“Mortify the Flesh”

Colossians 3:5-7  (KJV) “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordianate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.”

Mortify: Simply means to “put to death”

Romans 8:1-13 (KJV) “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 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. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if you through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

Ephesians 4:19(KJV) “Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

Members which are upon the earth: The word “members” here means a limb or part of the body: the Bible also says in Galatians 5:13,14 (KJV) “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love seerve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

  Fornication: The word simply means “harlotry” which includes “adultery and incest” and a lot of the times it is used, it is used figuratively which means “idolatry” or having a loving affection for the fleshly things of the world, more than you have a loving affection for the spiritual things that are of GOD.

  Uncleanness: Which hardly ever means “unwashed” or what we would call “getting dirty” but means “physically or morally” unclean handling of the things that are unpure to GOD and HIS COMMANDMENTS.

  Inordinate affection: Usually means the love or lust for the enemies of GOD, such as other nations that loved their IDOLS and left GOD for the things of this world. Leaving GOD out of their lives and clung to the hand made IDOLS and STATUES of the gods that could not speak, move or help them in any way.

  Evil Concupiscence: Which is a longing for the EVIL things of this world, that satan paints such a pretty picture of, so that GOD’s people will leave GOD and HIS WORK and snuggle up to the things of the flesh.

  Covetousness, which is Idolatry: Simply means loving money, fame, notierity, being so caught up with those things so much that you leave GOD behind and seek after them and forget about GOD, and then they become YOUR GOD which of course becomes IDOLATRY. Listen please, LOVE NOT the WORLD nor the things of the WORLD.

We’ve all been there!! We don’t like to admit it but “WE HAVE BEEN THERE”. Isn’t that what the Apostle Paul means when he said in verse 7 of Colossians the 3rd chapter, : “ In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.” I know that it is a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, but we have got to remember, when we see someone else wrapped up in these things, that we were once there in the same place, doing the same things or maybe even worse. Looking into the MIRROR of our past lives, sometimes brings back memories that we had rather not think about. Now, we are not to live in the past and memories of times when we were without GOD, in other words before we were saved, before we had repented of them and cried out to JESUS. But we need, at times, to look back at our past to see the ugliness of what sin brought into our lives, and to remind us of where GOD has brought us from.  Remember the word “LOOKING GLASS”: and of course you’ll find this word in 1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV) “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”  This verse doesn’t say that we don’t see through a dark glass but we see DARKLY or obscurely, the mirrors of those days as we see even in JOB were usually made of metal and were not very clear. Most of the times what they saw in the “LOOKING GLASSES of those days were very fuzzy and  obscure, and sometimes dark. But sometimes we need to see things obscurely because we cannot understand some things in our natural state. In the movie “A Few Good Men” Jack Nicholson’s character said “you can’t handle the truth” and those are some pretty good words to think on. The truth is hard to handle, but we must hear and see the truth, so that we can be the Christian, GOD wants us to be.

Job 37:18  (KJV) “Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?”

Elihu is speaking here and explaining to Job about some of the wonders that GOD had made, mentioning the SKY and how it looked like a “MIRROR”, calling it a “molten looking glass”, and in that day, metal was melted and poured out to form a smooth convex piece of metal that a person could look at see their reflection. Just a side note on that, did you realize you have never seen your face, only the reflection of it in a mirror or reflective object, and its actually reversed. I kind of thought that that was very interesting. Not important, I guess, but very interesting.

In the 1500’s the secret of how to make a great mirror was a closely guarded secret and even to the point of that the ART or PROCESS was not known worldwide but was exclusively manufactured in ITALY. But then in the 1600’s the process was leaked to England and other countries and the rest is history.

Sometimes we try to obscrure the truth in an effort to not have to deal with it but, of course the best way is to “FACE THE TRUTH”. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said these words:

John 8:31-34 (KJV) “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”  

James 1:23-25  (KJV) For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a class: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”  

1 Peter 4:1-4 (KJV) For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:”

Don’t worry about what people think about you but live as GOD WANTS YOU TO LIVE. Don’t go back to the life you used to live before you were “BORN AGAIN” Stand strong, Stand tall, Stand straight.

Let us not forget Colossians 3:6 (KJV) “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:”

Please don’t go back to what you were before GOD called you to SALVATION through CHRIST! “PUT TO DEATH” all of those things that are not “PLEASING TO GOD” and “LIVE FOR HIM” “REMAIN RISEN WITH CHRIST”.

The wrath of GOD “ain’t no fun” The Bible declares “…it is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of a “LIVING GOD…”