There is not one of us who have not received something they did not want and wish they could send it back.

(Chickenpox, mumps, wrinkles, hair lost, audits for the internal revenue services and worst of all the legacy of Adam.)

Having raised six children and working on the last I never had to instruct any in how to lie, rebel, steal, be selfish or to act unseemly.

They are naturals and have this innate "talent" that has caused me much grief and concern. The Bible alerts us of this prior to them seeing the light of day.

Job 15:14 What [is] man, that he should be clean? and [he which is] born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

You have to train a child to do what is right as they will not come by it naturally.

Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Psa 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

You can place two "innocent" small children in the same room with one toy and just wait for a very short time before you hear: it is mine, I had it first and finally "Mummy" when the one hits the other one.

THE TODDLER'S CREED

If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's MINE,

If I can take it away from you, it's MINE,

If I had a little while ago, it's MINE,

IF it's MINE, it will never belong to anyone else no matter what - It's still MINE,

If we are building something together, all the pieces are MINE,

If it looks just like mine, it is MINE,

Tell me friend, where do toddlers get this selfish and violent behaviour?

Tell me where did Cain receive the innate ability to manifest the works of the flesh?

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

You cannot find fault with the environment, the public school system, rock music, the numerous forms of media, or the bunch he hung with.

Cain did not receive unholiness from God; therefore he inherited these from Adam.

Adam and Eve were given a commission to multiply and replenish the Earth and had Cain and Able been born before the fall; Cain would have not murdered Able.

It is a humbling thing to know that in our flesh dwells no good thing.

While you may not have manifested all the works Cain did, you are capable of them all under the right conditions.

Put yourself under the right pressure, circumstances and temptations and you will produce the same (saved or lost). The only thing that has kept some of you from doing those things  is the grace of God.

David remarks on this natural state of his birth.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

The Holy Writ never identifies David as a product of harlotry.

David a man that loved the Lord, let the lust of the flesh drag him down and reaped abundant woes.

If this were not so, why are we admonished and given these verses below?

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

2Ti 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Yes of course, we know that the "big three" (the world, the flesh and the devil) are against us;  but out of these three that cause us the most difficulty is the flesh. Sure there is the lure of the present evil world and spiritual wickedness in high places, but be honest are you not your own worse enemy? Do you not get tried of failures and having to ask God for forgiveness? Maybe you don't –but I do!

The second greatest thing about heaven is that I'll drop off these members prone to sin and always do what is pleasing to God.

What is this thing in us?

I speak to us Christians. Some call it a sinful nature, others the flesh and others call it  the old man. It wouldn't matter if you called it the Adam syndrome----you still  have it as I have! That is to say, a nature inherited from Adam.

Still we will use the oracles of God instead.

1Pe 4:11a If any man speak, [let him speak] as the oracles of God.

Years ago when I was first saved, I was taught * "Wesleyanism" in the Nazarene Church. It was taught that Romans seven was past tense before Paul’s conversion and that a man could eradicate the "sinful nature" and live above it. I asked "how will I know when I have arrived above it"?  I was told, you will just know!

Phi 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6)

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (Ephesians 4:22)

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; (Colossians 3:9)

Why would Paul bring up the Old Man if it no longer existed?

The above verses tell the Christian not to serve sin, to put off former conversations and not to lie.

The only possible answer is the standing and state of the believer.

Paul’s desire is to have the Christian’s state match their standing.

We are told to put off the old and put on the new. This is not an involuntary action!

Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Every person reading this has violated God’s law and is guilty as charged. Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

But a Christian’s standing is I am crucified with Christ and the eternal punishment has been (is and will be) paid and we have been acquitted of all charges.

Can you shout praise God O my soul?

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The "I am" is present tense and will always stay that way.

My sins past (are nailed), present (are nailed) and future (are nailed) are paid for because I AM crucified at any given time.

Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

My past is perfected, my present is perfected and my future is perfected.

You can not improve upon perfection; it was the perfect sacrifice for all time.

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

My standing is secure I am his child and nothing can separate my standing as an adopted child.

Romans 8:37-39 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

I'll fear not judgement I'll fear not Hell

The prince of accusers oh let him tell

I'll see my Lord in a robe so white

For by God's blood I have this right

This appeasement has satisfied God’s judicial requirements and has by imputation given us the righteousness of Christ Jesus.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

We have established our standing, but the problem in our state.

Our state is our Christian walk and it will vary from time to time.

The problem is that the sinful desire of the flesh * erupts and will not stay dormant.

Romans 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

It is an ever-present battle and we have to be on watch.

Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.

If the old man or the flesh were dead then why am I told to mortify it?

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13)

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Colossians 3:5)

If you search the Writ the word body and members are often used together or part of the whole.

Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast [it] from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not [that] thy whole body should be cast into hell.

1Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.

 Common sense dictates that Paul is not asking us to drain out our literal blood and pump in embalming fluid.

*It would be heresy to use Romans 8:13 as a verse for salvation of the soul, only a hell-bound ascetic would think so.

It has to be what is in us, which is contrary to the new man.

It is our desires, which use the flesh to perform the lust thereof. If you had the mind of a nine-year-old you might be disobedient but I hardly doubt you would have passions such as fornication and adultery. Some sinful desires are learned while others are innate.

In fact if you were a quadriplegic you would still have the motions of sin and lust in your members.

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Just what does this all mean in a practical sense?

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Many of the verses given in this piece are verses that contain action verbs such as walk, gird, put on, put off, gird, mortify, flee, strive and others. Why?????

We who are saved know that there is still a negative pull within us to do things sinful and not advantageous to serving our Master. Let us face it head on. Why would any Christian seeing they have been pulled from the fire (Jude 1:23) not just simply do what is always pleasing to God.

While you may not like the term "sinful nature" and say it is unscriptural and it comes from speculative philosophy. We know that it has a biblical foundation.

He is not talking about the soul, only what it will be clothed with.

It can be argued that if we have a "sinful nature" then such acts as lesbianism could not be against nature, because if we have a sinful nature it would be the natural for us to do so..

This overlooks the fact that there are sins which are over the line and even for the average hell bound sinner that lives in a country where the Judaea-Christians principles are used to establish the laws and norms of the land. Sad to say the more that country over rides these precepts the closer it gets to destruction.

 Psa 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God.

When Israel had its children pass through the fire and had sodomites near the temple, this was not the normal sins of a nation. It is what lead to their destruction. These were not the "normal sins" of God fearing society.

Jer 32:35 And they built the high places of Baal, which [are] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through [the fire] unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

They were over the line and were worse than the heathen around them.

Paul uses the following verses to support this.

1 Corinthians 5:1 It is reported commonly [that there is] fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.

Romans 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Even David’s inexcusable act with Bathsheba was over the line to the heathen around him.

2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also [that is] born unto thee shall surely die.

While it may be against nature the practice of homosexuality, cannibalism, and crimes against humanity or a mother murdering her own children it does happen. Romans 2: 18 –32 shows us the path of degeneration that leads to reprobation. Just as Deuteronomy 4:14-20 shows a degeneration of idolatry.

We have a sinful nature, period! If this were not so, there wouldn't be any spiritual battles within ourselves. God has by his grace has given us spiritual weapons to fight the carnality and works of the flesh within and to put off the old man. * We have to use what he has supplied.

2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

We can not fight our flesh with our flesh as many do. The key is by faith realizing that we are dead and this is hard to do.

Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Phi 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.

In closing, your weaknesses are different from mine. We all have buttons that the world, the flesh and the devil can press to cause us to err. It depends on your past and character. If you are weak in an area, do not make provision for the old man by feeding him the sinful passions he desires.

The axiom holds true, if you do not want to be hit by a train do not play on the railroad tracks.

 Our eyes and ears we have to guard and only by being active in service for the Lord and using the weapons that he has provided can we live a life pleasing to him---we are debtors.

1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

 If only we could tell Adam