To subjugate sin

I reflected one day with a friend about what steps the Bible says are involved in helping someone mortify sin. How do we really help people not be subjugated by it. Or ourselves?"
I pray that reflective conversation we had growing our faith is also a blessing to you as well.

How would you best answer his question? The first thing to do is: Turn to the Scriptures. We need to be taught from “the mouth of God” so that the principles we are learning to apply carry with them both the authority of God and the promise of God to make them work in our lives.

Several passages on this study to mortify “Put to death” are: Romans 8:13; Romans 13:8–14 (Augustine's text); 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; Ephesians 4:17–5:21; Colossians 3:1–17; 1 Peter 4:1–11; 1 John 2:28–3:11. Significantly, only two of these passages contain the verb mortify (“put to death”). Correspondingly relevant, the context of each of these passages is substantially more than a single lesson to put sin to death. Today we will see that the mindfulness of that turns out to be of considerable importance.

We will settle today in Colossians 3:1–17 which is probably the best place for us to begin.

Colossians 3:1-17
Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 [a]Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. 5 Therefore, [b]consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming [c]upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living [d]in them. 8 But now you also, lay them all aside: wrath, anger, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 [e]Do not lie to one another, since you put off the old man with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new man who is being [f]renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, [g]barbarian, Scythian, slave, and freeman, but Christ is all and in all. 12 So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and [h]patience; 13 bearing with one another, and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. 14 Above all these things put on love, which is [i]the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ [j]rule in your hearts, to which [k]indeed you were called in one body, and [l]be thankful. 16 Let the word of [m]Christ dwell in you richly, [n]with all wisdom teaching and admonishing [o]one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing [p]with gratefulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Here in Colossians we discover some relatively young or new Christians. They have had a wonderful experience of conversion to Christ from paganism being gentiles. Salvation brought a gloriously new and liberating world of grace. We could maybe say it this way—For a season it was as if they had been delivered, not only from sin's penalty but almost from all  its influence—How glorious and marvelous was life in there new freedom. But then, of course, sin reared its ugly head again. Having experienced the “already” of grace they were now discovering the painful “not yet” of ongoing sanctification. Sounds familiar!

Like today in our evangelical sub-culture of make-shift for long-term problems, unless the Colossians had a firm grasp of Gospel principles, they were now at risk! This is the point young new Christians can be relatively easy prey to false teachers with new promises of a higher spiritual life. Like some who offer there 20 step  5 point messages for a better life, that lead these off course. That was what Paul feared (Col. 2:8, 16). Holiness-producing methods were now popularized (Col. 2:21–22) — and they seemed to be deeply spiritual, just the thing for earnest young believers.

But, in fact, “they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col. 2:23). There will never be new methods, but only an understanding of how the Gospel works, that can provide an adequate foundation and practice for dealing with sin. This is the theme of Colossians 3:1–17.

Paul gives us the practice and emphasis we need. Like an athlete, we will not succeed unless we go back from the point of action to a point from which we can gain energy for the strenuous effort of dealing with sin. Lets look at how Paul teaches us to do this?

First of all, Paul underlines how important it is for us to be familiar with our new identity in Christ (3:1–4). How often when we fail spiritually we lament that we forgot who we really are Christ’s. We have a new identity. We are no longer “in Adam,” but “in Christ”; no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit; no longer dominated by the old creation but living in the new (Rom. 5:12–21; 8:9; 2 Cor. 5:17).

Colossians 3:1-4 LSB
Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 [a]Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.

Paul takes time to expound this.
1. We have died with Christ (Col. 3:3;
2. We have even been buried with Christ, 2:12);
3. We have been raised with Him (3:1)
4. And our life is hidden with Him (3:3).
*Indeed, so united to Christ are we that Christ will not appear in glory without us (3:4).

The failure to deal with the presence of sin often comes from what I like to call spiritual amnesia or forgetfulness of our new, true, real identity (In the present real time).  As a believer I am someone who has been delivered (Currently) from the dominion of sin and who therefore is free and motivated to fight against the remnants of sin’s army in my heart.

Principle number one
1. Know,
2. Rest in,
3. Think through
4. And act upon your new identity—You are in Christ!

The Second Principal
Paul goes on to expose the workings of sin in every area of our lives (Col. 3:5–11). If we are to deal with sin biblically, we must not make the mistake of thinking that we can limit our attack to only one area of failure in our lives. All sin must be dealt with.

So as a result, Paul gives a spectrum through the manifestation of sin in
1. Private life (v. 5),
2. Everyday public life (v. 8),
3. And church life (vv. 9–11; “one another,” “here,” that is, in the church fellowship).

The challenge in mortification is much like the challenge in dieting (itself a form of mortification!): once we begin we discover that there are all kinds of reasons we are "overweight". We are really dealing with ourselves, not simply with calorie control. I am the problem, not the potato chips!

*Mortifying sin is a whole-of-life change.

The Third Principal
Paul’s observation provides us with practical guidance for mortifying sin. Sometimes it seems as if Paul gives exhortations (“Put to death . . . .,” 3:5) without giving “practical” help to answer our “how to?” questions. Often today, Christians go to Paul to tell them what to do and then proceed to the download, podcast, order, or go to the Christian bookstore to discover how to do it! Why this bifurcation (Difference of direction)? Probably because we do not linger long enough over what Paul is saying. In other words we do not promote enough of our time or self to thinking deeply into the Scriptures.  Specifically, whenever Paul issues an exhortation he surrounds it with hints as to how we are to put it into practice.
This is certainly true here.

Notice how this passage helps to answer our “how to?” questions.

1. Learn to admit sin for what it really is. Call a spade a spade—call it “sexual immorality,” not “I’m being tempted a little”; call it “impurity,” not “I’m struggling with my thought life”; call it “evil desire, which is idolatry,” not “I think I need to order my priorities a bit better.” This pattern runs right through this whole section. How powerfully this unmasks self-deceit—and helps us to unmask sin lurking in the hidden corners of our hearts!  

2. See sin for what your sin really is in God’s presence. “On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (3:6). Paul and many of the disciples who were strong in the spiritual life spoke of dragging our lusts (kicking and screaming, though they be) to the cross, to a wrath-bearing Christ. My sin leads to—not lasting pleasure—but holy divine displeasure. See the true nature of your sin in the light of its punishment. Too easily do we think that sin is less serious in Christians than it is in non-believers: “It’s forgiven, isn't it?” Not if we continue in it (1 John 3:9)! Take a heaven’s-eye view of sin and feel the shame of that in which you once walked (Col. 3:7; see also Rom. 6:21).

3. Recognize the inconsistency of your sin. You put off the “old man,” and have put on the “new man” (3:9–10). You are no longer the “old man.” The identity you had “in Adam” is gone. The old man was “crucified with him [Christ] in order that the body of sin [probably ‘life in the body dominated by sin’] might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom. 6:6).
New men live new lives. Anything less than this is a contradiction of who I am “in Christ.”

4. Put sin to death (Col. 3:5). It is as “simple” as that. Refuse it, starve it, and reject it. You cannot “mortify” sin without the pain of the kill. There is no other way!

But notice that Paul sets this in a very important, expansive context. The negative task of putting sin to death will not be accomplished in isolation from the positive call of the gospel to “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14). Paul spells this out in Colossians 3:12–17. Sweeping the house clean simply leaves us open to a further invasion of sin.  So when we obtain, hold onto and understand the “glorious substitution” principle of the gospel of grace, then we will begin to make some real advance in holiness.

As sinful desires and habits are not only rejected,
1.  But exchanged for Christ-like graces (3:12)
2. And actions (3:13);
3. As we are clothed in Christ’s character & His graces are held together by love (v. 14)
4. Not only in our private life
5. But also in the church fellowship (vv. 12–16), Christ’s name and glory are manifested
    and exalted in and among us (3:17).

I pray your life become rooted deeply in God's words. We cannot live in a life of passivity. Only an active Christian, becoming the word of God maintains his life in Grace.  The word must be deep in our spirit and blood if we are going to stand against the wiles of the enemy and the attempt sins subjugation spews at our life. The cause of Christ is the glorification of the triune God through the redemption of a particular people (those only justified by grace) through the cross-work of Jesus Christ.

John Bunyan as an instance of what I mean to be full of the word. He read the word till his very soul was saturated with Scripture; and, though his writings are charmingly full of poetry, the word of God flowed. Prick him anywhere—his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God. I commend his example to you, beloved.