Understanding The Fallen Nature

Written by Daniel Moynihan

Once we break out of the bondage of thinking that our tradition or church we were raised in saves us, we are free to cling to the gospel truth that Jesus Christ is our all in all. At the same time, we need to continue to get answers to the issues and questions that plague us. This is a constant process. You may get discouraged along the way, though, as you continue to battle your sin nature.

We are born with a fallen nature into a fallen world. When we are saved or born again, we have a spirit that is regenerated to a relationship with the Father that we were always meant to have. Everything seems new because it is. We know that we have a saving relationship with Jesus, and as a result, we enjoy the things of God. We have a different feeling about other genuine Christians (we like them and want to be around them). The problem is our soul is still encased in this physical body of sin. It wants to sin—it is prone to sin. Look what the apostle Paul himself says about this:

"For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."—Romans 7:14–20 

Sound familiar? It is the battle we go through once we are truly born again. Prior to being saved, we may be morally annoyed or offended by what we do because we know we have done something wrong and it bothers us. Some call this our conscience. This can vary from culture to culture. What some cultures consider wrong is perfectly acceptable in another culture. But when we are born again, God writes His law upon our hearts. Our sinful nature wants nothing of it, and the war that Paul talks about in the scripture above begins.

We are all tempted by different things. What tempts you to sin may not tempt me. What tempts me may not be a temptation to you. It is extremely frustrating to me that things I don’t want to feel or be tempted by can still be a constant burden. Some Christians fight against their sin nature for a while and then simply give up. They see they have overcome some sins, but cannot fully overcome others. While it is true that Satan and demonic forces can possess a person and control him or her, this is not normally what is causing your battle with sin. Normally the root of any sin is within yourself. Think about whatever sin you are struggling with right now and trace it back to the root. It will always end at the root of self, every time. When the pattern of the particular sin you are struggling with started, it was by something you were coveting for yourself. You focused on it, practiced it, and then it became a persistent sin. It is pure selfishness.

The opposite of selfishness is forgetting about you and focusing on others. Isn’t that how Jesus lived His life down here on earth? Didn’t He leave His heavenly state to take on human form and suffer and die for us? He did that for us. Charles Spurgeon once traveled a long way to preach a sermon. He was quite well known at the time and many hundreds of people had gathered to hear the famous evangelist speak. When it was time for him to speak, he rose to the pulpit, looked out at the people, and shouted the word "others" and then sat down. That was it. He was done. Some people were infuriated. They had traveled many a mile to hear the famous preacher. As mad as they were at the time, I guarantee one thing—they never forgot the sermon.

If we focus on the Lord and others, we will be less prone to give in to our selfish sinful nature. If we do fall, the Bible gives us the remedy: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). As mentioned earlier in this article, some Christians give up the fight against some of their struggles with sin and reason that “it is just the way I am.” However, they end up being miserable as they are going against their new nature by giving in so easily to the old. They become a shell of the person they could be and are ineffective in the world for the Lord. If someone who is living in willful sin is not miserable, then I question whether or not he or she really had a conversion experience. 

The theological debate about whether someone can lose his or her salvation has been raging for centuries. I do not think the issue is whether one can lose it or not—it is whether they ever had it to begin with. So many people get emotional at an evangelical rally or they get pushed down the aisle to “accept Jesus” by overbearing friends or relatives. They respond thinking they need “fire insurance” from hell so they “accept Jesus” and go about living how they want. This is not conversion. Real conversion is being sorry for the state you are in and feeling totally helpless. You realize you cannot save yourself and need a Savior. Not only do you want your sins forgiven, but you want the power to change. Once you understand what Jesus did on the cross, you cast all of your hope on His atonement for your sins. Earlier in this article, I said we must come to the gospel truth that Jesus is our all in all. That means we trust Him for salvation and sanctification (the process by which we are changed to be more like Jesus). Too often, Christians trust Him for salvation but not sanctification. It is a daily process that continues until we die. I like the way King David put it in the Psalms: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23–24). 

From what I have come to understand, David was essentially saying that there was sin in his life he was aware of, but he also wanted to know about sin he was unaware of. He asked the Lord to show him what else he needed to repent of. He wanted to be perfect before God. By this time in his life he had come to realize that his purpose in life was to be what his Creator made him to be. He was determined to fulfill that purpose. David was called a man after God’s own heart. To me, his pattern above is a good one to follow. If you want to be serious about following the Lord, you need to confess any known sin and ask for His grace to repent. No one says it is easy, but by His grace all things are possible.

We only get into trouble when we believe we cannot change our ways or repent. Then after we confess and repent of all known sin, we ask God to point out sin we have overlooked or are unaware of, repenting of that as well. If we will do this on a regular basis we are in effect washing ourselves in the blood of Jesus, confessing our sins as 1 John 1:9 tells us to do, and asking Him for the grace to change. Fight back against your sin nature. When you are under severe temptation, stop what you are doing and start praying for someone’s salvation. Since you are focusing on someone else at this point and not yourself, the temptation will fade. If you are a church leader, you should strive to raise up ministry leaders who are even more effective than you are. This goes against the grain of what the world teaches. Again, think of how unselfish that sounds. Let’s say you are considered a really good Bible teacher. People really learn from you and grow because of the way you are able to teach. Now let’s say you are driven to raise up two or three people to be teachers who are way better than you are. If you are successful, doesn’t the kingdom of God flourish all the more? Now those two or three raise up two or three teachers even better than they. In this way the kingdom of God benefits. John the Baptist had it right when he said he must decrease and Jesus must increase. This is a kingdom principle. It squashes selfishness. 

Author Resource:- Daniel Moynihan has taught Bible studies in prison. He has preached sermons in various churches in New York. While serving as an associate pastor at Abundant Life Fellowship in Boonville, New York he also wrote and directed several plays for the church and community; all which had a Christ centered theme. Dan is the author of Change Agent and Dreamscape. Comments can be sent to Dan at his website danmoynihanbooks.com

Article From Christian Articles; Fallen Nature Category- http://www.christianarticles.net/rss.php?rss=75