Romans 6:5-7 (NIV) -
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
The Romans perfected torture - it took the form of the cross. In my study and through others' teaching, I've become fairly familiar with the brutality of the method used to kill Jesus, and of how much more significant this makes His death on our behalf since He not only died for us, but chose to accept the one of the most (if not the very most) lengthy, torturous, and gradual form of death invented in human history.
Here's the quick summary of how crucifixion worked:
The victim would be nailed to the cross by their hands and feet, preventing them from escaping, with their arms being stretched just beyond their natural length in the process;
This stretching of the arms would be amplified by their own body weight pulling them down, completely constricting their chest muscles and making it very difficult to breathe, causing them to slowly suffocate;
In their desperation for air, the victim would push themselves up using the nail piercing their feet until it hit their ankle bone, giving their chest muscles enough relief and space for the lungs to expand, allowing them to breathe for a short while;
Inevitably, the victim would run out of strength to stay up and they would drop their weight, causing them to start suffocating again while they regained some of their strength;
This cycle of suffocating, lifting, and dropping repeats until the victim finally runs out of strength completely, is unable to lift themselves up anymore, and slowly suffocates to death.
This entire process often took days, leaving the victims in utter agony - Jesus was an exception to this, hence the surprise of the Romans when they discovered He had died on the same morning they hung him on the cross. As I've learned about this, it has really deepened my gratitude and amazement at what Jesus did on the cross.
However, a book I bought and started reading today has made me realise how significant this method of death is for our own walks with Christ, and the struggle that we have in becoming more like Him.
You see, many of us expect that once we have become Christian, we will never struggle with sin anymore. Even if we don't expect it, we hope that this will be the case and get very frustrated, discouraged, and ashamed when we discover that this isn't the case. I know I do, for one.
I remember the passages of Scripture that tell us to crucify our flesh and just feel... heavy. I know that I continually fail to offer my whole life, body, and world to God; that I choose my own desires and ways instead of His on a regular basis, rather than dying to myself, picking up my cross, and following Him. It fills me with grief for hurting Him, shame for failing Him, and discouragement because it feels like a battle I will never win.
What I have been reminded of tonight, though, is that crucifixion was a long, gradual death by suffocation, and one that was regularly interrupted and restarted by the victim's struggle for freedom and life. I think our sanctification is the same.
When we are saved, being brought into relationship with Jesus through the atoning work that He did on the cross, our flesh is nailed to the cross - it is now stuck there permanently, and will never escape until the moment that it is finally killed completely at Jesus' return. However, it is not dead yet, and so long as it remains alive it will continue to struggle and cry for freedom as it slowly suffocates to death.
I want to clarify here: when I say the "flesh", I am not talking about our physical bodies but our sinful nature, which wants to be the god of our own world and will do or take anything it wants to have that place. It is the desires in us that come not from God, but from Satan and the temptations he feeds us; from our own brokenness.
Jesus has won the war against sin and death - that is a finished, complete work. Our sin can no longer conquer us, only wrestle until Jesus completely separates us from it. So, then what is our part in this, as those who have been made conquerors with Christ?
Well to start with, we need to recognise that there will be times when our sinful nature - our flesh - will find strength and try to rise up, just as the victims on the cross did. When this happens, we don't need to panic and give into its demands - they are the threats of a dying man and have no real power unless we give into them. Instead, we can rest in the knowledge that Christ has already nailed that part of us to the cross and, eventually, its strength will fade once again and it will return to its suffocation. We can withstand the threats of sin and Satan by remembering that they are already powerless and will return to silence in time.
Secondly, we can speed up the process of suffocating our sinful nature. When the Romans wanted someone to die more quickly, they would break the victim's legs so they could no longer push themselves up. We have a similar power to cripple our sinful nature, by limiting our exposure to tempting situations, environments, and people. When we pay close attention to ourselves and the thoughts, environments, and people around us at points when we are tempted to sin (or even in the lead up to sinning), we can start to identify what compromises us and makes us more likely to give into the demands of our dying flesh. Once we know what these things are, we can be deliberate about changing or removing the circumstances and influences that lead us to go against our loving Father's will for our lives, metaphorically "breaking the legs" of our flesh.
Becoming aware of these things takes thought and a willingness to pay attention, but it is worth it. Even better, approaching our sanctification from this perspective - that we are fighting a war of attritition won not through brute force but wisdom, strategy, and a confident, steady knowledge of what Christ has already done for us - it takes a huge weight off our shoulders and gives us freedom to rest and grow in intimacy with our Father. This is the place that we are created to be in.
If you get a chance to, I recommend that you read the book Rest & War by Ben Stuart - it is the book that has brought me to this realisation and, even though I'm only a few chapters in so far, it is having a very significant impact on how I think about and approach the struggles that I am facing in my life and relationship with God for the better.
In the meantime, I hope you are keeping well. May you grow deeper in your knowledge of the God who gave everything for you, so that you can know Him more intimately.
Jordan.
Bless you Brother