Killing Sin by Abiding in the Word

Last Sunday, Pastor Carson pointed to John’s exhortation to ‘young men’ in 1 John 2:14, to encourage us to have God’s word abide in us:

[14] I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2:14 ESV)

He pointed out that the reason they were strong was because the word of God abided in them. This is a great encouragement to keep faithfully and conscientiously reading our Bibles. Not as mere duty, or to appease a disciplinarian Father, but because it really, actually makes a positive difference in our lives.

One way in which is does this, is to help us kill sin in our lives. In John Piper’s short series on How to Kill Sin (Pt1, Pt2, Pt3), he helpfully explains the connection between scripture reading and sanctification in Romans 8:

[12] So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13] For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:12-14 ESV)

So we asked, How do you do that? Paul says it is "by the Spirit." Verse 13b: "If by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Now what does that mean? This is a key to the Christian life. Putting to death the deeds of the body "by the Spirit." Killing sin "by the Spirit."

Now what is that? We argued that putting sin to death "by the Spirit" is probably related to what Romans 8:5 says about "setting the mind on the things of the Spirit." "Those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." In other words, one way to kill sin "by the Spirit" is to "set your mind on the things of the Spirit."

So we asked, What are the "things of the Spirit." We answered from 1 Corinthians 2:13-14 which says this: "We speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit. . . . But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him." Here we have the very phrase of Romans 8:5, "things of the Spirit." What are they? The words of God, spoken by the apostles, taught by the Spirit, not human wisdom.

So to put to death the deeds of the body (as Romans 8:13 says) "by the Spirit" we must set our minds on "the things of the Spirit," which we now see means: set your mind on the word of God in scripture. What makes this ring so true is the connection with Ephesians 6:17 where Paul says in our battle against evil we must "take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Among all the spiritual armor that we are to "put on" in our warfare there is only one offensive weapon that is used for killing. The sword. And what is it? It is described in two ways that link it with Romans 8:13. 1) It's the sword "of the Spirit." So if we are to kill the deeds of the body "by the Spirit," and the one killing weapon in our armor is the sword and it is called "the sword of the Spirit," we have good reason to think that the agent for killing sin "by the Spirit" is this sword. 2) And second, what is this "sword of the Spirit"? Ephesians 6:17 says it is "the word of God," which confirms our connection with 1 Corinthians 2:14. The sword that kills sin is the word of God. And the way we kill sin "by the Spirit" is to set our minds on "the things of the Spirit," that is, the word of God in Scripture, which becomes then the sword of the Spirit.

So lets all keep reading.