The guy who did it

God condemned sin in the flesh two ways. No. 1 by sending Christ in the likeness of human flesh and No. 2 by putting away sin with the sacrifice of Himself.

“That expression about condemning sin in the flesh by Christ being in the likeness of sinful flesh, go to John 15:22:  ‘If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.’

“He condemned it by first putting it away, then being sacrificed for it and getting rid of it. Sin in the flesh is doomed because of that.

“What Jesus is saying there is, ‘I came down here and I did something nobody else ever did.’ He said, ‘I kept the law perfectly. And if I hadn’t of done that, nobody could have ever been judged for not doing it because nobody ever did it.’

“Everybody always said, ‘But WE couldn’t do it.’ Nobody ever did it. Where’s the guy that ever did it?! And He says, ‘I did it.’

‘So I fixed sin. I fixed it so there isn’t any way sin’s going to get off. He came and by perfect obedience to the law, keeping it perfectly, condemned sin. You see, what the law couldn’t do because we were weak, Christ did. He had perfect continuance in well-doing. Absolute, perfect, sinless righteousness.

*****

“Romans 8:5: ‘For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.’

“The issue there is the mind that is behind the walk. The mind is the thinking process. It has to do with taking orders. You say to your children, ‘You better mind me.’ That means think about, concentrate.

“They that walk after the flesh mind the flesh. They focus on THAT. They set their minds on the things of the flesh. Maybe it’s the pleasures of the world. Maybe it’s the satisfaction of things. Maybe it’s gain. Maybe it’s intellectual or religious attainment. It doesn’t have to be wicked things; it can be good things. In fact, in this context, it is good things.

“It’s worshipping God in such a way that the eye is pleased by beautiful buildings and stained glass windows and ornate cathedrals. The ears are pleased by beautiful music and tremendously harmonizing choirs and thunderous instruments and so on.

“The emotions are pleased by solemnity or fanaticism. You don’t have to go get the works of the flesh just out in the honky-tonk. But they focus on those things.

“I was raised in a church where on Sunday morning you went into the service and you didn’t clear your throat because everybody focused on it being peaceful and quiet and there was a sign over top that said, ‘If you whisper, whisper a prayer.’ “