This article has been birthed out of my desire to find out what is really true about Christians in regards to sin and our natures. I’ve heard so many different accounts of the power that sin has over believers from none to irresistible that it’s difficult to know where to stand. Then, of course, there are my own struggles over the last decade with various temptations and seasons of giving in and seasons of not giving in. I recently went to a Christian school hosted by John Crowder where he focused heavily on the death of our old man and our freedom from sin. I came back determined to figure out the truth. Although I love John Crowder, I always want to check out what people are saying to see what is true and what isn’t.

From reading this article you should have an understanding of where your battle with sin actually lies and what the cross has actually done for you. This will help us in our struggles with sin, because if we feel the situation is hopeless than we won’t fight very hard to resist.

Romans 6-8 (see also Col 2:10-15)

There are various places in Paul’s writings where he talks about these issues but he lays it out so neatly in Romans that I’ll focus there. It’s hard to summarize Romans 6 and 8 without quoting the entire chapters, but I will do my best. Chapter 6 starts in baptism. We are baptized into Christ’s death. This is where we are united with his work on the cross. Here our old man is crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed and we might no longer be slaves to sin (also Gal 5:24). Whoever has died, which is Christ and those baptized into him, is set free from sin. And having been united with Christ in his death we are certain to be united with his resurrection. Therefore, we are to consider ourselves dead to sin but alive to God. We are no longer IN sin or IN the flesh but IN Christ.

This being the case we are not to let sin exercise rule in our mortal bodies. Wait a minute. I thought we were dead to sin? I thought our old man had been crucified with Christ? So here is the kicker. Our bodies are still subject to decay. Although other parts of our being have been redeemed our bodies have not yet. Therefore, sin can still exercise dominion in us if we give into our body’s passions. We are to present our bodies to God as instruments of righteousness (I like that phrase) instead of to sin for evil. For sin will no longer have dominion over us, since we are not under law but under grace (see Gal 5:13).

We have died to the law through the body of Christ so that we could belong to God. Before we were in Christ our sinful desires, which were stirred up by the law, worked in our bodies to bear fruit for death. But now we have been set free from the law and become slaves to God.

Umpteen Reasons why Romans 7 is Not Talking about Christians
Probably the biggest reason for confusion about the power sin has over Christians is because of a bad reading of Romans 7. Not to be to forward here, but there is just no flipping way Romans 7 is describing the proper Christian experience. Here’s why I feel I can say that so boldly.

1. The person in Rom 7 was not fallen at one point, but died when the commandment was given. This wasn’t true of Paul or any other Christians in history.
2. The person in Rom 7 was alive when the law was given. Same comment as above.
3. The person in Rom 7 is of the flesh and IN sin, clearly not a possibility for Christians.
4. The person in Rom 7 isn’t able to do good. Christ came so we could do good.
5. The person in Rom 7 is a captive to the law of sin. Again clearly not true of Christians.

There are more reasons but that’s enough to prove my point. The trick is to not stop reading at the chapter break. What Paul is doing in Romans 7:14 – 8:11 is giving a history of the relationship between man and sin from Adam to the present to defend the law, on one hand, and to show that we are no longer dominated by those same struggles on the other. The law of the Spirit has set you from the law of sin and death. Since God has condemned sin in the flesh we are now able to fulfill the intention of the law, if we walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh.

Romans 8:10 says “but if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” So we see that our body is still dead. Verse 11 says that God will give life to our mortal bodies through his indwelling Spirit. That hasn’t happened yet.

All this being the case I have to quote Romans 8:12-13 here which really sums up what I want to communicate in this article “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” On a positive note, by the Spirit we have the power to put to death the works of the body; ALL the time. On a negative note, we still can choose to live according to the flesh, since our bodies have not been redeemed, which leads to spiritual death.

Here are the other two passages where Paul talks about the old man:

Ephesians 4:22-24 put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

So we chuck our corrupt old man. He has been put off. Our new man has been put on. As Colossians 3:5 says we “put to death therefore the members that are on the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness.” We spend our lives having the new man renewed according to God’s image (Rom 12:2). We sow to the Spirit and not the flesh and reap eternal life now and in the next age (Gal 6:8). We put on Christ and all his attributes (Rom 13:14, Col 3:12-17). We continue to live by the Spirit putting no trust in the flesh (Gal 3:3).

Even though we are no longer in sin’s power we will never walk perfectly in this life. 1 John 1:8 says “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” We will always sin. I wish I could say that eventually we could get to the point where we don’t sin anymore but I can’t. BUT just because absolute sinless living isn’t possible lets not rule out walking in almost sinless living.

So saints, onward and upward. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Go and live victoriously by the power of the Spirit.