There is a third aspect to sin. Sin is not only before God and in man's conscience; sin is also in man's flesh. This is what Romans 7 and 8 tell us. What is the sin in the flesh? We have seen that, on the one hand, there is the record of sins before God and that, on the other hand, there is the condemnation of sins in man's conscience. Now we see the third aspect: the power of sin and the activities of sin in man's flesh. Sin has its place. Sin is presiding. Sin is in man's flesh as the chairman. Please remember that sin is the chairman presiding in the flesh.

What do I mean by this? Sins before God and in man's own conscience are objective. For me the record of sins before God and the condemnation of sins in my conscience are matters of my feeling with respect to sin. But sin in the flesh is subjective. This means that the sin that is dwelling in me has the power to force me to sin; it has the power to incite and arouse me to sin. This is what the Bible calls the sin in the flesh.

For example, there may be a brother who earns a hundred dollars a month, but spends a hundred and fifty dollars a month. He likes to borrow money. It is his disposition. If he does not borrow, his hands will itch; even his head and his body will itch. After using up all of his salary, he must borrow some and spend it before he can feel comfortable. In him we can see the three aspects. First, he has many creditors, who have the records of his debts. Second, unless he has no knowledge of the consequences of borrowing, in which case he may still go on borrowing peacefully, he realizes that he is in danger and thus is burdened not only with the record of debt before his creditors, but also with the exposing by his conscience. Yet in addition, there is the sin in his flesh. He knows that it is wrong to borrow, yet he feels restless unless he continues to borrow. Something is prompting him and arousing him, telling him that he has not borrowed for months and that he should do it one more time. What is this? This is the sin in his flesh. On the one hand, sin is a fact with him; it results in a record of sin before God and sin in his conscience. On the other hand, sin is a power in his flesh; it incites and compels him, even drags and pulls him, to sin.

If you have never resisted sin, you have not felt its power. But if you try to resist sin, you will sense its power. When water is flowing, you do not feel its power if you flow along with it. But if you try to go against the flow, you will feel its power. Most rivers in China flow from the west to the east; so if you try to travel from the east to the west, you will feel how powerful China's rivers are. Those who know the power of sin the most are those who are the holiest, for they are the ones who try to oppose and to stand against sin. If you are joined to sin and are going along with it, surely you will not know its power. The sin in your flesh is all the time arousing and compelling you to sin, but only when you wake up to deal with sin will you realize that you are a lost and perishing sinner. Only then will you know that you are helpless and that you have no way to solve the problem of sin in your flesh, not to mention the presence of sins in your conscience and the record of sins before God.

Therefore, we have to see that when God saves us, He deals with all three aspects. The inward sin is dealt with by the cross and the crucifixion of the old man. We have mentioned this many times before, so we will not repeat it now. Our Bible study this time covers God's way of dealing with our sins before Him and the condemnation of sins in our conscience. Earlier I mentioned the problem of sin and sins. Sins refer to the sinful acts before God and in our conscience. Every time the Bible mentions sins, it is referring to the sinful acts before God and in our conscience. But every time the Bible mentions the sin in the flesh, it uses the word sin, not sins. If you remember this, you will have no trouble later on.

We thank God that His salvation is complete. He has dealt with our sins before Him. He has also judged our sins in the person of the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit has applied Christ's work to us, so that we could receive the Lord Jesus and have peace in our conscience. Once the conscience is cleansed, there is no more consciousness of sin. Many times I have heard Christians say that the blood of the Lord Jesus washes away their sins. When I ask if they feel peaceful and happy, they say that at times they still feel the presence of their sins. This is inconceivable. I am happy because when the conscience is cleansed, there is no more consciousness of sins. Our conscience has the consciousness of sins because there is the record of sins before God. But if the sins are gone before God, how can we still have the consciousness of them? Since the sins before God have been dealt with, the sins in our conscience should be dealt with as well. Hence, we should not have the consciousness of our sins any longer.