How is it Removed?
The Root of Sin can be removed. PerfectChurch believes this, and knows this to be true.
Because of Christ, the true Christian will do this. How? By seeking God through studying his Word, by praying in tongues and fasting, and by obeying what he speaks through the Holy Ghost.
Only by Perfection. By overcoming all sin and the effects of sin.
Gathering Evidence~
We were getting very discouraged. She had said that the Lord had removed her root of sin. Would he do that for us? We had unearthed lots of evidence about this root and the havoc it causes, but what did it all mean? suddenly my husband remembered another important clue: “Consider this,” he said, “she taught us Scriptures where God often compared men to trees.”
We began to dig deeper.
Clue 4
Truly Men Are As Trees
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
How Is The Root Removed?
It would almost seem hopeless for us flesh creatures. Every one of us is born with this root of sin, which is incapable of doing anything but growing and producing sin. We are servants of sin, ®1 1® Romans 6:16, 20 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. and the end result of sin is death; ®2 2® Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; so it would seem that we are doomed.
Think about an apple tree root. No matter what kind of soil it is planted in, no matter what kind of nutrients it receives, what will come forth from this root will be apples. The amount of apples or the quality of them may be affected, but they will still be apples, not oranges or anything else. Likewise the root of sin, no matter how “good” a person is, or how much righteousness it feeds on, can not produce anything other than sin. So as long as this root remains, we CAN NOT be totally free of sin. We can only try to corral its growth and limit its fruit bearing; but we can’t completely eliminate it. The root must be removed. Paul in Romans speaks in great frustration about how he can not do the good things he wants to do, and he does do the bad things that he doesn’t want to do, because of (the root of) sin that dwells in his flesh. ®3
3® Romans 7:14-24 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
There is a remedy for this misery. God can remove the root of sin from us, if we desire it with all our hearts and are willing to go through all of what it takes to eliminate it. He uses the Holy Ghost to prepare us for the removal. The root must be weakened and shrunken so that it slides out easily without causing damage. The ground itself must be softened and loose so the root won’t break when it is pulled. The Holy Ghost functions in our flesh ‘ground’ much like an herbicide works on a plant to restrict its growth and weaken it so that it can be pulled out and destroyed. If the ground is hard and dry, the root will break off rather than slip out, and it will of course, sprout up again. If the root is massive and spread out all over instead of small and wilted, pulling it out will cause great upheaval in all the surrounding ground and may damage any good plants that are growing there too.
The ingredients of this “herbicide” are 1) The Word of God, which is sharper than a sword to cut through our flesh to reveal what is in the deceiving, wicked heart, so that it can be cleaned out. ®4 4® Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 2) Prayer, which develops that close relationship between our spirits and God. Our prayers should focus on God’s will for us, and utilize tongues, which is when our spirit prays directly when we don’t even know what to pray for. ®5,6,7 5® Romans 6:16, 20 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
6® Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
7® Matthew 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 3) Fasting, which humbles us and helps us conquer the flesh. Fasting allows the chains of wickedness that imprison us to be undone. It helps cut off the flow of nutrients to that fleshly root. ®8 8® Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 4) Ministering, which is using the gifts of the Holy Ghost [Word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues]. We are entrusted with these precious gifts to work with the other members in the Body of Christ so that all are prepared for the kingdom of God. ®9,10,11 9® Jeremiah 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
10® I Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
11® I Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 5) Fire, which purifies by destroying all that is not pure. It takes the form of chastisement, which is a painful fiery trial of the flesh, and really shrinks that wicked root. ®12,13 12® Malachi 3:1-3 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
13® I Corinthians 3:13-16 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 6) Obedience, in everything that God asks of you, just like Jesus, who demonstrated the ultimate act of obedience when He died on the cross. This destroys flesh desires, thus weakening the root. ®14
14® Romans 6:6, 12-13 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
When the ‘herbicide’ has done its work; the root of sin is shrunken and weak, and the fleshly ground surrounding it is loose and soft, and God has determined that you are ready, he will remove the root of sin. Sinlessness is now possible!
Now that we have dealt with the removal of the Root of Sin,
What about its effects?
Getting rid of the root of sin is not the same as getting rid of sin itself. Having the root of sin removed is not the end of the matter, but rather, it is just the beginning. It makes it possible to remove sin from our lives.
How this root is fed and how it grows in us during our lives is going to make a difference, not only in how difficult it is to remove it, but also in what happens after it is removed. As we go through our lives, the root may grow into a small vine, a plant, or a huge tree heavy with fleshly fruits. The size and amount and types of fleshly fruit are completely individual. One person may have an abundance of “lying” or “pride” fruit, but only a little bit of “anger” and no “stealing” at all. Another might be full of “envy, anger, hatred, backbiting, bitterness, and pride”, but very little “lying”. And yet another might just have tons of nearly every fleshly fruit there is. So when the root of sin is removed, each individual’s flesh fruit tree, plant or vine, whatever had grown up, is now uprooted, and whatever flesh fruits were still on it are laying on the ground. So there is still work to do. We have to get rid of all those rotten fruits, because if we don’t, they are going to root themselves in the ground of our hearts and grow into plants themselves. ®15 15® Matthew 12:43-45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. In a natural garden, if you uproot a plant, for instance a tomato plant, and it still has tomatoes on it and you just leave it lay there, those rotting tomatoes are going to take root and new tomato plants are going to come up. In fact, one tomato will become many tomato plants. That’s why it is so important to get rid of these fleshly fruits. Whatever you leave will come back even stronger than before. It’s like the story in the Bible of the man who has the unclean spirit cast out, but the man fails to fill the empty space with righteousness, and the spirit returns to the man with 7 more spirits. The man winds up in worse shape than at the beginning, because he didn’t do what he needed to do. ®16
16® Hebrews 12:14-15 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Now remember, having the root of sin out is only the beginning of the matter. Just like there is no way for us to have the root of sin removed until we have the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, it is also not possible for us to become perfect until the root of sin is removed. The emphasis is on the BECOME. It is a process, and the removal of the root of sin is the first step. Now we have to get rid of this fruit to keep it from rooting itself. It requires action on our part. We can not sit around and wait for someone to lay hands on us and remove the root of sin, neither can we sit around and expect someone to pray away all these rotten flesh fruits that need to be taken care of. We have to do something. Ephesians tells us that WE have to put off the old man and put on the new man; that we have to put away lying, steal no more if we stole, put away all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking and malice. It says we have to be kind and forgive one another. ®17 17® Ephesians 4:22-32 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. In another place, it says to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. In other words stay away from them. ®18 18® Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. And Romans tells us to cast off the works of darkness, to put on the armor of light, and to walk honestly. ®19 19® Romans 13:12-14 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. We have to kill and destroy every flesh fruit. ®20 20® Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Always, always, we have things to DO.
Also, that herbicide of the Holy Ghost, is very effective at destroying rotten fleshly fruit. Remember the active ingredients: 1) The Word of God, which is beneficial for teaching and correcting us, so that any thing that is unlike God may be done away with. ®21 21® II Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2) Prayer, keeping us in such close contact with God that our hearts and minds can not waver. ®22 22® Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 3) Fasting, literally starving the ground, so no fleshly nutrients aid those fruits in rooting. ®23 23® Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. 4) Ministering, God’s own special gifts to us; they must be exercised in order to strengthen the inner spirit man. ®24 24® Ephesians 4:11-13 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 5) Fire, the chastening which yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. ®25 25® Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. And 6) Obedience, the complete submission of our flesh will to the will of God. ®26
26® Hebrews 5:8-9 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
But we have to put the herbicide on. We have to read. We have to pray. We have to fast. We have to minister. We have to submit to that chastising fire. And we must be obedient to anything and everything that God asks of us. Doing this will not only destroy these fleshly rotten fruits, but will also nurture our root of righteousness. ®27 27® Proverbs 12:3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. The root of righteousness needs to grow and flourish and take over the garden. ®28 28® Colossians 2:6-7 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. It needs to get so strong and so large that it can choke out any thing else that would try to grow. ®29 29® Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. We need to be rooted and built up in Jesus, free from sin and the fruits sin has produced; perfectly bearing only good and holy fruit. ®30,31
30® Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
31® Colossians 3:12-14 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Click here to view Redemption Interactive
View the Redemption Tiles
to read about all of the fruits of the Spirit.
Learn how Obedience is the Answer in section 4