Crucified with Christ

Brethren, today we live in a society that we just cannot solve the problems. The problems are too big for us to solve. And, on the other side, if you and I are living a way that we say, I'm quite comfortable living in this world and everything is okay, I think we probably have a problem. And I say probably in a subtle way because I do believe we have a problem because we should not be conforming to the world. And the world has gone so wrong that really whatever you do, you're going to be in conflict with something. And so we should not be in a situation where we feel everything is fine and we're quite happy in the society. Really what it means is we as mankind, we don't know the way of peace because whatever way we look, whether it's interpersonal relationships, whether it is relationships between countries and nations, whatever it may be, there's wars, there's conflicts, and things are just not getting any better. Why? Why do we have these problems? I want to look at a scripture, Yah-Ing-Alasians chapter 2 verse 20, which in a sense I could call it a title of this sermon. Galatians chapter 2 verse 20.

It says, I have been crucified with Christ.

Do you and do we understand what does it mean to be crucified with Christ? Am I? Are you? Are we crucified with Christ? And so today, brethren, I want to talk about the human situation and then bring it to a closure at the end to show how you and I need to be crucified with Christ and understand a little bit more about that. The natural way of human beings, the natural way of you and I acting, is carnal. Because you and I are flesh, human flesh beings. And so the natural tendencies that you and I have as human beings are towards the physical things, towards carnal things. Additionally, we also know that our heart is deceitful. Turn with me, please, to Jeremiah 17 verse 9. Jeremiah 17 verse 9. Jeremiah 17 verse 9. And it says, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Now, it's easy to see problems in other people. Oh, it's so easy. It's so easy to be critical. And that's one thing that in the ministry and as council members, we get so many critical letters about this picky little thing and that picky little thing. It really is, in a sense, gets kind of discouraging that because you get all these picky little things that people are critical because we see the problems in others, but we don't see it in ourselves.

We are not being critical of ourselves. And therein lies the problem. And therein lies the point that are we crucified with Christ? Are we looking at ourselves and crucifying ourselves and looking at ourselves? Oh, we're very quick to criticize, to crucify others. This is wrong. That is wrong. The point finger. But do we look at ourselves? It says the heart is deceitful above all things, desperately, desperately wicked. And in Romans 8 verse 7, and we heard that in the sermonette as well, and so in a sense ties in very nicely with the sermonette. Thank you. Romans 8 verse 7 just shows that the sermonette man and I talked about the topic. I'm just joking because we did not. So shows our God intervenes and God inspires. Even last night I was talking to one of the mania, not mentioning names, so don't embarrass anybody. But I said, I've got three sermons to give. I'm not sure which one to give. And I was discussing with my wife and decided on this one. So it shows that God guides us and we have to understand that sometimes God wants to tell us something. So let's go back to Romans 8 verse 7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. As we heard in the sermonette, the people broke the laws. They broke the covenant. That was the problem. It's our carnal mind is against God, not just the Israelites. Oh, it's easy to blame. Oh, look at those Israelites. We do the same thing. We're not any better.

So that it says here that to be carnally minded, in verse 6, Romans 8, to be carnally minded is death. The Portuguese Bible puts it in a way to have an inclination to the things of the flesh. That's how they translate it in the Portuguese. To have a tendency, an inclination towards the things of the flesh. So it's to be carnally minded is allowing that to take predominance in our thoughts. And so what we have is a carnal nature, which is evil, which is desperately wicked, and enmity towards God.

In other words, you and I have a natural tendency in our carnality to not submit to God's laws, to God and to His laws. Now let me ask a question. Was that the way God created us? Did God create us with a deliberately intent mind to go evil, to only do evil? Or what? Let's go back to Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1. And right at the end of this chapter, you know, God created those, created that, created man. At the end of the sixth day, and in verse 31, chapter 1 verse 31, then God saw everything that He had made, everything from the dogs and the cats and the little gifts and the deer and the ducks and everything and man. And it says it was kind of good. No. Or it was good. No. It was very good. That means you cannot genetically modify it and make it better. You can't because it's good. It's very good. It's optimum. It's a maximum perfection, physically speaking.

And then we see the interaction between Adam and God. You know, Adam was speaking with God and God came and talked to Adam. And they were friends. There was no animosity. There was no hatred. And He says, well, Adam, look at these animals. Give them a name. And Adam made out whatever name under the sky, whatever weird name. And God said, perfect. That's the name you give it. That's okay. Wasn't that God says, no, that's not good enough. I prefer this name. There was just a wonderful relationship. Look at Genesis 2 verse 19. Genesis 2 verse 19. Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. Come Adam, what are you going to call this little little bird that flies, but it sits in the mid-air and it kind of just hovers. And Adam says, I'm going to call it a hummingbird. Fine, great. Or I'm going to call this, I'm going to call it an eagle. Fine, great. There was no animosity. He says, and whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. To me, that reveals there was no hostility between God and Adam. There was no rebellion. There was just a wonderful, friendly, working relationship. In other words, it's not a reflection of a deceitful heart. All right. Hostile against God. Desperately wicked.

Look at in Genesis 2 verse 7, a little earlier. And the Lord God formed a man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living flesh. So yeah, we have out of the dust of the ground, God breathed into Adam, and Adam became a living being. It's this this breath of life. It's not life itself, but it's a breath of life. The life itself is in the blood, as we read in Deuteronomy 12 verse 23. So let's keep a finger there on Genesis, because we're going to come back to it. But look at Deuteronomy 12. Deuteronomy 12 verse 23.

And it says, only be sure you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life. You may not eat the life with the meat. So when you eat meat, do not eat the blood.

So the life is in the blood. That's why Christ had to give, shed his blood, shed his life for us. So that breath of life is a breath of life that with the blood makes the person living. And I've also covered some weeks back about how the human mind is a human mind because of that breath of life, that spirit of man in man, that makes it understand the things of man. So let's go back then to Genesis 1 verse 26.

Genesis 1 verse 26. It says, and then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. So what we have here is a wonderful plan by God to make man in his own image and likeness. So God gave man, physically speaking, certain mental capabilities similar to God. Yes, man was created out of the dust of the earth, as we saw. But God has a plan for mankind to be children of God. We've covered that in other sermons and we can...

That's not my purpose today to prove to you that that is the case. And for that, God required mankind to have free moral agency. Otherwise, we'll just be a robot. God gave us the free moral agency. So God created man subject to make his own choices. And man's choices could mean they could be wrong. And, you know, the best teacher in a sense is the School of Art and Arts, as they say it. You know, is learning things the hard way. That is a good teacher.

Unfortunately, it's an expensive teacher, but, you know, it is the best teacher. We learn really deeply things when we go through certain experiences and sometimes even make wrong choices. And then we can repent. But the point is, because God wants us to be his children, he wants us to be with, as it says in his image and similarity, ultimately full. We physically just limited image and similarity, but fully spiritually.

For that, we have to have the capability of making the right choices, like God does. And so we have to go through that school to learn to make the right choices. Therefore, we have to have the capability of having a free moral agency, but therein lies the problem. When you and I make the wrong choices, we break the law. And breaking the law, the wages of sin is death.

John 6, 23. We know that. So, we require the capability, something else, to help us, number one, to forgive, because the law doesn't forgive us. The law says, you break it, there's a penalty. So, we need Christ to come and provide the forgiveness and a way to pay for that price, the death.

But even then, we need something else in the brain, in the mind, to give us the help to overcome, to give us the capability to close that gap, to start thinking spiritually. And that is God's Holy Spirit. And then, God's Holy Spirit will then close the gap from mortality to immortality, and will help us to develop God's character. So, Adam, when he was created, his mind is basically was kind of neutral.

He was not against God, but he did not know what was right and wrong. He did not know yet what was right and wrong. And so, God taught him what was right and wrong. And he said, you need to trust that what I'm teaching you that is right and wrong is what indeed is right and wrong.

And that is symbolized by the Tree of Life. But God gave Adam the opportunity to choose for himself what is right and wrong. And that is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. So, Adam had to trust God and make the right choice. Do I believe God? Or do I want to prove it for myself? And it's like our children sometimes as they grow up. Do I believe Mom and Dad? Or, hey, let me try it and see if it really is so.

So, Adam and Eve had the Tree of Life available to them. It did not mean that they, Mom and Dad took the fruit of the Tree of Life. That moment they become immortal. No. It meant that they would have to therefore have God's Holy Spirit because it symbolized God's Holy Spirit. They had to use that to develop character. But it symbolized, therefore, the way to eternal life. And indeed, they took the fruit. They didn't die straight away. But they took the wrong fruit. They didn't die straight away. But they had to learn to grow and overcome. And therefore, they needed to develop. And you and I need to develop what is called a divine nature. Turn with me to 2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1.

2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1. Simon Peter, a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. And he has an important point. He is of Jesus Christ. He belongs to. He's an opposite apostle. He belongs to. He's been called. He's been converted. He belongs to Jesus Christ to teach us, you know, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Our God and Savior Jesus Christ. So, continue. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge. Now, knowledge is important because it says grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge. So, here we have two trees. The tree of life, which is the knowledge that God gives us of what's right and wrong. And it's the tree of knowledge of good and evil that is the one that you decide for yourself what is right and wrong. And you, you and I, are to grow in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. In other words, the knowledge of what they teach us of what is right and wrong. In other words, to grow in the knowledge of the tree of life. And grace and peace. So, knowledge is important. Knowledge is essential for our growth. But you and I also need grace in how we apply that knowledge in a gracious way. That's why it says grace and peace be multiplied in the knowledge. So, apply it in a gracious way. Now, Adam initially needed God's knowledge. And God gave him the opportunity to take up God's knowledge. God gave him the opportunity also to not trust God and do that. So, he was in a sense in this neutral position, but he made the wrong choice. And he was influenced to make the wrong choice by Satan. You see, this knowledge, knowledge of God, this tree of life, this knowledge of God through God's Holy Spirit, it says, it says, yeah, grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ and Jesus our Lord, of God and Jesus our Lord, has this divine power has given to us all things. So, yeah, we have God's power is given to us all things. In other words, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, God has given us his divine power, the Holy Spirit. Yeah, we see God, Jesus, the power all in one section of Scripture. So, we're not talking about the Trinity, but we're talking about the power the Holy Spirit has given to us all things to pertain to life and Godness. God's Holy Spirit gives us all things that you and I need to become more godly, more like God. In other words, to have a spiritual relationship with God, to be like Him, to have the correct knowledge with God's Holy Spirit through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. So, yeah, through the knowledge of Him, through the knowledge that God gives us and He called us by glory and virtue by which this Holy Spirit, by this divine power, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises. Through God's Spirit, we are able to have wonderful promises that through these, what these, these are these things that He says, yeah, has given to us all things that pertain to life. So, it's for these spiritual tools that are part of the God's Holy Spirit that through these that God's Holy Spirit gives us all these spiritual tools, you may be partakers of the divine nature. In other words, with the help of God's Holy Spirit, using all the capabilities and attributes of God's Holy Spirit, you and I can be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. In other words, that we need to use God's Holy Spirit to actually walk away from the pressures of the world, from the pressures and the last of our carnal tendencies, to to put that away. We gotta do that. In other words, back to crucifying ourselves.

God has called us. God decides who to call and who not to call at what time. It's He's in charge. He's the master porter. He decides when to call us. John 6 44. No man can come to me unless he who has sent me call you and teach you these things. So we are called. But we, as we say, that we need to then be partakers of the divine nature. In other words, we need to develop that nature of God. And so let's go back to Romans 7 as we had a little earlier and as we heard, we kind of was hinted there in the sermonette in Romans 7.

We're going to read verse 14 first. Romans 7 verse 14.

It says, For we know that the law is spiritual, but I'm carnal. I am flesh, sold, under sin. I am a sinner. We all are. Look at verse 12. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. As we heard in the sermonette, God's law is perfect. But we are carnal.

Adam and Eve made a wrong choice. And once they made a wrong choice, as we're going to see just now, they became influenced by that that spiritual wavelength, and that affected them and became part of their nature. We'll see that just now. But we, you and I, look at Romans 13 verse 10. Romans 13 verse 10. It says, Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. You and I, we need to obey God's laws, and God's laws are basically based on love. And so what you and I need is the love of God. We need the love of God. How do we receive the love of God? Look at Romans 5 verse 5. Romans 5 verse 5. It says, Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. You and I receive God's love through the Holy Spirit. So we need God's love. God's law is love. We need to have the divine nature of God, which requires an attitude of love, godly love. But you and I don't have that, because the human love does not obey the law of God. The human love does not reflect the love of God. In other words, without the Holy Spirit is impossible to obey God's law and to receive spiritual promises. And going back to Romans 8 verse 8, just a few pages ahead, Romans 8 verse 8 says, So those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Without the presence of God's Holy Spirit in our minds to change our thinking process, it's impossible to please God. So let's look back at Adam and Eve. Before being tempted by Satan, there was a good relationship between God and Adam. There was no problem. He was not hostile towards God. He did not have a diabolical attitude towards God. He was not centered in God, but he was not centered in... he was just neutral in the rest. He was not sinful, but nor was he just. He was in a relationship with God. The spirit of the man, the spirit of man in man, allowed him to receive knowledge, physical knowledge, and that spirit of man in man was healthy. It helped him to think clearly, but it did not help him to understand spiritual things. Yes, physical things he could gather. He could understand, but he could not understand spiritual things. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 through 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 through 11.

But as it's written, I have not seen, or hear, heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. In other words, because they spiritual things, man cannot get it, but God has revealed them to us through the Holy Spirit, through his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God, which obviously are spiritual. So God's Holy Spirit closes that gap, gives us that understanding of spiritual things, because it says in verse 11, For what man knows the things of a man, except the Spirit of the man, which is in him? You and I understand physical things, physical creation things, because creative things are being creative, etc., because we have the Spirit of man. So we are above other animals because we have the Spirit of man. We have that creativity. So the Spirit of man helps us to understand spiritual things. The Spirit of God helps us to understand spiritual things. So even so, no one knows the things of God, except the Spirit of God. You and I need the Spirit of God to actually elevate our thinking to a higher level of spiritual understanding.

So what do we have is a human mind without God's Holy Spirit, which is quite bright. Some people are very intelligent, no questions about it. They can understand things, they can work out things, they can be scientists, they can be very competent. The human mind believes, because they've taken the choice of deciding what is right and wrong. Believes, they want to do what is right. I want to do what's right. And so the mind is deceiving itself because it's saying, I choose what is right, I want to do what's right, and this is right. But this verse here, in verse 11, says the human mind does not understand spiritual things. The human mind thinks they understand spiritual things, but the human mind doesn't. In other words, when God created man, he created man with a capacity to think and understand physical things. But then, going back to Genesis chapter 2, verse 16 and 17, Genesis chapter 2, verse 16 and 17, Genesis chapter 2, verse 16 and 17, The Lord God commanded the man saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. Your way of thinking will start going wrong, and the way of that ultimately will lead you to death. They didn't die straight away, it was a way that will lead to death. So they did it. They did the so by. They decided not to trust in God.

In other words, they decided not to trust in God to tell them what was right and wrong. They rejected the tree of life. They rejected God's teaching of what is right and wrong. They decided for themselves to decide what is right and wrong. And therein is the beginning of that mixture of right and wrong in mankind. Because mankind, when it says, well, this is right and this is wrong, and you make the decision of what's right and wrong, God says this is right and this is wrong. So some of the things that you think that are right, yes, they are right. But some of the things that you think that are right, they're wrong in God's eyes. So there is the problem. So man took upon himself the decision to decide what was right and wrong. In other words, they decided apart from God what was right and wrong. And this followed a push. There was a push. There was like an influence which came from Satan to say, hey, go that way. You know, Satan injected that thought, hey, look, God is not really doing the right thing for you. Look at this. You could have that. And so it created this doubt and questioning and being naive, you know, inexperienced. They took the bite. You see, Satan was the one that himself did follow that way right up front. Look at Ezekiel 28. Look Ezekiel 28. Ezekiel 28 verse 11. He says, the Word of God came to the Son of Man to talk about the King of Tyre. Now, this is not about the Prince of Tyre, but the King of Tyre. And he says, you wear the seal of perfection full of wisdom and beauty. So he is talking about a spirit being was the seal of perfection and full of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden. Obviously, the physical kingdom, the King of Tyre was not in Eden because that was only physical Adam and Eve. So it's not talking about a spiritual being. There was in the spiritual Eden, which is God's throne and that, you were in Eden, the Garden of God, and everything was beautiful you had in the day that you were created. Look at the end of verse 13. Was prepared for you on the day with Christ. Was a created human being. You were the anointed carob who covers. So this is talking about a spirit being. There was anointed carob that covers. Look at verse 15. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created. God created this human being. When God creates something, it's right, it's perfect. But as an angel, he also had free moral agency. So it could also make choices, good and bad. And he made wrong choices. And when he made wrong choices, and you and I need to make choices, but we need to learn to make the right choices. We need to crucify that wrong choice that you and I can make and crucify it and put it to death.

And this spirit being, he made a wrong choice. And therefore, that wrong choice became sin, became iniquity until that was found in him.

Angels were created to serve mankind. You can read that in Hebrews 1 verse 14. But this angelic being, which was extremely wise, which was extremely beautiful, all these capabilities, his wisdom became twisted because of wrong choices. And once he chose of his own free moral agency to go wrong, his attitude changed. His attitude changed from one of obedience to one of disobedience. One to deceive, one to say things just ever so slightly, ever so slightly, and the more slight, the better. Because now you can make a little choice here. And BANG! you can have terrible consequences. He's a deceiver. He had the knowledge of living the right way in justice, in beautiful, in everything beautiful. But his choice of sin changed his attitude in his heart. And that choice of him deciding for himself what is right and wrong that Satan took is represented by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You see, Satan knew the truth. You can't deceive him because he knows the truth. But he made a deliberate choice, a calculated choice, to go the wrong way.

And so, yeah, we have, here's the example of two trees, two ways of life. And the choice thereof has spiritual consequences. The human mind, the way God created it, is susceptible, is attuned to spiritual frequencies. Think about it. It's just I'm trying to use some word that means to us. In other words, it's like a radio that you can tune to a certain frequency to another frequency. Why? Because we need to be attuned to God's Spirit. But, therefore, we are attuned. We can pick up, as modern people call it, vibes. You know, you can pick up vibes.

And so, we can learn and be taught God's truth and make good choices. But we also can be deceived, because we are sensitized to spiritual things. We can hear those vibes, and if we allow them to affect us, they can become part of our nature and become natural to us. So, Adam and Eve chose, they decided to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, they decided to be influenced by that spiritual vibe of going the wrong way. Immediately, once you do that, you submit yourself to that vibe, to that Spirit. They became influenced by that Spirit, which in its extreme is what we call diabolic, rebellious, deceitful, and desperately wicked. And the result, the result is Isaiah 59 verse 2. Turn with me to Isaiah 59 verse 2. Isaiah 59 verse 2. But your iniquities have separated you from your God. And your sins have eaten his face from you, so that he will not hear. That's what happened. Adam and Eve's sin, in other words, pushed over the edge by Satan. And once they've done this, they became separated from God. God says, our sins have eaten his face from us, so that God will not hear.

So, you and I can tune our frequency, our hearing frequency, spiritually speaking, to spiritual wavelengths that you and I are kind of probably not even aware of it. And we can be influenced by them. So, Satan's spirit and his sinful way of doing things literally permeates the world, society, everything around us. You turn to news, you turn to this, you hear this, all the time, all the time. And so, look at how Paul puts it in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 through 3. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 through 3.

And you, you made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. So, we're talking about Christians that we were dead, spiritually dead. He has brought us back to life, obviously still physically, but spiritually speaking, in other words, we're in contact with God, and therefore we have that potential of eternal life in which, you know, you were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, in which you once lived. That was the way of life according to the course of this world. You were influenced by the things around you, by the world, according to the prince, the spiritual being, which has control of the power of the air, which has control of these spiritual wavelengths.

The spirit who now works in the sense of disobedience, that spirit, that radio frequency, spiritual radio frequency, it's broadcasting these wavelengths, and you and I can absorb them without even noticing it. So, our mind picks up the spiritual transmission in the air, and those attitudes, those vibes, could it be selfishness, could be criticism, could be jealousy, could be, I'm just unhappy today.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and I just, it's a bad day. Maybe it's greed, maybe it's desire for certain physical things, or whatever desires it may be. This spiritual vibe is trying to get into our minds all the time, and you and I have to flick the radio button off, that frequency off. We have to deal with this carnal nature of ours, which has been affected since we were small.

Since we're small, it's been there, broadcasting, and little children just absorbing it, and it's become their nature. Since children, it's become our nature. And the problem is, our earthly carnal nature does not see itself. You and I cannot see ourselves. We think we're good, because we're trying to make the right decision, according to what we see, according to what we think. We're trying to do what is right. But we actually have rejected the knowledge of God, of what defines right and wrong, which is based on God's laws.

And unless we got God's Holy Spirit to guide us, and when we're under these pressures, unless we get on our knees and ask God, help me to make the right choice, the natural tendency, because of years since childhood that has been infiltrated into us, our natural tendency is to go the wrong way. Although we think we're good, the natural, the mind, the human mind now has become, because of this influence, become hostile against God, before we even tune into God's frequency. And that's why the importance of parents in the church to spend time with the children and to really educate them and guide them and put the right thoughts into their minds is small, because peers in society and other school children and other, whatever friends they meet, etc., are continuously, ever so subtly injecting those wrong thoughts.

So the human mind has become hostile towards God, and we need a miraculous call from God to change, to wake us up and say, hey, whatever your name is, okay, let's say George, say my name, hey George, you're going the wrong way. You know, we've got to, we've got to be woken up. And we need to repent. We need to put God first. We need the laying on of hands to receive God's Holy Spirit through one of God's ministers.

So we receive the Holy Spirit so that through upon the washing of our minds, through the blood of Christ, upon repentance, God gives us a spirit that gives us the capability to start understanding and seeing things God's way. In other words, we eat the fruit of the tree of life. In other words, we crucify ourselves. Now, obviously, it does not mean we immediately become immortal because knowledge alone is not sufficient.

Knowledge alone does not change anybody. We, you and I, need God's Holy Spirit to work with us to make choices throughout our lives day after day. Some are simple, some are more complex. And what do we have? We have two ways. Look at Galatians chapter 5 verse 16. Galatians 5 verse 16.

I say then, walk in the Spirit. We got two choices. We got two trees. Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the last of the flesh. For the flesh lasts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. And these two are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things you wish. There's these two contradictory things in our lives. But if you're led by the Spirit of God and you are tuned to that and you're inclined to that and you're striving to do that, you're not under the law. In other words, you're not under what the law says, you sin, therefore because you sin you're going to die. We're not under the penalty of the law.

And it says, now the works of the flesh are all these things. And whoever does those things at the end of verse 31 will not inherit the kingdom of God. You see, there's two ways. There's two trees. We are not guided by God's Holy Spirit or by the sinful nature that's become our nature. Because it's affected us since we smoke. Paul is not condemning the law of God, by now means. Paul is not condemning the agreement that God made with between him and Israelites, for instance. But Paul is condemning our natural tendency to go the wrong way, our sinful ways which we have to crucify with the help of Christ. Look at Romans 7 again. Romans 7 verse 22. Romans 7 verse 22 through 25. For I delight in the law of God, according to the inward man. Now, which one of us as true Christians does not feel this way? I really delight, and I'm sure you do too. We all delight in God's law. Inside, yeah, we want to do what's pleasing to God. But I see, we all see this continuous fight of the old man kind of trying to resurrect and coming out of the watery grave and says, here I am, and you and I have to crucify that old man again and put him back. You see, I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. Oh, Richard man that I am. And I think we all can say that. Oh, Richard man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He will deliver us. So with the mind, I serve the law of God. I want to follow the tree of life, but with the flesh, there's this tendency still pulling.

So back to the two trees. There's two philosophies of life. Think of it this way. There's two ways. One is the way of the earthly natural tendencies, which is egocentric, which is vain, greedy, selfish, jealous, whatever it is, the way of death, the way for self, competition, natural human conflict that we have, that's Satan's way. It's the way of sin. Then there is the other philosophy of life, which is the tree of life, which is the divine nature, which is we can only make it with the help of God's Holy Spirit, which was offered to Adam and Eve at the beginning, by the way. But they rejected it. And that is the way that God sent it. It's humility. It's praising God, putting God first. It's submitting to God. It's care for your neighbor. It's a way of giving and sharing, to serve and help. It's a way of justice. It's God's way. And before you and I received God's Holy Spirit, of course, you and I have to repent and have faith. But none of these things, repentance and faith, can give you salvation. They're just the first steps. They're just the first steps. They're just the first steps. The first step, therefore, in repentance is doing what? It's crucifying the self.

It's crucifying our natural internal tendency, hostility against God. Look at Romans 6, verse 4 to 7. Romans 6, verse 4 to 7. Therefore, we are buried with Christ through baptism into death. That analogy is like we crucified with Him to death. That Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to the glory of the Father. Even so, we also should walk in newness of life. We're not yet born again, but we should have a new way of living and making decisions and striving to go the right way. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, in other words, if we are destroying our carnal passions, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. So that when the time comes of resurrection, we'll be like Him. Knowing this, that our old man, our old man, our old way of thinking was crucified with Him. That the body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

For he who has died has been freed from sin, from post-sins. So the old man, the old me, needs to be crucified. But it's as if the canon again resurrects out of that water he grows. He says, yes I am! And so again we've got to put him down as his back, crucify again. Therefore, because of that, figuratively, yeah, I'm talking figuratively, we as Christians, we need to be re-nailed to that cross. We need that old nature not to be reactivated. Because if it is reactivated, if we're allowed to come back, we'll separate ourselves from God. And therefore, potentially then, we'll separate ourselves from eternal life, the tree of life. And that, when we go back to Galatians chapter 2, chapter 2, as we start, Galatians chapter 2, verse 20, he said, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of Christ, the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I hope, brethren, that you and I understand a little bit better what it means for us to be crucified with Christ.