Once again (About the 10th time actually) we have the problem.
Jim said ............
"
could ever stay a slave or have this old sin nature as a ruling power over us ?"
Here is the problem in a nut shell
.........."I have never said that".
Again, here is Jim's words.............
"
Since His blood set us free of this sin nature - well to stay a slave to it would simply be a sin in the act of not taking God at His word".
I did not say that!!!!!
Again, allow me to say clearly what my position on this is Jim. And I agree with my brother. We are not angry at each other but instead have deep respect for each others point of view on the things we talk about.
So then........For the truly converted, saved people, to continue to live in known sin is not an option.
WHY????
Because our conversion resulted in a completely new nature, our desire is to no longer live in sin. However, it does not require a doctors degree in theology to know that we all still sin, but instead of wallowing in it as we once did, we now hate it and wish to be delivered from it. The idea of “taking advantage” of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf by continuing to live sinfully is unthinkable. If a person believes himself to be a Christian and still desires to live the old, sinful life, he has reason to doubt his salvation.
Romans 6:11-15 declares........
“In the same way, count yourselves 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 evil desires".
So lets bring this to an end and allow all of us to put theology into practical use.
No one is going to convince me that every single human being does not have the old flesh and sin nature temp him in some way on a regular basis. The thing that causes new Christians to struggle the most is the conflict between their new identity and their old identity. They think that once they are saved, they will no longer battle the desires of the flesh and will live a perfect life. That is untrue; in fact, the battle can feel stronger because before becoming a Christian, there was no struggle. That is reality!!!!!
The last thing the devil wants is for a person to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Once a person does that, the only thing the devil can do is dangle temptations and lies in his face. If Satan can cause a person to believe that he or she is failing and will never be good enough, then he has achieved his purpose: to keep a believer from living in the fullness of God's grace.
The Apostle Paul struggled with this on a daily basis. In Romans, he describes his inner struggle perfectly. I can say it no better, so I will quote the entire passage.
Romans 7:15-20:.............
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it,
but it is the sin living in me that does it."
Now we can come up with all kinds of ideas and opinions and thoughts and denominational teaching but the passage in Romans 7 is either true or it is false. You can make it say anything that your heart desires but there it is in the written Word.
Paul is saying that even though he has accepted Christ and is actively serving Him, he still battles with his flesh.
That is the actual words. We are called as believers to trample on that flesh and die to it daily. However, we will fail at times and, as Paul says in the next chapter..........
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
. It feels so real that we can be forgiven for saying we literally saw Him.
