Uncommitted members.  Members who only attend Sunday morning services on the Lord’s Day.  Members who refuse to attend Bible Study on Wednesday nights.  Members who try to just get by when it comes to serving the Lord.  Members who put their wants, wishes, and will before God’s will.  Members who are sporadic in everything they do spiritually.

All these members have one thing in common—they have not crucified the flesh.

Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

If you have not crucified the flesh, everything you do religiously is just a charade, and sooner or later your true “self” will come to the surface and be exposed.  Paul simply referred to “self” as “I.”  He obviously was not referring to his physical body when He said, “I have been crucified with Christ.”  His body was never crucified.  He was referring to the corrupt nature that took over his life once he had sinned.  He was referring to the old man, sometimes simply referred to as “the flesh,” and that is what must be crucified.   Until you crucify the flesh, “self” will always rise and say, “Me first, God second.”

It is “self” that asks the question, “What do I want?”  “What do I want to do?”  “What do I want to say?”  “What do I want to feel?”  That is “self” talking, and if he is alive within you, he will always get his way in the end.  But when you crucify “self”, that is, when you put the “true you” to death, the question is no longer “What do I want?” but “What does Jesus want?” This is the only path that leads to pleasing God consistently.  We must replace “self” as the dominant force in our lives with God.  Then we will truly belong to Christ.

Galatians 5:24 (ESV)
²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Who is Paul speaking of when he writes of those who belong to Christ?  Does everyone who has ever obeyed the gospel belong to Jesus?  No.  While one must obey the gospel to belong to Christ, everyone Paul is writing to have already done that.  Paul is talking about those who Jesus truly counts as His own because they have crucified the flesh and so they live like it.

2 Timothy 2:19 (ESV)

¹⁹ But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Do you claim Jesus as your Lord?  We know that He is Lord whether we claim Him or not (Acts 2:36), but it is critical to our salvation that we recognize it ourselves.  We do not do that, however, by just saying that Jesus is Lord.  Many who say that Jesus is Lord will be lost in the end (Matthew 7:21).  We recognize the Lordship of Christ in our lives by living according to His gospel, and the only way that we will do that consistently is by crucifying the flesh.

Let us all examine ourselves daily and make sure that we can accurately say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ.”  This is the only way to overcome “self.”

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.