Jehovah's Witnesses Straight Talk - Forum/Blog

Col.3:5 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; 3:6 for which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.

There are only two options for God's children, to live in the life of Christ, and/or be dead to the life of Christ in “works” of our flesh. Here some actually believed they could be under law of Moses which did not kill sin in a person, but instead exposed it as evil, than convicted it, and punished it as such.

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

Hebrews 7:19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

What choice did a Jewish person have? They could not, not be a non-sinner by works of law, so how were they to live under the law when it condemned them as a sinner (dead)? They must stop lying to themselves and accept fully the blood (life) upon the altar as their salvation in saving them from God's righteous judgment by his law. If not, if they refused in self-righteousness God's wrath remained upon them, why? Because they had not put faith in the atoning sacrifice of blood (life) paying the price for their sins. They had put faith in their own works, works, which mean in obeying the rule of law and believing those works made them righteous, and/or right before God! (death vs. life, flesh vs life in the power of blood.)

Hebrews 9:22 According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Now here is the dichotomy those thinking they can prove themselves righteous by works of law face, and what is that? When they read Paul's words here they narrow the application to where they think Paul is saying a Christian's must atone for themselves by good works (flesh keeping rules, which is death), but he is not.

1 Peter 3:21 This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you--not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

He is however, teaching the entire thought of all the Greek writing and particular his own writings, which is, stay in Christ, or you are practicing sin by works of law. The anointed are dead in Christ (flesh) they must be to be filled with his life; death, and life are always opposed in the Greek writings. Death is our (flesh dead in Christ) the life is Christ life indwelling us because we are dead in our flesh. Outside of the life of Christ there is no atonement, just like outside of the nation of Israel there was no atonement for the nations, God did not provide blood for the nations, only his chosen people Israel.

John.15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
15:2 Every branch in me that doesn't bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 15:3 You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 15:4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. 15:5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 15:6 If a man doesn't remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

1 John 3:6 Whoever remains in him doesn't sin. Whoever sins hasn't seen him, neither knows him.

1 John 3:9 Whoever is born of God doesn't commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can't sin, because he is born of God.

Thus, the context; who is Paul speaking to here? Those of spiritual Israel, those born new by God in Holy Spirit, those that have been put to death in their old life, made new in Christ life. Hence, in Christ is the only place ones unrighteous acts can be dead, removed from God's wrath. They cannot be removed by self-acts of obeying a rule of law which had been proven beyond a doubt for thousand's of years of the law and blood upon Israel! (death the flesh cannot be made righteous that is free of sin by obeying a law, a rule or a religion.)

Romans 3:10 As it is written, "There is no one righteous; no, not one.

1Tim.1:9 as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 1:10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine;

Rom.7:18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don't find it doing that which is good. 7:19 For the good which I desire, I don't do; but the evil which I don't desire, that I practice. 7:20 But if what I don't desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.

There is no condemnation in Christ if your members are dead in Christ upon earth (flesh). But if one should think as so many Christian's now do they can make their members dead by obeying a rule of law in the bible or a religious group they are not dead in Christ. Christ life makes us dead provided we stay in his righteous life, not our righteous life doing acts of obeying some rule of law.

Romans 3:20 Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

Romans 4:4 Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as debt.

Romans 4:15 For the law works wrath, for where there is no law, neither is there disobedience.

Please don't be confused, no human can put their flesh to death, it must be put to death by an act of God (the blood atonment). When we are dead in our flesh by God's judgment, that is, in Christ, Christ righteous he can live in us. What is a righteous life according to God throughout the bible? A sinless life, our life can only be made sinless at the cost of another life. In Israel case animal blood an innocent victim not under God's righteous moral laws. In Christian's case Christ blood, which was sinless not needing laws for those having sin. The issue at hand here is those thinking there is a self-righteousness that comes from obeying rules of laws, and not being made dead in Christ by his blood. This is Paul point of his writings in Colossians, the power of Christ in freeing us from our judgment of sinful flesh by the enthroning of Christ above stripping the power of death through our flesh, and giving us freedom not in our flesh, but in the spirit life of Christ which fills us with Christ righteousness before God having no judgment of our flesh dead and gone in Christ life.

Rom.8:3 For what the law couldn't do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh;
8:4 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;
8:7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God's law, neither indeed can it be. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh can't please God.
8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn't have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.

1Cor.1:30 But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: 1:31 that, according as it is written, "He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord."{Jeremiah 9:24}

1 Corinthians 6:20 for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

In that state, and only in that state can we put away the evils of our flesh state above. Paul is not stating we can by works of ourselves be made righteous, big mistake leading down a road of self-righteousness into a broad road of destruction that even those not having Christ can practice before a idol, a man, a religion, according to human merit and judgment, but it does not atone for sin! (without atonment by faith we are lawless a practicer of sin)

John.5:39 "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. 5:40 Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life.
5:41 I don't receive glory from men. 5:42 But I know you, that you don't have God's love in yourselves. 5:43 I have come in my Father's name, and you don't receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 5:44 How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don't seek the glory that comes from the only God?

See also: www.nu-truth.com