October 13

because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. — Rom 8:7 BSB

The flesh is incurably bad. It can never be improved or made subject to God’s law. No amount of education, training, or example can change its nature. Whether you treat it kindly or harshly, its nature will remain the same—corrupt and rebellious.

It’s like trying to tame a wild hawk. You may capture it when it’s young and try to train it to act like a dove, but eventually, its wild nature will show itself, attacking the hand that tries to tame it. The hawk remains a hawk, just as the carnal mind remains hostile to God.

The only remedy for human nature is not to improve it but to put it to death and receive the divine nature in its place. God doesn’t rehabilitate the old man; He crucifies it with Christ and creates a new person in Christ Jesus.