HE HAS TO DIE

I am sure you might be wondering who has to die… and why he has to die. What has he done to deserve a death sentence?

I’ll tell you a story.

A man intended to build a house. He was an architect and a builder – in fact, he was the best there was. He desired so much for this house to be in his preferred taste, so he set out to build the house himself. He came up with a unique design for the house and proceeded to put it together to his liking. It was a magnificent structure.

When he had completed the building, he handed the house over to someone else to look after, trusting that the man would take care of the house. He gave him the right to do whatever he wanted with the house, the only condition being that it maintained its perfect state. The new caretaker, now in possession of keys to the house, took over its affairs and looked after the house. The actual owner of the house visited from time to time to chat with the caretaker and discuss the house’s affairs.

Now, the only proof of ownership of this house was the key to the house. Whoever had this key was automatically the owner of the house. One day, the caretaker in charge of the house lost the key due to carelessness. The key to the house got into the hands of a stranger, who took over the place, rearranged things to his own taste, and locked the caretaker out. He went as far as changing the keys to the house, so the owner no longer had access to it.

Still haven’t realized who has to die, right? Please stay with me…

This story above illustrates what happened in the beginning and why our world is the way it is right now. God created our first parents Adam and Eve and breathed His life into them. He gave them authority over everything He created, and He gave the man a will of his own and the right to make choices and take decisions.

But the first man took the wrong decision by heeding the advice of the old serpent (the devil). This unfortunate move led to the fall of man, and he lost the authority he once had. But even much more than losing the authority given to them by God, Adam and Eve lost the very essence of their living- the life of God in them. Since nature abhors a vacuum, the now empty body was inhabited by another entity – the old man.

Who is the old man?

In scripture, the old man is known by many names – “the sinful nature,” “the natural,” “Mr. flesh,” etc. (Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:9). It is the fallen nature of man before regeneration, devoted to self and earthly things. For the purpose of this discussion, we would refer to him as “Mr. Flesh.”

When Mr. Flesh took over our first parents, everything they did was based on his directions. They reproduced in his likeness and after his own image (Genesis 5:2). The Bible makes us understand that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Roman 3:23). It also tells us that sin came into the world through one man (Romans 5:12), and every man begotten of a woman is born with the old nature in him. Little wonder David exclaimed, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalms 51:5)

You ever wondered where little babies learned to bite their mother’s breast while sucking and to smile happily when the mother expresses pain? Where could they have learned such wrongdoing? You ever met someone so gentle and kind, and all of a sudden, they do something so evil that you never believed they could do? Where did all these come from? All the evil and corruption in our world are products of Mr. Flesh that took over after the fall in the garden of Eden. The “old man” is inherently evil. However, he possesses the ability to hide behind good works (he is the master of deceit and camouflage). He can hide for a very long time, only to show forth himself one day. The “good” he does from time to time can give the idea that nothing is wrong and that man doesn’t need salvation.

But it is important to note that THE OLD MAN CAN NEVER PLEASE GOD.

I was born into a Christian home. I grew up “religious,” doing one good thing or the other, and one little wrong here and there. I didn’t see the need for any other thing. I personally thought my life and services to God should be pleasing to Him. Not until I found out that I had to encounter the Cross, and without this encounter, all my “righteous deeds” are like filthy rags before God. What matters to God is His life in a man, the very life man lost in Eden.

I have friends who haven’t met the Cross but are very moral. I never saw the need for them to be saved because, in my opinion, they were doing the right things, but salvation goes beyond that.

IT IS NOT ABOUT DEALING WITH THE SINFUL ACTS BUT DEALING WITH THE NATURE OF SIN ITSELF. The old man makes us believe that we just need to stop stealing, lying, or doing whatever evil we’re involved in. But this isn’t the solution. If the root of sin is not dealt with, then a new evil can always spring forth. Mr. Flesh can always invent something new. So the only solution is that the old man must die.

Let’s talk a little about the attributes of this old man. The first thing to know about the old man is that he causes the man he inhabits to hide from God.

Let us return to our first parents, Adam and Eve. After the fall, they quickly hid themselves when they heard the voice of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. These were people who enjoyed constant fellowship with God, yet they hid because they lost the life of God in them. The old nature makes one hide from the presence of God. He can sometimes attend Church services, sing, and minister, but he hides within. He is afraid to come to the presence of God. It even gets to the point that some persons don’t want to fellowship with other brethren. They come up with excuses. This is also a sign to look out for when we start backsliding. When we begin to hide from the presence, something might be wrong with our relationship with God.

Another thing we can see with Adam and Eve when the old man took over is that they realized that they were naked and sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. They lost the cover of God and started searching for artificial covering.

This is an evident trait in a man that is ruled by Mr. Flesh. He searches for satisfaction in other things. It could be wealth, movies, music, or even knowledge. To some, it even leads them to sexual sins; masturbation, pornography, and the likes. For those under the Church umbrella, they can pursue service without a genuine relationship with God.

Man can never find satisfaction in any of this. This is why even when he gets all the wealth or reputation, he’s never satisfied. There’s no fulfillment, and so he desires even more. And until the original covering (the life of God) is regained, man remains restless and without peace, always pursuing things that never satisfy.

I once heard a sad story about a man of God. Let’s call him pastor A. Pastor A attended a minister’s conference, and after the program, it was time for refreshments. Pastor A moved to join the queue to get his food. Another minister (let’s call him Pastor B), who isn’t really popular, tries to join the line. He mistakenly steps on pastor A’s foot, and as a result, Pastor A got very upset and reacted aggressively. He yelled at Pastor B, asking him if he knew who he was. Pastor B kept apologizing, but he wouldn’t forgive him.

At about the same time, the conference organizer passed by. Upon seeing what was happening, he came close to help resolve the issue. He taps Pastor A asking him to drop the case, but he refused. And then he turned back to see who was speaking to him, only to realize that it was the program’s organizer. In that instance, his countenance and speaking tone changed. He immediately asks pastor B to go.

In this little story, who was at work? You guessed right – the old man. He is no respecter of persons or reputation. If given a chance, he works in anyone. The old man takes pride in himself, is selfish, and only thinks of himself. “I am, I did, I, I, I…” is the favorite phrase of the old man. He never takes responsibility for his actions. He constantly shifts the blame.

I’m sure if Pastor A in our story was asked what the problem was, he would have pointed at anyone else but himself. The old man never sees a problem with himself, but only with others. He can pinpoint all the issues with those around him but never realizes his. Even with Adam, when asked why he disobeyed, do you remember his reply? “The woman you gave me.” He indirectly blamed God. Eve too, when asked, pushed the blame to the serpent.

Galatians 5 gives us a list of the acts of the old man – sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the likes. It continues by saying that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. The old nature can never please God.

Why list the attributes of the old nature? It is said that for you to fight an enemy, it is essential you know about him. Maybe you realized that the old man is at work in you. Don’t be scared because our Lord Jesus has made a way of escape. He has crucified this nature of sin and given us victory.