Black Snake Moan

Mmm, black snake crawlin' in my room

Mmm, black snake crawlin' in my room

And some pretty mama had better come

and get this black snake soon

Blind Lemon Jefferson

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.

Romans 8:13

What does it mean to live? What are the promises of God according to this life we are to live? By living in the spirit, does it mean that we will be prosperous? Happy every day of our lives? Does it mean our lives will be easy? In John 17, before Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, He prays for the believers that have been given to Him by the Father. He does not pray for our successes in life nor our happiness. He prays that we are kept from the evil one and made holy in his word. He does not pray that we will be kept from suffering, but that we will be free from the temptation and the grip of sin.

So to live by the flesh, we die. But through the Spirit, we put to death our sin, we shall live. We must mortify or kill our sin, not through behavior modification, but through the Spirit. I know that in my life my sin drags me through the mud, makes me weak, clouds my judgment, seperates me from Christ, and turns me into a miserable person. For such a long time, sin was allowed to reign in my heart. I eventually got to a point where godly things seemed foreign to me and my memories of a past christian life seemed like a blur. This is not the life we are intended to live. It's a sad state of affairs that the American church would rather make a political statement or preach on what is pleasing to our ears instead of preaching the seriousness of sin. The great theologian John Owen said of the believer who does not daily crucify and kill his sin, that their "heart is like the sluggard's field, so overgrown with weeds that you scarce see the good corn." Jesus says in John 15 that the Father will prune those that he loves, which means he will cut away the junk, so the fruit can multiply.

Many of us have measured our spiritual growth by how little we sin, but sin is far more than an outwardly action. The root of sin starts in the heart. Left unchecked, we water it and feed it and allow it to grow. So while the outward may be pleasing to our eye, the inward is bitter and rotten and love of sin has replaced the love of Christ. A man cannot serve two masters and our master paid a great price to purchase us and free us from the bondage of sin!

Daily, let us abide in the word. Let the word of God make us holy. Be sanctified in truth and love. Take captive all thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. When the black snake crawls into our rooms, do not feed him. Do not entertain him. Resist him and he will flee. Abide in God's word and through the Spirit seek to kill all the sin that is indwelling in your heart. This is the only way we can live. We were not meant to live as slaves. So let us live free!