Dealing with the Sin Nature

Romans 6:14 tells us quite plainly that "sin no longer has dominion over us because we are not under the law but under grace." It's a pretty powerful verse. The question that it raises in my mind is how did we get to where we are today? How is it possible for any New Covenant believer to think that they are still dealing with a sin nature? The answer may shock you.

We just recently had a discussion within our PBC Family about this very thing. We talked about what it means to be "born again" and "in Christ." Through this type of discussion one must deal with the ideas behind a sin nature because of what has been taught for thousands of years.

Where did we get the idea of a "sin nature"? Well...most people will tell you that it comes directly from the Bible. They will quote the Apostle Paul and what he told the church in Romans 5. However, we would be wrong in our assumption. The person who gained the most credit for the theology behind a sin nature was Augustine, an early Christian theologian, who believed that every person possessed a nature that was totally depraved. He cited Paul's letter to the church of Rome and Psalm 51 where David said he was conceived in iniquity. What most people don't know is that he was also trying to deal with his own sin issues in the process. What is remarkable about this whole discussion is that when you research what was going on in history at the time that the early church rejected this type of thinking. That's right folks, the idea of total depravity actually has its roots in Gnosticism - a form of religion that Apostles argued against in their writing to the early church.

How did we get here? While I have a couple of different opinions on the matter (much of which I will keep to myself), it is my belief that we haven't fully embrace all that Jesus accomplished through His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. We have failed to see the whole of humanity in Christ. We haven't embrace His finished work. And even some of the greatest thinkers in Christian theology missed out on what Jesus meant when He talked about being "born again."

Believe me, I am not elevating myself to the level of these thinkers. I'm simply trying to convey what I believe the Lord has revealed to us through Scripture. Jesus becoming the Last Adam - the end of an old creation - and the Firstborn of a New Creation has changed everything. I talked about some of this yesterday. It is necessary for each of us to actually get our Bibles, allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, and to actually think for ourselves.

Some of those who support the idea of a sin nature will actually say that even believers possess two different natures. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some bad translations of the word "flesh" have caused this problem along with the lack of appropriating all that Christ has accomplished. The only way that you will ever break this chain of thinking is to discover for yourself what it means to be in Christ.

Based upon all that Jesus did, along with the fact that you are in Him and He is in you, you are no longer dealing with a sin nature. What you are dealing with is what John calls a part of the world: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Jesus faced these same temptations when He was in the world. He did what the first Adam did not - He overcame them. He was obedient unto death. He faced the glaring problems within humanity and came out victorious so that He could usher in a new creation. A creation that bears His nature rather than the nature of the first Adam.

If you hold to the idea that all of mankind carried the sin nature of Adam (which...by the way is rejected by most Jews), there is no way you can carry that idea over to those who were born after the resurrection of Christ. Jesus changed EVERYTHING!!!

Here's Romans 5: 12-19:
"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the One who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for fall men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

You don't have to deal with a sin nature because it no longer exists. Now...you may have to deal with some of the habits that you created when you didn't know Christ but there is grace to overcome those things. If you do fail, and we sometimes do, according to John we have an Advocate with the Father. He instructed the church to confess their sins and that God would be faithful AND just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My friends, we have the righteousness of Christ. The more we are able to see ourselves through our identity in Him the less we will struggle with the other areas of life.