Indwelling Sin

Meaning:

Indwelling sin is “the flesh” or “the old man” that is part of us and stays with us even after we get saved.

There will be times that we will commit sin , we know that but the thing that matters the most is that we have to know when we sin that its not good also we have to be able to acknowledge that maybe you tried not to do it but you ended up doing it anyway.

We sometimes fall into asking ourselves questions like “man how did i fall into doing this little mistake again?”

“How did go from enjoying the Lord and obeying everything that he says to now falling into the things that he hates?”

Maybe you guys have asked that question to yourselves before in your walk, i know that i have a few times and when ive made mistakes like that ive got so upset and frustrated at myself.

Later in my walk i started to realise in the scriptures and what it showed me about the Indwelling Sin or the Flesh.

Disclaimer: I dont want you at all think that any kind of sin is okay but i want you to know that you will fall into sin in your walk no matter what and that when you do you have to understand why so that you wont beat yourself up so much about it but instead find the solution to counter it.

What is wrong with me?

Even though Christ has died for us and has saved us from the power of sin , there is another “power of sin”.

The power of sin that Jesus saved us from is its power to put us to death and its power to send us to hell.

But the other “power of sin” that i mentioned earlier is the power of indwelling sin, which is the sin that has the power to make us fall into sin because it dwells in us, The Flesh, The Carnal or Fleshly mindset.

Just because we have Sinful Flesh inside of us doesnt mean that its impossible to challenge it and stand strong. Through Gods grace we are able to challenge the Flesh now.

Thats why when we get saved we are pulled from Sins power to condemn us and now we are able to say no to sin because of his Grace. Before coming to Christ it was impossible to say no to what your flesh wanted or the sin you wanted, you wanted something you would go and get it right away.

But now notice that you are in Christ there is a wrestle!

“ Should i?? No I cant” “ maybe just one, noo i cant”.

Romans 7:18–20 NIV

18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So we all have something still wrong in us and that is the spiritual power called the indwelling sin.

This indwelling sin is what tries to urge you to commit evil , explore your desires and even set your mind on wordly things.

Romans 8:1–17 NIV

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Amen so see we have been given the Holy Spirit now that we have come to Christ and He gives us the power to say no to the flesh, to challenge the flesh.

Verse 12 - we have an obligation , not to live by the flesh but to stand in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16–25 NIV

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

So when we walk in accordance with the Spirit we wont lift up the desires of our flesh. Let us keep in step with the Spirit as verse 25 says.

We know now that we are saved from sins power to condemn us but we still have the power of the flesh or indwelling sin in us that will put us in a position of choice to give in to the flesh or to stay firm in the spirit.

Keeping this in mind , we should never use “the flesh” as an excuse to do what we want. Sometimes we can purposely want to do what our flesh wants and then just constantly say “ oh sorry i was in the flesh” yes that is true you were in the flesh to even think like that but dont use that as a get out of jail card to do what you want.

The flesh is something in us that we should hate and not want to be influenced by.

Have you ever been upset with someone because of something they did and you say “get away i dont want to deal with you”. We shouldnt do that to eachother but thats how we should be towards our flesh when it tempts us to fall.

Lets look at how Sin happens.

James 1:14–15 NIV

14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

When we read hear in James it shows us that sin doesnt just happen but its a process. If we understand the process then we will be able to fight it better.

1. Distraction "Every man is tempted when he is lured"

Sins first move is distraction Proverbs 1:17. Bird testimony. But if the bird can be distracted to look away then it can be trapped. Now with us as Christians its the same but with our mind.

When our mind is focused on the things of God we can watch out for our sin. We can see the traps that are set against us. 

But if our minds are distracted towards wordly things then the traps will be hidden to us and sin can get us. Distraction from spiritual duties is where sin aims first.

2. Deception "And enticed by his own desire"

Sin entices with the promise of pleasure just like a hook covered by the bait. When we see something that looks beautiful to the eye we dont notice the danger. 

This is how Eve was deceived if we go to Genesis 3.  Her first response to Satan was "if we eat this fruit we will die" so she was aware of the danger. But then she allowed herself to forget that when her desires got stirred up by thinking of the beauty of the fruit and how it could make her wise. Verse 6.

3. Decision. "Then , desire when it is conceived"

We cant sin until we make a decision to sin. These decisions are made cause of our "will"  When the mind is distracted from its true duty and a longing for your pleasures is made up in your heart then you make the path for you to sin. 

Sin looks , sounds and feels good which is why we sometimes choose it.

4. Deed The next step is giving birth to sin. Actually committing the sin. 

This is where were like "oh shucks i cant believe i did this" " i cant believe i did this again". But what we dont realise is that we failed the battle to sin long before we committed it.

So lets go back - we sinned because we chose it, i chose it cause it looked , felt and sounded good,  it looked good because i saw the pleasure of it and not the danger of it. 

Because when sin was laying the trap , i got distracted. So thats it , we get distracted.

If we had kept our mind occupied with the things of God and watched against our sin , i wouldve seen the danger when sin came with its proposal. 

So because i was distracted with my duties to stay focused on God i allowed sin to work further and then i lost the battle.

Family this is where we target our efforts. To focus on spiritual duties that protect us from being deceived by sin.

Distraction from the things of God is what gives sin the chance to win us over.

5. Death  Sin when it is fully grown, brings forth death.

Remember the ending of our sin is death. We shouldnt think that Sin is a harmless pet that we can just keep on the side and tame it later. 

Sin is dangerous and without the saving Grace of Jesus Christ , this sin whatever it may be will drag us to hell.

That is again the ending of sin.

So family if theres anything in us that is not according to the ways of God , we need to wake up.  Your enemy is not only near you , your enemy of sin is already in you. We have to know the battle plan and Fight against our sin. 

Dont let the Flesh win. Amen.