Identify: Kill Your Sin

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:5-6)

We’ve probably read these verses too many times to feel the shock of Paul’s words: “Execute your sin!” He puts out a hit on the output of our earthly nature and says we should be the assassins. The next step in taking on the identity of Jesus is doing in the product of our old selves.

identify_350He starts with the sexual sins, listing every form of sexuality we might express outside of a biblical marriage, from sins of the mind to taking part in any kind of a sexual act with someone other than a spouse. He doesn’t leave room for exceptions.

And he doesn’t leave room for negotiation with our sinful choices, either. We’re not called to show mercy, just to pull the trigger. Kill the sin and walk away. Obviously, that’s not always easy. Sin no longer controls us (because our faith in Jesus freed us from its power), but sometimes we still want to keep it around instead of finishing it off.

Don’t let it go. Get ruthless.

Think: Do you tend to take your sinful choices seriously enough? What is the most extreme you’ve gotten with yourself to say “no” to sin? What sacrifices are you willing to make to use God’s power to walk away from it?

Pray: Ask God to help you to put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature.

Do: Write 2-3 sentences describing how greed is like idol worship, as the verse above states.