The killer instinct

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with it passions and desires. Galatians 5:24.

A man I knew once was sitting on a beach in some foreign holiday resort. I don't think he was doing very much - perhaps reading a book or just snoozing. But suddenly he sat up with a jerk. Why? Because his wife, sitting next to him, had gone completely berserk. She was thrashing around like a mad woman, smashing her fist into the sand. For a moment he was completely nonplussed. What on earth was going on?

But then he saw what had happened. His wife was sitting by their new baby - and she had just spotted a nasty-looking snake near the buggy.

The moment that mother saw what was happening, she acted out of pure instinct to protect her child. And a good job too. She didn't stop and think "Mmm, there seems to be a snake near my child - I wonder if I should do something about it, or will it just go away by itself? Should I find some food to tempt it away? Should I try and shoo it off? Well, perhaps when I've finished this chapter..." 

Oh no. It was - kill! kill! kill! And so, one dead snake...

Anything that threatens life needs to be ruthlessly destroyed. There can be no messing, no compromise. And that is why Paul talks in such striking terms about our “sinful nature" being "crucified". When you become a Christian, he is saying, your whole attitude to your life and your way of living changes radically. The sinful nature is no longer seen as just a bit of a nuisance, or something to be vaguely indulged if you happen feel like it. No; it's got to go.

(The word Paul uses, literally, is not "the sinful nature" but "the flesh", because it is through the flesh that sin so often makes its entry into our lives. Flesh, as such, is good - it must be, mustn't it, because it is made by God, and everything God makes is good. But it very easily becomes an agent of sin.)

There is one thing about Paul's words which at first sight is a little puzzling - the fact that he uses the past tense: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh...'' You might expect him to say "need to crucify" or "should crucify". And that, of course, would be quite true. 

But by using the past tense he is reminding us that conversion to Christ brings about an actual change the moment it happens. We become part of Christ - we are "in him", as Paul loves to say. And that means that what is true of him is also true - already - of us. In principle, if not yet in reality, Christ's people are "dead to sin". (Have another look at Colossians 3.)

Put it like this... In the Christian life there is an "already" and there is a "not yet". And both are true. The destruction of our sin through the cross of Jesus is already an accomplished fact - which is why Jesus uttered the triumphant cry "It is finished!" Praise God for that. But it is not yet completed. And that is something for which we too have responsibility - like that mother on the beach, we need to show it no mercy.

How are things with you and your "sinful nature", your "flesh" life? Have you become a little indulgent, a little careless? Is Christ calling you to take a hard look - and to put it on the cross

Let's never forget: if we don't destroy the flesh, the flesh will destroy us.

Father, thank you for what Jesus did for me when he died on the cross. Help me daily to play my part, and to tolerate nothing in my life which is unworthy of you. Amen.