Because You Can't Fix Yourself ... Part I

You need Jesus.

Trying harder might do it ... if you could live long enough ... which you won't. Even living ninety years following a self-help program won't completely fix what is wrong with man. Why is that? The problem is this ... man is completely fallen.

We have a sin nature. Adam and Eve have passed on to every human what is commonly called, original sin. And yes, even if you are born-again you still have this sin nature. You didn't lose it when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

I know some people teach that you have become a new creature in Christ, which is true ... even the Apostle Paul said that. Paul was addressing the new spirit man with-in you ... meaning your old will is set free ... but not the body of flesh you dwell in. I wish it was that simple; our old sin nature washed away with our sins, that would solve a lot of problems. But it wasn't, it's still there.

Proverbs 3:5-7 ... "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil."

Why did Solomon say ... "lean not unto thine own understanding." Because try as you may, you can't fix yourself. It's only with the help of the Lord that we will ever overcome our sinful nature, which is ... the propensity to desire sinful things.

Never, ever, make peace with your sin. If you need to repent ... repent. Repentance is an active daily posture, an ongoing change of heart, not a magical one time grouping of words we repeated when we accepted Jesus as our Savior.

It’s not about more effort ... because you can’t fix yourself ... it’s about more submission.  It’s about having the courage to face your brokenness, to admit your sinfulness, and to surrender who you are to Jesus. It’s an ongoing journey ... a daily confrontation with our brokenness and the ongoing application of the only remedy that really works ... submission to Jesus Christ.

1st John 2:15-16 ... "Love not the world neither the things in the world ... For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

For all that is in the world ... meaning the objects visible to the eye, things that belong to this life, things that bring pride or sinful desires which men that love the world seem to value most highly and esteem important to them.

The lust of the flesh ... lust in general, meaning ... "a longing, a strong desire or corrupt principle." Some may be fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, and unclean thoughts about sensual pleasures. Desires of the flesh do not have to always be sexual ... they may include things like gluttony and drunkenness or drug use. Any craving of mind or body may be placed in this category.

The lust of the eyes ... the eye of man is never satisfied; objects, the visible things, gold, silver, houses, lands, and possessions, all of which will pass away and cannot satisfy the heart of man anyway. If there is any satisfaction in things, it is just temporal, like hunger ... you eat till you are satisfied and soon hunger again for more.

The pride of life ... by which seems to be meant, ambition, honor, prestige, living the fine life that money and wealth brings. There is nothing wrong or sinful about money ... it's the "love of money that is the root of all evil."

2nd Corinthians 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."

Really? All things are new? I don't feel much different.

Is the Apostle Paul saying ... every man in Christ is "a new creature," or as some older translations read, "let him be a new creature" ... understanding that the real true sense is this ... whoever is in Christ, who professes himself to be a Christian, "ought to be" a new creature.

All who are in Christ may not be new creatures instantly ... immediately upon conversion ... yet they shall be sooner or later if they are open to Him and His Holy Spirit at work in their lives. With the implantation of new principles of holiness through God's grace and mercy there will be an improvement over the old sin nature you were born with.

The Holy Spirit is the one who creates the new creature, or if you prefer, the new man. This new man is in opposition to the natural man with the old sin nature because he has something new implanted in his soul which was never there before. It is a new heart and a new spirit ... and in them there is new light and life bringing new affections and desires.

I am not saying the battle with the flesh will be easy. But if you are in Christ, you now have His life in you ... before you had absolutely no chance to overcome your sin nature.

Let me explain why even being in Christ, life is still going to be a spiritual battle. The truth is this ... "Our flesh is just as much who we are as is our spirit man."

The sin nature will always reside or dwell with-in our bodies of flesh. And you are stuck with this body of flesh that will never get saved. But you can gain control over the desires of the flesh with the help of the Lord.

Only then can you rule over your flesh ... rather than your flesh making you give in to it's desires.

Because you can't fix yourself ... you need Jesus.


Continued ...