Bro Kenneth Yoder
We want to study from the Word of God on the subject of cleansing and the related subject of moral depravity or moral corruption. I know that this is where the real issue is. This is a subject in which we need understanding today. However, I want you to also realize that there are many things along this subject that even an eight-year-old Sunday School child could ask me, and I could not answer. There are many things about the working of God in our hearts and souls that God helps us to understand, but we also realize that we do not know everything. However, we will endeavor by the grace of God to bring a few thoughts to your mind.
I trust as we study together that God will help us deal with the real issues today and not make a false one. Sometimes, we can make a false issue out of something that we really agree on and just act like we do not agree on it. For example, a man may believe differently than you or have a different understanding than you; and if he sees that you are making a false issue out of it, he knows that you are not being honest. When you are not honest with him, you will not, have any possibility of persuading his heart and mind. An honest man is not willing to be led any farther than he can see. You cannot lead an honest man by calling what he believes a bad name.
You know that some people find it very convenient to give anything that they oppose a bad name. They give it a name that they know people are prejudiced against. Then, they do not have to take the time to refute the doctrine or the teaching. All they do is give it a bad name that people are prejudiced against, and that in itself will do away with the opposition. However, these things are not Christian; and they are not only unfair but wicked, friend.
In the thought of studying the Word of God, we should not stoop to these things. We should not go to that part of name calling and those things in which people just make a false issue and really evade the real thing. We are trying to help; and unless the truth helps us in our Christian experience and in living for God, it does not do us any good to understand it. Just to fill our head with facts and knowledge is not the thing that God intends us to do, and that is not the thing that I intend to do. Now that in any Bible discussion on any Bible subject where there are various opinions on certain subjects, you have to honestly and truly represent the other man's views. If you do not honestly and truly represent him and then show him wherein he is wrong, you will never convince him, friend.
You can never convince me by simply calling me by bad names. You cannot convince me by taking my statements and making my statements mean something that I never meant them to mean. You cannot convince me by saying that I teach something that I know I do not teach and laying to my charge doctrines and teachings that I never taught. When you do that, I know that you are misrepresenting me; and immediately I turn myself off from your thoughts because I know that you are not dealing honestly and not being aboveboard. God wants us to be honest and aboveboard; and by the grace of God, I intend to be that way in studying the Word of God.
There are many, many facets, sidelines, issues, and teachings that we could go into; but I want to answer some questions in our study that I believe we need answered today. First, what is this moral depravity? Second, how do we account for moral depravity? Also, how do we account for the fact of universal sin? In what I manner is this depravity cleansed? These are the questions, and I will not answer even all these questions in this message. However, I just want to study in the Word of God, because I feel that these are the things that are on people's hearts and minds. These are the questions that they are concerned with.
We need to realize that people have been taught various things for years; and just because someone teaches something differently or just because they heard something one time does not mean they believe or understand it. When I hear a brother preach on a certain subject, it does not mean that I should immediately accept it even if it all is true, because many times there are questions in my mind that are not answered; and until some of these are cleared up, I just could not accept the thing. I want to give you the liberty that I desire-the liberty to investigate and question and study and think.
We are going to begin on this subject of moral corruption and study in the Word of God. Our subject will mainly deal with the depravity of the flesh. Now, we know that the spirit of man and the will of man are also depraved, but I want to mainly study on this thought of the flesh being depraved, because here is where the question of cleansing many times comes in.
Sometimes, people again fail to realize what the real issue is when we teach about one cleansing, two cleansings, or however people may teach it. Sometimes they take as the real issue: does a man live without committing sin? However, friend, that is not really the real issue. I do not know of any among the holiness people today who disagree with the fact that a man, who is really and truly born again triumphs over sin. It is pretty plain in the eternal Word of God that whosoever is born of God does not commit sin. However, my friend, this is not altogether the question. The question involves what we have known as moral corruption, inbred sin, Adamic nature, original sin, and terms such as these. Therefore, we want to study in the Word of God along these lines.
First of all, I want to show that the flesh is morally corrupt. This is a Bible fact. It is a fact of observation. It also is a fact of experience, as we shall see. The flesh is morally corrupt, depraved, or perverted. In other words, the human desires, the human passions, and the human appetites are perverted and corrupted. Read with me Romans 7:18, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." I want you to notice the first statement of this verse. Paul said, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing."
The Conscience
Here in this verse of Scripture, the Apostle Paul is showing us the moral corruption of the flesh. In fact, the entire seventh chapter was showing us what the Law could do and could not do. It could convict men of sin. It could show him the sinfulness of sin, but it could not save him from that sin. Paul is showing us here the work of the Law upon the conscience of man or upon the heart of man, and it brought him to a desperate state of being convicted. In his conscience, he inwardly delighted in the law of God. His conscience is that part of man that is related to God, but that conscience of man has a faculty of discriminated understanding of grasping a hold of spiritual and moral truths. Paul was saying here that in his conscience (one part of his nature) he delighted in the law of God.
Paul tells us in another place that he preached the truth that commended itself to every man's conscience. (See 11 Corinthians 4:2.) The truth has the commending of every man's conscience. By that, we mean that a man's conscience agrees with the teachings of God's eternal Word. The man's conscience will take God's part against himself. In fact, if a man did not have a conscience, he would be hopelessly lost. However, Paul shows us here the work of the Law is upon the conscience to bring man to the state of conviction and to show him his need; but it did not have the power to break the bondage of the flesh. [le tells us in Romans 8:3 that. the Law could not produce that righteousness of heart. That verse tells us that the Law was weak through the flesh because of the fleshly lust. Remember Paul said that in me (-that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.
In Romans 7:5 he said, "For when we were in the flesh...." If you study in the Word of God, you will find that this phrase "in the flesh" merely means "living after the passions." In Romans 7:14 Paul says,". . .1 am carnal, sold under sin." He meant, my friend, that he was under the power and dominion of the flesh and sold out lock, stock, and barrel, so to speak. This expression means slavery. It means sold into the bondage of sin.
Let us look at Romans 7:5 again, "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins...... One translation says passions. Now this word "motions" in the old English meant the same thing as we mean by emotions or by impulses. Paul was speaking here that when we were in the flesh, the motions, passions, desires, or the inclinations of sin which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth death. Here again the Apostle Paul shows us the depravity of the human passions, emotions, and desires manifesting itself in a tendency toward sin, toward that of the flesh, and toward the things that lead to disobedience to God. Again he is showing us here in these passages of Scripture the fact that the flesh is depraved.
Romans 8:13 says, "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." here again it shows us that the flesh is depraved. If there was nothing depraved or wrong or crooked or corrupt about the flesh, there. would be no harm in following it. However, my friend, the passions and desires of the flesh manifest the tendencies toward evil. God never intended us to be led by the flesh but by the light of conscience. God never intended us to be creatures of the flesh governed by the flesh. He intended us to be led by the light of our conscience that is enlightened by the law of God.
Now let us consider the moral me, heart. Once a fellow asked "What do you think the Bible teaches that the heart is?" The heart is a very broad term in the Scriptures. It covers man's entire moral nature. The context of the Scriptures has to reveal to us what the heart means in that particular Scripture and in that particular text. The heart sometimes means a conscience. For example, I John 3:20 says, "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." There the heart is representative of the conscience. In another place Paul said, "...their foolish heart was darkened." There again it has reference to the intelligence or to light and knowledge or what we might call the conscience of man where the light and knowledge of God reside. Other Scriptures say that their hearts were hardened. There it means the will, in refusing to obey God. There are other places where the heart means something else.
Now, friend, you can be led astray about the teaching of the heart and the teaching of salvation by taking one text and trying to prove by that text that the heart means the same thing in every incident, because it does not. Friend, the heart covers parts of man's whole moral nature.
In other words man's moral heart is what we know as the intelligence or the discriminating reasoning. it is what we call self-conscious reason and conscience. Understanding all of that belongs to that faculty of our moral heart.
The Feelings
Now let us consider the feelings. There are more technical terms such as sensibility, ego, and other physiological terms that people use. However, I want to use as simple terms as I know. The feelings represent that faculty of our nature that enjoys, suffers, feels, urges, and so on. The feelings are that faculty of our nature that resides in the passions. Then, the will of man is that power that we have to choose. Man is either led by the light of his conscience or by his feelings of the flesh. Man is either led by the light of the law of God as it is revealed to his conscience or led by the impulses, feelings, and desires of the flesh. The will chooses which will be dominant and which will rule in that heart and life. However, God did not intend for us to be led by fleshly desires.
Someone may ask, "How do you know that is true?" Well, for one reason the Scripture says that if we live after the flesh, we will die. Another reason that I know this is true is because to indulge in the passions of the flesh is to pervert it. The more we indulge in them, the stronger they become. The more we give in to the passions of ' a desire (whatever desire it might be), the ' law of our nature urges us to yield to that desire. It Is just like a cord which entwines around a man until it wraps him up and ties him up in bondage. However, God did not intend for us to be led by our feelings. That is the reason why He gave us the moral powers of our hearts and souls. We are not led by instinct. We are creatures of intelligence and reason and can know and understand God and the things of God.
Romans 13:14 says, "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." There again he is warning us about following the flesh, and again by implication he is showing us that the flesh is corrupt. We read in I Peter 2:11, "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." The flesh is against the spirit or the soul.
My friend, we could turn to Galatians and read there the works of the flesh. Someone may ask, "How do you know that the flesh is corrupt?" See what it works and what it brings forth very clearly and plainly in Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. (19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, (21) 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. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
These passages of Scripture show us, my friend, that the works of the flesh lead not only to sin but to destruction and abandonment from the Kingdom of God. A man cannot live in God's glorious Kingdom-neither now nor later-if he is living after the flesh. I say again that the flesh is against the conscience of man. The desires of the flesh are many times contrary or in direct opposition to the law of God and the teachings of God in our hearts and minds. Now this is a fact of experience as well as a fact of the Bible. What person is there that does not know this by experience? What person is there that does not know this by experience? What person is there that does not realize that his human passions are in an unhealthy state or that the flesh is morally corrupt?
In every time of temptation, to go according to our feelings of the flesh would be to go against God's will. There is a lawful gratification of every fleshly desire, and there is an unlawful gratification. There is a selfish gratification of these desires which is forbidden by G6d's law. This is the reason why some people think that sin is in the flesh, but sin is not in the flesh. The sin is in following the flesh. The flesh is simply the temptation. This is a fact of experience. All of us know that our human desires are in conflict many times with our conscience. We know, my friend, that many times our struggles and our battles in life are over the fleshly desires. Because of this, I say. again that it is a fact of experience.
Not only is it a fact of experience, but it is a fact of observation. We can look around us, and outside of, those who have been regenerated through the power of the Gospel, every man is led astray by one passion or another. He is led astray by the desires of the flesh. He is a slave to sin and the flesh. He is under the power of the flesh. Sometimes we see it in one aspect, sometimes in another; but we see it everywhere. We see it in history. We see it written everywhere that man is depraved, or I should say that his fleshly human desires and 'passions are depraved. Sometimes we see one passion overruling the mind and will - driving that man on so to speak like a bull with a ring in his nose being dragged to the altar of self-gratification where he sacrifices almost everything else in gratification of that desire.
I might just add this thought before I go on. There are degrees of depravity. Everyone is not depraved the same. Someone may ask, "What do you mean by that?" These desires are subject to endless development of strength. They are subject to various degrees according to indulgence and according to us living after them.
Therefore, I want us to see first of all that the flesh is corrupt. I do not know anyone who disagrees with that. There may be some people, but I am not aware of them. Almost everyone agrees that ' the flesh is morally corrupt. As far as I know any teacher I have ever heard in the Church of God and preachers whom I have listened to all agree that the flesh is corrupt. Again I say that it is plainly taught in the Word of God or implied in these various passages and others that we could have read. However, the issue which we are concerned with in this message is not altogether the flesh being corrupt, but how do we account for this moral depravity of the flesh? How do we account for the fact that man is morally depraved? How do we account for the fact that the human passions are perverted, and that the human desires and appetites of the flesh are morally corrupt?
Addition Verses Enlargement Teachings
Now when we come to this question, there are mainly two views that are held. Let me say that the only reason why I give them these names is because the name is descriptive of what the teaching is. The first one I will call the addition teaching. These people teach that there is something spiritual, sinful, substance that has been added to the human desires. They teach that this spiritual, sinful substance has poisoned the entire human nature causing it to crave self-gratification. This sinful substance manifests itself in a tendency toward sin. This sinful additive is called inbred sin, original sin, Adamic sin, or various other terms that are used to describe the same thing. They teach that this results from the fall of Adam. . This sinful substance is in every child born into the world, and they teach that this corruption is back of all outward sin in the life. This is what I call the addition theory. They have various passages of Scripture that they use in support of this doctrine, but I am not going into all those in this message.
The second is what we call the enlargement theory. These deny that anything has been added to the human passions and desires. These teach that it is the desire itself that has become corrupt through yielding and submitting to it. This is the point that I want you to get - that nothing has been added to the human desires. They believe that the strong cravings and human passions and desires toward self-gratification are due to an enlargement of the desire itself. They teach that the desire itself Is corrupt and manifests itself in a tendency toward evil, but nothing has been added as a sinful substance down in the heart, soul, spirit,, or flesh. They deny and reject this idea that a sinful substance has been added. They believe that the perversion of the human passions are mainly due to indulgence from the time of birth on throughout the life, and not because of something that existed at birth. They believe that the corruption of the human desires are caused more by the progress or process of development from birth rather than by something which existed at birth.
Someone may ask, "What are the two differences here?" Before we look at their differences, let me say that they are in agreement in that they both teach that the flesh is morally corrupt; and they both teach that this corruption manifests itself in a tendency to sin. Wherein do they disagree? They disagree in how the desire is corrupted. One believes that a sinful, spiritual substance has been added to the human desires causing it to be corrupted and causing it to crave self-gratification; and this substance they call inbred sin. The other believes that it is the desire itself which through indulgence, through yielding, through submitting, and through giving in to it, the desire itself has become corrupted or perverted.
Now let us study just a little bit. To those who hold what I call the addition teaching, they believe that unless this sinful substance is added to the human desire, they would not crave indulgence. Many times I have heard the illustration about the little wolf - inside the house while the other wolves were outside. Keep in mind that those holding to the Addition teaching believe that anything on the outside does not have any effect on us if there was not something inside of us that answered to that outside thing.
I have heard them use the illustration, my friend, that a fellow brought home a little puppy wolf that he had found in the woods. This wolf finally grew up and became mature. Then, he wanted to mate with other wolves when they came around the cabin in the forest; and he began to bark and howl. The little wolf that had matured began to cry out for those that were on the 'outside. My friend, they have implied that unless there was something added (unless this Adamic inbred sin was in there), there would be no correlation between the outside temptation. and the inside impulse.
Then, they go a step further; and here is where they confuse people, They say, "Get rid of the little wolf inside, and there will be nothing in the inside to answer to the outside"; but in experience, friend, you will find that this is not true. People find that this is not true because those things on the outside that are correlated to our human .passions will involuntarily automatically arouse those passions without any element of sin being present as far as that is concerned.
Those who hold what I call the enlargement teaching deny that there is something that has to be added to the human desires before they would crave indulgence. They deny it on the grounds that the very nature of any desire is gratification. I want you to understand what I am saying here because sometimes people do not; the very nature of any desire is gratification. It is not possible to have a desire for something without that desire urging us to gratification. It is not possible for us to have a temptation towards anything without us feeling that temptation.
The Nature of Human Desires
My friend, let us consider the very nature of the human desires. These desires are blind and unintelligent. By that I mean that they do not think. When something is correlated to them on the outside, they automatically are aroused to that thing that is correlated to them against their will. These human passions and inclinations are not under the direct control of our will. If they were, no genuine or sincere heart or individual at the time who desired to do God's will would ever be tempted. If we would not have a desire or a feeling that would arise in opposition to our present state of will, we would never have any urge or temptation, friend.
Now when I speak of these desires, I am speaking of involuntary desires - not a desire in the thought of a choice nor a desire in the sense of choosing to gratify. As a matter of fact, to have a desire is the same thing as to have an urge to be gratified. This is the reason why I say again that the human passions do not need a sinful substance added to them before they would urge to gratification. They are naturally excited by the outside object that is correlated to them.
Let us just take a simple example. Suppose that a man practices a weekly fast for the purpose of praying and seeking God's face. While his wife is fixing the meal for the rest of the family, he comes by the kitchen. Even though his will and his choice is to fast, he cannot help but smell the aroma. The feelings of hunger pains arise in his stomach and saliva forms in his mouth. These things are natural.
This is, of course, a simple illustration; but again I just bring this as an example, my friend, of how that against our will and our present choice, these passions and desires can arise. I believe you all know this by common experience. For proof that it is true, I appeal to the sins of Adam and Eve. For proof that the human passions do not need a sinful substance added to cause them to urge to self-gratification, I appeal to the sins of Adam and Eve. I am not going to read the whole story of Adam and Eve; but if there ever was anyone created or if there ever were people on the earth who were pure and had unperverted human desires, it was Adam and Eve. There was no corruption in them. There was no perversion, but yet the natural desire for food and the natural desire for knowledge were excited by the temptation of Satan. My friend, these desires urged them to gratification in an unlawful manner.
God said, "Ye shall not eat of this," but they said that it was good for food and that it was desired to make one wise. Therefore, they yielded; and they committed sin.
Now I ask you this? Had something been added to their desires to cause them to crave indulgence? Had something come in? Had something been added as a spiritual, sinful substance before their desires would urge them to gratification? No, my friend, it was simply the desire itself excited by temptation. Any desire becomes strengthened and stronger with each time of indulgence. This is natural.
Let us take another example from II Peter 2:14. Here is a man pictured here who is fully overcome by the passion of sex. We read in II Peter 2:14, "Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children." In this verse of Scripture, he speaks of an individual who is a habitual adulterer. He cannot cease from sin. His eyes are full of adultery. He cannot even look out in a mixed crowd without creating sexual pleasure in his imagination with this one or that one. His eyes are full of adultery. This passion has so possessed him that he is just under its influence constantly.
Now, all of us agree that this man's human desire for sex is greatly perverted and corrupted. Let me ask you this. Is this due to him being born with this corruption in him or is this man's state due to his misuse and abuse of his desires? The reason why this desire so enlarged or magnified itself in this man's life is because he had yielded to it, gave in to it, and lived after it so that it just dominated his life. In this case, the strong craving of sexual desire for gratification is due to the fact that he had often indulged in it or yielded to it.
Let me explain further. Every human passion that we have is good in itself. In fact, it is essential to life on the earth. God gave us all these human passions to enjoy life, but not to live after them and not to let them become the dominant thing in our lives. My friend, these desires and, passions are to be regulated by the Spirit of God, by our conscience, and by the law of God.
Let us consider just a few of the human passions. We have already mentioned hunger for food. Yet, you can begin to live after it ' ; and we have what we call the sin of gluttony. You can begin to live to eat instead of eating to live. You can get to where this passion and this appetite leads you into things that are contrary to good health and many other things. Also, this desire can be perverted by artificial stimulates and other things.
Another one is escape from pain. This is a normal human desire. Everyone of us has this desire. None of us likes to suffer; and if it were not for this human desire, we might put ourselves in positions and places where we would cause untold suffering to ourselves. Why don't you touch a hot stove? You do not want to suffer. You want to escape from pain, and yet this human desire has a limit of lawful gratification.
Let me explain further. When there is a cross to bear or a path of suffering marked out for us in the will of God, we have to restrain, to restrict the human desires. We can ' not allow an unlawful gratification of it. We have to suffer. We have to crucify the desire to escape from pain and face the danger, bear the cross, and live for God.
Another strong human drive is that which we call the sexual desire. Friend, this in itself is good. In fact the human race would no longer exist if it were not so. Someone might ask, "Why is this drive so strong?" I believe that men are so much a lover of themselves (of the flesh) that if this experience were one that was unenjoyable and undesireable, the human race would cease to exist. Man living for self would refrain if it, were unpleasant rather than enjoyable. In some places of the world, they are giving people an incentive to have children by paying them. They are not multiplying as fast as they are dying.
Someone says, "What about India and China?" Those two are exceptions. Those people have a problem on their hands. I have often studied on why this desire is so strong. It is said that this desire is next to the desire to live, and the desire to live is strongest. Because man is such a lover of himself, I believe that if it were not for the strength of this desire, he would not bear children. He would take all the material he could get and spend it on himself.
There is a lawful gratification of this sexual desire in the bonds of marriage. Hebrews 13:4 says that, "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulators God will judge." I could say more on this, but people seem to imply that this desire is sin itself. However, this desire is good; but the unlawful gratification of it beyond the bonds of marriage or before marriage is forbidden by God's law. The reason why it is forbidden is for the good of all. I am getting off the subject, but there is a good reason why God has given these laws.
The desire to live is possibly the strongest human passion there is. Man wants to live and fight and hold on to life, but the martyrs were called upon to even crucify this desire to please God. They chose death rather than be disobedient to God. We have a desire for human fellowship. We desire to be with others. We like to be in the group whether you realize this or not.
Someone may say, "I am a loner." This is all right. I feel like many times that I am a loner, too; but I know that we are a social being, and we desire fellowship with others. The desire of fellowship with other youth is possibly our young people's strongest battle. It is not a pleasant thing to be on the outside. It is not a pleasant thing to be set aside or be put on the outside; but many times to b e pleasing, to God and to live for God, we have to crucify this desire.
Also, we have what we call the desire for self-fulfillment, achievement, or progress, and the desire to acquire things. That is a good desire. Without it man would not achieve. Without it we might all be satisfied to live in a "Pig pen" so to speak. However, friend, this desire could turn into greed, selfishness, and other things. We have a desire to be loved and to be treated good, just, and fine. These are basic human passions and desires, but almost a sin can be traced right back to unlawful gratification of these desires. My friend, sin occurs when you yield to these passions in a way forbidden by God's law. So I say again due to the enlargement of the desire, the desire itself is corrupt. What it amounts to is a wrong and a monstrous development of something that in itself is good.
Let me say again that those who hold what we call "the addition teaching" look upon the cleansing of the desires as receiving a holy substance in place of the sinful substance. Many times in their teaching of the plan of salvation, they teach that a holy substance is received in the place of the sinful substance and that this sinful substance is removed. They teach it to be and look upon it (I have heard it expressed many times) as a divine surgical operation - something in which we are passive and in which we wait upon God to perform upon us. Most of them hold it to be a second work of grace. They believe that in what we call "a second work of grace" that an individual is cleansed, or that this sinful substance is cut out, taken out, eradicated, or removed . Then my friend, they teach that a holy substance is put in there where the sinful substance had been.
Those who hold what we call "the enlargement teaching" look upon the cleansing of the desires as a gradual work that began in regeneration, is carried on into the baptism of the Holy Spirit with a deeper cleansing there, and continues on to a more and more perfect degree throughout our entire Christian experience.
This is where I feel that confusion has arisen many times in the hearts and lives of people. They have been taught that this sinful substance is what urges the passions to self-gratification. However, this is not true as I have already told you because the very nature of the desire itself is the urge to gratification. Therefore, many hearts, my friend, are thrown into confusion. In fact this is the thing that first awoke me.
I am still a pastor, and I have dealt with many people and held revival meetings. I have had folks confide in me and ask me the question, "How can I know when I am cleansed of this inbred sin? flow can I know when I am free of it? How can I know whether an urge or a passion or a feeling or a desire is that inbred sin working or whether it is Just an ordinary temptation of the flesh?"
I had to be honest with them. I told them that I did not know. I really did not know how to distinguish between them. I tried sometimes to explain it, yet I knew while I was explaining it to them that I was as confused on it as they were. Now, friend, I am not one who did not believe in a second definite cleansing of the Adamic nature. I honestly believed it with all my heart. I am not one who in my past life and in my past preaching had just thought that it might be right. No, I believed it with all my heart. Brother, I opposed anyone who did not believe it, too. If you heard me preach, you know that I was as dogmatic in that as anybody. I was as strong on that point as anybody.
In fact it was in my study to refute some people that I came upon the truth. Brother, there was a struggle in my own mind and in my own heart. Brother, I hated to admit it; but I was too honest not to. I hated to say down in my heart that this Adamic sin or this thing of an inbred sin is not true, but it was forced upon me by the evidence of truth. No preacher was preaching it to me as far as that is concerned, It was simply that I was digging and studying like I said to refute some on the other side.
We need to realize that these desires or this cleansing many times is confusing. Right here is a point that we need to really be clear on. Let me repeat it again.
If there was a sinful substance added to the human desires and that substance caused those desires to urge to self-gratification, then the natural conclusion is that if you removed that sinful substance, the passions would not urge to self-indulgence.
Some years ago I was misunderstood when I said that I do not believe that an entirely sanctified soul is free from all unholy desires. Some people did not understand me. They thought that I meant that a fellow could still have choices to do wrong and still have a pure heart. However, what I meant was those involuntary desires - the sense of temptation. A man could still be subject to those feelings and desires and still have a pure and holy heart.
How Holiness Is Shown
In fact a man's holiness is not shown in the fact that he does not have any feelings or temptations, but his holiness or the virtue of his character is shown when the flesh is tempting him strongly to do wrong and he still retains his integrity and his faithfulness to God. That shows the strength of his heart, the strength of his character, and the strength of a man's love for God. My friend, instead of degrading a man's holiness, it really amplifies it. A man who exercises patience is not a man who is calm in an unruffled field; but he is a man who when feelings of impatience are pressing upon him, he remains steady, calm, steadfast and keeps his heart and mind where God would have him to.
I was brought under false condemnation time and time again because every time the passions would arise to the sense of a temptation, I would say, "I thought I had it, but I haven't." I would not tell anyone out in public that; but between my soul and God, a struggle went on. Brother, I was very conscientious-still am as far as that is concerned-but I was troubled many, many times because I could not understand this. I thought holiness was in the feelings and not in the will. I placed holiness and sin in the feelings many times instead of placing it in the will-the choice of man where God places it. Instead of placing it where the man's moral character really is, I placed it in the feelings. To me a Christian experience was feeling certain ways; and when those feelings were not present, brother, I did not know whether I was saved or not.
I found out that Christianity was not a certain state of feeling, but a character of heart. It is a disposition of heart and soul to remain true and faithful to God at all cost. It is giving up living for ourselves, and it is living for God. A change of heart is more than a change in feeling. A change of heart goes further than our intellect. You can change in your intellect or change in your feelings and still not have salvation. Salvation is not believing certain things, certain doctrines, and certain teachings. It is not giving intellectual consent to a set of doctrines or teachings, neither is it feeling a certain way.
How is a Christian to feel? Someone says that he ought to feel this way, or he ought to feel that way. You have to take into consideration all the circumstances involved. The circumstances of life are like a harp. Our feelings play a different tune on every string.
Somebody says, "Oh, I feel so good." However, salvation is not on our feelings. Now, you will feel good; and you will be correct in your understanding, but it is more than that. What does it involve? It involves giving up ourselves. It involves self-denial. It involves ceasing to live for ourselves and choosing to live for God. It involves a loving consecration of ourselves unto the glory of God. Our good and our neighbors' good are secondary to the glory and good of God.
Many people look upon the change of heart as a change of feeling. They say, "I just don't feel right." In dealing with people at the altar, I often ask them, "How are you supposed to feel? How are you going to feel when you know that you have it?"
Salvation is submitting ourselves unto God. It is giving ourselves unto the Lord. We have to have a change of heart. It takes more than a change of conduct. That is why the Law cannot save a man. It appeals to selfish motives. In fact, the Law locks a man in selfishness and sin. The Law says, "Do and live, or don't do and die."
The Law is both a promise and a threat. The promise is eternal life that appeals to our hope, but that is a selfish motive. It appeals to our hope and that which is good for self. In other words, if I obey God, I will go to heaven; but if I do not obey God, I will go to hell. Again, that is a selfish motive. A man can take up a Christian profession. He can begin to read his Bible and pray. He can come to an altar of prayer and think that he has a Christian experience from selfish motives and never have a change Of heart. We have to give up self.
You may ask, "What do you mean?" I am not just living for myself and using different means for the same end. I am not only changing my means, but I am changing my end. For example, you can take the angel Gabriel and Satan himself. They are not both living for the same end with just different motives. Also, you can take a saint of God and the sinner. They are not both living for the same end in life but just using different means to get there. They are not both living for their own personal pleasure and happiness.
There is a gospel being preached over our land today that is making people feel that salvation is just for their own good. They are appealing to the selfish motives of people. They will tell you to send in five dollars, and they will send you a billfold that is blessed; and you will never run out of money. They will tell you that God is a good God. He wants to heal you. He wants to save you. He wants to financially bless you. I know all these things have some truth in them, but I am saying that too many times the supreme motive that appeals to people is a selfish motive. In such cases, congregations fill up with ' selfish Christians - people who have not really given up the aim of their life to live for themselves. They are still living for themselves. They are just using different means of attaining their own happiness.
You have to give up your own self, your happiness, and your own interest. You have to make them secondary to the glory of God and His good. This is a change of heart. I am not living for myself and just using a different means for my own happiness. However, do not misunderstand me. Happiness is the end of obedience. When we live for God and honor and glorify Him, it does lift us and bless us. It is a by-product and not really the direct result.
I want to say again that self-denial is also necessary in a Spirit-filled life. What is self-denial? Many times, these human passions that arise would urge us or tempt us to disobey God. Self-denial consists in denying these desires in any unlawful gratification. It is denying ourselves our own human passions. In other words, we deny ourselves to please God and to live for Him. Any desire that I refrain from doing in order to please God is self-denial. When these desires arise to urge us or to tempt us to disobey God, we say, "No." We deny ourselves to live for God.
Self-denial is necessary in a Spirit-filled life. It is necessary throughout our entire Christian life. As long as we are in this flesh, it is necessary. We have to deny our fleshly desires any unlawful gratification.
Questions to Consider
I have some questions for those who disagree with me. I am honest in asking, and I would like to have an answer if you have one. To those who hold what I call the addition teaching - the teaching that a sinful substance (inbred sin) has been added-I ask you this question. How does this sinful substance called "inbred sin" or "original sin" differ from temptation in its manifestation? If there is a spiritual sinful substance added to the human passions, how does it differ in its manifestation from temptation? How can you tell in the manifestation the difference between whether it is a rising of this carnal nature (inbred sin as it is called) or whether it is a rising of the basic human passions? How do you distinguish between the two? If you cannot distinguish between the two, how do you know that the one exists? If you cannot distinguish between the two, how can you ever know if you are rid of it? I am talking about inwardly or consciously distinguishing between the manifestation of the two. How can you ever tell when you are free or cleansed of this spiritual sinful substance? How can you ever tell when it is gone, because all men are tempted?
Another question I have is this: If this spiritual sinful substance is all cleansed away and this substance is what causes the human passions to urge to self-gratification, how can a person cleansed of this (a holy saint of God) be tempted?
If a difference cannot be known, by what standard or means do you judge that you have this experience? I ask these questions in all honesty.
Somebody says, "Those are difficult questions." Well, they are common questions to those who are seeking to know by conscience or experience the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. I believe that the people of God need an obtainable goal set before them. They need a conscious goal- one in which when they have obtained it, they know that they have obtained it. I believe that they need held before them something that is not a theory but something that is a reality. They need something that is within the limits of God's eternal Word, within the possibility of human nature, and within the limits of consciousness.
To just preach something that is a theory is to leave people in confusion, because here is what it will. do: When you simply preach a theory, those that are not conscientious, discerning, and imaginative will just pick it up and accept it in just the snap of your fingers. However, on the other hand, those that are conscientious, imaginative, and discriminating in their thinking'. their thoughts, and their feelings will be thrown into a state of confusion.
I might just add that we with our desire to be what God would have us to be have a far greater tendency to be discriminative. To us there is very little area left gray. It is black or white. This causes difficulty ' in people who are trying to establish their experience. That is the reason folks are up and down. Do you know why the Church of God sometimes does not reach out to help others?
They are working on their own selves so much. They are working on their own experience all the time. The preachers are all the time working on the Church. The preachers and the saints are all the time working on themselves. They are trying to get us up to something, somehow, or someway. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that the standard of holiness is as high as it ought to be, but constantly working on ourselves will cause us to become picky. For example, if you rub a man one way so long, you make him sore. By this I mean that we need to have an experience where people know when they reach it. They need an experience in which they can have faith and confidence and not be tossed to and fro.
Moral corruption is not a substance. It is a condition. The cleansing of moral corruption is not removing the substance, but it correcting the condition. I trust that God will help you. I hope that He has in some way helped you o understand a . little bit about what moral corruption is. This is not I most important doctrine in the Bible by far; but I believe it necessary friend. People need to get settled and established. They need to have a clear understanding so that they can have faith and confidence in themselves.
You may ask, "Why?" We have a world out here that needs God. We need an army that has confidence. I might just add this thought for you to think about. Friend, I believe that we need just a little bit greater faith in the power of God to keep us saved than to just be continuously doubting and wondering whether I am going to fall any moment. I believe that we need just a little more confidence than that. I believe that we need a little bit more stability. I believe that we need to be sure of the promises of God.
Somebody told me one time, Brother Yoder, you could come right down to death's door; and the last hour of your life lose out with God." I know that is a possible but I told the man, "If I felt like God's grace was like that or that God would let me down at any place along the way, I would turn back now. Why wait till I am way down the road somewhere? I believe that when God undertook to save me, He undertook to take me home to glory. Brother, He undertook to take me through all the battles of life and bring me through with victory . When God reached down and took me out of the pits of hell, He did not leave me in a darkened place. He said, "Son, get hold of My hand. . am going to lead you on home. Brother, He intended to take me home to glory. I believe that God intends to take us on through.
I see many hearts that are troubled. People have come almost to the point of despair. They have wrestled and wallowed over some of these things, and they just feel like they cannot live for God. They feel that they cannot serve the Lord or please Him. They have tried. They have grunted. They have strained. They have done everything in their power that they know to do, and they just feel like it is hopeless. Well, I have a good word for those people.
I remember one day while I was away holding a revival meeting, the enemy was troubling my heart and soul over this very temptation that I would not hold out true and faithful to God because of who I was. However, God knew who I was before He saved me. God knew that I was an old knothead and hard to get along with and hard to teach. God knew what my nature was. God knew what it would take to save me. He knew my environment. He knew my home life. He knew that I came from a broken home. He knew that I had a feeling of being unloved and unwanted. He knew all about my mental and spiritual make-up. When God reached down to save me, He undertook to clean me up, to make me pure and holy, and to take me home to glory.
The enemy told me one time, "You are just too bad. Your corruption and condition is just too difficult for God to straighten out." There were problems that I had battled with and difficulties that I prayed over. It just seemed like I was having a difficult time, and I began to wonder if I would make it or not. I read this verse of Scripture, and Oh, how God brought it home with force to my soul, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). That may not mean much to you, but that day it meant everything to me.
I said, "I know God began a good work in me. I know God has saved me, changed me, and started me on to heaven. There are a lot of complexities and confusions, but I believe that God is going to take me home to glory. I have placed my hand in His hand." God -did not save you to let you start out and fall by the wayside. No, when He reached down to save you, He aimed to take you home to heaven. Take faith, friend; there is hope for you. Take faith. There is victory for everyone of us if we will take hold of the faith.
In summary, man is morally corrupt. This corruption is not a sinful substance but a corrupt state of the human passions and desires. May God bless those of you who disagree. People have died and gone to heaven not believing like I do. Yes, and they shall continue to do so.
I want you to consider this with me. If there is a spiritual sinful substance added to the human passions, how can I know it by its manifestation? I studied some of the writings of John Wesley; and I remember a statement he said, "Without divine revelation it is impossible to distinguish." Friend, if that be true, then we must have an element of miracle entered into this before we can ever understand. However, it is not true. Do you know why? There is no difference between the manifestation of temptation and the manifestation of a sinful substance which supposedly has been added to the human passions.
Someone says, "Do you mean that I have to battle with the flesh?" In one sense, yes, but in another sense God has made provision for the enlargement of our passions to be subdued. I believe that the passions and desires are an enlargement of something that is good. Therefore, it is like taking the fever out of them if I can use that expression. It is not removing the desire because when you talk about eradication and terms like this, people get to thinking in terms of getting rid of the thing altogether; and it is not like that at all. Physical things sometimes fall very short in expressing spiritual truths. However, it is like a basic desire which by indulgence and perversion has grown full of fever; but it is subdued. Someone says, "To what degree?" There is no answer to that because that depends upon each individual's faith and understanding and walk with God.
May God help you to be able to see and understand. Keep your eyes and ears open. Hold fast to what you have till you see something better. Do not give up what you have for me, or anyone else, just simply to change. Hold fast to what you believe is true, but keep your eyes and ears open.