The "manipulation of sin"

(Luke 5:38)  “But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”

Did you know that the “manipulation of sin” is a precipice so deep that it is impossible to breach? Try as you may, pay top dollar for the best psychiatrist with their twelve step programs and all you will ever do is bury the “deception” a little deeper as you are deceived into believing that you have found a key to unlock a step to freedom, when in fact its just another disguise mused as freedom.

As Christians we allow the Word of God to wash over our lives hoping for the change to happen. And because we do not like certain attributes to our lives we welcome most of its instruction with open arms. However there are certain strongholds that have their claws hooked deep into our lives and those are the areas we hang onto with all we have and mostly with denial mixed in as the key ingredient. Our own minds manipulating us into a deeper vortex of sin that becomes solidified the longer it is allowed to live. It is only when we see it for what it is that we will be allowed to confess our part in the breach and ask God to miraculously set us free, in and through the work of His Spirit. Try and conquer any other way and all you will ever do is some patchwork that will always be evident.

There are two realms that need considering, the carnal and the Spiritual, the body and the Spirit. They both have different entities that feed their survival. Unfortunately so many make the fatal mistake of trying to conjure up some concoction that will cater to both. Does oil and water ever mix evenly? No wonder the Lord Jesus seemed to spend so much of His time here on earth dealing with this topic; “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) – Does not life itself teach you so many valuable lessons; we cannot put new wine into old wine skin for it will result in a massive burst! We cannot patch an old pair of pants with new fabric because it will tear the mend. Like for like is needed, new wine with new wineskins and so forth.

So many religious institutions make this fatal error. Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews and he hadn’t understood this, have you? The flesh (our natural commitment to life and their applications) can never feed our souls with sustainable food that is required for that part of us that will go on into eternity. That needs a different mind-set and application to work out in the positive. Just like our natural bodies had a beginning, so too our spirits need a beginning (to be born again) and only some have understood. Have you? God is the one that quickens our Spirit and gives them life. How so? Through repentance for our sin and acknowledging that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin in particular.

Our natural bodies need food to sustain them, so too do our Spirits need food to sustain them.  Let us stop lying to ourselves about so many traps that trick us into believing that what we are on about is for our eternal benefits. If it is not from the Spirit then it will always result in disaster even if it is hidden so deep that we live under the spell of self denial, all that it is, is the “manipulation of sin” at work.

Here are some facts that should settle our minds on this topic; “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)

In conclusion it is time for us to forget whatever we have learnt from family and friends if it does not correspond with the Word of God. If we want our Spirits fed correctly we must learn to trust and obey it in faith, believing God, for we are works in progress that will bring us great benefit and Him glory, come what may!

Signing off

Tyrone