Mortifying the Flesh in Truth

The Scriptures speak of ‘mortifying the flesh’ in three specific texts:

Romans 8:3- “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

Colossians 3:5- “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Galatians 5:24- “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

The question is: What does that mean? The problem is not with what the Scriptures say, but rather men’s interpretations of what they say. But all told, all interpretations fall into one of three categories:

1. Those who see mortifying the flesh as a WORK of man by way of penance before God, or of somehow improving the flesh so as to sin less and less.

2. Those who see mortifying the flesh as a COOPERATION between the sinner and the Spirit as a work that the Spirit brings the sinner to do, as if the sinner is able somehow to perform surgery on themselves and rid themselves of this sin or that.

3. Those who see mortifying the flesh as THE GRACE of God, by the Spirit of God teaching the sinner to put NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH (Philippians 3:3) and to look to the LORD Jesus Christ alone, the CRUCIFIED ONE (Hebrews 12:1,2) and not to attempt to take on the flesh ourselves. (Galatians 2:20)

I reject the first two views as being contrary to what the Scriptures teach AND an affront to the finished WORK OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST at the cross, although I did at various points in my life, prior to the converting work of the Spirit wrongfully believe and teach the them.

It has only been since the LORD began that gracious work of His Spirit in me that HE has made me see that the GRACE of God alone, by the Spirit’s work in me, causing me THE SINNER to look outside myself to the LORD Jesus Christ alone, and now risen, ascended and seated as my GREAT HIGH PRIEST, and therefore to consider HIM and HIS FINISHED WORK ALONE, as my only HOPE (Hebrews 4:15, 16)

However, unless the LORD shows one the true sense of what it is to mortify the flesh, nothing will convince otherwise. Only the LORD and His grace can give the Spiritual eyes to see His Truth in this matter.

I am not just speaking theoretically, or for debate purposes, but telling you how the LORD has, in His mercy and grace, dealt mightily in my own heart on this very matter, showing me my lost estate, and that this matter of mortification of the flesh is not putting to death this sin or that sin (in the word mortification is the word 'mort').

Rather it is considering (reckoning) anything to do with this flesh to be as death, or deadly, and therefore NOT take it on.

The Spirit NEVER draws the sinner to the flesh in ANY way whether to fight it, or try to deal with it ourselves or in cooperation with the Spirit, as if it were some sort of joint work together.

The Spirit causes us to see ourselves as absolutely wretched in view of God's holiness and UNABLE, like a leopard, to change one spot.

Mortification, is to look upon anything in your flesh as deadly, wretched, and condemnable by the Spirit of Grace.

That self-same Spirit of Grace, causes you to look outside yourself, to the LORD Jesus Christ and His finished work ALONE.

The view that somehow the flesh can be changed or made ‘better’ in any way outside of the completed work of Christ ALONE is full of deadly poison and error.

When one presents this work of sanctification and mortification of the flesh as being their work in cooperation with the work of the Spirit the outcome is sin and death.

The Scriptures teach, and the LORD has so taught me, and continues to teach me from His Word that sanctification is the LORD's work from beginning to end. (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

To grow in grace is to grow in my need of His grace, as He continually shows us our sinfulness, and draws our hearts again and again to the LORD Jesus Christ, and gives us that cry as that needy sinner, ‘Be merciful to me a sinner’ (Luke 18:13).

Christ Our Sanctification

NEVER does the Spirit direct us to get down into our own flesh, and wrestle with it, as some believe that they must do.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says "laying aside the sin that so easily beset us… And therefore looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith." It says to lay aside the sin that so easily besets us, another words leave it alone. Quit trying to exercise it and fix it. The remedy is always looking onto the LORD Jesus Christ who is the Sole Object of faith, and that is the Spirit's work to do.

If you will take the time to get your Bible concordance and look up every reference to the word ‘mortify’ in Scripture, you will find that it means to consider the flesh dead, not a personal work or battle that you are called upon in order to put it to death.

If the LORD will teach you, you will see that to mortify the flesh is done in one of two senses:

To Consider (Reckon) it legally dead. In other words Christ has already paid the sin debt, if you are one of His, and ‘there is therefore now no more condemnation’-(Romans 8:1), which follows Paul's entire commentary in Romans 7. Burn every other commentary on this and just read the Scriptures.

To consider the flesh to be death in and of itself. Don't try to fix it, don't try to remedy it, and don’t try to take it on, no more than you would spend your time with a dead body in your living room. Mortify the flesh, consider it dead, in view of the work of the LORD Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished. (Galatians 2:20-21).

Finally, if you truly believe you are to mortify the flesh, then you MUST obey every single commandment in the Word. You MUST begin to work, not just on every word, deed, or thought, but the very motive of your heart. You better pick up your spiritual hammer, your nails, your saw, your toolbox, and go hard at it, but I would not want to be in your place.

I would rather be that needy sinner before the LORD, with nothing to say or do but to look to Christ Jesus alone, and continually plead for HIS grace and mercy to keep me and draw me to Himself, so long as He gives me breath.

The only way to honor the LORD Jesus Christ, is to be drawn by His Spirit to Him, and to have nothing to bring in this flesh. By grace alone, this can only be fully understood and appreciated, when the Spirit so teaches you that once you have the glory of Christ nothing else matters.

You want nothing, you desire nothing but Him.

We are warned tenderly by Paul in his epistle to the Galatians in chapters 2, and 3 where he declares to them boldly that if righteousness come by law, (that is any works of this flesh in obedience to the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Those in his day promoted circumcision, which is nothing more than ‘the cutting away of the flesh spiritually’, it is to fall from grace.

To go down that path is a denial of the power, and the effect of what Christ has accomplished at Calvary for those for whom He paid the debt. When you state that you understand the debt Christ paid, and then add however, or but…, what you are saying is that the work of the LORD Jesus Christ and the revelation of the Spirit of Christ to the heart are not sufficient.