The Old Man: Dead on Arrival Part 1
by Pastor Mark Downey
July 17, 2011
“Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed” Romans 6:6.
Question: do you know what is worse than a wicked young man? Answer: a wicked old man! Why? Because he has had a lot more practice. The Bible is about winners and losers. Christianity is about victory. There are two races in Scripture. The first is the White Adamic/Israelite race. The second is the contest in which the White race must cross the finish line. We are a chosen race in a race to obtain a prize. Our race has two movements competing against each other. One is secular and the other is spiritual. There are two different prizes. “Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” I Cor. 9:25.
From time to time, I get comments from brothers and sisters in Christ that Christian Identity does not preach the Gospels or fundamental teachings of salvation. And that’s usually true, because so many of us came out of the denominations that did fortunately teach us these things. But, we have a new generation that is unschooled in these basic understandings and so it behooves us to review our basic Christian responsibilities from an Identity perspective. So, this sermon is for both young and old and I say that tongue in cheek.
This past week Pastor Pete Peters died (7-7-11). Someone said he died of natural causes at the age of 64. But, I have to wonder who dies of natural causes at that age? In the span of 6000 years, the mortality of mankind keeps shrinking. Nobody lives for hundreds of years anymore. When somebody reaches the ripe old age of 100, they are asked what is the secret of their longevity and there’s never a definitive answer to say what’s what. Nobody ever says the cause of death was the wages of sin. Just weeks before Peters died, I received an email that reported Peters having an emotional breakdown in front of the Branson audience and that he attempted to physically assault someone; where he subsequently went on his radio program to announce that he was taking a sabbatical and that the Lord was humbling him. One of his followers from Florida sent out a message stating that everyone should “pray for the pastor.” I’d like to dedicate this sermon to Pete, because I was one of his supporters for 10 years and I learned a great deal from him. But, something changed in his life and it wasn’t for the better. In his last newsletter there’s a picture of him standing next to an expensive looking piece of shortwave electronic equipment for broadcasting his shows with a cartoon caption with him saying, “With this baby, we’re gonna reach the world with the Word of God.” He looked terribly bloated, sickly and old. I remember one of his sermons years ago that talked about our countenance, our physical appearance and how some old people looked so happy that they were glowing, while others looked like depressed zombies. I think it may have had something to do with our old man that we’re discussing today.
Christian Identity is a movement that has discovered who’s who. Other movements, such as ‘White Nationalism’, don’t know who or what is in the race and don’t care. Which is why the mature racialist Christian will heed the warning: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” II Cor. 6:14. We could say, “What fellowship hath winners with losers?” The ‘Big Tent’ philosophy of White Nationalism includes pagans, atheists, agnostics, universalists, judeo-Christians, catholics, non-Whites who look White and the lunatic fringe. The inclusionary nature of this kind of body politic is doomed to fail from the beginning, because it is based on the presumption that the unity of man will save the race and racialist Christians will put their God and His Word on the back burner. At best, this is wishful thinking and at worst an insulting delusion.
The Bible calls this kind of thinking ‘the old man’. “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature [race] more than the Creator?” Romans 1:25. The creature here is the serpentine nature of man or more accurately termed as the real satan of Scripture. When men give anything or anyone the power to do great things, then that is equal to worshipping that thing or person. The old man is self worship. Self worship is adversarial to God Almighty. The Hebrew word (not name) ‘satan’, means adversary; the Greek word ‘devil’ means false accuser, slanderer, or liar. Having these correct translations, these words are used to prove the personality of man’s great adversary and God’s great slanderer in the history of the White race, namely, SIN, whether considered abstractly as a principle, or finding expression through a person, an institution or the evil world as a whole.
Within the confines of our earth, we are informed of what constitutes all evil: “Lust of the flesh, lusts of the eyes and the pride of life” (I John 2:16). These three basic elements are what tempted both Eve and Jesus. The old man is old because of his great antiquity, for sin is as old as the Garden of Eden. He’s the oldest man in the world. Let us reason together that this 6000 year old man is not a literal person any more than a 6000 year old supernatural serpent. The reality, according to David’s confession, is that we are shaped in iniquity and conceived in sin (Ps. 51:5); but the old man existed in the world ages before we were born and was propagated to us by our parents, who themselves had received it in lineal succession from Adam. The concept of the old sin nature is found in Romans 7:17, “Sin that dwelleth in me.” It’s also called “the flesh” and is the source of all personal sins. Adam wasn’t created with an old sin nature, but God gave him one the moment he disobeyed a divine command.
Adam became a fleshly mortal and subsequently passed on this genetic trait to his progeny. Therefore, every member of the White race receives the old man gene. “Therefore, as through one man’s offense [Adam’s] judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act [Jesus Christ’s] the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” Romans 5:18-19. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” I Cor. 15:22. When Adam sinned, the consequences for him and the rest of Adamkind were both physical death and spiritual death, meaning spiritual separation from God. We all inherited the old man from Adam and are spiritually separated from God at birth. Everybody knows that sooner or later we come to the end of our race at the finish line and arrive at a natural physical death. The prize is not going to the proverbial “home” in heaven. We may or may not have won the contest.
Did you know there is another type of death? The Bible describes it as the death of the old man, which everyone must experience through the God given faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, either in this life for believers or in the next life for unbelievers, before they can enter the Kingdom of God (on earth). If the old man is dead on arrival, when the race is over, we have won. “So when… this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory” I Cor. 15:54.
This is not pie in the sky theology, because we can see victory before the race is over. We can gain such a lead by recognizing our leadership. Our leaders give us the winning plan. The plan comes from He who is ahead of everyone else in the race. Christ is the head of the church (those who are called to start their engines) and He is the Savior of the body (Eph. 5:23). “Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” Prov. 29:18. A vision is a plan with a purpose. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose” Romans 5:28. Let us understand what the old man represents and why it’s important to experience God’s plan for his death. An autopsy of the old man reveals an obvious sin nature of carnality and lust i.e. the flesh of our five senses.
But, there is a multitude of other failures, which could be recorded as the ‘cause of death’. God absolutely detests the self-righteousness of man. Why? Because it stops us from repenting and accepting the true righteousness of God. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jer. 17:9. The old man doesn’t have a clue about his attitude until an adjustment is made from above. Continuing, “I the Lord search the heart, I try their reigns [thoughts], even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (v.10). It could be said that the root of all sin is pride and that the old man is the epitome of a proud heart. “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” Prov. 16:18. There is nothing more loathsome and disgusting than a depraved elder spending his whole lifetime feeding his imagination, recollecting the justification of past sins. How utterly hardened, impenitent, obstinate and arrogant, for the most part, is old age.
Thus, the old man is described as, “Corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Eph.4:22). Am I wrong to suggest that the old man is the vilest of all vile beings and rotten to the very core, not having one right thought or emotion, not one right principle or precept and that there is no soundness in his body, mind or spirit? I believe the strong language of Scripture of what we are by nature and can come to no other conclusion than that this old man is the greatest plague a child of God can have. I believe that all of our sorrows, trials and tribulations cannot be compared with the sorrows, mischief and mayhem caused by the plotting, contriving and workings of this wicked old man in all the deceitful lusts that are in the world by means of which he has been distracting us from the straight and narrow path of holiness.
You can see how it leads the blind, hardens the heart, perverts judgment, distorts affections, and strangles the life of God from the soul, until one scarcely knows what they are; full of themselves, burdened with the guilt of regret and the bondage of fear. “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” James 1:14-15. The old man reaps what he sows. James has an additional thought about those who hear the Word of God, but never do anything about it. “He is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” James 1:23-24. Can you see the old man in the mirror?
Would you like to change that look into something better? As long as we are under the power and dominion of the old man there is no countenance of peace, no shining light of glory, no sweet counsel, no blessed revivals and no comforting visitations of God’s presence. But there is a divine remedy for restoration. “For by the sadness of the face the heart is made better” Eccl. 7:3. Please note the apostle’s words “concerning the former conversation” of the old man that is “put off” (in Eph. 4:22), meaning that the way in which we formerly lived and acted is fully renounced. How? “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (v. 23). So we put off the old man and “Put on the new man” (v. 24) modeled after the righteousness of God. How? By, “Putting away lying” (v. 25). Question: what is another word for liar? Answer: devil. “Neither give place to the devil” (v. 27).
The lie of the old man is that he not responsible for his own sins. This was the blame game going on back in the beginning which brought forth death to all future generations of the White race. God’s Law states, “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex. 20:13). The divine judgment for this sin is to execute the murderer: “And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death” Lev. 24:17. The old man was a murderer from the beginning and brought sin into the world. “The wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23. So this old man is essentially the cause of death and the effect of sin.
“Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37. Send him to a re-education camp to repent? An overhaul? A makeover? No. God has only one final solution for that wicked one of the ages and that is to crucify him. Yes, that’s right! He kills and destroys the old man, whose name is legion, because our sin nature comes under so many guises. It has been so widespread over the ages that it has almost complete control over our race and the soul of our nation. Its despicable nature is almost indistinguishable. Imagine, for a moment, that you recognize the image in the mirror or someone suggests to you that the only way to get your life back and to cease the fear and loathing, which plagues America, is to kill the old man.
The old man defiles that which is intended to be holy. “And ye shall be holy unto Me; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine” Lev. 20:26. Our physical bodies were meant to be vessels of honor, a repository or dwelling place for God to be amongst His people and advance His Kingdom upon the earth. Jesus is the savior of our physical body AND the body politic of the White race. America was founded as a Christian nation, but cheerleaders for the old man have displaced our manifest destiny. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the decline of Western civilization.
Many churches with good intentions (well, maybe not so good) are just waiting for God to take them away to another world, far far away from earth. But this is not the mindset that God desires at all. “Be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” Romans 12:2. God is waiting for us to do something about the world we live in. God Himself gives us the plan whereby we kill the old conformist in this world.
Long ago when our ancestors were told to take dominion of the earth, there arose another competitor, or adversary (satan) if you will, that did not conform to God’s plan. “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law), how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?” Romans 7:1. This verse is addressing the soul of a Christian, whereby the law of sin and death has dominion over a Christian, notwithstanding a very crucial proviso. The Christian must die to self (or the old man within) who opposes God. If the Christian crucifies himself (which will be explained in a moment) i.e. dies to self, then the law of sin and death no longer has dominion over us. He is freed from this law to live his life in accord with God’s Spirit.
What then is the procedure for crucifying the old man? Jesus said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” Mt. 16:24. The first step then is to admit our old way of life is going to be replaced with something new at the Cross of Christ. The next verse quickly follows up with the idea that it’s something more than just believing. It’s important that you understand that just believing in Christ only makes you a believing sinner. If there was ever a memorized mantra taken out of context, it is John 3:16 i.e. “Whomsoever believeth in Him should not perish…” One can profess belief all they like, but it merely makes one a professing sinner. We must read, believe and obey the whole counsel of God.
“Whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it” Mt.16:25. You can believe you’re going to lose something or you can actually do it. How do we do it? “We are debtors, not to the flesh [the old man-sin-satan], to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [kill] the deeds of the body, ye shall live” Romans 8:12-13. This call to action is specified in Col. 3:5-9, “Mortify therefore your members [your five senses] which are upon the earth [I John 2:16]; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience; In which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of the mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.”
There’s some truth to the story of the race between the tortoise and the hare. In order to win the checkered flag, it isn’t being a speed demon, but rather staying on course to the finish line. It’s having faith and confidence in moving forward in the right direction. A movement of God follows directions. “Enter ye in at the straight gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” Mt. 7:13. Bad leadership leads those who don’t have eyes to see; crashing into a ditch, crashing into the walls of their mind’s eye. They may have the appearance of largesse, adoration and momentum, but they are losers.
“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” Gal. 2:20. This verse does not tell us to crucify ourselves. It says we have been crucified. What a miserable wretch it is, who tries to do what has already been done. When Christ died, it was my death also. His was a death to sin. Likewise, it is the Christian’s death to sin. The blood was shed for what I had done (sins). The Cross crucified the sinner with Christ. If we try to crucify ourselves, then we say that we can do it ourselves and dismiss the work of Christ. It is pride to say I will do it myself. That’s like a car saying I will move without gas.
Our only deliverance from our old man in Adam came by the blood on the Cross. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offers Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works, to serve the Living God” Heb. 9:14. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” Heb. 9:22. By believing in what was done for us, we do what is required of us. “For this is the blood of My covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” Mt. 26:28. But, most of churchianity cannot see how that blood is applied to our lives. The absurdity is a preacher holding up a bar of soap and telling their congregation that if they want to clean their hands, they’ll have to believe on the bar of soap. We know that you have to apply the soap with water and scrubbing in order to get your hands clean. And so it is with the blood. It has to be applied to our lives.
I know this balance between faith and works can be confusing if key elements are left out of the picture. This is mostly the fault of the modern judeo-Christian churches that only want the sheeple to feel good about themselves with a steady diet of milk (of the Word). “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:20.
The works which we are commanded to do are summed up in three words informatively consolidated in Romans 6:6, 11, and 13. But before we read these verses, we must emphasize that we become overcomers through Christ who has already overcome. It is Christ who lives in us. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” I Cor. 3:16. And here’s the warning for every White person who doesn’t quite grasp the gravity of life and death, “If any man defileth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (v. 17). The old man must either die now in this life or he will perish at the Judgment Seat of Christ and lose his inheritance, which is his reward, i.e. our glorified bodies of eternal life. When Christ was raised from the dead, He was the prototype for resurrection, which we have also. We are active responders to God’s truth and power in us. We were never created to be initiators or gods. Therefore, we must move away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil with its forbidden fruit manifested in the old man and move towards the tree of life with its fruits of the Holy Spirit. There can be no resurrection without death.
When Paul said he had been crucified, he stated it as a life-changing past event. He expressed a true resurrection in his own lifetime saying, “He [Jesus] died for all [of the White race], that those who should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” II Cor. 5:15. What does this mean practically? Some people like to invent doctrines which point to ungodly extremes in order to satisfy their secular rules of life under the guise of religion. This is living for ‘self’ in order to control the flesh. Can you control a bull in a china shop without breaking one dish? This is how the old man deals with the impossible. The flesh cannot be controlled, it must be crucified!
Looking at the crucifixion, our Lord’s hands (wrists) and feet were nailed to the Cross. What about your hands and feet? Are they controlling you? Do you go to such extremes for the love of God that God hates what you do? “Hands that shed innocent blood” or “Feet that be swift in running to mischief” Prov. 6:17, 18. Do your physical five senses cause you to do things you know you shouldn’t? Mt. 5:28 goes to the source of adultery by saying, “Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Let the dirty old man in your head who has never behaved in this manner cast the first stone. For the Law puts an adulterer to death.
We are born with the sin nature from Adam’s fall and adulterate God’s Word/Law through the self justification of strange gods causing sin. These ornaments of a wicked imagination are the blindfold of understanding the root of the dilemma. Therefore, it behooves each and every one of us to remove the log from our own eyes before we seize upon a brother’s minute sliver. Take care of your own filthy rags… take up your own cross.
Crucifying the flesh is not just immersing your body in water, observing dates on the calendar, pronouncing sacred names, waking up early to attend church or any other number of traditional hoops someone makes you jump through, which elevates Babel/confusion and spoils the Kingdom. There is no magic in words or rituals, only the illusion of power. Jer. 16:12 speaks about this issue going from bad to worse, “And ye have done worse than your fathers; for behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto Me. Therefore will I cast you out of this land.” The reason for God’s wrath is that they worshipped themselves. Today, a great number of our people are in la la land. There are no more geographic areas to cast us off to, but “Because they received not the love of the truth… God shall send them strong delusion” II Thes. 2:10-11. The preceding verses, in some Bibles like the KJV, are a testimony to the delusional sin nature of evil found vicariously in the scapegoat god “Satan”, a so called supernatural fallen angel, whereby the fallen sin nature of man is subordinated or even ridiculed by a priesthood of fear mongers. The old man gets a free pass and spiritual maturity is stunted
