God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.
C. S. Lewis
The apostle Paul talks a lot about the struggle between knowing what's right and actually doing it. There is a tug-of-war going on in his soul: the desire to delight in the things of God and the natural bent toward his sinful nature.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! WHo will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25
Many of us can identify with Paul's struggle with sinful nature in this passage. Paul, in other places in Scripture, refers to this hindering force as "the old man," "The natural man," or simply "the flesh."
We were not created with this sinful nature (as we saw in Genesis, God treated us "very good"), and it doesn't stem from our environment. The Bible explains this sin nature came about when humans used their free will to deliberately and consciously rebel against God.
But if we are already saved from sin, why do we still struggle against it?
Inside us live two natures, flesh and spirit. Before we became followers of Christ, only the flesh ruled in us, pursuing its desires. The flesh was out for self-gratification and incapable of having a relationship with God. When we came to Christ, we were given the Holy Spirit which has a permanent relationship with God. We live in a state where we are saved, but are also being saved.
When we give our hearts to Christ, our sin nature doesn't go away. As a result, these two natures live together until we go to heaven. But, unfortunately, they don't make very good roommates. The damaged self still wants to gratify its desires, while the spirit wants to draw close to God. It's this battle Paul focuses on in Romans chapter 7. Previously, in chapter 6 of Romans, Paul helps us realize we have died to sin by putting it to death on the cross with Christ. We should no longer offer ourselves as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness. But that is easier said than done, and Paul knows it. So he shows us a way to defeat sin and give superiority to the spirit.
God's Spirit is in us, drawing us toward righteousness and honoring God. But our sin nature drags us back into struggling with lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride. The more we entertain the things of this world like greed, lust, and impurity, the more we want it. If we put ourselves in situations where those things are celebrated, we become more and more numb to the effects of sin in our lives.
But it's more than just saying, "No" to our sin nature. We must say, "Yes" to the Spirit of God who dwells in us. When we focus our minds on things of God by spending time in His Word, cultivating a lifestyle of worship, and serving people God loves, we are strengthening our fight against the part of us that pulls away from God.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. Romans 8:11-14
We have a choice when it comes to defeating sin. We now have both the ability and responsibility to live in the way God wants us to live, and not to be ruled by our sinful nature.
Before we received Christ, we did not have this ability. But now God has given us the power and the opportunity to deny sin's hold on our lives. He expects us to use that power. At Christ's second return, we will experience final victory over the flesh, the "redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:22-23). At that time, our struggle against the flesh will be finished. Our war against the enemy within will be fully won. But for now, there is still a war going on with daily battles to win.
Tomorrow, we'll take a look at some practical ways we can win this war against Satan and claim victory honoring to God.