The first step in overcoming an obstacle is identifying the nature of the obstacle. I used to believe that even though I was a Christian, there was an internal war going on between my old nature and my new nature. I believed that there were two parts of me, one part of me that wanted to follow God and another part of me that did not. I believed that this was the source of the battle. But the Bible teaches that our old self was crucified and that we are no longer slaves to sin (Rom. 6:6, Gal. 2:20), we are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), and that we have a new self (Eph. 4:24 and Col. 3:10). If we as Christians are no longer slaves to sin and we are made new, then what exactly is the nature of that continued “battle” or ”struggle with sin” that many people describe as a regular part of their Christian life? How can we properly interpret our experiences in light of the biblical teaching concerning sin?
Adam and Eve: before and after deception
Adam and Eve lived in perfect relationship with God and dependence upon Him. They trusted Him to lead them, and to give them what they needed, and to rightly judge all things. They had a human nature with a free will. They were free to choose sin but they did not have an inborn inclination toward sin. Sin is anything that is a corruption of the way that we were designed by God to function. Adam and Eve trusted God to tell them what was good and life-giving, and believed and obeyed Him. They were dependent upon Him for Life, and life was good (Gen. 1-2).
But even though Adam and Eve did not have a sin nature, they did have the ability to be deceived, and when they believed the lies that they were told by the serpent, they became deceived and everything changed (Gen. 3:13). When they were deceived into believing that they could find Life outside of a relationship with God, they experienced a type of death. This death was not physical death, but spiritual death, which is the separation from the Life source that God was to them.
They experienced a corruption in their nature. They received the knowledge of good and evil and with it the task and propensity of judging between good and evil for themselves. This led to death because they were not designed for this role (Gen. 3:7,10-11, 22). They were never meant to judge themselves or each other. They were not made with the capacity to judge accurately, and they were never meant to write the rules about how life was to be lived. They were designed to be dependent upon God and His good and just direction, provision, and leadership.
Sin Nature
Everyone born after Adam and Eve inherited a sin nature (Rom. 5:12). A sin nature is an inclination to rely on oneself for life and defining good and evil, rather than living in dependence on God. Their sin nature ruled them. They were not able to recognize their need for God as a necessary part of their flourishing as human beings (1 Cor. 2:14, 2 Cor. 4:4, Rom. 6:20; 8:7). Living apart from God led to death. They could not see the slavery and the death that it was bringing (Rom 6:20, 7:5, 8:6-8). Death manifested in their relationships and their view of themselves. But most of all death manifested in the empty ache that results from having needs that only God can meet but not having them met by Him. They cut themselves off from the source of Life and Truth. They ceased to function according to their created design. They experienced guilt, shame, anxiety, doubt, worry and fear.
Rescued!
But, God sent His Son to rescue us (John 3:16, 1 Jn. 4:9:10). Our belief in, and acceptance of Jesus’ death on the cross, rescued us from our slavery to sin (Rom. 10:9-10). We are now free to follow the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:12-13). We are no longer blind, we are no longer deceived, and we are no longer dead (Luke 4:18; John 9:25; Rom. 6:9-10; Titus 3:3-5). We are no longer under judgement; and shame no longer has any place in our lives (Rom. 8:1; 10:11).
Salvation is a rescue from deception! Our eyes are opened to our broken, sinful, ruined state and our need for constant dependence upon God (John 3:21). We recognize our need for God’s love, grace and acceptance as the source of our identity and security. We recognize our inability to return ourselves back to our original design without God’s transforming power. As Christians we don’t become “good,” we see the truth that we are not and never will be on our own. We are still full of sin because we still have lies buried deep within us that drive us to live in ways that do not bring Life. These lies need to be uncovered with God’s transforming power. This process of sanctification will take the rest of our life.
Finally the answer to the Question: What is the nature of our struggle with sin?
When we accept the gift of salvation we are restored to our true nature, one that is dependant upon God as the source of Life. But just like Adam and Eve, we are susceptible to deception. Satan continues his pattern of deceiving humans with lies concerning how we as humans are to relate to our Creator God, but we are aware of Satan’s schemes now, and we don’t have to believe him. We have the ability to sin but that doesn’t necessitate a sin nature. So, I think a better description of my continued struggle is not a struggle with my sin nature, but with the lies that I believe. We are in a spiritual battle. Satan’s weapons are lies. The Bible calls him the father of lies (John. 8:44; James 4:7). First Peter 5:8-9 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him.” And we are told in Ephesians 6:11 to “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” As we defeat lies, we fight evil and begin to thrive in life.
One of the major tasks of spiritual growth is to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the lies that I believe and replace them with truth (Jn. 8:32, 2 Pet. 1:19, Jn. 17:17, Rom. 12:2, Eph. 4:17-21). God doesn’t just change us into fully flourishing human beings overnight. He is not interested in outward behavior. God wants to transform our hearts through the long process of uncovering lies and revealing truth. This is an enormous and complicated undertaking. I have been collecting lies since the day I was born. The web of lies that I believe are all tangled up together, and each lie leads to the next. It is difficult to discern where one lie ends and the next lie begins. And some of the lies are buried under the lie that I don’t believe them. This army of lies that I believe are the reason that as a Christian I continue to struggle with sin. This is the part of my salvation that I have to work out (Phil. 2:12-13). As I allow God to show me the lies that I believe, together we weed them out one by one. This will be an ongoing process of growth throughout my entire life.
It was belief in a lie that brought sin into the human race. It was belief in Jesus that freed the human race from judgment and slavery to sin. And it is our beliefs that continue to lead us to either death or life. See Romans 5:17, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” When Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent they embraced a whole litany of untruths concerning the character of God, how we are to relate to Him, and our own identity.
The list below is a small sample of the lies that Adam and Eve believed, and we too are deceived into believing:
I can be God of my own life
I don’t need any outside Source, I can be independent of The Source
I can trust myself more than God
I am a more reliable source of truth than God is
Life can be found in sources other than God, I can gain life apart from God
God might hold back things from me that are good
God might not have my best interests in mind, He might not be good
I need to experience things for myself before I know that God can be trusted
I can get knowledge and wisdom apart from The Source
I can judge good and evil
Lies that we believe about God:
God only loves me when we I am good
God is angry at me when I am bad
God leaves me when I am bad
God does not accept me when I am bad
God rewards good behavior with good circumstances
Lies that we believe about ourselves:
I am bad
I must earn my worthiness
My actions determine my worth
I am unlovable
Lies we believe about relationships:
I do not need relationships
I am the judge of others
Other people can fill my need for love
Lies about life:
If I am good at things, then I have value
If I accomplish things for God than I am acceptable
If I am good than I can earn favor in God’s eyes
If I am successful than I am valuable and worthy
