The End of Sin and Death!

I. Primary Scripture

“For I through the Law am DEAD to the Law, that I might LIVE unto God. I AM CRUCIFIED with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by The Faith of the Son of God, WHO LOVED ME, and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the Grace of God: for if righteousness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain.”‬‬ -- The Apostle Paul, Galatians 2:19-21

II. Central Idea

The Secret to walking in the Holy Spirit is NOT found in TRYING TO MAKE THE FLESH ACT SPIRITUAL!!!

"Brother Mitchell! If I stop trying to discipline and control my flesh, then my fellow believers will realize I'm a fake and I'll be thrown out of the Church! Isn't DISCIPLINE the whole point of DISCIPLESHIP?"

II.a. First Truth

The OBJECTIVE of Discipleship is neither discipline nor looking righteous to others, but ABANDONING all self-confidence and depending on the Lord Jesus Christ COMPLETELY to live His Holy and Perfect Life in me.

II.b. Second Truth

The REAL Reason I'm in the fight of my life with the body of sin is because I'm more AFRAID of what YOU think of me or what I think of myself than what GOD knows about me...

...and my fear of your opinion or what I see in the mirror is not an expression of Humility...that's an expression of PRIDE.

PRIDE is always afraid that what it tells people about itself will someday be exposed as BALDERDASH.

III. PRIDE

PRIDE is the first Sin to exist...EVER.

PRIDE is the Seed of all evil and all spiritual darkness.

PRIDE is the ONE VICE I DARE NOT ADDRESS because in my heart i believe it's the ONLY THING that keeps the people around me from discovering how evil i really am.

III.a. Self

What is PRIDE?

PRIDE is the DELUSION (self-deception) that I am AT LEAST as important as God is...maybe more.

PRIDE tells me that I am JUST AS REAL AS GOD, which makes me equal with GOD.

Because I am GOD'S equal I have the authority to CHOOSE whether to obey His Voice or not.

III.b. Religion

PRIDE is so PRECIOUS to us, we are under constant temptation to INJECT our PRIDE into our FAITH.

Faith that is based on PRIDE rather than Divine Grace is called RELIGION.

Religion tells me that MY PART in my Salvation IS JUST AS IMPORTANT as GOD'S Part; if for some reason, therefore, I can't complete my part, my Salvation is totally destroyed and I have to start all over again!

We're talking about religion that is based on PRIDE...not Divine Grace.

IV. The Gospel

The Gospel is NOT a religion; It’s success is not based on how you feel or how others feel about you. The Gospel is the POWER OF GOD to make you as PERFECT as He is AND HE HAS ALREADY COMPLETED YOUR PERFECTION.

"For I am not ashamed of The Gospel of Christ: for It is the POWER OF GOD unto Salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. -- The Apostle Paul, Romans 1:16

The Gospel is designed by GOD to utterly destroy your PRIDE so that GOD can SAVE YOU.

The Gospel destroys PRIDE by DOING EVERYTHING for you and leaving NOTHING for you to do but BELIEVE in and RECEIVE Christ's FINISHED WORK.

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the Works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the Work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent.” -- The Gospel of John 6:28,29

Faith is the ONLY part you are allowed to play in your Salvation!

IV.a. Sanctification

So tell me, then: HOW do I WIN the battle against my flesh and STOP SINNING?

I've always believed that answering one question with another is rude...yet in this case I'll make an exception and answer that question with another:

WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING A BATTLE WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN WON?!?!?!?!

IV.b. Baptism

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that Grace may abound? "God forbid. How shall we, that are DEAD to sin, live any longer therein? "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 [harvested] also in the LIKENESS of His Resurrection: "KNOWING this, that our old man IS CRUCITIFED with Him, that the body of sin might be DESTROYED, that henceforth [from now on] we should NOT serve sin. "For HE THAT IS DEAD is FREED FROM SIN!!!”-- The -- The Apostle Paul, Romans 6:1-7

IV.b.1 The Word "Baptize"

Did you know that "baptize" is not an English word? It was stolen from the Greeks.

"Baptize was originally used to describe the process of adding colors to cloth...otherwise known as "dyeing".

Hot, wet, freshly-woven cloth was soaked in a dye made from shellfish for hours. When the process was complete, the dye was so bound to the fabric that there was NOTHING that could be done to separate the two.

Before creation was created, by the sheer force of His Irresistible Perfect Will, GOD The Father placed you in GOD the Word...

...binding you to Him in such a way that NOTHING WITH A NAME could separate you from Him.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly Places in Christ: "According as He [GOD The Father] hath chosen us in Him [God The Word] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. "In LOVE having predestinated us unto the Adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His Will, to the praise of the Glory of His Grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in The Beloved [Son]. "

-- The Apostle Paul, Ephesians 1:3-6

Christ's Death/Burial/Resurrection/Ascension/Seating

...has become your/my

Death/Burial/Resurrection/Ascension/Seating:

“But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His Great LOVE wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by Grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS!!!”

‭‭-- The Apostle Paul, Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

To rescue you from the Lake of Fire and Sulfur, GOD could not leave ANYTHING for your PRIDE to grab onto. He therefore provided EVERYTHING you needed in the Person of Jesus Christ.

And just as Moses lifted up the brass serpent in the wilderness with the PROMISE that any snake-bite victim that looked at the brass serpent WOULD BE UNCONDITIONALLY HEALED...

...GOD The Father lifted up GOD The Son on a tree with the PROMISE that any sinner who looked to Jesus with TOTAL CONFIDENCE AND TRUST, having acknowledged their absolute HELPLESSNESS to save or sanctify themselves...

...WOULD BE UNCONDITIONALLY SAVED AND PERFECTED!!!!

As believers in Christ you and I have one simple task: to REALIZE that everything that happened to Jesus HAS ALREADY HAPPENED to us!!!!!

We are already in Heaven, in the Body of Jesus, placed beyond the power of sin and temptation.

Amen.