This song is so popular among
congregations in the South, and I imagine it is known just as well by
Christians all across our nation, that probably even now the melody is
playing in your mind. “My
darkest night will turn to day...” The first and last stanzas
and the chorus are burned into our memory. “Where
the soul of man...” It has been led so many times that we even
have the number memorized [432, Sacred Selections]. Just a hint of
this old favorite and our mind cues up the entire verse and we are
humming along. “No sad
farewells ...” Once it begins we are bound to recycle this
musical memory over and over until something with more mental weight
takes it place. “No tear
dimmed eyes...” And since this song has been grooved so deeply
into our consciousness year after year, it isn’t likely that we’ll
be shaking it for quite some time. “And
the soul never dies.” If you’ve never experienced this before,
just sit back and relax – you’re about to.
Each time this familiar tune is
remembered, so too is the idea repeated and engrained in our thinking
that the “soul of man never dies”. A song that is esteemed with
such reverence surely holds only absolute Biblical truths, right?
Have you ever considered, “what
is the soul?” The idea that the song conveys is right in line with
common thinking, that the soul is that part of a person that lives
eternally. Is this correct? Most have taken for granted that it is,
and have dismissed the subject as being too elementary for concern.
Yet our Lord’s words in Matthew 22:37-38 lead to questions that
cannot be answered with the ideology found in the song “Where the
Soul Never Dies”.
Jesus said the greatest
commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind (some
gospels also include ‘strength’). These words are famous and
decorate cups and bracelets and T-shirts across all denominations of
Christendom. But what do they mean?
Loving God with the heart seems
simple enough on the surface. In essence, it means keeping our desire
on those things that are spiritual and eternal, and to guard against
falling in love with those things that are worldly and temporal. Satan
complicates our attempts at this with the lusts of the eyes, the lusts
of the flesh, and the pride of life. Loving God with our mind is also
an easy concept to grasp, though it too is easier said than done.
Worry, anxiety, and a myriad of other negatives chip away at our
efforts to think positively.
The concepts of “heart” and
“mind” are very common to us, and because they are, many have
wrongly considered loving God with them as “simple”. (Again,
simple to understand, but easier said than done!) With “soul”
sandwiched between these two “simple” concepts, all three must be
simple, right? Well, not exactly. Throw in that the phrase “heart,
soul, and mind” is plastered on so many cups, T-shirts and bracelets
that we are numb to its meaning, and you’ve got a recipe for
overlooking the soul entirely. Never mind that ‘old favorite’
hymns reinforce this oversight.
What is it about the Great
Commandment that challenges common thinking about the soul? Loving God
with the heart and mind are active processes that are far easier to
understand than they are to put into daily practice. Yet it is our
Lord’s command that we would strive to please God with our efforts
to this end. If the soul, as common thinking suggests, is that part of
a person that lives eternally, then how can we actively love God with
it? What about loving God with our soul is “easier said than
done”? Surely Satan will want to prevent us, so what are the
hindrances that we will face? These answers can be found in the Word
of God.
The intent of this series of
articles is to explore the concept the soul, to find a working
definition for the soul, and to illustrate real-life application for
how we can love God with our souls.
There
is a principle of logic that can be used to help us in this study as
well as in others: in the Scriptures multiple words are not used to
convey the same exact meaning, even though they may be similar. Subtle
differences in definition can lead to vast differences in application.
With study and meditation we can uncover great meaning from all
words in a passage. For example, in Peter’s famous steps of
Christian growth (2 Pet. 1:5-7), “temperance” and “patience”
are listed in chronological order. Though the words have similar
meaning in our present language, it is not logical in any progression
to repeat the same step twice. The Biblical meanings and applications
are, as expected, very different. Just by learning about
“temperance”, we also gain some insight into what is not meant by
“patience” – it
does not mean the same thing.
Applying this concept to the
Great Commandment helps to narrow our search for the soul. We can know
with confidence that it is not the same as the mind or the heart.
Loving God with the heart, as we have discussed, is to keep our
desires on those things that are eternal and to avoid the lusts and
pride of this world that would take God’s proper place. We can know
that loving God with our soul is not this. A well known passage
related to the mind is found in Philippians:
“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.” (Phil. 4:8)
While
this one verse does not encompass everything related to loving God
with the mind, it does illustrate the direction that this part of the
Great Commandment leads. Again, we can know that loving God with all
of our soul is not on the same path.
Five
hundred years before the time of Christ, great ancient thinkers such
as Plato and Pythagoras rationalized that a human being consisted of
three different elements: the body, the soul, and the spirit. This
idea prevailed and was commonly held by many during the years when the
events of our New Testament occurred. Popular opinion does not mean a
particular doctrinal viewpoint is correct, as we all know. Yet, the
Apostle Paul, writing as a man inspired by the Holy Spirit, validates
the three-parts-of-man idea when he wrote to the Thessalonians:
“And the very God of peace
sanctify you wholly; and IprayGodyour whole spirit and soul
and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.” (1
Thess. 5:23
Emphasis added.)
With
this verse giving us two more words besides “soul” that we can
define, we are able to narrow our focus still more. Very likely, you
already have a general idea of what is intended with the words
“body” and “spirit”. Unfortunately in our modern religious
culture we often use the words “soul” and “spirit”
interchangeably. This is part of the reason why the true meaning of
“soul” has been lost. As we have discussed already, the Biblical
meaning of “soul” and “spirit” cannot be the same--the intent
of the next article in this series is to discover exactly what is
meant by these two words. With the concepts of heart, mind, body and
spirit understood and removed from our field of view, a working
definition of “soul” will emerge. Further study will refine this
concept, and then we can look for application—the answer to the
question “how do I love God with my soul?”
In
the mean time, consider these questions about the soul:
Question:
In Romans chapter 6 and in verse 14, Paul writes, “For
sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but
under grace”. If sin does not have dominion over us, then why do
we still sin?
Answer:
The subject of indwelling sin has been one that has confused students
of the Bible for centuries. Much has been written on the subject and
various conclusions have been reached by theologians as to “why we
who are dead to sin continue any longer in it.” There are those who
teach that Christians do not sin and actually live above it. The above
passage is one of many that are cited as “proof texts” of this
position.
We find the above view to be a
very serious error concerning the life we now live in Christ. Those
who think that they do not sin have reached a state of self-deception
that results in a form of self-righteousness that is dangerous to
one’s soul as well as a detriment to the salvation of others. The
problem often lies in the failure of bringing to bear on a passage the
other passages in the scripture that are also connected.
Before we analyze and give our
understanding of the specific verse above, we will answer a related
question; “do Christians sin?” This is an easy question to answer
because we have a direct statement from the Bible on it. In I John 1:8
we read,
“If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us.”
This passage should make clear
the truth on the question of whether Christians sin. It is a passage
that is written to children of God. It is written to those who have
fellowship with the Father and the Son. It is written to tell us we
sin and if we think we do not then we are deceived.
The second passage that has a
bearing is found in Romans chapter 7. The apostle Paul tells of his
own personal struggle with sin in his life. In Romans 7:15 he states,
“For
what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do
not practice; but what I hate, that I do.”
Continuing in verse 19-20:
“For
the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to
do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
The above shows the struggle that
every child of God has with sin. Paul did not take the position that
He did not sin. Rather he mentioned that he often did that which he
did not want to do. Thus sin was dwelling in him.
He continues into chapter 8 and
gives at least a couple of reasons why those who are born again still
sin. The first reason is that we live in a fallen world. He writes,
“For
the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the
revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to
futility, not willingly but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
because the creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
(Verses 20-21)
He also states that, “Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly awaiting for
the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Verse 23)
Paul tells us that as Christians
we struggle with and often succumb to sin due to the fact that we live
in a fallen world and that we are still in the flesh. We could also
add to his list the fact that Satan as a roaring lion walks about
seeking to devour us (I Pet. 5:8). The good news is that one day we
will see the present world destroyed and a new heaven and a new earth
emerge wherein will dwell only righteousness, our bodies transformed
into a glorious state, and Satan cast into a lake of fire. However,
until then we will battle and often give in to sin.
Though it is beyond the purpose
of this article we do feel that we must make mention of the fact that
we are responsible for fighting sin and not yielding to it. We should
never take the view that since we know we will sin why bother with
fighting it. God expects us who are dead to sin to no longer live in
it. We are to mortify our flesh on this earth and put sin to death in
our lives. (Rom. 8:13, Rom. 6:1-2, Col. 3:1-5) The key to victory over
our sin is to battle it by walking with Christ and confessing our
sins. (I John 1:7-9)
Now that we have established that
we do and will sin, the reason why we continue to sin, and the remedy
for our sin, we are ready to look at the passage raised in the
original question. In Romans 6:14, we read
“For
sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but
under grace.”
Many, as the question
illustrates, interpret the phrase “sin shall not have dominion over
you” to mean you will no longer sin, that sin no longer manifests
itself in our lives. But as we have already established, it cannot be
interpreted to mean that Christians do not sin. Thus we must look at
this passage in another light.
It may be that the problem lies
within the idea of dominion. This word refers to power. So with some,
the meaning becomes sin has no power over us in making us sin.
However, this is not consistent with what the Bible teaches.
The dominion of sin is not its
ability to make us err but its power to separate us from God. Sin has
dominion over mankind because of two things it can do. It first and
foremost has the ability to separate us from Holy God. It makes us
enemies and causes us to become the target of His righteous wrath.
This is referred to as death. Many think death is a cessation of
existence but that it is not so in the scripture. It is a separation.
Sin brings death because of its nature and power to separate us from
God.
Secondly, sin has power to bring
death through law. A legal system can justify one only if one is able
to comply perfectly with all legal requirements. As James tells us, to
offend in one point is to offend in all. God has proven that man is
not capable of keeping legal requirements and thus justify himself.
Since this is the case sin through law had dominion over us. It kept
us removed and separated from God.
The reason that Paul says sin
does not have dominion over us is that Jesus has dealt with both
aspects of sin’s dominion. Consider I Corinthians 15:56-57,
“The
sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks
be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jesus defeated death by
overcoming sin. He led captivity captive so to speak. Those who obey
the Gospel are no longer dead in trespasses and sin but are made holy
by His blood and are reconciled to God. (Eph. 2:1-13)
In addition He kept the legal
requirement of the Law perfectly and thus can make us righteous
concerning it by His blood. Thus that which gave strength and dominion
to sin has been destroyed by Him!
In conclusion we know that
sin’s dominion has been destroyed because of what Christ has done.
We need only to obey Him and become dead to sin but alive unto God.
1.Who
spoke against Moses and was stricken by God with leprosy and
confined outside the camp for seven days?MIRIAM (Num 12:1, 10, 4)
2.In
first Samuel when Israel was in battle with the Philistines, who
went to the Philistine garrison prior to battle to see if the Lord
might help them?JONATHAN
AND HIS ARMOR CARRIER (1 Sam 14:1)
3.What
did Solomon say no one has the power to do?RETAIN THEIR OWN SPIRIT (Ecc 8:8)
4.Who
blessed the infant Jesus when Mary and Joseph took Him to the temple
to be circumcised?SIMEON
(Luke 2:25-35)
5.Paul
said the return of Christ will be accompanied by what two things?HIS MIGHTY ANGELS AND FLAMING FIRE (2 Thes 1:7-8)
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