Our Struggle Against Sin
By George Stroh
September 19, 2022
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter; Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:20,21)
The sin nature or what the Bible calls "the flesh" is constantly and progressively being deceived by Satan, the god of this world. He and his demonic forces work to deceive unregenerate people, even to the ultimate deception that what God's word clearly says is good is evil, and what His word clearly says is evil is good; For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6: 12)
Even born again believers, who have a new nature in Christ Jesus through faith in Him alone, continue to struggle with temptation and sin. As the prophet Jeremiah wrote; The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) The Apostle Paul wrote to the Church at Rome; For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh. sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:14,15) I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. (Romans 7:21)
Because believers have a new nature, we are no longer slaves to sin: Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:6,7) So what should be our winning strategy against temptation and sin? Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:11-13)
If you are a born again believer, all of your sins, past, present, and future have been forgiven in Christ Jesus. You are perfect before God because of the imputed righteousness of Christ and you are no longer a slave to sin. So now stop sinning, and bring your faith, obedience, and righteousness into conformity with your new perfect nature and position in Christ.
Maranatha!
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