A Tale of Two Trees

A Tale of Two Trees

Gen 2:9 Two Trees are Introduced to man

Gen 2:17 God warns Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil, and tells him that if he does he will surely die.

What did God mean, he would surely die?

God meant that right now, Adam is perfect, without sin, and could be friends with God, like a dad and a son are friends.

Being alive is to be without any sin at all. So, to die would be to sin.

Eating from this Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil would mean man will disobey God, and then know evil , which all he knows right now is good, perfect, and totally knowing that God is right there with him.

God then creates a woman for Adam, so he will not be alone.

Gen 3:1-7 the serpent (snake) lies to the woman and talks her into eating from the tree that God told them not to eat from. He tells her that she won’t die, but that she will be like God and know good and know what evil is. She eats from this tree, then shares it with Adam, now they have both sinned.

It wasn’t just the eating of the tree that was sin to God. WHEN they ate from this tree, they were able to know they difference between Good and Evil.


Remember what did we say it meant to be “alive?” to be alive is to be friends with God, like a dad is with his kids.

*if you have a friend that your parents don’t like, why would they not want you to be around them? Because when we are around other people, we tend to act like them, talk like them, dress like them…you want to be like them. But that is how man is, that is not how God is.

How can we be friends with God? God has a standard, and His standard is Perfection. Unlike us, when we are around someone, we pick up things that they do…God isn’t like playing in a mud hole…only God can’t be dirty, or less than perfect. But for someone to be in His presence that is imperfect, would be, well….it’s like wearing all white and

Now that man has sinned he is not God’s friend, they are his enemy & he is not allowed in the garden, which is a place where only perfect people can be.

Gen 3:24 God asks them what they have done and makes them leave the garden.
Adam was sad to leave, because he was Gods’ son. Because Adam sinned, he isn’t God’s son anymore, he is the son of the devil.

Gen 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Rom 6:23
For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But God created man to live forever! He created man NOT to die. Now man is dead. Remember that to be “alive” is to be SINLESS & FRIENDS with God.

But what if God could send a replacement? Someone who WAS perfect, someone that COULD obey God, one who COULD be friends with God because he had never ever sinned. And if someone could do that, could they trade with me? Could I give him my sin, and he’d give me his perfection. What He give me the power to obey God again, so that I could be God’s child again, and be friends with Him, like a dad and a son would be?

God DID do all that! He made that possible!

God sent His only Son from Heaven, his name is Jesus Christ Jesus was perfect, had never ever sinned. Jesus talked with God and heard from Him, like a Son would His Father. Jesus was friends with God like a dad and a son would be. Like we were SUPPOSED to be.

What if Jesus could, being Sinless & Perfect, A Friend of God, die for us, so that WE could live forever again and be with God forever?!

Well, that is what He did. He was taken, had done nothing wrong. Jesus was beaten, nailed to a tree (the Cross), and hung there until He died. THAT was OUR punishment that He took. He paid OUR PRICE for sin when He did that.

Not only did He die for us, but He rose again from the grave on the third day to live in our hearts. How do we receive what Jesus did for us so that we can be with God again? All we have to do is believe that God sent His only Perfect Son, that He died FOR US, that He rose again on the third day…to give us a Life with God FOREVER, which is called ETERNAL LIFE. We just need to ask Jesus to come live in our hearts. Let’s go to this scripture and read what God says about this:

Rom 10:9-10
That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou will be saved.


For with the heart man believes unto righteousness (just means a right standing with God, like, you are able to be with Him) ; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (meaning, because you believe it in your heart and have said admitted it out loud to God, you are saved).

Now we are able to come back into the Presence of God, through Jesus, and live with God forever and forever. So, it’s like Jesus took us back to the garden where man sinned and whipped away the sin and we are now eating from the Tree of Life. Jesus is the Tree of Life that we eat from now. For now, and into Eternity (forever and forever).

The only thing that we have to do, is continue to keep our faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us, ask Jesus to lead us in our lives. And Jesus leads us through His Holy Spirit. So when we go to do something that we shouldn’t be doing, God will speak to us through the Holy Spirit and tell us to do something or not to do something. This is something that will help us STAY with Jesus, and eat from His Tree of Life until we go to Heaven.

***anyhow, I hope that is clear enough to share with children. I think if children can understand it, than we definitely can. God has actually made this so easy that even a child CAN understand His Gospel. The problem is, not enough people out there preaching and teaching the true gospel of Christ anymore. ☺

The Cross and Self

i started out thinking i was going to be studying "doing the will of the Father," and it seems like God is slowly leading me there, but this was the next check point before reaching that destination. This seemed to be the most reasonable way to go in this quest for following the Spirit of the Lord, because we can't actually learn how to do the Will of the Father, until we understand the Cross of Christ and Self first.

Upon further research, i realize that this may have to be a sequel, seeing as i have much more information on this topic than one would think!

As i was taking my time of prayer with the Lord one day, walking down a nearby road, hot green tea in hand...the Lord whispered this scripture to me:

2 Tim 2:21, "...a vessel unto honour, sactified, & meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."

meet: easy to make use of, useful

prepared: to make ready

we need to ask ourselves how we can be "meet for the master's use." And the answer to this is simple, and yet not easy to accomplish, nor is it pleasant to endure. The answer is to "Get out of the way!!!" LOL and yet we so struggle with this, why?

one of our biggest issues in our lives is not the devil, as we attempt to make this journey to Heaven. our big problem is the one we see when we look into the mirror. Self.

it is Self that stops and restricts God from accomplishing HIS WILL in our lives, it is SELF that acts up and is "ish...as in Selfish," it is self that demands the control and focus, and truly, is one of the greatest hindrances of the church today.

One of the problems that i see though, Christians have No desire to allow God to have His Way in their lives, but would rather do their own will and then stamp his name on it...thus, giving Christ a bad name when they fail...cause if it's God, you're NOT going to fail! Or the other problem is that they don't want to renounce self. 

The reader might be asking, what do you men by "renounce self" : to give up or put aside voluntarily.

synonyms for renounce: to abandon, reject, deny, forsake, give up, repudiate, reliquish, forgo, quit, cast off

So...take these synonmys and replace them with the word renounce. you would abandon self, reject self, deny self, forsake self, give up self, repudiate self, relinquish self, forgo self, quit self, & cast off self.

That's a heck of a statement to make, but even harder to actually DO!!!

The reason why, is that we are taught in this world to PRESERVE or SAVE self, helping ourselves and avoiding death to self. we DON'T want to die, in any way, shape, or form. if you think you are able to do so, go make yourself a bathtub of water and TRY to drown yourself, you CAN'T do it!!! the flesh WILL NOT kill itself. LOL, i know that seems like a crazy analogy, but very true about us, because the flesh doesn't want to die! even the most giving of folks are selfish and self preserving in every way. The issue is, our hearts are so stinking wicked, our heart will hide ITSELF from being able to see these truths and realities about human nature.

Then the church begins to get humanistic psychology involved where pastors like TD Jakes begin to tell people that they just need to be reformed..."buy my book and follow these 10 steps and you too will find your way to prosper." when that goes COMPLETELY against what the bible teaches! Jesus Himself told the young rich ruler that for him to inherit eternal life ...well, let's look at it for ourselves:

Mar 10:21 "Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."

How does one take up his cross and follow after Christ then? (if you haven't read the teaching on Romans 6:4 on baptism, you NEED to read and study it! it will SO HELP you understand this next part much more easily.) If a Christian does NOT properly understand the true meaning and doctrinal teaching of what baptism IS, what ACTUALLY takes place as far as the part that the gospel, (the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ), then one is NOT truly ABLE to walk this walk in Victory that Christ intended for them to. So when we died with Christ, our old man is dead. that means not only the SIN NATURE was abolished by Perfection hanging from the cursed tree, but that we also died to the will of "Me." This is not a "natural" occurrence for people, that's why Christ went to the Cross and did it FOR us, because we Could Not!

Here is a scriptural example of what self preservation is:

Matt 16:21 Christ tells his disciples for the first time what God has sent him to do, that He will in fact suffer at the hands of the scribes, chief priests, be killed and raise again on the third day, (he's preaching the everlasting gospel here!) and Peter (v. 22) begins to rebuke Him and said, "let it be far from you Lord! This shall not be!"

Ha! Peter's reaction is the same as what ours would have been, because we don't WANT to die! and yet, even though Peter had a zeal for the Lord and told Him that he was willing even to die for His sake...he, in an instant denied the Lord thrice! Here's the thing, folks... for some reason, churches either have a problem telling people they are sinners, for fear that they are going to offend people...or they flip to the other side and try to make it seem as though there is something that WE can do, without Christ...neither will work. So...i've been rambling, but the reason i say all of this, is to better help people understand what the real problem is. The real problem with man is not just sin, it's that man will NOT admit that he does it, IS it, and is in need of a saviour! :)

ok, so the next place we would need to be, is to recall, remember that we are dead with Christ, to our sin, and also to our own selfish desires and abilities. That is called "renouncing self."

There are some things that i want to look at regarding the renouncing of self:

to truly "renounce self," is to abandon and relinquish our own:

*Goodness-realizing that there is NOTHING GOOD in US

*Wisdom-laying down our pride, becoming a teachable, leadable people.

*Will-always, moment to moment, yielding to Christ & allowing Him to work on us continually

*Lusts & Desires-desiring the things of God more than the things of THIS LIFE  we presently live.

I will attempt to explain more on these subjects and in more detail than this in times to come. 

***Personally, in seeking the Lord in what i believe He has been leading me to share...just as the disciples were given the loaves of bread to distribute to the hungry people, so do i have to receive the Word that God is trying to bring to His people. In order for ME to receive it, i am having to walk through some things, seek the Lord, and allow Him to share with me through my own life what He is doing. That is the only way i am able to share effectively what i am learning, in order to hopefully one day help others in their quest and travels up the road to Heaven.***

Please keep following these. i am writing them the best i can (in order), but if there are sequels, i will list them accordingly to make them easier to find and study later. (i know i always talk as though i am speaking to others out there in e-land, but the truth is, i keep writing these, hoping that 1. to help me when i go back and revisit the things the Lord has taught me and shared along the way, and 2. that it WILL reach someone else's heart and lead them to a closer walk with Christ as well.

Rom 6:7 (Freed)

I wanted to go ahead and study on the "war of the wills" so to speak, but the Lord wouldn't allow me to do that yet. Instead, He led me to study Rom 6:7 first. it's funny though, He always has His reasons in doing so. i found as i studied this scripture, that He was just adding to and leading up to "doing the Father's will" as sort of an inserted sequel...

ok, so here is the scripture:

"FOR HE THAT IS DEAD IS FREED FROM SIN."

http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=10&v=1&t=KJV#top

seems like it's simple enough to understand, right? but, upon looking further and digging a bit in the Word, i found that the meaning in it is much more profound than meets the eye. :)

"For He that is dead..."
this is not referring to physical death, but rather the Believing sinner being identified w/ Christ in His Death on the Cross.

"dead" in the greek is one who DIED OFF once for all, OFF from the evil nature, this being separated from the sin nature. This work is complete, already done! There is no requirement on OUR part, other than that of Faith in Christ, and what He's done for us, and reckoning {considering ourselves dead unto sin (the sin nature having dominion or ruling over us in our lives.)} Christ DID everything else for us.

***I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH the importance of not just reading through this material, but studying it out for ourselves! knowledge alone will not save us from eternal hell, nor will it help us in the next trial we are faced with, it's is how much we UNDERSTAND. As we begin to study it ourselves, then the Holy Spirit is given the latitude to open up the Word and reveal to EACH of us His Word and what it really means. See, i am doing the work here, but i can't carry you into Heaven piggy back, YOU have to answer to God for YOUR time alone with Him and submission to His Word, not me. I am only responsible for what i have shared with you, but what you understand is a reflection of YOUR relationship with Christ. i've made some of the things available on the right hand sidebar of these blogs to aid and assist folks in THEIR endeavors to better understand the Holy Writ.***

ok, nuff said with that. :) ok, where was i, oh yeah, dead.

"dead" this being "dead" would mean that we are dead to a certain thing, in this case, this THING would be sin.

Even thought we are dead to sin, we must not assume that we are either walking in sinless perfection by our own emission, nor that we could never fall back into sin. These are two things that trip up a Christian in their walk, along with many many others, but these are some two main things that cause problems where "being freed from sin" and the understanding of this scripture are concerned.

it's simple to believe that because God has saved me, that i cannot fall into sin, (which if the Believer remains IN CHRIST) than they will be lead of the spirit to do the Will of our Heavenly Father, and not their own will. (i think i am getting ahead of myself here, let me take it back a notch).

Every Believing sinner MUST come to the realization that the ONLY acceptable way to God is through Jesus Christ and being baptized into Christ (again, NOT water, although that is neccessary...see teaching on Rom 6:4 for more on Baptism). There are NO EXCEPTIONS in God's book. in order to make it into the Book of Life, we must come by the Lamb...that is why this book is referred to as the "Lamb's Book of Life." Jesus said in John 10 (v.1) "He that enters not by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" then Christ exclaims, (v.9) "I AM the DOOR."

so it is imperative that we remain "In Christ." The hardest thing for us as humans to realize is that we are in a constant weakened state without Christ.

Let's go on:

"is freed from sin," presents the Believer as being cut loose from the sin nature. "Freed" in the Greek is "dikaioo." and means "to Justify, to declare Righteous, to render or make Righteous, acquit of a charge charge, to absolve."

Here is the link to blueletter for an example to show you where i get this from:
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1344&t=KJV

this is the present result that he is in a state of permanent freedom from it, permanent in the sense that God has set him free permanently from it, and it is his responsibility to maintain that freedom from it moment by moment.

This is the part i've been waiting to get to here:

J.S. says this about maintaining the diconnection between the sin nature & the beilever.

"The Christian is exhorted to maintain that relationship of disconnection which God has brought about bwtween him and the indwelling sinful nature. However, God has not taken away the Christian's FREE WILL, and does not treat him as a machine. It is possible for the Christian by an act of his will to connect himself again with the evil nature, thus bringing sin back into his life."

He goes on to explain that since the Christian is now alive unto Christ, when sin actually DOES occur, the Christian does not actually live to sin, like before they were converted. Before conversion, we just naturally lived our lives for ourselves, and there was not acknowledgment of sin in our lives. when we sinned, we did it almost unknowingly. But once the believing sinner is united in baptism with Christ, the Divine Nature of God is imparted into the person's heart, giving them a sin consciousness, so much so that when sin takes place, the very presence of sin becomes unbearable in the heart of the believer. When an act of sin occurs in the Christian's life, they are so heavy and overburdened by this sin, that if repentance does not come immediately, the Christian becomes miserable and the situation becomes intolerable.

When the Christian has sinned, along with the need to repent, there is usually suffering or chastening that follows. This is what keeps us from being able to take advantage of Divine Grace, as many preachers have taught you can live life as you like and God will accept that. Not hardly, in fact, His word says that if He loves us, He will chasten us and correct us. if you have no God that chastens and corrects you, you have no God that loves you.

Next teaching, if the Lord will's, we're going to teach on "doing the will of the Father."

STUDY TOOLS (NEW)!!!

i have added to the side bar a link and some simple tips to help aid us in our study efforts.

This is a site that will search the bible and meanings of words in the bible. each word may have several meanings. it is important that if we don't know what a word means, or we want to have a better understanding of God's Word, to study these things out for ourselves.

When using Blueletter, here are some tips and things that i use and they help me greatly in my study time.

You can either type the phrase or key words to search in the top search box. once done, it will bring up a list of scriptures in the search. for example, type in the word, Comforter.

You will see a list of scriptures. above that list is a very small box and next to it, it says "strong's." check that, to select it. then you will see all of these numbers show up to the right of the words or phrases. click them, and what you will have is an in depth definition of what that word means in the Hebrew (old testament) or Greek (new testament).

I think you will find this helpful in your studies to use this tool. :D it's always enriched my understanding of the Word, greatly!!!

The Heart of Man ( JER 17:9)

This week i was in prayer and the Lord spoke a scripture to me, what seemed out of no where. i thought, "hmmm, i guess i better study that out."

We can never assume that we really know what a scripture means until we study it out ourselves. i never take the word of a pastor's about scripture, i go to church and take notes, only to come home and study it out myself to see if God reveals the same thing to me. the truth is, in doing so, it's pleasing to God, but it gives Him the opportunity to reveal truth to ME and MY HEART. i recommend that anyone that is reading these bible studies, be sure that you get your bible out and study these things YOURSELF to be sure that it is true, don't just take MY word for it, i could be lying to you. Your pastor could be lying to you!

The word says to, "study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman need not be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH." 2 TIM 2:15 if it's really from God, when we sit down to study it, if it is truth, God will reveal it to us too.


ok, so...here's the scripture: "THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, AND DESPERATELY WICKED: WHO CAN KNOW IT?"

that word "deceitful" means: sly, insidious, slippery
"desperately wicked" means: to be weak, sick, frail, to be incurable, & woeful, in need of help

"who can know it" to perceive, find out & discern, to distinguish

many people over the years have always told me to follow my heart, listen to my heart...that is BADDDDD advice! what i didn't know in following that advice, i have found that listening to my own heart has always lead me astray, down the wrong path...a "slippery one."

we can't know our own hearts. that is the simple truth. we are not "good," there is none good but God",(Mark 10:18) "none righteous, no not one," (Rom 3:10) and the Word of the Lord "is a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path," therefore we should put not our confidence in man, nor trust in the flesh, but rather in God. (Ps 118:8, Phil 3:4).

A well known theologian, Adam Clark states: "It even hides itself from itself; so that its owner does not know it. A corrupt heart is the worst enemy the fallen creature can have; it is full of evil devices,-of deceit, of folly, and abomination, and its owner knows not what is in him till it boils over, and is often past remedy before the evil is perceived. Therefore trust not in man, whose purposes are continually changing, and who is actuated only by motives of self-interest."

i thought that was an excellent explanation. let me give a pure example of it.

at the beginning of this week, i emailed a friend of mine to inquire upon what it was that the Lord was showing him lately. his reply was that he wasn't trying to be mean, but he wasn't going to reveal anything about his walk to me at this time. i was hurt, couldn't figure out why the attitude and tone?! i told him i understood, wasn't trying to pry, just was trying to share Christ with him. (the truth is, in my heart, i was wanting to show him what I KNOW about the WORD OF GOD...although i didn't want to admit that to myself at the time. but, pride comes before a fall) i got my feelings hurt a little by his response. then later that day, he emailed only to kindly tell me that he felt as though the past couple of times i had emailed him, i had offended him and belittled him in his walk. and he gave me the specific examples of what i had said. and i was rightfully accused! guilty. unfortunately, the Lord used this friend to show me something that the Lord was trying to illustrate to me about my heart. sometimes i can be a little overzealous, but God is teaching me. thankfully He is patient with me.

i had to see first hand how wicked my heart is. and i'm not the only one, all of us are guilty of the same! remember, there's none good but God, no not one!

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.
verse:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

those are some pretty strong statements! that our hearts are EVIL and CONTINUALLY WICKED!
we need to be able to openly admit what we are to God! if we are honest and can assess that we truly need His help.

1Jo 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."


I have some scriptures for the skeptical that believe that they are walking in sinless perfection. :D

1Cr 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

Pro 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.

Pro 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.

God thought this one so important, He had King Solomon, the wisest man ever on earth to write it in here twice!

Gal 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

Peter is a lovely example of this:

Mat 26:33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all [men] shall be offended because of thee, [yet] will I never be offended.

if we haven't read this story, we need to. Peter exclaims to Christ that he would not be offended by Him, that he would follow Him, even unto His death, and yet, when the time came, he did what all of us would have done...he deinied Him. because he didn't want to endure what Christ was enduring, we DON'T WANT TO DIE!!! not to ourselves, not in our own self wants...ahhh, let me get off of that, that is an entirely different study all in itself. :)

In the midst of this, i spent this week hurt by my own heart. I hate it when God shows me my own heart!! i really do, because i don't like to believe how evil and cunning i really can be. those that give a testimony of how they came to Christ and then try to make it seem as though they never do anything displeasing to the Lord, as thought they walk in sinless perfection...they are just hiding their sin better than some of us can, that's all. we are all sinners in need of a Savior, but there is good news! that is what Christ came to give, to give us victory over this nature.

So through this small affliction, i sought the Lord on what my real answer to give to this dilemma would be for myself, as well as to others. He gave it to me, but it will have to be in the next study for the sake of time. i leave you with this:

1Jo 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

recently

i haven't posted anything recently because i've been taking some time to do some more in depth studying. gotta be sure to stay refueled. :) i'll have something new posted soon though.

Rom 6:6

"KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WTH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED, THAT HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN."

the first part: "KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED WTH HIM..." is referencing the "old man" as the man we were before we were Saved. Put more specifically, the one that was totally morally depraved and in need of God's Life. Our corrupt nature, the Sin Nature (as we refer to it as here), is now dead with Christ.

"Old" here means: something that needs to be thrown away, it's useless and needs to be discarded altogether.

"THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DESTROYED"

Meaning, the power of the sin nature might be destroyed. Allow me to further expound on that thought...

Before we were converted, before we received Christ into our hearts, we had absolutely no knowledge of our sin. Our desires were what we sought to fulfill and had not thought of pleasing God. When we were Satan's spawn, we had NO DESIRE to even do what was right, and NO IDEA that we were sinning when we obeyed the lusts of our flesh and partook in the pride of life and the lusts of the eye. If we wanted it, we got it...if we wanted to do something, we did it. if you wanted what you saw, it was a done deal and we felt no remorse over partaking in that thing.

Jesus said it like this:

Jhn 8:44 "Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Until we receive the blood of Christ as our total covering and remission of our sin, we belong to Satan, and he is the one that we obey, which is in our flesh. But when we come to God by Christ, our desires change. We may still fail and not have the ability to do what is right, but we do desire to do right and are painfully aware when we are living contrary to the Word of God.

Many that have not received Christ yet, are not even aware that they are sinning, and on their way to hell for that matter. The whole reason that John the Baptist was in the wilderness saying "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand," to those that were being baptized, is because they needed to first renounce themselves and their actions. Until the Law of Moses (referred to as the Moral Law) was sent, man didn't even know that he was wrong when he stole. It took those 10 small commandments to show us that we have fallen short. None of which do we have the power to overcome in order to obey them, without the help of the Holy Spirit through the Blood of our Redeemer who Lives!

the word "destroyed" means that the Sin Nature has no dominion over the Believer anymore. "as a result, the Believer no longer renders a slave's obedience to the evil nature habitually as he did before God saved him. In other words, he's been set free from bondage."

So, imagine if you will a child being born and at a young age being chained and bound up all of their life. They become say, 30 years of age and suddenly meet someone that loses them from those bindings, loves them, and begins to show that person how to live a life that is free from the constraints that they once had. That in fact, is what happens to a Believer when they come to Christ. It takes time for them to realize that they are not bound anymore & time to learn how to live freely unto Christ.

Everyone of us has been bound in one fashion or another. to some it may have been drugs, to others it may have been a bondage to religious traditions of family and their denominational church, or it could be...well, you fill in the blank. we all need freedom from something.

Thank God for Jesus and a saving knowledge of His Grace in our lives! :)