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are sin, old man, and body brought into
view. How can we cease our being in bondage to sin? Sin is like a master who is
highly influential. The word sin here is cast in singular number in both Greek
and English. It therefore has reference to the sin within, an active force
within to motivate and push a person to commit sins. Some have served sin for
several decades without being freed. Even though it has sometimes been
resisted, it always ends up in defeat. Sin is powerful, yet we cannot blame it
for our sins. Who is to be blamed but our old man? This old man is that which
is passed down to us from fallen Adam.
    Do we recall how we sin? When we sin, we sense we should
not sin, yet there is a force within us pushing us to do so. For instance,
suppose someone says something unpleasant to you; something in you impels you
to quarrel with him. Such is illustrative of how the sin within works in us:
here you are, a Christian; for you to quarrel is not commendable, but you
cannot help but quarrel for you feel suffocated within; and you feel released
after you quarrel: so, within you there is a master who gives an order (your
old man), the steward ( your self or soul) agrees, and
passes on the order to the body to carry it out.
    Sin is but a force which impels you from within, but it
is your old man who wills to sin. Once a brother told me that
if he continued to be patient, his stomach would burst. This exemplifies
how severe is the temptation within. One has an opinion, the other agrees. One
feels compelled, and the other does it. Hence, the body is the organ to carry
out the opinion or order; for without the body, no act of sin can be carried
out. The body is therefore like a figurehead who does whatever is commanded of
it. The Bible appropriately calls it the body of sin since
all unrighteous acts come out of the body. It is the eyes of the body
that focus upon unrighteous scenes; the brain which thinks up improper
thoughts; the hands that perform evil acts; and the feet which walk to sinful
places. Each and every sinful action is carried out by the body. Hence, the
Bible tells us that it is the sin nature that proposes, the old man that
agrees, and the body that executes. With the cooperation of these three, man
commits sin.

The
Way of Deliverance: Crucify the Old Man
    How can we be delivered? The Holiness Christians among
God’s people claim that God has eradicated the root of sin, and hence the
Christian will never sin again. The Chinese declare that since all bad acts are
done by the body, then a person should ill-treat his body and control it till
whatever is evil sees not, hears not, speaks not, and moves not; and thus the
body is tightly bound. Unfortunately, this method does not work, for one may
put one’s body under the tightest control, but he cannot control his heart from
thinking and proposing evil.
    At one time there were two Christians living together.
One was an aunt and the other was her niece. One day someone unjustly scolded
the aunt. The aunt simply smiled, not having been stirred up outwardly at all.
When the niece heard and observed all this, she greatly admired her aunt. After
the scolder left, she said to her aunt, “Though he scolded you and not me,
nevertheless, his scolding of you set my head on fire.” “Do you really think,” responded the aunt, “that I was not burning? The fire burnt
fiercely within me also.” Many assume that if they do not sin outwardly they
are victorious. That is just not so.
    God does not deal with the body of sin, nor does He
crucify the root of sin. His work is not done outside the body; rather, He does
His work inside the body by dealing with the old man. This old man likes to be
a slave to sin, so God crucifies the old man. For sin tempts
and compels, and the old man also loves to be slave to sin; and thus these two
elements cause the body to sin. Paul said, “Knowing this, that our old
man was crucified with him [Christ]” (Romans 6:6a). What is crucified is