The Disease of Sin

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
~ Romans 8:7 ~

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
~ Mosiah 3:19 ~

We all know that the word “carnal” here signifies fleshly. The old translators rendered the passage thus; “The mind of the flesh is enmity against God”—that is to say, the natural mind, that soul which we inherit from our fathers, that which was born within us when our bodies were fashioned by God. The fleshly mind, the phronema sarkos, the lusts, the passions of the soul; it is this which has gone astray from God, and become enmity against him.
~ Charles H. Spurgeon – The Carnal Mind Enmity Against God ~

…the natural man is the man who remains in his fallen condition; he has not experienced a rebirth. At the one end of the spectrum, the natural man may be a person bent on lasciviousness; he may be one who loves Satan more than God and thereby is carnal, sensual, and devilish. (See Moses 5:13.) Of such Alma said: “All men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.” (Alma 41:11; see also Mosiah 16:2–5.)
~ An Enemy to God – Robert Millet; Ensign June 1992 ~

The more I draw closer to my Heavenly Father, through mindful Christian living, the more I am appalled at the nature and disease of sin. Scripture teaches clearly how God perceives sin. I have come to see how my natural being was an enemy toward God. Sin is a sickness, a compulsion, an obsession. One I continue to be afflicted with. Wasn’t I determined to do all that I needed to do to redeem my own nature? No wonder my struggles and sufferings became an impasse. Yet my own irresistible force to move that which was an immovable object continued to exacerbate my suffering.

Today I need to constantly remind myself that I am only able to save myself through Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father’s grace. It is vital to my spiritual and physical well-being to keep myself humble, aware, and not traverse down that road of self-destruction and self-pity. Shedding the baggage of shame, guilt, and all the resentments and bitterness that had ,at one time, poisoned my soul and caused the fount of despair. I know that my natural man is constantly an enemy toward God. Yet my spiritual self draws nearer to Him as a humble servant willing and ready to walk in His light and truth.

When I devote myself to correcting my own sinful nature, it cannot possibly have an adverse effect on my relationship to God. He has the power and grace to work out my problems according to His will and desire. My spiritual growth and journey means that I take a hands-off approach in dealing with my problems. I take them to God and seek wisdom and guidance. Not rely on my own whimsical will. Sin is a constant disease that reminds me of my need for my Savior.

TODAY’S PRAYER AND MEDITATION

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may continue to learn that it is not my function to direct or control those things which I am not able to change. I continue to humbly give my life and will over to your care as I know that my natural tendencies to do things my way always ends up in defeat and disappointment. And as I seek thee out daily, remind me to forgive others as I seek your forgiveness for my own transgressions. Thank you for the atonement through Jesus Christ and redeeming my lost soul. In Jesus Name, Amen

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