Then Why Do We Sin?

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In my last post, The Two Nature Myth, I said that man has no nature of his own.  He is simply a container and takes on the nature of whomever it is that indwells him.  There are only two choices – God or the not-god.  If we contain Christ, then we take on the nature of Christ.  If this is so, the question we struggle with, admittedly myself also, is why do we still sin?  As always, the only thing we can do is rely on scripture.  This much we know – we are:

“. . . predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, . . .” (Rom 8:29)

We love verses like this, but the truth is, most of the time we sure don’t feel like we are conformed to anything remotely holy.  Paul says forget feelings and:

“. . . reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 6:11)

Count it to be so.  That is easy to say but we know it takes a lot of faith to dismiss all the appearances (and feelings) that seem to say the opposite.  Like Abraham, we have to call into existence those things that be not as though they were (Rom 4:17).  Just say (and believe) it’s so.

Jesus said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge the righteous judgment.” (John 17:24)

Not so easy to do, believe that we are conformed to the image of Christ regardless of appearances, is it?  So why do we feel this way?  There a few reasons.  Mostly it is the misunderstanding that most of us have of the difference between soul and spirit (see  Dividing Asunder Between Soul and Spirit).  But we also need to know that though we are now in Christ, not much else has changed.  We live in a cursed world:

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Rom 8:22-23)

Our spirits are redeemed, but our soul and body are still mired here on earth.  And though we may be dead to sin, sin is most certainly not dead to us.  Satan is still roaming around seeking whom he may devour and has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.  He may not be working from the inside anymore, but he is equally talented working the outside.  Let’s take a look at what I am talking about:

In the model above, the center is our spirit.  It’s fixed, immutable, unchangeable.  That is where our spirit is joined to Christ and the two are one (1 Cor 6:17).  The circumference is our body and soul, the part of us exposed to this fallen world.

Satan, who knows us better than we do, works on the appetites of the body through temptation.  Temptation is not sin.  It’s natural.  Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin.

Also, it is important to know there are no appetites of the body that are inherently evil.  God put them all there to be “rightly” used.  He didn’t make a mistake.  We are well engineered.  But Satan knows how to pull them out of shape, what buttons to push, and tries to stretch them with the hope that we are lured and enticed enough to misuse them and give birth to sin. (James 1:15)

If we fall for that, we sin.  Nevertheless, that doesn’t make us any less joined to Christ.  The only way out is to recognize who we are in Christ and realize it is only Him who is able.

Once we recognize who we are and that we don’t have to respond, it will snap back just like a rubber band.  And if we should sin, we recognize it as such, confess it and let it go. Satan loves it when we beat up on ourselves and gladly helps you out with the flogging because that quenches the Spirit more than anything.  On the other hand, God has forgotten.  You’re the only one left who remembers.  So, if you start feeling like this:

Rom 7:²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Remember the answer is . . .

²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Count this to be so and see what happens!