ADMINISTRATOR’S NOTE —

We no longer MORTIFY — KILL SIN coming at us, within us, around us! This goes totally AGAINST the inerrant Word of God.  I can still remember when the mortifying, the “killing of sin” was taught from the pulpits. Almost every Sunday! Now it’s anything goes and there is never any preaching, no instruction, no rebuke, no reproof, no admonishment to brothers and sisters in the faith TO KILL to “mortify” the sin influencing their lives!

Everything is now allowed and celebrated!

What an abomination before the Lord our God, and woe to us who do not mortify sin in all its aspects in our members!

~ Ken Pullen, A Crooked Path, Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;

Commentary by — John W. Ritenbaugh

Colossians 3:5

(5) Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
King James Version

The word translated “covetousness” here is the Greek word pleonexia. It is an ugly word describing an ugly sin. It is ugly because it is idolatry and destructive. Lexicons describe pleonexia as “the insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others.” It suggests ruthless self-seeking and an arrogant assumption that others and things exist for one’s own benefit.

Covetousness is idolatry because it puts self-interest and things in the place of God. A man sets up an idol because he desires to get some pleasure or satisfaction from it. So he serves to get, which is idolatry. The essence of idolatry, then, is to get for the self. Christians, though, must give themselves to God, and we do it by yielding to Him in obedience to whatever He says.

Colossians 3:5 says we are to “mortify therefore [our] members which are on the earth” (KJV). This does not mean merely to practice an ascetic self-discipline. It is a very strong word, meaning “to kill.” The Christian must kill self-centeredness. He must radically transform his life, shifting the focus from himself to God. This is exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:29-30. Everything that keeps us from fully obeying God and surrendering to Jesus Christ must be spiritually excised. The tenth commandment, like the first, serves as a governor, controlling whether we keep the others.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
The Tenth Commandment (1998)

Related Topics:
Asceticism
Covetousness
Idolatry
Pleonexia
Self Centeredness
Self Denial