Rather than kill ourselves, we can let God live in the area that needs God’s touch…
Trying to die to it makes us preoccupied with what we are not. But living in Christ Jesus makes us pre-occupied with Him. We become alive to God, which automatically makes us dead to ourselves. - Graham Cooke
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The quote sounds good but I'm not sure it's completely Biblical. When I forget to reckon myself dead my own selfish ambitions creep back in, often unnoticed, and try to take over again. Verses...
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Gal. 2:20
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 6:11
I don't think this quote disagrees with those scriptures at all - though I'm open for discussion and correction if need be. Or, we can agree to disagree – that would be fine too.
But here's a little analogy of how I see this:
Let's say that a hungry wolf comes after me and he chases me up a tree. I am terrified to come down that tree cuz he's waiting at the bottom ready to devour me for lunch. I keep trying to think of ways to kill that wolf. I find a few sticks or SOMETHING to throw at him - but of course they are nothing in comparison to the wolf and I have no other weapon on me. Along comes a hunter who shoots and kills the wolf. The hunter tells me that I can come down - and tries to reassure me that the wolf is dead. But I don't believe he's dead. I am still consumed with the idea that somehow I have to kill the beast before I can come down the tree rather than ‘considering' or 'reckoning' that the wolf is already dead. And so I become powerless against it. However, if I consider it dead the wolf has no power over me.
Considering ourselves dead to sin (or reckoning ourselves) isn't the same as KILLING ourselves. If I consider that I'm dead to sin then I recognize that I already AM dead to it. It has no power over me and I have the choice to sin or not to sin. When something is dead you don't need to fight with it any longer cuz it doesn't have any power over you.
So the difference is, do we view ourselves as already dead to sin??? Or are we still trying to KILL it? If we think it still has power over us, then we will find ourselves in a losing battle... I think that’s what this quote is trying to say. Though I’m not sure I explained myself very well!!!!
ikvxyfcu
Is "putting of the old man" a conscious or unconsious decision? Maybe that is the real question here. Can I "reckon my self dead" without consciously realising it? And what about Romans 8:13? "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
Just for the record, I think you explained it better than him.
"Considering ourselves dead to sin (or reckoning ourselves) isn't the same as KILLING ourselves. If I consider that I'm dead to sin then I recognize that I already AM dead to it. It has no power over me and I have the choice to sin or not to sin. When something is dead you don't need to fight with it any longer cuz it doesn't have any power over you."
The problem here is that since my "body" is still alive, I have to continue the fight. (See Ro. 7: 23-25)
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