We want to look at some of the benefits that come from obedience to 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." There is a direct connectionbetween our joy and mortifying the deeds of the body. John Owen said: "Mortification not only bears a cause and effect relationship to our joy, but it works effectively to bring it to pass. The vigour of our spiritual lives is not possible apart from mortification."
It now becomes clear; death to sin brings a joyful life. Again I must stress that this is not talking about salvation. You are saved by grace alone through faith alone. Your works will never save you. However, after salvation, there is a direct connection between putting to death sin in your life and receiving the blessings of God. That does make sense doesn't it? If you had a child constantly disobey you and then all of a sudden approach you and ask for some money to participate in some activity your response might very well be no because of their recent actions. Candidly, you don't want to reward bad behavior and I think God is the same way. He does not want to reward bad (sinful) behavior in your life with His blessings of joy.
So our proper response to this is to allow the Holy Spirit to probe our lives to determine what needs to be killed. Embrace this and do not run from it. If you cannot honestly think of anything that needs to be dispensed with, ask someone close to you like a spouse, friend or fellow church attendee. You probably will not to go too far to find someone to give you some possible areas that need work. Remember that incredible joy is around the corner waiting for you.
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