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Every biblical doctrine is ultimately practical. It makes a difference in
our lives. People will learn a truth, even a difficult one, if they see it matters. Each
chapter concludes with thought provoking practical application.
(continuing a discussion of how the sinful nature is still with us after conversion)
When people are taught that their entire nature and character changes at salvation, they can't help having a shallow view of the struggle against sin. Sin runs deep. As we discussed in our chapter on sin, it's not just some behavioral problem or the breaking of rules. Sin is rooted in our character's proud desire to run our own lives.
Then some people come along and teach that our desires have completely changed. They say that our character has changed. So how do they explain the continued struggle with sin? For many, they explain the struggle as nothing more than a matter of training bodily urges and habits. They make a distinction between the "old self" of Romans 6:6 and the "body of sin." The real you was completely overhauled at salvation but you still have the "body of sin." This, they teach, was only "rendered powerless."
Interestingly, those who make this distinction between the "body of sin" and our "sinful nature" say our problem is that we are still confined to this physical body.[1] Our body has been trained to enjoy sinful urges. Our body has deeply ingrained habits. One author puts it this way:
Sin still remains and is left in our bodies; not in us, but in our bodies. As persons, as souls, we have already finished with it, but not so the body. This body of sin or this body which sin inhabits and tries to useóstill remains . . . sin not only remains in our bodies; but if it is not checked, if it is not kept under, it will even reign in our bodies, and it will dominate our bodies (Martin Lloyd-Jones, Romans, The New Man, p. 72, 153).
I really like the teaching and insightful application of Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. But this part of his teaching I cannot agree with because it is typical of so many who see the problem of sin as only skin deep.
For example, if a person came to Christ and had a problem with drugs or alcohol, I could tell him his problem is merely a physical addiction. Now that God has revamped the real you, you need to change the physical addiction you have!
I've seen this tried. I know it doesn't work. Fortunately, it's not biblical either. The truth is, using drugs and alcohol is more than a physical urge. Habits like these are related to much deeper problems, like how I view myself; where I get my emotional stimulation from, and whether I really want God's way in my life or not.
So it goes with countless other sins. We could struggle with them at the surface level, pretending they are only the residual habits of our past life, stored in our brain tissue or driven by our glands. And we will fail, because we will not come to grips with the real problem, all of me. Through and through I love to rebel against God! God still has some serious work to do in changing me.
A related danger of exaggerating the change God works at salvation is a shallow view of individual sins. On the one hand, we can fail to appreciate how deep our sinful desires run. On the other hand, we can fail to appreciate the seriousness of particular sins we stumble over.
For example, let's pretend a Christian lusts for a woman from time to time. I have actually witnessed Christians casting out the demon of lust in a situation like this! Their reasoning? "Christians don't lust! If you have a lust problem, then it must be a demon!"
Now I don't doubt for a minute that spirits can and do tempt us with lust. But it is also completely normal for Christians to struggle with this! When we credit it to a demon, it actually trivializes the problem! It makes the problem out to be something I don't really have! So, instead of taking it seriously and looking to God for help and healing, I could just go on thinking the problem isn't there anymore.
Seeing our sin should alert us to the need for God's healing.
Ironically, the teaching that we have been completely changed at salvation, which I'm sure is intended as a very positive message, can turn out to do some real damage. Some Christians have become enslaved to the fear of "backsliding." Since "real Christians" don't want to sin anymore, those who do enjoy sin are either under the influence of a demon or are not really Christians!
Taking the example of lust, imagine a person leaving the prayer session where the "demon" of lust was authoritatively cast out. He goes out into the street, and there's a nice looking girl! He starts to lust. But he just had that demon eradicated! Now what? He can either judge himself, "Oooh you sinner! You man of little faith!" or he can start making pronouncements at the demon again, "Away from me demon! I already told you to get away!" Or he can even pretend like he didn't really lust. It is actually possible to attempt to ignore thoughts and sins like this. It is certainly possible to pretend to others that you have had victory over the problem!
Sadly, many Christians aren't able to live up to the charade. So they finally conclude that they must be terrible Christians. They must have no faith, because they keep stumbling. Or worse yet, maybe they weren't even Christians in the first place. Often, Christians who call themselves "backslidden Christians" mean something like this.
If my new nature is essentially on the right track, in harmony with God's will, then the only real danger comes from letting my body have its way or listening to the seductive voices of the world around me. This is the reasoning that drives many Christians to develop an avoidance orientation. I have to avoid letting my body rule. I have to avoid the demons. I have to avoid the world. If I can effectively avoid these things, then I can have victory over sin.
Since my new nature is pretty much in touch with God, it'll just cruise along. What we have to worry about is letting the flesh get its way or the demons get their way or the world suggest its way.
If we realize, however, that we are still just as proud and just as rebellious against God as ever, then we'll see that mere avoidance means nothing. You could deny your body, deny the world, deny Satan, and still be completely in sin. Because sin is me, doing my thing. Sin is my pride. Sin is my autonomy. If we realize this, then we should be much more concerned with the positive directionógoing out of my way to find ways to serve God. I'm not in perfect submission to him. I have to consciously go out of my way to turn myself over to God. It isn't natural.
I remember a story I heard from a missionary that reminded me of similar things I have seen. A girl in one of his churches was campaigning to have women cover their arms fully because bare arms were worldly. The issue caused quite a controversy in their church as people debated whether they should mandate covered arms. Well, the woman who began the controversy kept her arms covered, for the most part, except when she was having an affair with the pastor the church!
The real sadness of stories like this is that they are so common. Christians underestimate the reality of their own sin. They get caught up in avoiding some external representation of sin, only to be ruined when the real thing overtakes them from within.
So we've seen that when God saves us, he views us as perfect. He views us as having died and risen again to a new life. As a result, he comes to have fellowship with us. The Holy Spirit comes to live with us to change us. But, there is a lot to change. God's view of us is in spite of the reality that we have big, big problems. We saw God's view of us is important, because it enables us to have fellowship with him. When we have fellowship with God, he changes us. The way he views us doesn't mean he has changed us. That will come. That is the process of spiritual growth.
We also saw there are dangers to exaggerating our actual change at conversion. We could imagine a cancer patient who prays for healing with the other Christians. Someone prophesies, "Yes, God has granted our request!" So the cancer patient goes away, joyous at God's healing power. What would happen, though, if the prophecy was wrong and the patient turns up a year later with advanced cancer!? Now it's too late! Imagine the guilt, the doubt, the anger! I've seen Christians go through something like this when they find out their sin nature is still as strong as ever.
No doubt, there will be Christians who disagree with me about the extent of change at
the moment of conversion. I believe the Bible leaves room for a range of views on this
topic. So often it describes our sanctification in terms of tension and dichotomies. We
are both "fleshly" and "not fleshly" (see Rom. 7:17, 18; Gal. 5:24).
We are pure, yet we need purifying (I John 3:3). All things are new, yet we are being
renewed (2 Cor. 5:17; Col. 3:10).
If God had described spiritual growth to us in tidy, clear categories, we would turn it into a legalistic heresy. We would love to say, "Just take step A, then B, then C . . . and then pick up your diploma." Instead, God has communicated the path of progress to us in dichotomies and tensions. The result should be that we rely on him all the more to show us the way. We'll turn now to the issue of what spiritual growth is and how to pursue it . . .
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