I Don’t Want to Go On the Cart! - March 23rd, 2014 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A familiar song, at least from my childhood, was “Ring around the rosy. Pocket full of posies. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down”. And at the last line, the circle of kids would drop to the ground giggling and laughing. What I did not know then, and perhaps you did not either, was that this song is based upon the Carters who traveled the streets collecting the bodies of those who died during the Black Plague. The Carters would put flowers in their pockets to drown out the stench of rotting corpses; the “pocket full of posies”. They would haul the cart full of dead people to a mass pit where the dead were burned, hence the “ashes, ashes”. And “We all fall down” was a grim reminder to the Carters that most of them were probably the next to die from the “Black Death”. However, I started wondering if everyone thrown on the cart was really dead. Is it possible that someone was thrown on the cart that was not quite dead? Would they not fight and kick and cling to life, crying out “I don’t want to go on the cart”? Would that not be the most miserable journey imaginable?

It is human nature to cling to life with every ounce of effort. A person who is controlled by their basic human nature will fight death every part of the journey. Oh sure, some who are despondent and without hope will take their own life, but even then the journey to that decision is wrought with agony and suffering. But for the most part, people just simply do not want to die, unless, of course, they believe that something glorious awaits them on the other side of death.

In the same way I wonder if this is why many people seem to resist the death of their sinful human nature. Maybe this is why some people who desire to become a Christian find living as a Christian so difficult. They want heaven, but they refuse to let go of the earth. There are certain things about their former life they will not let die. They want to stand with one foot in glory and one foot on earth. But trying to cling to heaven while holding on to earth will make for a very miserable life; a life that is not fully dead, but not fully alive as well.

Anyway, I started thinking about this as I read the end of Galatians 5 (Read Galatians 5:22-26). Right after Paul talks about the Fruit of the Spirit, he mentions that this “Fruit” is manifested (revealed) in the believer who has “nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there” (verse 24b). But so often we only nail those passions and desires we are willing to sacrifice. The others; the ones we still want to cling to, remain alive within us. And we become some of the most miserable Christians alive; nether fully dead, but neither fully alive as well. We are, among all the people alive on this earth, the ones to be pitied the most; for we are on a journey with Christ, and all the while the Holy Spirit constantly reminds us that our old nature is not quite dead.

In the list of nine attributes that are found in the person living by the Spirit (verse 25), it’s important to note that Paul calls these the Fruit, not Fruits. Unlike Spiritual Gifts which differ from believer to believer, this Fruit should be evident in all believers. And every part of this Fruit should be manifest (be revealed) within the life of a person who is controlled by the Spirit. We do not have the option of picking and choosing from the list. I cannot choose to be joyful but reject patience and gentleness. It’s all or nothing. To hold on to anything from my old life while trying to grasp parts of the new, I miss out on both ends. I am neither dead nor alive. And consequently I would probably the most miserable person you might meet; for I will live out the rest of my days never finding the love, joy, and peace I desire all because there is something within me that I refuse to let die.

In an ultimate sense, the Spirit is trying to transform us into an image of the Son. (Read 2 Corinthians 3:7-18). Most importantly, Paul says, “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18). This Fruit is, in reality, the very nature of Christ. Becoming Christ-like (Christian) simply means that a person who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has the opportunity to become like Him Spiritually. If this believer will allow the old nature to die, they will become more fully alive than they could possibly imagine; more fully alive than the kind of life the World has to offer. If this believer will allow the old to pass away, then the very character of the Lord is given them through this nine-fold Fruit. But if we never truly die; if we never truly surrender all of our old nature, how then can the Spirit reveal the character of the Lord within us and through us? We are not fully dead, but neither are we truly alive. We are left longing for love, joy and peace, but will never find it or feel it. We are left longing to know gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and kindness, but never to experience them or to see them lived out within us. We will have the desire to overcome but lack the self-control to master the very things in our life that we know are controlling us. We will be miserable because we are not equipped to become someone we are not.

This Fruit of the Spirit needs the proper soil in which to grow. And if a part of our old nature still needs to die; if we are not fully dead, then we cannot be made fully alive. So how can we nail the passions and desires of our sinful nature to the cross and crucify them there? We do this by honestly searching our heart, and confessing to the Lord that there are certain things in our life that do not belong. We do this by admitting to ourselves and to the Lord that we are indeed miserable. Our life is not as we had hoped or desired. We confess to the Father that we feel no love or joy or peace. We lack patience, kindness, and goodness. We are not faithful or gentle, and certainly lack self-control. We need to admit that we know nothing of the very things we desire within our life. We need to admit that we are not quite dead.

I know that allowing our sinful human nature to die can be a bit frightful. It’s awfully difficult to let go of something; to allow it to die. But I promise you; if you do, you will become more alive than you can possible imagine. You will begin to feel the transformation taking place within you that you have longed for all your life. But, it cannot and will not happen unless you allow the old self to die.