Recent study in Romans chapter 8 had me asking myself, “What exactly is sin in the flesh?” First of all, we have to define “SIN”.  What exactly is sin?  It is defined as “offence” or as we would say, breaking the law(s) of God, as all sin is ultimately against Him.  Paul spoke of the fact that before there was “law”, there was no sin, and many have taken that far out of context.

In chapter 7, Paul dealt with the human condition, whereas when we are in Christ Jesus, and in our innermost being, that being the spirit of man and the soul, we want to do good.   But the fleshly part of us, well, to put it simply, the flesh wants to do what the flesh wants to do, and like water, it will take the course of least resistance.  That reminds me of a time we had a Bible study at our home years ago, when we had an attractive young lady who regularly attended, who was separated from her husband and in the process of divorce. There was an older man who came, whose favorite slogan was, “Where there is no law, there is no sin”. Well, he was married and started making advances to the young lady, and trying to kiss her.  I rebuked him and reminded him they were both married, and what he was doing was not right.  Again, he said, “Where there is no law, there is no sin.” He figured if he refused to recognize the covenant he had made with his wife, he could go ahead and have his fun.  I showed him the door and told him to make use of it.  You see, “GRACE” is a safety net for those trying to do right who sometimes fail.  It is NOT a trampoline as some would have us to believe.

Getting back to “sin in the flesh”, I became aware of the fact that sin, which is rebellion against God, cannot be initiated in the flesh.  Sin; that is, rebellion or offence, first takes place in the spirit of man, and the mind.  Let me put it like this: we will say there is a bank robber who jumps in his car to get away, and is caught.  Tell me, who goes to jail: the robber, or the car?  obviously the robber.  The car is simply the vehicle the robber used to commit the offense.  Likewise, the flesh cannot sin, unless it is forced to do so by will of the spirit which controls the soul, which controls the flesh to make it move.

Let me now take this a bit further.  God created man’s flesh to be whole and healthy.  Health is the “default” condition of our flesh, not sickness.  In fact, a sick or diseased body should be as rare as a three dollar bill, but sadly, sickness is common, and people run to the doctors and turn to medicine to treat the symptoms while ignoring the root cause.  Sickness is the rebellion of the flesh to stay in its God-ordained state, which is health.  But the flesh can do nothing of itself.  If you don’t believe me, then cut off your hand and put it on the table and try to make it do something.  The hand, cut off from the mind can do nothing.  The flesh cannot sin unless it is subject to the will of the mind.  So why would the body rebel against the law of health?  It has to be because the spirit of man and the mind of man; that is the soul, is in rebellion to God in some way.  It is not my job to point out what form of rebellion that might be.  You already KNOW what it is, for there is no such thing as “hidden sin” beyond the point that it may be hidden from other people, but it is not hidden to you or God.

Let’s look at Romans 8:1-14:
Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13  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.
Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

I propose to you therefore that “sin in the flesh” is the flesh’s refusal to remain healed. Exactly how did Jesus deal with “sin in the flesh”?  He condemned it, brought judgment against it, declaring it out of line with the will of God and damned it. Then He HEALED the sick, every one of them who came unto Him.  In fact, it says He healed them ALL, not refusing his mercy to anyone for any reason.

As I said before, the flesh can do nothing of its own, if it is in rebellion to God, then it is because the spirit of that person is in rebellion to God.  Yeah, I know, that isn’t what people want to hear.  But yet they want to get well.  Why not get well on God’s terms, instead of giving your body over to doctors to cut, burn, or poison?  Not to mention the fact that you will surrender a tidy sum of money in the process.  Why not deal with the rebellion, acknowledge it, surrender it to God, and be free the EASY way.  Disease must be called DIS-ease, it’s when your body is uneasy, out of God’s ordained place of health.  Jesus is the cure, the ONLY true cure.  You can medicate the symptoms to hide or conceal them, but they’re still there.  You can have a pinched nerve in your spine that hurts like crazy and take a pain pill and feel better, but the nerve is still pinched and you’ll actually do more damage to it because the pain pill will mask the pain and you’ll do stuff you shouldn’t because you won’t feel it, that is until the pill wears off.

God deals with the root of rebellion.  If you have dandelions in your yard, you know no matter how many times you mow them down, they come right back.  But if you pull them out by the roots, they’re gone to come back no more.  It’s a waste of time to medicate your ills.  Jesus didn’t pass out pills, my friend, He passed out CURES!!!!!

Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Your flesh as well as mine have no will of their own, but are moved by the will of the mind.  When God’s Holy Spirit comes in to dwell alongside YOUR spirit, He will help you renew your spirit.  The Holy Spirit does not REPLACE your spirit, but rather comes alongside and speaks to your spirit, and your spirit speaks to your mind, and your mind moves your body, simple as that.

Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter 3;
Joh 3:1  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

By getting your spirit, mind, and body in line with God’s will, sickness will become a thing of the past for you.  But it must be done in the correct order.  Don’t think that just quoting healing scriptures will heal you, for the flesh can’t hear.  The SPIRIT, your inner man hears the words of God, communes with your mind and convinces your mind His words are true.  Your renewing or renewed mind is able to bring your flesh back into its proper “default” state of health and keep it that way.
I’ve prayed for many for healing and saw them healed, but after I left they returned to their old ways for their spirit was not renewed, or as Jesus put it, “Born Again”.  The old thinking brought about the old habits and actions, and the body had no choice but to respond accordingly and revert to its “Dis-Ease”.  No, that is not God’s will, but He will not usurp YOUR will to install HIS will.  You must surrender YOUR will and affirm it must be GOD’S will done in your life, period.  His will is wholeness.

There are many who pray, “Lord, if it’s your will, heal so-and-so.” If you read your Bible you would see that Jesus always healed the sick.  He said He did nothing that was not His Father’s will.  How can we ever say that sickness is the will of God, when Jesus healed the sick?  Jesus never once made anyone sick, nor did He “teach them a lesson” by making them sick, or blind, or deaf, or afflicted.  No!   SIN made them sick, and Jesus is the CURE for sin.  Use the CURE, not the PILL.  You’ll save money AND make God happy at the same time.