YOUR OLD MAN’’

A CURE FOR DRUG ADDICTION

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A CURE FOR MURDER...

A CURE FOR RAPE, CRIME...

‘‘YOUR OLD MAN’’‘‘THE ADAMS FAMILY’’

‘‘LEAVE YOUR OLD MAN’’

DIVORCE HIM AND GO TO YOUR NEW MAN

Buddy Dano, Pastor

Divine Viewpoint

www.divineviewpoint.com

93

http://www.divineviewpoint.com

THE OLD SIN NATURE

THE DEFINITION: The old sin nature isthat tendency to sin present in the soul

of every human being born into this world.David said in Psalm 51:5 that he was bornwith an old sin nature.

The old sin nature is the dictator ofthe soul. ALL PERSONAL SIN COMESFROM THE OLD SIN NATURE. SIN IS AC-TUALLY ACTING INDEPENDENTLY OFGOD. Negative volition created the old sinnature. Adam and Eve could not sin untilthey exercised negative volition. Upon the ex-ercise of their negative volition to the singleprohibition of God in the Garden, the firstman and woman died spiritually and be camesinners. Since all reproduction is ‘‘after itskind,’’ all who are descended from Adamhave this inherited old sin nature, which issinful. It is stated in Genesis 5:3, ‘‘And Adamlived an hundred and thirty years, and begata son in his own likeness, after his image;and called his name Seth.’’ And in Romans5:12, ‘‘Wherefore, as by one man sin enteredinto the world, and death by sin; and sodeath passed upon all men, for that all havesinned.’’

Every member of the human race haswhat most consider evil impulses. They saythat heredity, environment, education, train-ing, circumstances, all play a part in one’sbehaviour. The average individual does notallow too many of these evil impulses to runrampant through his experience. But thereare some impulses over which there is nocontrol. We fight them with all the will powerwe can muster, and with no success.

There is a way of deliverance and it isfound in one of the most profound metaphysi-cal passages in all of literature. A man by thename of Paul, the hellenistic Jew, trained inthe University of Tarsus, the foremost Greekschool of learning of the time, and in the rab-binical school of theology at Jerusalem, is theauthor. You must read carefully to follow himthrough the intricate mazes of the inner work-

ing of man’s personality. And after readingthem, we can have victory over certain evilimpulses.

When the medical profession speaks of adisease germ that has not been isolated, itmeans that that germ has never been identi-fied and thus isolated from those germswhich are known. Since that germ has neverbeen identified, medicine has not been ableto discover a remedy for it. Once the germhas been isolated, a remedy can usually befound.

There is a so-called germ in the humanrace that has not been isolated. You can dis-cover this germ in Romans 6 where Paul,through the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit,identifies it and isolates it.

Paul describes the inner change whichoccurs the moment a person accepts JesusChrist as personal Saviour, and also the ad-justments to the inner life which does haveconsistent victory over it, but when, in the be-liever’s thinking this matter is cleared up andthis germ, nature, is isolated, he has the rem-edy which will enable him to gain consistentvictory over these impulses in his life.

The Scripture is very clear as to the iden-tity of this germ, which indwells every per-son as he is born into this world . One onlyhas to glance at certain passages of Scrip-ture in order to appreciate the character ofthis germ. There are six terms in Scripture todescribe this germ. It has many aliases.

One alias is called:

1. ‘‘SIN’’: This is sin in the singular, incontrast to ‘‘sins’’ in the plural. Sin in Romans6:7 is the nature, in distinction from sins,which are MANIFESTATIONS OF THIS NA-TURE. ‘‘For he that is dead is freed fromSIN.’’

See 1 John 1:8 with 1 John 1:10 wherethis distinction also appears. ‘‘If we say thatwe have no SIN, we deceive ourselves, andthe Truth is not in us.’’ ‘‘If we say that we

1 THE OLD SIN NATURE

have not SINNED, we make Him a liar, andHis Word is not in us.’’ This is also broughtout in the following passages:

• a. Psalm 51:5, ‘‘Behold, I was shapenin iniquity; and in SIN did my motherconceive me.’’ ‘‘In sin’’ is with a sin na-ture.

• b. Romans 5:12, ‘‘Wherefore, as by oneman SIN entered into the world, anddeath by SIN; and so death passedupon all men, for that all have sinned.’’‘‘Sin’’ here is the nature.

• c. Romans 7:14, ‘‘For we know that thelaw is spiritual: but I am carnal, soldunder SIN.’’ ‘‘Sin’’ here is the nature.

• d. 1 John 1:8, ‘‘If we say that we haveno SIN...’’ This again is the nature.

• e. Romans 6:12, ‘‘Let not SIN thereforereign in your mortal body, that yeshould obey it in the lusts thereof.’’‘‘Sin’’ is your nature. ‘‘Reign’’ is to havecontrol over you.

2. Another alias is ‘‘FLESH,’’ which is anemphasis on where it is located.

• a. Romans 8:8, ‘‘So then they that arein the FLESH cannot please God.’’‘‘They that are in the flesh’’ means inthe power of the nature.

• b. Romans 7:18, ‘‘For I know that in me(that is, in my FLESH) dwelleth nogood thing: for to will is present withme; but how to perform that which isgood I find not.’’ ‘‘In the flesh,’’ whichmeans nature, ‘‘dwells no good thing.’’

• c. Galatians 5:16-21, ‘‘This I say then,Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfillthe lust of the FLESH. For the FLESHlusteth against the Spirit, and the Spiritagainst the flesh: and these are con-trary the one to the other: so that yecannot do the things that ye would. Butif ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not un-der the Law. Now the works of theFLESH are manifest, which are these;Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, las-civiousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,variance, emulations, wrath, strife, sedi-tions, heresies, Envyings, murders,

drunkenness, revellings, and such like:of the which I tell you before, as I havealso told you in time past, that theywhich do such things shall not inheritthe kingdom of God.’’ ‘‘The works of theFLESH,’’ nature.

• d. Ephesians 2:3, ‘‘Among whom alsowe all had our conversation in timespast in the lusts of our FLESH, fulfillingthe desire of the FLESH and of themind; and were by nature the childrenof wrath, even as others.’’

• e. Romans 13:14, ‘‘But put ye on theLord Jesus Christ, and make not provi-sion for the FLESH, to fulfill the luststhereof.’’ The unbeliever fulfills the lustsof the flesh, the nature.

• f. Galatians 3:3, ‘‘Are ye so foolish?having begun in the Spirit, are ye nowmade perfect in the FLESH?’’

• g. John 3:6, ‘‘That which is born of theFLESH is FLESH; and that which isborn of the Spirit is spirit.’’

3. Another alias is THE ‘‘OLD MAN.’’ It iscalled the ‘‘old man’’ because it is as old asAdam’s nature.

• a. Romans 6:6, ‘‘Knowing this, that ourOLD MAN is crucified with Him, thatthe body of sin might be destroyed,that henceforth we should not servesin.’’ ‘‘The old man,’’ nature, ‘‘is crucifiedwith Him’’, Christ.

• b. Ephesians 4:22, ‘‘That ye put offconcerning the former conversation theOLD MAN, which is corrupt accordingto the deceitful lusts.’’

• c. Colossians 3:5-9, ‘‘Mortify thereforeyour members which are upon theEarth; fornication, uncleanness, inordi-nate affection, evil concupiscence, andcovetousness, which is idolatry: Forwhich things’ sake the wrath of Godcometh on the children of disobedi-ence: In the which ye also walkedsome time, when ye lived in them. Butnow ye also put off all these; anger,wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy com-munication out of your mouth. Lie not

THE OLD SIN NATURE 2

one to another, seeing that ye have putoff the OLD MAN with his deeds.’’

4. Another alias is ‘‘HEART.’’ This is usedtwo ways in Scripture:

• A. ‘‘HEART’’ refers to the soul or somefacet of the soul, such as the mind.

• B. It refers to the nature, a facet of thesoul. It is listed five times as located inthe mind:

• 1. Jeremiah 17:9, ‘‘The HEART is de-ceitful above all things, and desperatelywicked: who can know it?’’ ‘‘TheHEART is desperately wicked,’’ the na-ture.

• 2. Matthew 12:34, ‘‘O generation of vi-pers, how can ye, being evil, speakgood things? for out of the abundanceof the HEART the mouth speaketh.’’‘‘Out of the HEART’’ the nature comes.

• 3. Matthew 15:19, ‘‘For out of theHEART proceed evil thoughts, mur-ders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,false witness, blasphemies.’’

• 4. Mark 7:21-23, ‘‘For from within, outof the HEART of men, proceed evilthoughts, adulteries, fornications, mur-ders, Thefts, covetousness, wicked-ness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evileye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: Allthese evil things come from within, anddefile the man.’’

• 5. Psalm 58:2-5, ‘‘Yea, in HEART yework wickedness; ye weigh the vio-lence of your hands in the Earth. Thewicked are estranged from the womb:they go astray as soon as they beborn, speaking lies. Their poison is likethe poison of a serpent: they are likethe deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;Which will not hearken to the voice ofcharmers, charming never so wisely.’’‘‘In the HEART,’’ nature, ‘‘ye work wick-edness...’’ They go astray as soon asthey are born.

5. Another alias is ‘‘CARNAL.’’

• a. Romans 7:14, ‘‘For we know that thelaw is spiritual: but I am CARNAL, sold

under sin.’’ ‘‘Carnal’’ means controlledby the nature, sold under the nature.

• b. Romans 8:6-8, ‘‘For to be CAR-NALLY minded is death; but to be spiri-tually minded is life and peace. Be-cause the CARNAL mind is enmityagainst God: for it is not subject to thelaw of God, neither indeed can be. Sothen they that are in the flesh cannotplease God.’’ ‘‘For to be CARNALLYminded,’’ controlled by the nature, ‘‘isdeath,’’ temporal death, ‘‘but to be spiri-tually minded,’’ controlled by the HolySpirit, ‘‘is (temporal) life and peace.’’Romans 8:7 says ‘‘CARNALLYminded,’’ which is the mind under thecontrol of the nature, the ‘‘old man’’.

• c. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, ‘‘And I, brethren,could not speak unto you as unto spiri-tual, but as unto CARNAL, even asunto babes in Christ. I have fed youwith milk, and not with meat: for hith-erto ye were not able to bear it, neitheryet now are ye able. For ye are yetCARNAL: for whereas there is amongyou envying, and strife, and divisions,are ye not CARNAL, and walk asmen?’’ ‘‘Walk as men’’ means walkingas the natural man, the unbeliever. Abeliever out of fellowship CANNOT bedistinguished from an unbeliever.

6. Another alias is the word ‘‘spirit.’’

• a. James 4:5, ‘‘Do ye think that theScripture saith in vain, The SPIRIT,’’nature, ‘‘that dwelleth in us lusteth toenvy?’’

• b. Genesis 6:5, ‘‘And God saw that thewickedness of man was great in theEarth, and that every imagination of thethoughts of his heart was only evil con-tinually.’’

Now, this ‘‘OLD MAN,’’ Adam’s nature,was passed down through the man, Adam.Satan attacked the woman instead of theman because Satan had to make the womansin in order to trick the whole human race. Ifthe man had sinned and then told the woman‘‘eat’’ and she did, she could have said, ‘‘I just


obeyed my husband,’’ and she would nothave been guilty. But the woman sinned first.

1 Timothy 2:14, ‘‘And Adam was not de-ceived, but the woman being deceived was inthe transgression.’’ And when she did, sheacquired the old nature. The man, Adam,sinned secondly. It was deliberate and he ac-quired an old nature, called the ‘‘OLD MAN,’’or Adam’s old sin nature, the adamic nature.Both were guilty before God. Now the wholehuman race is counted guilty because Adamsinned.

Everyone sinned when Adam sinned, ret-roactive. When Adam was condemned,Adam’s progeny was condemned.1 Corinthians 15:22, ‘‘For as in Adam all die,’’spiritually, imputed sin, ‘‘even so in Christshall all be made alive.’’ So, by one man theold sin nature came, and by one Man salva-tion came.

The judgment of the woman, Eve, wastwo-fold. Genesis 3:16, ‘‘Unto the woman Hesaid, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thyconception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forthchildren; and thy desire shall be to thy hus-band, and he shall rule over thee.’’ ‘‘In sorrowthou shalt bring forth children.’’ It is very pos-sible from this passage that she couldn’t con-ceive before that. ‘‘Thy desire,’’ strong crav-ing, ‘‘shall be to thy husband, and he shallrule over thee,’’ cause her to respond. Thewoman became the child bearer.

1 Timothy 2:14, 15, ‘‘And Adam was notdeceived, but the woman being deceived wasin the transgression. Notwithstanding sheshall be saved in childbearing, if they con-tinue in faith and charity and holiness withsobriety.’’ ‘‘Saved’’ is delivered. She will bedelivered by means of the bearing of oneparticular Child, through the virgin birth ofChrist. Woman will be the means of bringingthe humanity of Jesus Christ into the world.He is the Saviour and through this One thewhole world will have its sins atoned. Thisatonement is only real and meaningful whena person accepts Jesus Christ as their per-sonal Saviour. Thus, the woman and the manare delivered from spiritual death because ofthe childbearing, for only through childbearing

could the Son of God come into the world asSaviour, as the God-man.

There is also the judgment of man whichis two-fold. Genesis 3:17-19, ‘‘And unto AdamHe said, Because thou hast hearkened untothe voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of thetree, of which I commanded thee, saying,Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the groundfor thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it allthe days of thy life: Thorns also and thistlesshall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eatthe herb of the field; In the sweat of thy faceshalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto theground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dustthou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’’

There’s sorrow to the woman and sorrowto the man. Man must earn his living by thesweat of his face. Because the man willfullysinned, therefore he became the means ofpassing on the sin nature. Romans 5:12,‘‘Wherefore, as by man,’’ the first man, Adam,‘‘sin,’’ the old sin nature, ‘‘entered into theworld, and death,’’ first spiritual death, ‘‘bysin,’’ the first sin of the human race, whichwas negative volition, ‘‘and so death,’’ spiri-tual death, ‘‘passed upon all men,’’ the wholehuman race, ‘‘for that all have sinned,’’ this iswhen Adam sinned. This is the imputed sinnature, Adam’s nature.

How does this happen? Psalm 51:5, ‘‘Be-hold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin,’’with Adam’s nature, ‘‘did my mother conceiveme.’’ Copulation in marriage is not sinful.But Adam’s nature is passed on down be-cause of the man, the male’s participation.Adam deliberately sinned, and so man, themale, passes down the ‘‘old man,’’ Adam’snature, to the whole human race.

There are three types of sin:

Imputed sin, which is actually spiritualdeath.

Inherent sin, which is the ‘‘old man,’’Adam’s sin.

Personal sin, which is the manifestationof and results of having Adam’s nature in us.Now, in the conception of the humanity of theLord Jesus Christ, the woman participated.The man, male, did not participate.


Matthew 1:20, ‘‘But while he thought onthese things, behold, the angel of the Lordappeared unto him in a dream, saying,Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to takeunto thee Mary thy wife: for that which isconceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.’’THEREFORE THE LORD JESUS CHRISTWAS BORN WITHOUT ADAM’S NATURE.

2 Corinthians 5:21, ‘‘For He,’’ God the Fa-ther, ‘‘made Him,’’ God the Son, ‘‘to be sin forus, who,’’ Jesus Christ, ‘‘knew no sin, that wemight be made the righteousness of God inHim.’’ Therefore, the male, Adam, and malemembers of the human race are responsiblefor passing this old nature on. Therefore,Adam’s nature in us is that tendency to sin,which is always present in the soul of everyhuman being born into this world. We areborn with it. The old nature is the dictatorof the soul. All personal sins come fromAdam’s nature. SIN IS ACTUALLY ACTINGINDEPENDENTLY OF GOD.

Now, in the beginning, negative volitionby Adam created the old sin nature. Adamand Eve could not have sinned until theyexercised negative volition to God’s Word.Upon the expression of their negative volitionto the single prohibition of God in the Gar-den, the first man and the first woman diedspiritually and became sinners. Since all re-production is ‘‘after its kind’’ all who are de-scended from Adam have inherited his na-ture, which is sinful.

Genesis 5:3, ‘‘And Adam lived an hun-dred and thirty years, and begat a son in hisown likeness, after his image, and called hisname Seth.’’ Romans 5:12, ‘‘Wherefore, as byone man sin entered into the world, anddeath by sin; and so death passed upon allmen, for that all have sinned.’’ When we areborn into this world, no volition on our part isinvolved in our acquiring Adam’s nature. Manhas free will with a negative and a posi-tive pole, and this operates on the old na-ture, which has in it areas of strength andareas of weakness, and has a trend to-ward lasciviousness or asceticism. Sinand evil are produced from its area ofweakness and are predominant when

there is a tendency toward lascivious-ness. Human good can be produced fromits area of strength, and from its tendencytoward asceticism, a good front can beassumed. YET NOTHING FROM ADAM’SNATURE IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE LORD.

Now, Jesus Christ BORE the SINS of theold sin nature and REJECTED HUMANGOOD from the old sin nature on the cross.When a person accepts Jesus Christ as per-sonal Saviour, that believer STILL pos-sesses Adam’s old sin nature. This isfound in 1 John 1:8 and Romans 6. ‘‘If wesay that we have no sin, we deceive our-selves, and the Truth is not in us.’’ BUT THEOLD SIN NATURE IS NOT RESIDENT INTHE BELIEVER’S RESURRECTION BODY.Philippians 3:21, ‘‘Who shall change our vilebody, that it may be fashioned like unto Hisglorious body, according to the workingwhereby He is able even to subdue all thingsunto Himself.’’

But the believer under the control ofAdam’s nature is called ‘‘carnal.’’ Romans7:14, ‘‘For we know that the Law is spiritual:but I am carnal, sold under sin.’’ And whileunder the control of Adam’s nature we haveno bonafide production. Romans 7:15, ‘‘Forthat which I do I allow not: for what I would,that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.’’ Gala-tians 5:17, ‘‘For the flesh lusteth against theSpirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: andthese are contrary the one to the other: sothat ye cannot do the things that ye would.’’

THE SOLUTION TO ADAM’S NATURE

FIRST: SALVATION : The Lord JesusChrist bore the sins of Adam’s sin nature onthe cross. 1 Peter 2:24, ‘‘Who His own selfbare our sins in His own body on the tree,that we, being dead to sins, should live untorighteousness: by Whose stripes ye werehealed.’’ And He rejected human good fromthat nature. Ephesians 2:8, 9, ‘‘For byGRACE are ye saved through faith; and thatnot of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not ofworks, lest any man should boast.’’

SECOND: The solution for the believer inChrist is THE FILLING OF GOD THE HOLYSPIRIT, Galatians 5:16. ‘‘This I say then,


Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill thelust of the flesh.’’ This is appropriated through1 John 1:9, ‘‘If we confess our sins, He isfaithful and just to forgive us our sins, and tocleanse us from all unrighteousness.’’ Thenthe application of the daily function of ‘‘grow-ing in GRACE by the knowledge of our Sav-iour Jesus Christ.’’ This continues to give theproper filling and mental attitude necessaryfor the whole operation of the Christian wayof life.

The ‘‘old man,’’ Adam’s nature, has anessence. It has different facets or charac-teristics. Romans 6:6, ‘‘Knowing this, that ourOLD MAN is crucified with Him, that THEBODY OF SIN might be destroyed, thathenceforth we should not serve sin.’’ Our ‘‘oldman’’ is our sin nature. ‘‘Body of sin’’ is oursin nature. ‘‘Not serve sin’’ means our sin na-ture.

GOD SAYS THAT EVERYTHING THATCOMES FROM YOUR ‘‘OLD MAN’’ IS NOGOOD, ACCORDING TO HIS STANDARD.Romans 7:18, ‘‘For I know that in me (that is,in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for towill is present with me; but how to performthat which is good I find not.’’ And it certainlyis not pleasing to Him. Romans 8:7, 8, ‘‘Be-cause the carnal mind is enmity against God:for it is not subject to the law of God, neitherindeed can be. So then they that are in theflesh cannot please God.’’ Isaiah 64:6, ‘‘Butwe are all as an unclean thing, AND ALLOUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHYRAGS; and we all do fade as a leaf; and ouriniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.’’

Romans 8:8 says that the ‘‘old man’’ hasan area of strength. This produces humangood. This is predominate when the trend inthe ‘‘old man’’ is toward asceticism. ‘‘All ourrighteousnesses are as filthy rags in Hissight.’’ The ‘‘old man’’ also has an area ofweakness, which produces sin. This is alsopredominate when the trend is toward lascivi-ousness. Hebrews 12:1, ‘‘Wherefore seeingwe also are compassed about with so great acloud of witnesses, LET US LAY ASIDEEVERY WEIGHT, AND THE SIN WHICHDOTH SO EASILY BESET US, and let us

run with patience the race that is set beforeus.’’ ‘‘Let us lay aside every weight, ANDTHE SIN THAT SO EASILY BESETS US.’’

The ‘‘old man’’ has trends in two areas:the area of asceticism, which is the principleof extreme denial, like acting religious, put-ting on a good front, the clean-cut type. Andthen there is the other trend toward lascivi-ousness, which is overt sinning, irreligious, alife centering around sin and evil. This persondoesn’t care who knows how he or she lives.‘‘Just let it all hang out.’’

THERE IS ALSO IN THE ‘‘OLD MAN’’ ALUST PATTERN. Romans 7;17, ‘‘Now then itis no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth inme.’’ Romans 13:14, ‘‘But put ye on the LordJesus Christ, and make not provision for theflesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.’’ Romans6:12, 13, ‘‘Let not sin therefore reign in yourmortal body, that ye should obey it in thelusts thereof. Neither yield ye your membersas instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:but yield yourselves unto God, as those thatare alive from the dead, and your membersas instruments of righteousness unto God.’’

James 4:1-5, ‘‘FROM WHENCE COMEWARS and fightings among you? come theynot hence, EVEN OF YOUR LUSTS THATWAR IN YOUR MEMBERS? Ye lust, andhave not: ye kill, and desire to have, andcannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye havenot, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receivenot, because ye ask amiss, that ye may con-sume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers andadulteresses, know ye not that the friendshipof the world is enmity with God? whosoevertherefore will be a friend of the world is theenemy of God. Do ye think that the Scripturesaith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in uslusteth to envy?’’

There are all kinds of lust in the Adamicnature which is passed down to every mem-ber of the human race. Approbation lust,which is doing something for the applause orpraise received. There is power lust, which isthe desire to be top man in everything. Ma-terialism lust, which is the desire to keepahead of the Jones’, or to strive for securityin the financial realm. Whether one has much


or little is not the issue. Then there is alsoego lust, which is pride. The more that theego is developed, the more people pat us onthe head, the more dependent we becomeon flattery, upon recognition, upon approba-tion. And there is also sexual lust, which is abodily desire coming from a mental attitude.

Therefore, our productivity as believ-ers in the Lord Jesus Christ, is dependententirely upon FACING OURSELVES ASWE REALLY ARE, AND ORIENTING TOTHE GRACE OF GOD. WE ARE NOTHINGBECAUSE OF OUR ‘‘OLD MAN,’’ our old na-ture. THE BELIEVER WHO IS DEPENDENTUPON THE FEEDING OF EGO LUST FORPRODUCTIVITY IS NOT REALLY PRO-DUCING AT ALL!!!

Since we all have an ‘‘old man,’’ anadamic nature, residing in us at birth, andsince it remains with us while we are alive onthis Earth, how do we isolate it? Well, thereare two categories of people in the humanrace. There are those who have accepted Je-sus Christ as their personal Saviour andthere are those who have rejected Him astheir personal Saviour. John 3:36, ‘‘He thatbelieveth on the Son hath everlasting life:and he that believeth not the Son shall notsee life; but the wrath of God abideth onhim.’’ The solution to the old sin nature to theunbeliever is the fact that the sins of the un-believer where bore by Jesus Christ on thecross. 1 Peter 2:24, ‘‘Who His own self bareour sins in His body on the tree, that we, be-ing dead to sins, should live unto righteous-ness: by Whose stripes ye were healed.’’ Je-sus Christ rejected the human good from theold nature, Ephesians 2:8, 9, ‘‘For byGRACE are ye saved through faith; and thatnot of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not ofworks, lest any man should boast.’’ The un-believer will be at the Great White ThroneJudgment because of rejection of Christ,which is the unpardonable act. This iswhere the unbeliever will stand with HISOWN HUMAN GOOD . HIS HUMAN GOODDOES NOT MEASURE UP TO GOD’SSTANDARDS, SO HE WILL BE JUDGED‘‘ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS.’’ Revelation20:12, 15, ‘‘And I saw the dead, small and

great, stand before God; and the books wereopened: and another book was opened,which is the book of life: and the dead werejudged out of those things which were writtenin the books, ACCORDING TO THEIRWORKS. And whosoever was not found writ-ten in the book of life was cast into the lakeof fire.’’ THE UNBELIEVERS’ SINS WILLNEVER BE MENTIONED BECAUSE THEYHAVE ALREADY BEEN JUDGED INCHRIST, Revelation 20:12. But he will becast into the lake of fire with his humangood because of REJECTION OF CHRIST,and he will burn forever.

Well, what about the believer in Christand his ‘‘old man?’’ The sins of the believerwere bore by Jesus Christ on the cross. 1Peter 2:24. 2 Corinthians 5:21, ‘‘For He hathmade Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin;that we might be made the righteousness ofGod in Him.’’ 1 John 2:1, 2, ‘‘My little children,these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.And if any man sin, we have an Advocatewith the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous:And He is the propitiation for our sins: andnot for our’s only, but also for the sins of thewhole world.’’ Therefore, when the believersins as a Christian, and Satan accuses himin Heaven, Revelation 12:10b, the Lord Je-sus Christ, our Defense Attorney, pleads ourcase and the case is thrown out of court.When the believer sins, he confesses his sin,thereby getting back into fellowship and un-der the control of God the Holy Spirit. JesusChrist rejected the human good of the old sinnature in salvation, Ephesians 2:8, 9. And inthe Christian way of life, Romans 8:8, ‘‘Sothey that are in the flesh cannot pleaseGod.’’

Human good is contrary to the principleof God’s GRACE. In GRACE, God does thedoing, which is the Holy Spirit producingthrough the filling of the Holy Spirit. TherebyGod is glorified and man does the receiv-ing. In works and legalism, man does the do-ing, human good, and man gets the glory.Before human good is judged, human goodwas already rejected.


The human good of the old nature of be-lievers will be judged at the Judgment Seatof Christ. It is wood, hay, stubble, and isseparated from the believer and burned. 1Corinthians 3:10-15, ‘‘According to theGRACE of God which is given unto me, as awise masterbuilder, I have laid the founda-tion, and another buildeth thereon. But letevery man take heed how he buildeth there-upon. For other foundation can no man laythan that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now ifany man build upon this foundation gold, sil-ver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;Every man’s work shall be made manifest:for the day shall declare it, because it shallbe revealed by fire; and the fire shall tryevery man’s work of what sort it is. If anyman’s work abide which he hath built there-upon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’swork shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: buthe himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.’’

The human race looks on the outside,but God looks on the inside. God knowsand sees this ‘‘old man,’’ and God findsNOTHING GOOD in it at all. We can educateand train and rehabilitate this old nature sothat it does not murder or steal, etc. We cancover it up with a lovely, or a false, front, butthat still DOES NOT MAKE IT ACCEPTABLETO THE LORD.

Romans 8:8, ‘‘So they that are in theflesh,’’ the old nature, ‘‘cannot please God.’’Jeremiah 13:23, ‘‘Can the Ethiopian changehis skin, or the leopard his spots? then mayye also do good, that are accustomed to doevil.’’ Jeremiah 17:9, ‘‘The heart,’’ old nature,‘‘is deceitful above all things, and desperatelywicked: who can know it?’’ ‘‘Desperatelywicked’’ in the Hebrew says ‘‘incurably sick,’’or terminal. Adam’s nature is terminal. Your‘‘old man’’ is terminal, incurable. The only an-swer then is the NEW BIRTH, REGENERA-TION, which provides a new Divine natureand the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus Christ died not only forour sins, BUT TO UNCHAIN THE POWEROF THE ‘‘OLD MAN,’’ Adam’s old sin naturein us. The Lord Jesus Christ died for the sinsof the ‘‘old man’’ and then upon an individual

being regenerated, the human spirit is given,and through the intake of the Word of God, a‘‘new man’’ is built up and is diffused throughthe facets of the soul. The filling of God theHoly Spirit is connected with a knowledge ofthe Word of God and you become matureand stable and maintain a maximum fellow-ship with God in time.

We do not have to serve this ‘‘old man’’any longer. We can claim God’s promisesthat say we are dead to this ‘‘old man,’’ andthat we are alive to God, our ‘‘new man.’’Romans 6:11, ‘‘Likewise reckon ye also your-selves to be dead indeed unto sin, but aliveunto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.’’This is the mental attitude when we are infellowship with God. Our volition allows our‘‘old man’’ to rule us. Negative volition meansthat we’re out of fellowship. When we are outof fellowship with God, we operate on nega-tive volition and, since in that conditionthe ‘‘old man’’ controls, we sin. This alsoresults then in sins of ignorance and deliber-ate sinning. We can also use our free will toput this ‘‘old man’’ out of control and let theHoly Spirit rule by use of 1 John 1:9, ‘‘If weconfess our sins, He is faithful and just to for-give us our sins, and to cleanse us from allunrighteousness.’’ There is therefore a strug-gle, a war, within the believer in the Lord Je-sus Christ. Every individual has volition witha positive and a negative pole, which actsupon this old sin nature.

If you are not a believer, THIS ‘‘OLDMAN’’ ALWAYS RULES YOUR LIFE, pro-ducing sometimes sins, of which THEWORST ARE MENTAL, and you will alsoproduce human good. As a believer in theLord Jesus Christ you can choose whether ornot the ‘‘old man’’ controls your life. LEAVEYOUR ‘‘OLD MAN.’’ The believer under thecontrol of the old nature generally goes intwo ways: evil actions or he puts on a goodfront.

We have several illustrations of trends inScripture. Ananias and Saul are two illustra-tions of trends in the old nature. YOUCANNOT CHANGE YOUR OLD SIN NA-TURE, BUT, AS A BELIEVER, YOU CAN


HANDLE THE ‘‘OLD MAN’’ BY USE OF 1John 1:9, AND THE APPLICATION OFTHE WORD OF GOD TO YOUR EXPERI-ENCE.

Saul, as an example, was a believer outof fellowship in the Old Testament and he lethis old nature control him. His ‘‘old man’’ hada trend toward evil, lasciviousness. He actedfrom his area of weakness. Saul could havebeen Israel’s greatest king. He was chosenby God Himself. The Holy Spirit gave himpower to be all that God wanted him to be.1 Samuel 11:6, ‘‘And the Spirit of God cameupon Saul when he heard those tidings, andhis anger was kindled greatly.’’ At first Saulused the power of God the Holy Spirit andlead the army of Israel to great victory, whenall the rest of the people were afraid. 1 Sa-muel 11. God gave Saul a command in 1 Sa-muel 10:6-8 to wait seven days for Samuel,but Samuel did not show up and Saul gotvery nervous.

‘‘And the Spirit of the Lord will comeupon thee, and thou shalt prophesy withthem, and shalt be turned into another man.And let it be, when these signs come untothee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; forGod is with thee. And thou shalt go down be-fore me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will comedown unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, andto sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings:seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come tothee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.’’1 Samuel 13:8, ‘‘And he tarried seven days,according to the set time that Samuel hadappointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal;and the people were scattered from him.’’ Heneeded to go and fight the enemy, but knewthat there should be a sacrifice to the Lordfirst, by a prophet. Saul was not a prophet.

Saul’s old nature, his ‘‘old man,’’ said,‘‘Don’t obey the Lord,’’ and the Holy Spiritsaid ‘‘Obey the Lord.’’ Saul had a decision tomake. He had a struggle within him. Saulwent negative and disobeyed the Lord. 1 Sa-muel 13:9, 13, ‘‘And Saul said, Bring hither aburnt offering to me, and peace offerings.And he offered the burnt offering.’’ ‘‘And Sa-muel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly:

thou hast not kept the commandment of theLord thy God, which He commanded thee:for now would the Lord have established thykingdom upon Israel forever.’’

Then the Lord gave another command. 1Samuel 15:2, 3, ‘‘Thus saith the Lord ofhosts, I remember that which Amalek did toIsrael, how he laid wait for him in the way,when he came up from Egypt. Now go andsmite Amalek, and utterly destroy all thatthey have, and spare them not; but slay bothman and woman, infant and suckling, ox andsheep, camel and ass.’’ And again Saul dis-obeyed. 1 Samuel 15:8, 9, ‘‘And he tookAgag the king of the Amalekites alive, andutterly destroyed all the people with the edgeof the sword. But Saul and the people sparedAgag, and the best of the sheep, and of theoxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, andall that was good, and would not destroythem: but every thing that was vile and re-fuse, that they destroyed utterly.’’

As Saul lived more and more under thecontrol of his old nature, he began to becomecalloused and his conscience was seared,and his norms and standards were de-stroyed. He became an animal, even thoughHE WAS A BELIEVER. When he found outthat David, instead of his own son, was to bethe next king, he became terribly jealous.Mental attitude sins came from his area ofweakness in his old nature. And from hisjealousy came hatred, mental attitude sinclusters. From hatred came the desire andthe attempt to kill David. This was mentalmurder. Only God’s protection spared David’slife. This is God’s overruling will.

Saul’s production from his old nature,from his area of weakness, is also unaccept-able to God, as was the production of Ana-nias and Sapphira. Their production camefrom their area of strength. Sins are pro-duced from the area of weakness, and hu-man good is produced from the area ofstrength in the old nature. Saul died underthe sin unto death. 1 Chronicles 10:13, ‘‘SoSaul died for his transgression which hecommitted against the Lord, even against theWord of the Lord, which he kept not, and


also for asking counsel of one that had a fa-miliar spirit, to enquire of it.’’ And so did Ana-nias and Sapphira.

Because we are believers in Christ andwe are regenerated, we are ‘‘new creaturesin Christ,’’ 2 Corinthians 5:17. So we are ex-pected to ‘‘walk in newness of life.’’ Romans6:4b, ‘‘Therefore we are buried with Him bybaptism into death: that like as Christ wasraised up from the dead by the glory of theFather, even so we also should WALK INNEWNESS OF LIFE.’’ In the believer some-times the conscience struggles to do the rightthing, but since the ‘‘old man’’ rules, it isn’tmuch of a struggle. There is an inner conflictin the believer, WHICH IS NOT FOUND INTHE UNBELIEVER. This conflict is betweenthe old nature and God the Holy Spirit. THEHOLY SPIRIT WILL NOT RULE JOINTLYWITH ADAM’S NATURE .

Romans 7:14-16 is written from the view-point of a carnal believer who doesn’t under-stand how to be controlled by God the HolySpirit. ‘‘For we know that the Law is spiritual:but I am carnal, sold under sin. For thatwhich I do I allow not: for what I would, thatdo I not; but what I hate, that I do. If then Ido that which I would not, I consent unto thelaw that it is good.’’

When the old nature is in control there isa ZIG-ZAG pattern within the ‘‘old man,’’which is between his area of weakness andhis area of strength. You are not always go-ing to move in the same direction. The longeryou stay out of fellowship, the more you willzig-zag. If you get bored with self-righteous-ness, you will go toward lasciviousness andyou will live it up. Then you will get a guiltfeeling and go back to asceticism and put ona good front. Asceticism = good front. Las-civiousness = who cares? When the HolySpirit controls the believer, the Holy Spiritproduces the character of the incarnateChrist in the believer.

The Scriptures are the only things thatdeclare that man has a malady, that all menhave an incurable disease, a germ, that hasto be isolated. We are all born in Adam, andas the Scripture says, ‘‘In Adam all die.’’ We

ALL have Adam’s old sin nature, called our‘‘old man.’’ We have been lead to believe thatsinning is the problem and if we stop sinningwe will be fine. But no one mentions the factthat we have an old sin nature with us AL-WAYS. This nature will be with us as long aswe are alive on this Earth. The culprit is the‘‘old man.’’

We are all in the ‘‘Adam’s Family.’’ Weare monsters, as it were. There is no humanmedicine that can cure this disease, this sick-ness. We can imprison it. We can shut it upin prison, but we cannot remove it. It remainswith you there in prison and if you are pa-roled, you still have it. It cannot be rehabili-tated. It can’t be cut out. That is the dilemma.That is why there are crimes, and robberiesand rapes, and even drug addiction. TheScripture is very clear as to the identity of theevil nature which indwells every one of us aswe are born into this world. If you are alive,you have one. You take it with you whereveryou go. To a ball game, to a show, to a club,to a dance, to a marriage, to church, to theoffice, etc. You can’t get away from your ‘‘oldman.’’

You only have to look into the Word ofGod to find him, because you cannot see himphysically. He is invisible even as your soulis, the real you. ‘‘The invisible old man’’ isyour invisible ‘‘old man.’’ You are married tohim.

We can appraise the character of our oldman by the following scriptures: ‘‘And Godsaw that the wickedness of man was great inthe Earth, and that every imagination of thethoughts of his heart was only evil continu-ally,’’ Genesis 6:5. ‘‘There is none righteous,no, not one. There is none that under-standeth, there is none that seeketh afterGod. THEY ARE ALL GONE OUT OF THEWAY, THEY ARE TOGETHER BECOMEUNPROFITABLE; THERE IS NONE THATDOETH GOOD, NO, NOT ONE. Their throatis an open sepulchre; with their tongues theyhave used deceit; the poison of asps is undertheir lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing andbitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood:Destruction and misery are in their ways: And


the way of peace have they not known:There is no fear of God before their eyes,’’Romans 3:9-18.

Notice the total description of a personliving out from his old nature. ‘‘Throat opensepulchre,’’ ‘‘Tongues have used deceit,’’‘‘Poison of asps under their lips,’’ ‘‘Mouth fullof cursing and bitterness,’’ ‘‘Feet swift to shedblood,’’ ‘‘And the way of peace they have notknown,’’ and ‘‘There is no fear of God.’’

Galatians 5:19 describes for us in detailwhy we have crime, wars, drug addiction,etc. Why drugs? Why crime? Why murder?Why wars? Galatians 5:19-21 is a descriptionof the old sin nature. ‘‘Now the works of theflesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery,fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,Idolatry, witchcraft...’’ The word you havehere in the English for ‘‘witchcraft’’ is literallydrug addiction. ‘‘Hatred, variance, emulations,wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings,murders, drunkenness, revellings, and suchlike: of the which I tell you before, as I havealso told you in time past, that they which dosuch things shall not inherit the kingdom ofGod.’’

The Bible therefore, has named, or iso-lated, the germ called sin. And identifies it asthe ‘‘old man,’’ the fallen nature received fromAdam. Now the problem is that this natureremains in man even after he becomes a be-liever in the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘‘If we say wehave no sin, we deceive ourselves and theTruth is not in us,’’ 1 John 1:8. So, how areyou going to stop murders, drug addiction,seditions, adultery, idolatry, drunkenness,wrath, strife?? This is where it all comesfrom: THE OLD NATURE. How can we stopcrime, drug addiction, rape, wars, etc.?Prison can take it off the streets, BUT ITCAN’T CURE IT. It is NOT REMOVED atsalvation.

The Lord in salvation breaks the powerof the old nature in the believer. But Godleaves the old nature in the believer as a dis-ciplinary measure. When the believer refusesto be controlled by him (the old sin nature),and says a point blank ‘‘NO’’ to it, he glorifiesGod and defeats Satan, and grows in spiri-

tual strength and stature. If the believer in theLord Jesus Christ expects to have consistentvictory over this ‘‘old man,’’ he must know twothings: First, what God has done in his innerbeing with regard to that nature. And second,what adjustments are necessary for him tomake in relation to it.

Both of these Paul takes up for us in Ro-mans 6. PAUL’S PRESENTATION HERECONSISTS OF TWO QUESTIONS ANDTWO ANSWERS. The two questions: Ro-mans 6:1, ‘‘What shall we say then? Shall wecontinue in sin, that GRACE may abound?’’Shall we who profess to be Christians, con-tinue to sustain habitually the same relation-ship to the evil nature which we sustainedbefore we were saved in order that God’sGRACE might abound in thus forgiving oursins?

Romans 6:14, ‘‘For sin shall not have do-minion over you: for ye are not under theLaw, but under GRACE.’’ What then? Shallwe commit occasional acts of sin becausewe are not under the uncompromising rule ofthe Law, but under the lenient sceptre ofGRACE?

These were not Paul’s questions. Theywere asked of him by someone who has lis-tened to him teach on the GRACE of God,but who lived under the Law. This was a per-son who did not understand the GRACE ofGod, living under the Law. Paul answers thefirst question in verses 2-14. In here heshows that it is a mechanical IMPOSSIBIL-ITY for the believer to sustain the same rela-tionship habitually to the ‘‘old man,’’ which hesustained before he was saved. He answersthe second question by showing that the be-lieving sinner has changed masters. Beforesalvation, Satan was his master. And sincehe has been saved by GRACE, he has anew master, the Lord.

THE WHOLE KEY TO UNDER-STANDING ROMANS 6 IS IN THE DEFI-NITE ARTICLE WHICH PRECEDES THEWORD ‘‘SIN’’ OF VERSE ONE IN THEGREEK TEXT. Rules of Greek syntax referthe sin mentioned in this verse back to thesin mentioned in Romans 5:21. ‘‘That as sin


hath reigned unto death, even so mightGRACE reign through righteousness untoeternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.’’ Sin islooked upon as reigning as a king, and it isclear that it refers to the old sin nature, not toacts of sin. So the ‘‘old man’’ is spoken of inchapter 6:1 and throughout the entire chapterwhere the word ‘‘sin’’ occurs. When Paulsays, ‘‘What shall we say then?’’ He refersback to his statement that he made in chap-ter 5:20. ‘‘Moreover the Law entered, that theoffence might abound. But where sinabounded, GRACE did much more abound.’’Where sin abounded, GRACE was in super-abundance and then some on top of that.

Paul’s questioner had listened to himteach on that text and had approached himas follows: Paul, do you mean to say thatGod is willing to forgive sin as fast as mancommits it? If that is the case, shall we whoprofess to be Christians continue to sustainthe same relationship to the evil nature whichwe did before we were saved, thus allowingacts of sin to enter our experience, thus al-lowing God to forgive those sins and displayHis GRACE?

The question then boils down to the rela-tionship of the ‘‘old man’’ to the Christian.Paul’s first answer is ‘‘God forbid,’’ literally,‘‘away with that thought.’’ ‘‘Let not such athing occur.’’ His second answer is ‘‘how is itpossible for such as we who have once forall been separated from the power of the ’oldman’ to live any longer in his grip?’’ Paulspeaks of the Christian as being dead to the‘‘old man.’’ But death is not extinction, BUTSEPARATION. The Christian has died to sinin the sense that God, in supernaturalGRACE, while leaving the ‘‘old man’’ in thebeliever, has separated him from it. THEREHAS BEEN A DEFINITE CLEAVAGE, ADISENGAGEMENT OF THE PERSONFROM THE ‘‘OLD MAN.’’ The ‘‘old man’’ thenis a dethroned monarch. BEFORE SALVA-TION THE ‘‘OLD MAN’’ WAS THE MAS-TER, LORD OF THE INDIVIDUAL. SINCESALVATION, THE BELIEVER IS THELORD OVER THE ‘‘OLD MAN.’’

When the believer begins to see thistruth, he has isolated the ‘‘old man,’’ identifiedit in its proper character, and has within hisgrasp the remedy for it. The ‘‘old man’’ is anunseen and unknown enemy which is hard tofight. The Christian who has not isolated the‘‘old man’’ fights sin in the dark, and ignorantof the fact that the old nature is no longer hismaster, continues to obey it more or less be-cause he has no knowledge of how to gainthe victory over it.

We have here then the emancipationproclamation by God in which the Christianhas been released from slavery to the old na-ture. But like many slaves who have been re-leased from slavery, who are ignorant of theirrelease, still serve of the slave master. Sobelievers who are ignorant of Romans 6 con-tinue to be slaves of this permanent indwell-ing ‘‘old man’’ to the extent that they are notgaining consistent victory over sin.

Paul himself was in this very situation be-fore he came to know the truth of Romans 6.Romans 7:14, 15, ‘‘I am carnal, sold undersin. For that which I do, I do not understand:for what I would, that I do not; but what Ihate, that I do.’’ Paul knew that he wassaved, but he did not understand hisChristian experience. The very thing hewished to do, namely good, he did not do.And the very thing he did not want to do,namely sin, he did do. He was struggling inhis own strength to keep from sinning and todo what was right. And he found that his hu-man efforts were not equal to this task.Many, many Christians are in a like situation,vacillating between the strength and theweakness of the ‘‘old man.’’

The truth of Romans 6 enables the be-liever in the Lord Jesus Christ to gain consis-tent victory over the indwelling ‘‘old man.’’The first fact that Paul brings out is that thesinful nature has had its power over the be-liever broken. The believer before salvationwas absolutely the slave to the ‘‘old man.’’But since GRACE has separated him from itspower, he does not need to obey it. When helearns this, he learns that he has the powerto say a point blank ‘‘NO’’ to it. Now, this is


one great step in the battle which the be-liever wages against the permanent indwell-ing ‘‘old man.’’ The beautiful thing about it allis to say No. The more you say no, the eas-ier it is to withstand it, until it becomes ahabit. So it is a matter of breaking a badhabit of saying yes, and forming anotherhabit of saying no, no.

In addition to breaking the power of the‘‘old man,’’ God imparts His own Divine na-ture to us as believers. Romans 6:4, ‘‘There-fore we are buried with Him by baptism intodeath: that like as Christ was raised up fromthe dead by the glory of the Father, even sowe also should walk in newness of life.’’ Or,‘‘Even so we also should order our behaviourin the power of a new life imparted.’’ Thisnew nature gives the believer both the desireand the power to do God’s will, and the de-sire and the power to refuse to obey the ‘‘oldman.’’

Verses 1-3 show we are dead to the ‘‘oldman.’’ We are no longer dominated by him.His power over us is broken. The ‘‘old man’’is no longer our Lord. In verse 4 we have anew nature, a new life, a ‘‘new man,’’ a newLord. Paul gives us this same truth in anotherpassage. Philippians 2:12, 13, ‘‘Wherefore,my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, notas in my presence only, but now much morein my absence, work out your own salvationwith fear and trembling. For it is God whichworketh in you both to will and to do of Hisgood pleasure.’’ Restated this verse says,‘‘Wherefore my beloved, as ye have alwaysobeyed, not as in my presence only, but nowmuch more in my absence, carry to its ulti-mate conclusion your salvation with fear andtrembling, FOR GOD IS THE ONE WHO ISCONSTANTLY PUTTING FORTH ENERGYIN YOU, IMPARTING TO YOU BOTH THEWILLINGNESS AND THE ABILITY TO DOHIS GOOD PLEASURE.’’

Since the believer does not have to obeythe ‘‘old man,’’ and since he has a God-givendesire to obey the Lord, Paul says it is a me-chanical impossibility for him to sustain ha-bitually the same relationship to the ‘‘oldman’’ which he did before salvation. This

means that he gains consistent victory oversin. The beautiful thing about it is, the morethe Christian says ‘‘yes’’ to the admonitionsand commands of the new nature, the easierit becomes to say ‘‘yes’’ until it becomes ahabit to do so. So the good habit the be-liever forms is OBEYING THE WORD OFGOD.

These two supernatural changes thattake place in the believer’s life at the point ofsalvation in Christ, the breaking of the powerof the indwelling ‘‘old man,’’ and the impartingof the Divine nature, were accomplished,Paul says, by the believer being baptized intoJesus Christ. Verse 3, ‘‘Know ye not, that somany of us as were baptized into JesusChrist were baptized into His death?’’

The law of cause and effect requires thatevery effect must have an adequate cause.Since the breaking of the power of the in-dwelling old sin nature, and the impartation ofthe Divine nature are operations which onlyGod can perform, this baptism then is notwater baptism, but the baptism of God theHoly Spirit at the moment of salvation.1 Corinthians 12:13, ‘‘For by means of oneSpirit we are all baptized into one body.’’ Theword ‘‘baptize’’ is the English spelling of theGreek word. It is not its translation, but atransliteration. It means basically identifica-tion. It is used in Greek literature as the in-troduction or placing of a person or a thinginto a new environment, or into union withsomething else, so as to alter its condition orits relationship to its previous environment orcondition.

It refers here to God the Holy Spirit intro-ducing or placing the believer into vital unionwith Jesus Christ in order to alter that per-son’s condition and environment. Before sal-vation the unbeliever stands in the ‘‘firstAdam’’ as his federal head. In that position,he received the position which the first Adamhas as a result of his fall, namely, guilty be-fore God’s law, possessing a fallen nature,and unrighteous in his thoughts, words anddeeds. His physical body becomes subject todeath.


But all this is changed when God theHoly Spirit takes him out of his first position,and places him in the ‘‘Last Adam,’’ the LordJesus Christ. The result is that the believerstands in his new Federal Head, absolutelyrighteous before God’s law, the power of theindwelling sin broken, and the Divine natureimparted. What a contrast this environmentand condition is to the previous one he occu-pied.

The introduction into Jesus Christ oc-curred potentially in the mind and the plan ofGod at the time the Lord hung on the cross,and the results of which become operative inthe life of the believer when he places hisfaith in Christ as personal Saviour. The HolySpirit answers to his faith and places him inunion with the Lord Jesus Christ.

So Paul answers his hearer’s question.‘‘Shall we who profess to be Christians con-tinually sustain the same relationship to theold man which we had before we weresaved?’’ He declares that to be an impossibil-ity, and for the reason that the power of thesinful nature has been broken and the Divinenature has been imparted. As a result of thefirst operation of the Lord’s supernaturalpower, the believer is not compelled to obeythe ‘‘old man’’ anymore. As a result of thesecond operation, he does not desire to obeyhim anymore. When a person does not haveto do something that he does not want to do,he does not do it.

Furthermore, the imparted Divine naturemakes the Christian hate sin and love right-eousness, and gives him both the power andthe desire to say, ‘‘No,’’ to that ‘‘old man’’which before salvation enslaved him, thewrong man. The Divine nature, the RightMan, gives the Christian the impelling motiveand the power to do God’s will. Thus, it ismechanically impossible for a believer to livea habitual life of sin as he did before he wassaved.

Verses 1-4, ‘‘What shall we say then?Shall we who profess to be Christians, con-tinue to sustain habitually the same relation-ship to the evil nature which we did beforewe were saved, in order that this aforemen-

tioned GRACE might abound? Let not such athing take place. How is it possible for suchas one who were once for all separated fromthe indwelling sinful nature, any longer to livein its grip? Or, are you ignorant that we whowere identified into vital union with Christ Je-sus by the Holy Spirit, into a participation inHis death were introduced? Therefore, wewere entombed with Him through this afore-mentioned identification with His death, in or-der that, just as where was raised up Christout from among the dead through the glory ofthe Father, thus also we in the energy of anew life imparted, might order our behaviour.’’

Paul is a master GRACE teacher. Inverses 1-4 he has brought to the readers’ at-tention two outstanding facts. Namely, thatthe power of the indwelling sin was brokenand the Divine nature imparted in the be-liever the moment God saved him, with theresult that he was given both the desire andthe power to do God’s will.

These two prepositions the apostle Paulrepeats in slightly different language in Ro-mans 6:5-10. ‘‘For in view of the fact that weare become those united with Him, with re-spect to the likeness of His death, certainlyalso we shall be those united with Him withrespect to the likeness of His resurrection,’’verse 5. The future here is the future of logi-cal progression. Paul is not speaking here ofthe future resurrection of the believer, but ofhis past spiritual resurrection when he placedhis faith in Christ as Saviour.

The believer’s identification with Christ inHis death breaks the power of the ‘‘old man.’’His identification with the Lord in His resur-rection imparts the Divine nature. And the re-sult is in verse 6. ‘‘Knowing this, that our olddecrepit, outworn, useless self, that personwe were before we were saved, was crucifiedwith Him in order that the physical body,which, at that time, was dominated by thesinful nature, might be rendered inoperativein that respect to the end that we are nolonger rendering an habitual slave’s obedi-ence to the sinful nature, for the one who hasbeen once for all separated from the sinful


nature, stands in a permanent relationship offreedom from it.’’

Verses 6 and 7. ‘‘Knowing this THATOUR OLD MAN is crucified with Him, THATTHE BODY OF SIN might be destroyed, thathenceforth we should not serve sin,’’ the ‘‘oldman.’’ ‘‘For he that is dead is freed from sin,’’the ‘‘old man.’’ The believer is exhorted tomaintain that relationship of disconnectionwhich God had made between Him and the‘‘old man.’’ However, God has not taken awaythe believer’s free will, and does not treatman as a robot. It is possible for theChristian, by an act of his own free will, toreconnect himself with the ‘‘old man,’’bringing sin once again into his life, onceseparated from the ‘‘old man,’’ and nowyou go back to the ‘‘old man.’’

But the believer is not able to reconnecthimself with the ‘‘old man’’ HABITUALLY. Inthe first place, it is not the Christian’s newnature to sin. He has been made a partakerof the Divine nature, which does not sin andit impels him to hate sin and love righteous-ness. In the second place, the minute aChristian sins, God the Holy Spirit is grievedand this makes the believer decidedly un-comfortable, spiritually speaking. God alsosends suffering, and chastening into the be-liever’s life as a curb for sin. He that sufferethin the flesh pauses from sinning. Now, allthese things taken together preclude anypossibility of the believer taking advantage ofthe GRACE of God.

So Paul has answered his hearer’s ques-tion again, namely, that the believer’s deathwith Christ has disengaged that person fromany connection with his indwelling ‘‘old man,’’resulting in that person’s body being ren-dered inoperative so far as any control whichthe ‘‘old man’’ might exercise over it is con-cerned.

He finishes his demonstration by sayingin verses 8-10, ‘‘Now since we died once andfor all with Christ, we believe that we shallalso live by means of Him: Knowing thatChrist having been raised out from amongthe dead, no longer dies: death over Him nolonger exercises lordship, for the death which

He died, to the forementioned sin. For in thatHe died, He died once for all, but the lifewhich He lives, He lives with respect to God.’’

The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is afree moral agent and not a machine. He hashis own free will and he has been set free,and he must choose between living hislife in the energy of the ‘‘old man,’’ or inthe power of the ‘‘new man,’’ i.e., the Di-vine nature.

We are not machines geared to the Di-vine nature in such a way that we must liveHis life in its energy whether He wills it ornot. So, the believer’s will is poised betweenthe two, and he has the responsibility ofrefusing the leading of the ‘‘old man’’ andobeying the leading of the ‘‘new man.’’

A CHRISTIAN NEVER ACTS ALONE.HE ACTS AND SPEAKS IN THE ENERGYOF THE ‘‘OLD MAN’’ OR IN THE POWEROF THE DIVINE NATURE. THE RESPONSI-BILITY OF THE CHRISTIAN IN RELATIONTO THESE TWO NATURES PAUL TAKESUP IN ROMANS 6:11-14.

Some people are not mechanically in-clined. You buy a new car, and they give youinstructions with it, and tell you how to oper-ate it, and you drive off excited about a brandnew car. After a few months you notice thatthe engine is overheating, and it begins tostall in traffic, and misses when you need asurge of power. So you take the new carback to the dealer. You tell him that the newcar that you just bought is not working well atall. And yet it is a brand new car. The dealerasks you, ‘‘how often have you had it serv-iced?’’ He finds out that you have never hadthe car serviced, and you never had themadjust the engine, the brakes, and other me-chanical parts. The car ran, but the owner didnot obtain the most efficient service from itbecause he did not have it oiled, or greasedat regular intervals.

When God installs the Divine nature inthe believer, that nature operates and willproduce the Christian GRACES in the life ofthe believer. There is always a change forthe better in the life of the person who re-


ceives Jesus Christ as personal Saviour.That change can only be accounted for bythe fact that God has imparted His Divine na-ture to the individual, at the same time break-ing the power of the ‘‘old man.’’ This showsclearly that there is an actual change in theinner spiritual life of the person whom theLord saves.

But the point is that THE DIVINE NA-TURE DOES NOT WORK AT ITS HIGH-EST EFFICIENCY IN THE LIFE OF THEBELIEVER UNLESS THE BELIEVER AD-JUSTS HIMSELF TO THE NEW NATURE.Unless he does something about this indwell-ing new nature, this new nature is not a per-petual motion machine grinding out a Chris-tian way of life in the person irrespective ofwhat that individual does. Like the owner ofthe new automobile who obtains the best re-sults from his car after he had it servicedregularly, so the believer can only expectto have the Divine nature operating at itspeak when he properly adjusts himself toit. It is concerning this adjustment that we willstudy now.

The first adjustment Paul speaks of, thatthe believer should make, is to RECKONHIMSELF DEAD TO THE ‘‘OLD MAN’’ ANDALIVE TO GOD. Verse 11, ‘‘Likewise reckonye also yourselves to be dead indeed untosin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christour Lord.’’ That is, the believer is to reckon,to count, upon the fact that the power of theindwelling ‘‘old man’’ is broken and the Divinenature is implanted.

The Greek word ‘‘reckon’’ is LOGIZOMAI.We get our English word ‘‘logic’’ from it. Theword means to reckon, compute, calculate, totake into account, to make account of. Now,to count upon the fact that the power of the‘‘old man’’ is broken, and the Divine natureimplanted, does not make those things so.Those facts are true, whether the believercounts upon their actuality or not. But livingone’s life on the basis of, or in considerationof, those facts results in their beneficial re-sults in the life. Likewise when the believerdoes not take them into account, disastrousresults follow.

If the believer does not count upon thefact that the Divine nature has been im-planted in his inner being, then he goes onliving the Christian way of life the best he canin the energy of his own strength, with theresult that he exhibits an imitation Christianway of life, not really the genuine way. Butthe believer who counts on the fact thathe is the possessor of the Divine nature,ceases his own struggles at living theChristian life, and avails himself of thepower of God supplied through the Divinenature. So, the first adjustment the believershould make is that of counting upon the factthat the power of the indwelling ‘‘old man’’is broken and the Divine nature has beenimparted and implanted and to order hislife based on that principle.

When he does this, he will be obeyingPaul’s instructions in Romans 6:12, 13, ‘‘Letnot sin therefore reign in your mortal body,that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.Neither yield ye your members as instru-ments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yieldyourselves unto God, as those that are alivefrom the dead, and your members as instru-ments of righteousness unto God.’’ The literaltranslation is: ‘‘Stop allowing sin, the ’oldman,’ to reign as king in your mortal body,with a view to obeying its cravings.’’ But sal-vation has worked inside of the believer. He,being an unsaved person, was the slave ofthe ‘‘old man,’’ the old indwelling sin nature.And that ‘‘old man’’ reigned as king in the un-believer’s life.

Now Paul says, after you are saved youare to stop allowing the ‘‘old man’’ to lord itover you. The very fact that Paul com-mands such an action tells us that the be-liever is able to obey this command. Theprison, the shackles which before bound the‘‘old man’’ to you, have now been broken off.YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY FREE. You nowhave the ability to say point blank ‘‘NO’’ tothis old fallen nature of Adam, and yield your-self to the Divine nature, because you nowhave the desire and the power to do so.Your free will in itself does not give youthe desire nor the power to refuse to obeythe ‘‘old man.’’ Your will is free, and it is


unshackled, and in a position to be exercisedand say No, but the desire to say No and theability to put that no into action are derivedfrom the new nature. THEREFORE, THE BE-LIEVER’S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO KEEPHIMSELF LIVING HABITUALLY IN THECONTROL OF THE NEW NATURE. This in-volves a constant ATTITUDE OF OPPOSI-TION to the ‘‘old man,’’ and CONSTANT DE-PENDENCE upon the ‘‘new man.’’

The Greek grammar involved makes itabsolutely sure that the cravings, lust, spo-ken of here refer to those of the human body,not those of the old nature. While these crav-ings find their source in the ‘‘old man,’’ yetPaul refers them to the body for the followingreason: The ‘‘old man’’ is an evil unseen in-tangible thing, very real, but not visible. Con-sequently, to keep a sharp outlook for thecravings that issue from it would be like fight-ing an enemy in the dark. But to watch thecravings of the body is practical and has apromise of success.

For instance, the lust of the eyes, be-cause what you see and hear and speak isusually where your feet carry you, and con-sequently what your hands do. The cravingsof the body, the members of the body are thethings to be carefully and watchfully scruti-nized and weighed. Those cravings whichhave the stamp and impress of the ‘‘oldman’’ are not to be satisfied .

The technique is to count upon thefact that the power of the old nature hasbeen broken. That is that the ‘‘old man’’ is adethroned king, and say No to it. When youmake a practice of this you will find howeasy it really becomes to say No, until itbecomes so habitual that the action be-comes automatic .

It is like turning off the TV. The believerin the Lord Jesus Christ has the same powerover the ‘‘old man’’ that he has over the TV.When something undesirable comes on, youcan turn it off and say ‘‘good-bye, you are notmy master. I am not yours.’’ You cannot bringthat evil ‘‘old man’’ back into your life. Andyou must treat the ‘‘old man’’ ROUGH. Whenthe believer comes to believe what the Lord

has said about the fact that the power of theold nature over him is broken, and instead ofit being his master, the believer is his master,he will then act upon this Truth and he willfind how easy it is to give his ‘‘old man’’ thebrush off. YOU CAN TURN A COLDSHOULDER TO YOUR ‘‘OLD MAN.’’

The Lord Jesus Christ did give us an ex-ample, because He did gain the victory overSatan in the wilderness by merely quotingScripture to him. He gained the victory byhaving obeyed that Scripture He quoted alldown the years of His life, so that when thetemptation came, He had reserves of spiritualstrength stored up in His inner spiritual being,by means of which He said a point blank‘‘No’’ to the devil. The Christian way of lifecan become that same way.

While never free from the temptation norfrom the onslaught of Satan, yet the believercan move through life like a ship on an evenkeel, riding out the storms of temptation be-cause he has reserves of power that will en-able him to plow through heavy seas withoutbeing tossed about by them.

What a gyroscope is to a ship, so thesereserves of spiritual power are to theChristian. When the believer counts upon thefact that the power of the indwelling sin na-ture is broken, and operates his life on thatprinciple, he stops allowing that ‘‘old man’’ toreign as a king in his life. But he does some-thing else. He obeys Paul’s admonition.

‘‘Stop putting your members as weaponsof unrighteousness at the service of the sinfulnature.’’ He not only refuses obedience to the‘‘old man’s’’ leasings, but he refuses to puthis eyes, ears and tongue, mind, hands andfeet at its service, in order that the old fallennature might use them as weapons of un-righteousness in the battle of spiritual wicked-ness in high places. This is Satan vs. theLord.

Christianity is a warfare. Paul sees him-self here as a soldier of the Lord JesusChrist fighting in the armies of righteousness.When the believer puts his members atthe service of his ‘‘old man,’’ he is guilty


of high treason, fighting against his owncaptain, the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead ofputting his members at the service of the in-dwelling old nature, the believer is exhortedby Paul as follows in verse 13, ‘‘But put your-selves once for all at the service of God, asthose who are living ones out from amongthe dead, and your members, put them oncefor all at the service of God as weapons ofrighteousness.’’

It is a matter of substitution to keep fromputting our members at the service of the‘‘old man.’’ We should refuse to do so and atthe same time put them at the service of Godby yielding them to act for the Lord. When ahabitual yielding becomes so ingrained inour being that it becomes easier for us toyield them to the new nature than to theold nature, then the Christian takes onmaturity.

Verse 14, ‘‘For sin,’’ the evil nature, ‘‘shallnot lord it over you, for you are not under theLaw, but under GRACE.’’ Why is this so?What is there in the fact that a Christian isnot under the Law, but under GRACE thatgives him the victory over the ‘‘old man?’’

The answer is found in the fact thatthe Law neither gives the desire nor thepower to do God’s will. GRACE EXHORTSAND GIVES BOTH THE DESIRE AND THEPOWER TO DO HIS GOOD PLEASURE.The Christian has God’s guarantee that ifhe obeys the instructions for victory overthe ‘‘old man,’’ and for the living of theChristian way of life found in Romans 6:1-13, the ‘‘old man’’ will not exercise auto-cratic control over his life.

Paul has answered his listener’s firstquestion, namely, ‘‘Shall we who profess tobe Christians, continue habitually to sustainthe same relationship to the totally depravednature that we did before we were saved, inorder that GRACE may abound?’’ He showedthat it was mechanically impossible to do so,insomuch that God broke the power of theindwelling sin nature and implanted the newnature.

Since the power of the ‘‘old man’’ is bro-ken, the believer does not have to sin, andhas both the desire and the power to live alife pleasing to God. Paul has shown hisquestioner that it is impossible for a Christianto live a life of habitual sin.

Now the person who asked the firstquestion asks another question: ‘‘What then?shall we sin, because we are not under theLaw, but under GRACE?’’ verse 15. That is,‘‘if GRACE makes it impossible for aChristian to sin habitually as he did before hewas saved, will not GRACE permit him to sinonce in awhile?’’ Of course, the person whoasked the question did not understandGRACE. GRACE is stricter than the Lawever was.

When God abrogated the Old TestamentLaw, He brought in a far more efficient de-terrent to evil when He sent God the HolySpirit to indwell all believers . While theLaw can only take notice of general rules ofhuman behaviour, the Holy Spirit notices theSLIGHTEST SIN and deals with the detailsof particular sins in the believer’s life.

A few motorcycle policemen with theirmotors tuned up are a far better deterrent tospeeding than a sign placed along the roadgiving the speed limit of 55 MPH. The sign,the law, points to the police enforcement.Guilty.

The Holy Spirit is grieved at the slight-est sin in the Christian life, and turns fromHis work of causing that believer to growin GRACE to that of convicting the personof sin. GRACE EXPECTS THE HIGHESTTYPE OF CHRISTIAN LIFE. It gives boththe desire and the power for the life. It isnot forthcoming. GRACE chastens the Chris-tian and makes it so uncomfortable for thatperson, that he confesses his sin, and he isrestored back to fellowship again, being con-trolled by God the Holy Spirit, mastering the‘‘old man.’’

So, in answering the question, ‘‘Whatthen, shall we who profess to be Christianslive a life of planned, occasional sin, becausewe are not under the uncompromising rule of


the Law, but under the lenient scepter ofGRACE?’’ Paul says in verses 16-23: Verse16, ‘‘KNOW YE NOT, THAT TO WHOM YEYIELD YOURSELVES SERVANTS TOOBEY, HIS SERVANTS YE ARE TO WHOMYE OBEY; WHETHER OF SIN UNTODEATH, OR OF OBEDIENCE UNTO RIGHT-EOUSNESS.’’ Verse 17, ‘‘BUT GOD BETHANKED, THAT YE WERE THE SER-VANTS OF SIN, but ye have obeyed fromthe heart that form of doctrine which was de-livered you.’’

Verse 18, ‘‘BEING THEN MADE FREEFROM SIN, ye became the SERVANTS ofrighteousness.’’ Verse 19, ‘‘I speak after themanner of men because of the infirmity ofyour flesh: FOR AS YE HAVE YIELDEDYOUR MEMBERS SERVANTS TO UN-CLEANNESS and to iniquity unto iniquity;EVEN SO NOW YIELD YOUR MEMBERSSERVANTS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTOHOLINESS.’’ Verse 20, ‘‘FOR WHEN YEWERE THE SERVANTS OF SIN, ye werefree from righteousness.’’

Verse 21, ‘‘What fruit had ye then inthose things whereof ye are now ashamed?for the end of those things is death.’’ Verse22, ‘‘BUT NOW BEING MADE FREE FROMSIN, AND BECOME SERVANTS TO GOD,YE HAVE YOUR FRUIT UNTO HOLINESS,AND THE END EVERLASTING LIFE.’’Verse 23, ‘‘For the wages of sin is death; butthe GIFT OF GOD is eternal life through Je-sus Christ our Lord.’’

The KEY here to the understanding ofPaul’s answer is in the various meanings ofthe Greek word translated ‘‘servants.’’ Theword is DOULOS. We will follow Paul’s argu-ments as we look at these meanings. Thequestion he is answering is as to whetherGod’s GRACE allows for a life of planned,occasional sin.

The word DOULOS speaks of one who isborn into a condition of slavery. The Greekshad a word for a free man captured in warand made a slave. But this word, DOULOS,refers to one who has, by birth, inherited hisposition and his condition of slavery, i.e.,born into slavery.

When Adam fell he contracted an evil na-ture which has been passed down to the hu-man race because he is its federal head, ‘‘inAdam.’’ This fallen nature has been handeddown by birth to every individual human be-ing. That is what David meant when he said,‘‘In sin did my mother conceive me,’’ Psalm51:5. He wasn’t born out of wedlock, butwhen he was born, he received an old sinnature.

Thus by human birth a person receives anature that makes him a sinful creature withsinful desires, incapable of anything else ex-cept sinful acts. He loves sin because, by na-ture, he has a nature that causes him to doso. The Scripture says that ‘‘men love dark-ness.’’ This is AGAPE love here. The unbe-liever naturally loves darkness . That is thecondition of the unsaved person.

But the believer in the Lord Jesus Christhas the power over this old nature broken,and it is no longer the nature of that individ-ual to love sin. Instead he hates it. The Di-vine nature has been implanted and thisnew nature gives him the desire and thepower to please God and to do God’s will.He loves righteousness now. It is his natureto do what is right.

The Christian has changed masters be-cause he has changed natures. The old na-ture is no longer his master, BUT NOW IT ISHIS SLAVE. The believer now enslaves hisold nature.

Now Paul says how ridiculous it is forsomeone to ask a question as to whether aChristian may live a life of planned, occa-sional sin. In view of this tremendous innerchange, he is not the slave of sin anymore.But now he is the loving bond-slave of theLord Jesus Christ. Christ is his NEW MAN.He is separated from his ‘‘old man,’’ and hasmarried another. He does not have to sinanymore, and he does not want to sin. It ishis nature to do what is right, righteous.

The word refers to one who is bound toanother in bands so strong that only deathcan break them. Before salvation producedits supernatural work in the unbeliever, he


was bound to Satan in a bond so strong thatonly death could break it. That bond was acommon nature, totally depraved, the ‘‘oldman.’’ He, the unbeliever, loved what thedevil loves, namely sin, and hated whatthe devil hated, namely righteousness.

The believer’s identification with the LordJesus Christ in His death broke the bandswhich had bound him to Satan as his slave.And his identification with Christ in His resur-rection resulted in the impartation of the Di-vine nature.

Now it is the believer’s nature to hate sinand to do God’s will. But to live a life ofplanned, occasional sin demands that the be-liever possess the totally depraved old natureas his own nature, and that nature reigns asking over him in his life. But that is impossi-ble, for he is now a willing bond-slave of theLord Jesus Christ, possessing the Divine na-ture as the governing nature and master inhis inner being. And as such, he is bound tohis new Master, in bands which only deathcan break. Since Christ is his life, and Christnever dies, he will never die and be sepa-rated from Christ.

The word DOULOS means ONEWHOSE WILL IS SWALLOWED UP IN THEWILL OF ANOTHER. Before salvation the in-dividual’s will is swallowed up in the will ofSatan. After salvation his will is swallowedup in the will of God. Paul urges, since thebeliever’s will is swallowed up in the will ofGod, that would preclude any life of plannedoccasional sin.

The word means ‘‘one who serves an-other to the disregard of his own interests.’’Before salvation the individual serves the

devil to the disregard of his own interests .He keeps on in sin no matter how grievousthe consequences. After salvation, the prop-erly taught, Spirit-filled believer, serves theLord Jesus Christ with an utter abandon.

Do you think, Paul says, that such a per-son who loves and serves the Lord JesusChrist that way would think of living a life ofplanned or occasional sin? So Paul has an-swered the second question, ‘‘Shall we whoprofess to be Christians, live a life ofplanned, occasional sin, because we are notunder Law but under GRACE?’’ He showsthat by reason of the fact that when a sinneris saved, he changes masters, the ‘‘old man,’’to the ‘‘new man.’’ And by reason of that fact,he changes natures, old sin nature, Divinenature. It is the nature which determineswhat master the individual serves.

Now, the Divine nature is not the onlysource of spiritual power indwelling the be-liever which he has at his disposal. The HolySpirit has come in to take up His permanentresidence in the believer for the purpose ofcausing the believer to ‘‘grow in GRACE,’’enabling him to gain consistent victory overthe ‘‘old man’’ and live life pleasing to God.You must add to your knowledge of the im-parted Divine nature, the Divine provisionalso for living the VICTORIOUS Christianway of life, by understanding the ministry ofGod the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life.

Buddy Dano, Pastor

Divine Viewpoint

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YOUR OLD MAN’’