uses is His precious word applied in the power of the Spirit of God. And by this he gives new life to a dead soul, because naturally we have that fallen nature. We're dead in trespasses and sins and what God does.
Is not attempt to improve the old nature. He tells us very clearly here that which is born of the flesh is flesh. What do you do when you have a pile of rotten lumber? You don't try to improve it, you condemn it. And this is what God tells us that he has done tells us in Romans chapter 8 God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh.
When the Lord Jesus said, and now also the axe is laid at the root of the trees. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. The axe is laid at the root because it's the root of man's nature is bad. It's the fact that he has this fallen nature now that God himself has not.
Attempted to improve. Now, through the Old Testament, we know that man was under trial.
And God was testing man as to whether he could live up to God's holy requirements. But what did the test prove? Why? It just proved that man's nature was bad, and that he wasn't able in his natural state to live up to God's requirements. And so it tells us the law worketh wroth by the law is the knowledge of sin.
So the Lord made it very clear to Nicodemus.
That what was necessary was not good teaching. It was not the improvement of the old nature, but a new life. And so I say again, God uses His precious word, applied in the power of the Spirit of God, and imparts new life to a dead soul.
Wonderful thing it is. We spoke a little of this last night of the wonderful fact that when we are saved we receive a new life. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. We have a new song. We have new power. Why, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.
Well then, in the eighth verse it says, The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth?
So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. I think this is a very important verse because.
Many people are occupied with having some kind of an experience, and they wonder if they've had the experience of being born again.
And many who have been brought up in Christian homes are often quite distressed because they wonder if they've had the right kind of experience and if they're really born again. But what the Lord is saying very clearly here is that the evidence of divine life is the result that is seen in a person's life. Did you ever see the wind? Well, I never did, but I've often seen the results of the wind. I've often seen the.
I've often seen the trees bending down in the wind, but I never have seen the wind.
I say I've seen the results and so when a person is born again.
We can expect to see the results and there might be someone here and you say well I can't just remember when it was. Well this verse says thou canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth, but you can certainly tell the result and what is the result in a believers life.
It tells us unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious. And again, we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. Know before you're saved, why you have no desire to be in the company of those that love the Savior. I remember reading a story about Doctor Woolston and he was visiting in a certain place holding some gospel meetings.
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And there was a boy in the home where he was staying, and he did his best all the time, that Mister.
Doctor Wolston was there to avoid getting talking to Doctor Wilson. Wilson personally. Every time when the meal was over he disappear. Why was that? Well, he didn't want to talk to Doctor Wilson. He was afraid he would speak to him about the Lord and he would feel uncomfortable. But the last day, just when Doctor Wilson was going to leave, why the boy came down for breakfast and.
In those days, of course, they didn't have automobiles and Doctor Wilson was going to the station.
And there he was, volunteering to take Doctor Wilson's bags and help carry him to the station.
What had happened? Oh, the boy had been brought to know the Lord. And now the first thing was he enjoyed the company of this person who wanted to speak to him about the Lord Jesus. And you know, if, if the name of the Lord Jesus isn't precious to you, I'm not going to ask you what kind of an experience you've had, but I really doubt if you're saved at all if the name of the Lord Jesus.
Is not precious to you, it says, if any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let him be Anathema Maranatha, because how could you be happy in heaven?
If you don't love the Savior, sometimes you go to a Funeral Home and people start to tell you about that good living person whose body is lying there, and they're sure that person has gone to heaven. But perhaps you've had a little acquaintance with the person and he never wanted you to speak to him about the Lord Jesus. He changed the subject every time you tried. And yet how could such a person be happy in heaven, I say.
Just like a fish out of water, he wouldn't feel happy there at all. He must have a new life to enjoy those things. And when a person has passed from death into life, he enjoys the things of the Lord. And so here it tells us how that new birth is just like the wind blowing. In other words, you see the result.
And I very seldom ask people if they're saved. I watch to see the result in their life.
And if I see a response to the name of the Lord Jesus, I desire to please Him.
I feel pretty sure that they have passed from death unto life. I'm saying this for perhaps some who've been brought up in the meeting and you say, well, I just can't remember when it was. But the question for you is not whether you remember when it was, but is the Lord Jesus precious to you tonight? Can you really from your heart join in that little song? There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing. It's worth it.
Like music in my ear, the sweetest name on earth, and so here.
He was just like a man. Let me illustrate it like this. Here is a man and he was drowning and he's going down to the third time and he's rescued and he's pulled ashore and he's safe on the shore. I don't suppose he would remember much about the person that pulled him in. Probably was unconscious when he got pulled in. But is there any doubt that he's safe when he's there on the shore? And so do your friends.
It is. The question is, are your feet safely on the shore, not how much you remember about how you got there.
And so here the Lord makes it very simple for Nicodemus. And then he goes on, and Nicodemus asks, how can these things be?
And I believe the Lord brings before us two very important things.
In the 13th and 14th verses, The 13th verse says, And no man hath ascended up to heaven.
But he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven.
I remember a good many years ago I was speaking about this 13th verse back in Ottawa and there were a group of children there and I said what? How could this be? The Lord Jesus was talking to Nicodemus and he said that he was in heaven at the same time he was talking to Nicodemus. Notice what the verse says.
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He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is in heaven.
And I was talking to Nicodemus, and I said, Is there anybody here that can tell me how the Lord could be talking to Nicodemus and be in heaven at the same time? And one of the little boys put up his hand and said, because Jesus is God. Well, dear friends, that's very important.
Because we find people today who deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They tell us that they will acknowledge that he was a Goodman. They'll acknowledge that he was the Son of God. But they will not acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is truly God himself. He was on earth and in heaven at the same time.
While he was there asleep in the boat, he was upholding all things by the word of his power, as we read in Hebrews chapter one. You say, how can you explain that? I don't try to explain it because God is beyond your mind and mine. But the Lord Jesus was perfect God and perfect man at the same time. And so the Lord brings this before Nicodemus because I would question whether a man is.
Really born again? If he denies that Jesus is God, it says who is a liar. But he that denies that Jesus is the Christ, then the next one is the 14th verse. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. You remember how?
The Israelites were bitten by the serpent, and God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole.
And anyone who looked at that serpent of brass lived.
He just needed to look at that serpent of brass, and he lived well. That serpent of brass is a little picture to us of the Lord Jesus lifted up on Calvary's cross to die as a substitute for your sins and mine if you know Him as your Savior. Oh, what a wonderful thing. And the Lord brought before Nicodemus 2 very important things, and that is the person and the work of the Lord Jesus.
For it's necessary that we should understand those two things, who the person is and the work that he has done. Do you know that Blessed One, as the one who is God, come down into this world to accomplish that work of redemption? And can you say he bore my sins in his own body on the tree where the Lord brought these two things before Nicodemus? And I bring them before you, if there's anyone.
Tonight, who hasn't passed from death unto life, I want to bring before you the glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ and that finished work that he accomplished. And if you believe that you will be born again, you'll be brought into the family of God as the Lord goes on to say in the 16th verse, for God soul of the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not.
Perish, but have everlasting life, everlasting life. And now this everlasting life that he imparts is this new life that I wish to talk a bit about tonight.
As it says in this chapter of that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, so I was born into this world with a fallen nature. When I was born again, I received a new life.
Eternal life, if you'll turn with me over to the First Epistle of John and the first chapter in the first verse, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the word of life. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness and show unto you that.
That eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us.
Now, if you look also at Colossians and the third chapter.
The third verse.
Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
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When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall he also appear with Him.
In glory. Well, we see here from the first epistle of John at that eternal life is the very life of Christ. And this is made still clear in that verse in Colossians 3 that says when Christ, who is our life shall appear. So when you receive eternal life, you receive the very life of Christ.
What a marvelous thing. Then everyone who has received the Lord Jesus as his or her personal Savior has within him eternal life. And that life is the very life of Christ. And that's why I often say that when you're saved, your body is like a house with two tenants. You have within you that fallen nature that you receive by your natural birth, and you also have the.
Life that God gives when you are born again. And so within you are those two natures, those two different lives, if I can speak in that way. And that's why a Christian has a conflict.
Because He has those two natures within him. Now, it's very important for us to say that at the cross of Calvary, God not only took up the question of our sins, but He also took up the question of the nature that produces those sins. And it's very blessed for us to see this. There are many who know that when they're saved, all their sins are gone. What a wonderful thing to be able to.
Say the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sins.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. And every believer in this room tonight can say.
Everyone of my sins is gone. That is your present standing before God.
Even when you have sinned, you're standing before God is that of a forgiven Sinner, a child of God. By one offering, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. That is where God has brought you, and so you are before him as one who has been forgiven. But oh, there's more than that.
God also has imparted to you a new life.
And he sees you in that new life before him, and that's why it tells us, as we were, some of us were looking in the Bible class at that verse in Romans 5 that speaks about justification of life. That is when God Forgives, He does more than that. He places you before him in that new life and sees you in that way. And that's why it tells us.
In the epistle of John it says that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as He is, so are we in this world. Notice, so are we in this world. We don't have to wait till the day of judgment to find out how things are going to be, but we are before God, already forgiven.
Justified from all things before him in an entirely new life. That is the position.
In which he has brought us through the work of Christ. Now I'd like to look over at.
First of all, Ephesians chapter 4, verse 22.
That she put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness.
And true holiness, then, if you'll turn over to the Epistle of John.
First Epistle of John and the Third chapter and the ninth verse.
Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.
Now in this passage in Ephesians chapter four, we see the character of these two natures. One is spoken of as the old man and the other is the new man. God describes the character of the old man as being corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and he describes the character of the new man as being created in righteousness and true holiness.
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And he tells us in that passage in First John chapter 3.
That what is born of God cannot sin. So you and I have by our natural birth the nature that loves sin, that can't do anything else but sin, that has never yet and never will produce any fruit for God. In me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.
God has condemned sin in the flesh. He's told us it's corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. Are we expecting something good from it?
Are we expecting that there's going to be something good from that which God has so totally condemned? He gave the law, but what did the law do? Well, it didn't improve the fallen nature. It just showed what it is. Just like a mirror. If my face is dirty, the mirror doesn't wash my face, but it would certainly show how dirty it is. And the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded.
Grace did much more abound. So let us be very clear about this that.
God isn't expecting anything good from that fallen nature. He has totally condemned it. He has shown us what He has to say about it. But He has also told us that those who are saved possess a new life that is created in righteousness and true holiness, a nature that cannot sin. And every believer in this room has already the life, the very same life that.
Going to have in heaven the very life of Christ and the Lord Jesus could not sin. And so when we get to heaven, we have a nature that's perfectly suited to it because it's the very life of Christ. It can't sin. It loves holiness. It's created in righteousness and true holiness. Now what has God done in connection with the old nature? Let's turn then to Romans and the 6th chapter.
Will begin at the third verse.
Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? 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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.
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, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more, death has no more dominion over him.
For him that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. 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.
Unto God, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Now here he tells us what God has done with the nature that produced those sins. Perhaps we could think of it this way. You have an apple tree. Why, there's a number of apples on it in the fall, and you can take off every apple. But next year, very proud, you'll have another crop of.
Because the tree is still there. And you know, God takes away our sins, but he has also taken up the question of the nature that produced those sins. And that's what he's telling us here in the sixth verse. He says, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him. That is at the cross of Calvary.
God not only took up the question of my sins about in the death of Christ.
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It was the end before God of my standing as a child of Adam. I no longer a child of Adam. And how did I get from the position of being a child of Adam to being a child of God? God sees me as having died out of that position and brought into a new position through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And what a wonderful thing it is to lay hold of this.
Sometimes, perhaps an illustration helps.
And I have sometimes used the illustration of a citizen, you know, I'm a citizen of Canada.
But supposing now that I were to decide that I would like to become a citizen of the United States, and I'm accepted as a citizen of the United States. Well, when I'm accepted as a citizen of the United States, I am brought into an entirely new standing in the eyes of the customs authorities. Now when I cross the border, I have to declare myself as being a Canadian citizen.
But if I were to change.
Why, I could go across the border as an American citizen. I'm the same person and I haven't physically died, but I have entered a new position. And if the customs officer were to say to me, well, there used to be a man crossed the border here, his name was Gordon Hagel, and he was a Canadian citizen. And now you say.
Gordon Hale is an American citizen. Well, I could say to him something like this.
Well, as far as you're concerned, Gordon Hale, the Canadian citizens, Dad, there's no such person anymore. Gordon Hale, the American citizen, is alive now. I want to use this as an illustration. That's what happened at the cross. God tells us that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed. And so you notice three things.
God condemned that fallen nature.
In the death of Christ, he put an end to it. And in baptism we recognize the end has come just the same as when a man is has died. What do we do? Well, we bury him. Why do we bury him? Because he's dead? Because he's dead. And that's many people don't understand baptism, but really it's the acknowledgement of that. There's nothing good from that fallen nature. And as long as a man is sick, you're always hoping.
Perhaps he'll regain his strength and be well again, But once he's died, there's nothing to do but bury him. And so God condemns in the flesh. He crucified the old man, and he says in baptism we recognize that by burying him. That's why the scriptural way is immersion, because it's a sign of burial, buried with him by baptism into death. And so here we find what God has done.
With the old nature, perhaps some of you have read a book called Pilgrims Progress. And John Bunyan had a great bundle of sins on his back in the story. And he's pointed by the evangelist to the cross, and he comes to the cross and sees the Savior dying for him. And his great bundle of sins rolls into the sepulchre, and he's rejoicing because his sins are gone.
But if you've read the Life of John Bunyan, you'll find that he was not a happy man. Even Lloyd knew his sins were gone. And you know why? Because he spent the rest of his life in what he called the holy war, fighting with that old nature and not realizing what God had done with it. But I, my father, used to put it like this, he said when he came to the cross, if he had tumbled into the sepulchre.
Himself, sins and all, and come out a Newman. He would have been a happy, delivered man, but he never saw the end of John Bunyan. He saw the end of his sins. And you know, there are hundreds and hundreds of Christians like this and they know their sins are gone, but they spend the rest of their life wondering what to do about that old fallen nature. And what God says is now just stand still.
I'll tell you what I've done about that fallen nature. He put an end to it. And just like I died out of that position as being a Canadian citizen and I entered a new position as an American citizen, I say I've died out of the position of being a child of Adam and before God. I am now a child of God, but I still have that old nature within me.
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Just as I might still have feelings toward Canada even though I have accepted American citizenship.
And the this believer still has that fallen nature. So what is he told to do?
God says, Reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. So every time I approach the border to go in the United States, I have to do some reckoning. I say, I have to tell this man now that I'm an American citizen and not a Canadian one. And I have to reckon that before God. God has seen the end of that at the cross, and he says now.
Yield your members as instruments of righteousness.
Unto God those hands once wanted to do, and once did.
What the fallen nature within me wanted to do. These feet took me where the fallen nature wanted to go.
These ears listen to the things the fallen nature wanted to listen to. But God says, now I put a new tenant in your body, you reckon that old man dead, and you just rejoice in the fact that I have given you a new life, and you yield your members to what the new life wants to do.
And so this is what he is telling us here. He is telling us that we are to yield our members as instruments of righteousness unto God. And every young believer in this room can just rejoice that God sees you as having your sins all gone. He sees you as a new creature in Christ Jesus. He's put an end before him to that fallen nature. And now he says you can just yield your.
Your hands, your feet, your eyes, your ears to do what that Newman wants to do. And why does he say we're not under law? Well, because the new man doesn't need a law. You don't need a law for someone who always wants to do what's right.
And so the old man couldn't be corrected by a law, and the Newman doesn't need a law.
What the Newman needs is to know what's pleasing to the Lord, and that's what we learned through the Word.
And that's why James speaks of the position of the Christian as being keeping the law of liberty. The law of liberty If sometimes said like this, God will never ask you to do anything that the new life he has given you doesn't want to do.
And so I asked my child to do something he wants to do. That's not hard. That's liberty. I say, would you go down to the store and buy yourself an ice cream cone? Why, if he loves ice cream, that's just what he wants to do. And so that's exactly what God does. He said I've given you a new nature that wants to please me. And now if you'll read my words, you'll find out what pleases me. And isn't this true? Don't you find this when you.
His word doesn't the Newman within you respond when you find out what the Lord wants you to do.
Someone desires to remember the Lord in his death. What produced that desire? The Lord produced that desire. And then maybe the person reading the Word of God found out that this was his privilege. So he responds. The new man always responds. The Lord Jesus could say, the good pleasure of Thy will, O God, is my delight. It was his delight to do his Father's will.
I delight to do thy will, Oh my God, ye thy laws within my heart, He said. And so that's true of every believer. The most worldly Christian in this room tonight has within him that new nature that wants to please God, but the old nature still there, the old nature, that fallen nature. And now in the 7th chapter, I believe we learn some things that help us to understand.
How we can live in the enjoyment and in the power of that new life that God has given to us. And I'd like to just begin with the 18th verse of the 7th chapter. It says here. For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for the will is present with me. But how to perform that which is good?
I find not.
Perhaps I could say that in the 7th chapter of Romans we have the experience of a person brought before us who hadn't laid hold of the blessed liberty that was his in Christ. He had new life, but he didn't have liberty. Perhaps you could compare him to Lazarus. When Lazarus was called forth out of the tomb, it says he came forth.
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Bound hand and foot with grave claws.
And there are many many Christians like that. Did he have life? Oh yes. Did he have life from the Lord Jesus? Yes the Lord had said Lazarus come forth, but he was still bound hand and foot. And the Lord said to the disciples, loose him and let him go. And now what is it that lets that looses us? It says you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. The truth of God is what sets us free. When we learn what?
Has done why we're set free and so here we find the very first thing that we need to realize.
Are you expecting something good from that fallen nature? Or to put it a little more practically, did you ever have a bad thought come into your mind? And then you said, oh, I never thought a Christian would think a thing like that. Well, if you said that you didn't believe this verse because this verse says.
That there's nothing good in the old nature. I'm not surprised at any thought that might come into my mind. What concerns me is what I do with it when it comes.
But the enemy knows how to work upon that fallen nature, and that which is born of the flesh is flesh. Here is the great apostle, perhaps one of the most spiritual men, whoever lived. And he says, in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Did he find something good? Always remember the illustration, our brother.
Wilbur Smith The spa there Mr. Morris Smith used told the story about.
Two men and here was a railway man and he had a very good watch and he told this man the time and this other man pulled out his watch and he said well the time according to my watch is such and such and he was 5 minutes difference and he said what's more this watch has never disappointed me.
Well, I looked at him. This watch never disappointed. He looked at the watch. It was one of those.
Cheap watches that people used to buy for a dollar in those days, and a watch at a dollar. Never disappointed. And here's a man with a railway watch. He said It never disappoints me because I never trust it. Well, dear friends, are you expecting something from the old nature? Well, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. In me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Peter trusted the flesh. And what happened? It broke down.
It broke down and Peter didn't think he would deny his Lord, but he did. So let's remember this.
In me, in me that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing, for the will is present with me. You say I want to please the Lord, but there is that fallen nature.
Unimproved and unimprovable. And now we come to the 20th verse, It says.
Now if I do that, I would not. It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. A few moments ago we spoke about the body being like a house with two tenants, but there's only one tenant that God recognizes as the lawful tenant, and that is the new life. And that's where He sees you. He sees you in Christ. He sees you in that new life.
That never sinned, and that cannot sin. And so he says, when I sin, it's no more I, but sin that dwelleth in me. Now when you read the chapter through, you'll see that in one breath he calls the old nature eye, and in the next breath he calls the new nature eye because he doesn't understand what God has done with that old man.
That old man was crucified with Christ, and we're told to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.
And so when he comes to this 20th verse, all he says, I, I see something now. It's no more I, it's sin that dwelleth in me. It's that which God doesn't recognize as being the lawful tenant of my body. It's the fallen nature. And so perhaps someone comes to you with a temptation, suggests that you do something and you know it's wrong. And so you say, no, I don't.
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To do that, I'm a Christian and I want to please the Lord. And after the friend has gone away, maybe the devil comes to you and says he didn't tell him the truth. You wanted to do it. You know you wanted to do it, and you told him you didn't. And you feel quite upset because you didn't know whether you did answer the right way. Yes, you did answer the right way. You just let the right tenant answer the door. Did the new life within you want to do that thing?
No, what wanted to do that wrong thing was no more I but sin that dwelleth in me. And so that when you said no, I don't want to do it, you were just letting the new life answer. Just like here's the house with the two tenants. One tenant answers one way and other the other answers the other. Be sure the right tenant answers because.
The Newman, I say again, is created in righteousness and true of holiness. So isn't this a wonderful thing? You didn't tell a lie at all.
You just let the Newman answer the door. It's no more I. So first he has learned that there's nothing good in the flesh. Now he says that that old man is no more I, but sin that dwelleth in me. It's that fall nature that's there that God tells us. He condemned that in the death of Christ was crucified, and in baptism we recognize that it was death.
And now it tells us here in the.
23rd verse But I see another law in my member war members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself serve the law of God.
But with the flesh, the law of sin, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Perhaps we could say that he has come to the point that he realizes there's nothing good in the flesh. He's come to the point where he realizes that when he does what's wrong, it's the sinful nature. It's no more I. But he's still troubled, he says.
This I see this law on my members that keeps bringing me into captivity to this law or this principle of sin which is in my members. And he says, Oh, wretched man that I am.
But notice now he doesn't say, how shall I get deliverance? But who shall deliver me? Who shall deliver me? Up to this point, he's been trying to get deliverance by fighting with that fallen nature. Now he looks outside of himself for deliverance. He looks outside of himself.
I believe it was brother Dunlop that used to make the comment. You get just as dirty fighting a chimney sweep as hugging him.
And what he was Speaking of was just this very thing that I'm talking about. Did you ever have a bad thought come into your mind and you tried to fight it away? And what kind of success did you have? Well, you just felt like fighting with a chimney sweep, didn't you? The more you tried to fight it away, the more blackened up you got because you couldn't fight it away. But what would you do if the chimney sweep comes and he's all filthy dirty?
Why? I suppose you'd turn and try and get away from him, wouldn't you? Instead of fighting with him, you'd try and get away from him.
And now isn't it a wonderful thing that when that bad thought comes, and that God gives you the privilege of turning away from it to be occupied with Christ, and the way of deliverance is not fighting away the bad thought for just giving thanks that God doesn't see you in that fallen nature, but he sees you in Christ Jesus?
I've often used the illustration.
Supposing that you were going to.
Will say that you're going to build a garage for your car and you had some lumber in your backyard and you thought you'd like to use this lumber. So when you get the Carpenter, you tell him that you'd like him to put up a garage and that you have a pile of lumber there that you'd like him to use to construct this garage as much as he could. So he goes out to examine your pile of lumber and.
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After a little while he comes in and he says, well, I guess I have some bad news for you.
Your lumber is all rotten. We can't use that lumber at all.
Oh, you say, I'm so disappointed. I thought we could use that lumber and be quite a saving. He says it's no good. There's not one good solid piece of wood in the whole pile. But he says I have good news for you today, too. He said I've brought you a new pile of lumber and it's all good, sound lumber. It's not going to cost you anything and we'll use that in putting up your garage.
Oh, what do you do? You do just what he did here. You start to give thanks, don't you? You say? Oh, thank you very much.
You just thank him. Did that improve the old pile? No, not at all. But instead of getting occupied with this old pile, now you're giving thanks that he's brought to that new pile and that he's going to use that new pile to put up your garage. And now can't you see the thought? God's telling you just the very same thing. You and I thought there was something good in that old pile of lumber, and God condemned it. And if you've been feeling.
Condemning yourself and everything about that old pile will start tonight to give thanks. God's given you a new pile. God's given you a new pile. He has given you a new life, and that new life is created in righteousness and true holiness. And so can you see very simply what he's saying. He said, I found out there's nothing good in me that is in my flesh. Well, there's no good thing.
I found out that when I sin, it's no more I but he said I'm still wretched because.
I did think there was something good in that old pile. All says the apostle, don't try to improve it, don't try to expect something good from it, just give thanks. So here he says, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now does that improve the old pile somehow? If you leave that old pile of lumber there for 10 years, is it going to improve?
And if you've been saved 10 years?
Perhaps you said, well, I thought that I wouldn't have any more of those thoughts from that old nature.
No, that lumber doesn't improve in 10 years. Probably get worse. Probably get worse.
And perhaps you're feeling bad the next day about it. And so you go out and you get up on the pile and you start to pull the pile down yourself. And you're looking through the pile to see if you can't find a, a good piece of lumber in it. And the Carpenter comes by and he says, what are you doing? Well, And you say, I really couldn't hardly believe it, that there wasn't anything good in that pile of lumber.
So I just thought I'd look it over for myself. Well, he says, now get down off that pile. You're not going to improve it and you're just making yourself unhappy for nothing. Why don't you just give thanks for this new pilots here. And he throws a tarpaulin over the old pile. It's still there. It's still as bad as ever. But now you can start giving thanks for that new pile of that new pile of lumber. And so I.
That's I believe, what God is telling us. Here I am before you tonight.
I've got that rotten pile of lumber inside of me. It hasn't improved since I've been saved. I'm ashamed when I think of how bad it is, but I rejoice that God says there is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. And if I can put it in this way.
I'm not condemning myself for having a fallen nature because God says I don't see you that way. He says you just give thanks that I have put an end to that before me now. The old nature still there. And how are we going to get deliverance now? And just notice this second verse of the 8th chapter and perhaps that helps us to understand.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
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Here away speaking in this second verse, he is showing the work of the Spirit of God. When it says the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, it's used there in the same sense as we would speak of the law of gravitation. Now if I let this book go down, if I let go of this book, you know what would happen? The law of gravitation would take it down. And when he speaks about the law of sin and death, what he's really saying.
Is every time the old nature acts it sins, and the wages of sin is death? How could I set that book free from the law of gravitation without changing that law of gravitation? Oh, you say you couldn't do it. Well supposing I attached a balloon with helium gas on and you saw this book start to go up.
Have I changed the law of gravitation? No.
But I've brought in a new law and that the book is set free and the book starts to go up. Without changing the weight of the book or changing the law of gravitation. The book is set free from that law and it goes up. Now you and I have that fallen nature within. What does the Spirit of God want to do?
Have you looking for something good in the flesh? Now the Spirit of God wants to occupy you with Christ. Every time that old nature pops up. Remember, God tells us what He's done with it. If we allow it to act, then we have to confess it and be restored. But when it when it displays itself immediately you and I have the privilege of allowing the Spirit of God through the new man to occupy.
Christ and the next time a bad thought comes into your mind and just give thanks that it's sin. It's that fallen nature that God is condemned and he's crucified and that you showed an end to it in baptism. And that just look up and say, oh thank God, God doesn't see me that way. And then start to sing a little hymn or repeat some verses of Scripture. And you don't have to fight away the bad thought. You get deliverance.
By allowing the Spirit of God to occupy with Christ, you say have IA right to do that. That's what God is telling you is the only way of deliverance. If you try to fight away those bad thoughts, they'll keep coming back. But you can just bow your head tonight and give thanks. That'll lower the rotten piles there. And it hasn't improved. And that God has given you a new life. He sees you in that new life.
He's giving you the power by the Spirit of God to be occupied with Christ.
And not speaking tonight of failure in the believers life, but I just add this little comment that supposing after the Carpenter starts to put up your garage while you go out one day and after he's gone and you pick out a couple of pieces of lumber out of that old pile and you try to fit them into the garage after he's gone.
The next morning, you'll have to tell him you're sorry for what you did.
You shouldn't have tried it because that lumber was number good. And so when we allow the old nature, God's made provision that we should confess it and be restored. But he has shown us what he has done in order that we might know God's way of deliverance. Oh, it's very precious. It's very wonderful. Dear friends, I say there are hundreds and hundreds of Christians who don't know this precious truth, and they're spending so much time trying.
To find a way of getting rid of the old nature, instead of doing what God said to His people of old, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Just stand still and listen. Let God tell you what He has done about it, and look up and give him thanks, and stand fast in the liberty where with Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of *******.