Why You Do Not Have an "Old Nature" Or "Old Man" (So You Don"t Need To "Sta
Today I'm attacking Christian Lie #20: "You must starve the old nature and feed the new one.
" Do you still have an old sin nature now that you're a Christian? If it exists, then is your job now as a Christian to "starve it" more than you "feed" your new nature? Read this article now for the answers to these important questions and more! Let me ask you a question...
How can you feed a DEAD man? How can you fight something that is already DEAD? You can't! As Steve puts it, most Christians believe they are Spiritually schizophrenic - thinking they have both a new nature and an old nature, when nothing could be further from the truth...
This example is spouted in Churches all around, trying to justify spiritual disciplines like Bible reading, quiet times, prayer, witnessing, etc as ways to "feed" the new nature and "starve" the old, sinful nature.
But the problem is...
It is a LIE that we have to starve this supposed "old nature" and feed our "new nature" of being in Christ, because the TRUTH is that in order to receive Christ's life through salvation, our old nature had to be put to death first.
You were put into Christ (and that includes being crucified with Him!) To the finite mind, this concept is hard to understand, but because time was created by God it has no dominion over Him.
So when you accepted Christ at salvation, you were spiritually put into Christ and your old nature was crucified with Him on that cross (the death of your old nature) and when He was resurrected, you were resurrected also-in Him and Him in you.
You were "born again" with His new nature.
The old once ceases to exist...
Paul explains this clearly in many verses (the message, emphasis mine): Romans 6:6-11: Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life - no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection.
We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end.
Never again will death have the last word.
When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us.
From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word.
You are dead to sin and alive to God.
That's what Jesus did.
As Paul said, "could it be any clearer?" Colossians 3:3-4: Your old life is dead.
Your new life, which is your real life-even though invisible to spectators-is with Christ in God.
He is your life.
When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too-the real you, the glorious you.
Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
Even more...
Romans 6:1-5: So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism.
When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace-a new life in a new land! 3-5 That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means.
When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus.
Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country.
And again...
Galatians 2:19-21: What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work.
So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man.
Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it.
I identified myself completely with him.
Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ.
My ego is no longer central.
It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God.
Christ lives in me.
The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace.
If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.
" So if we don't have a sin, or "old" nature anymore.
What is it we struggle against? I explained this more clearly on my blog post on sin, but I'll briefly mention it here...
We struggle against the flesh, our habits, our methods of getting our needs met apart from Christ.
Paul talks about the "indwelling sin" that keeps tripping him up, fighting against who he really IS - in his spirit in Romans 7.
But make no mistake, you only have ONE nature now...
and that nature is Christ.
The key, as Paul shares in Romans 7, is not to struggle against an old nature that's already dead...
but to focus on Christ and what He has already accomplished and will accomplish through you in the future.
" Do you still have an old sin nature now that you're a Christian? If it exists, then is your job now as a Christian to "starve it" more than you "feed" your new nature? Read this article now for the answers to these important questions and more! Let me ask you a question...
How can you feed a DEAD man? How can you fight something that is already DEAD? You can't! As Steve puts it, most Christians believe they are Spiritually schizophrenic - thinking they have both a new nature and an old nature, when nothing could be further from the truth...
This example is spouted in Churches all around, trying to justify spiritual disciplines like Bible reading, quiet times, prayer, witnessing, etc as ways to "feed" the new nature and "starve" the old, sinful nature.
But the problem is...
It is a LIE that we have to starve this supposed "old nature" and feed our "new nature" of being in Christ, because the TRUTH is that in order to receive Christ's life through salvation, our old nature had to be put to death first.
You were put into Christ (and that includes being crucified with Him!) To the finite mind, this concept is hard to understand, but because time was created by God it has no dominion over Him.
So when you accepted Christ at salvation, you were spiritually put into Christ and your old nature was crucified with Him on that cross (the death of your old nature) and when He was resurrected, you were resurrected also-in Him and Him in you.
You were "born again" with His new nature.
The old once ceases to exist...
Paul explains this clearly in many verses (the message, emphasis mine): Romans 6:6-11: Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life - no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection.
We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end.
Never again will death have the last word.
When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us.
From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word.
You are dead to sin and alive to God.
That's what Jesus did.
As Paul said, "could it be any clearer?" Colossians 3:3-4: Your old life is dead.
Your new life, which is your real life-even though invisible to spectators-is with Christ in God.
He is your life.
When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too-the real you, the glorious you.
Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
Even more...
Romans 6:1-5: So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism.
When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace-a new life in a new land! 3-5 That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means.
When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus.
Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country.
And again...
Galatians 2:19-21: What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work.
So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man.
Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it.
I identified myself completely with him.
Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ.
My ego is no longer central.
It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God.
Christ lives in me.
The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace.
If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.
" So if we don't have a sin, or "old" nature anymore.
What is it we struggle against? I explained this more clearly on my blog post on sin, but I'll briefly mention it here...
We struggle against the flesh, our habits, our methods of getting our needs met apart from Christ.
Paul talks about the "indwelling sin" that keeps tripping him up, fighting against who he really IS - in his spirit in Romans 7.
But make no mistake, you only have ONE nature now...
and that nature is Christ.
The key, as Paul shares in Romans 7, is not to struggle against an old nature that's already dead...
but to focus on Christ and what He has already accomplished and will accomplish through you in the future.
Source...