Me? Crucified? Why?

The AWANA program was greatly useful in our family's past. We learned much in and through our work with kids and families. One of the strengths of the system was, and is, scripture memorization. Boys and Girls would memorize huge portions of scripture, supporting sound doctrinal declarations. It was amazing the work that went into the awards structure. 

One of the most important verses that was memorized was Galatians 2:20 where Paul states almost in passing,   "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." 

Whether child, or adult, this verse must be understood with all seriousness. I believe that you know what I mean when I say that my biggest struggle with sin comes from my own fleshly desires. The old theological statement that declares our three enemies as, the world, the flesh and the devil, might better put the flesh first. 

So this truth puts tremendous weight on what Paul says in the above text. A few verses later he says the same thing in a different way in Galatians 5:24, "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts". 

What is the difference between, "I am crucified" and "(I) have crucified"? Here is the thought. When Christ died all believers died with him because he was our substitute (see Romans 6:3 and following). He died so that we wouldn't have to. The crucifixion was where our sins were nailed to his cross (Colossians 2:14). 

However, if you haven't noticed, we still have bodies. Our bodies have sinful desires and they SHOUT to be satisfied! This is where the other crucifixion comes into play. We were crucified with Christ but we must die daily and at times moment by moment. We must, “Mortify our flesh”. That means, kill it. Paul, in Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death your members".

Killing is pretty drastic. It’s like the end of something. In Jesus’ sermon on the mount he went so far as to say, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off!” (Matthew 5:30). In the earlier verse he said that if your eye caused you to sin the you should yank it out! Gross. Jesus’ point was that sin is TERRIBLE. It is an offense against Holy God. It must be nailed to the cross and left there to rot. Don’t feel sorry for it. Just kill it. Beware, though, it is a strong foe and you’ll need the power of the Holy Spirit to help you kill it.