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HIS
SERVANTS' MINISTRY
www.judgmentcoming.org
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Carnal
Nature???
Does it die when we are "born again"?
A
dear lady in one of my Bible classes wanted
me to read Charles F. Stanley’s little
booklet : “God’s
Grace, You Can’t Live Without It.” He has some very good points, but on page
11, I cannot agree with the following words
in paragraph four.
“The moment you are saved, your sin
nature dies . . . .” I simply cannot
go along with this. I teach the Bible and
also what God places on my heart. In the
Bible, there are many places that to me
. . . are saying this statement is not true.
Let me bring forth a few passages.
Romans
7:16-20 If then I do that which
I would not, I consent unto the law that
it is good. [17] Now then it is no more
I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
[18] For I know that in me (that is, in
my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to
will is present with me; but how to perform
that which is good I find not. [19] For
the good that I would I do not: but the
evil which I would not, that I do. [20]
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more
I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (KJV) The apostle
Paul was a great man of God. He is torn
between his two natures in this Passage.
He says: “I
know very well that what I am doing is wrong,
and the still small voice inside me shows
that I agree that the law is good. Yet I
don’t do the good I want to do; instead,
I do the evil that I do not want to do.
When I want to do good, I don’t. And
when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway."
Is
it Paul’s new nature that does wrong?
NO! It is the old nature that is still there.
The old sinful nature and the new nature
that tells us we should live in love, obedience,
faithfulness and true devotion to God, will
continue to butt heads until we die. Only
when we receive our new bodies like Christ’s,
will we ever cease to sin.
God clearly tells us we ALL are sinners. Romans
3:10 As it is written, There
is none righteous, no, not one: (KJV) Romans 3:23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God; (KJV) IF
Mr. Stanley were right, when we are saved
(redeemed, born again), our old sinful nature
would die and not cause us any more trouble.
But, according to God (as I understand His
Word), we will always be sinners. It seems
to me that our old sinful nature is still
alive.
2
Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new. (KJV) Christians
are brand-new people on the inside. The
Holy Spirit gives us new life, and we are
not the same anymore. We are not reformed,
or made better . . . we are made new creations,
living in vital union with Christ (Col.
2:6-7). At conversion we don’t
simply turn over a new leaf; we begin a
new life under a new Master. But, as I see
it, that old sinful nature is still within,
and we must continue to battle it.
The word regeneration is found only found
in Matthew 19:28 and Titus 3:5. It actually
means a new birth (redeemed, saved, born
again). We do become a new creature in Christ
Jesus by being born again (John 3:5) into the family of God. Our mind
is renewed (Rom.12:2). This change comes
from the Holy Spirit, NOT anything that we can do (John 1:12-13; 1
John 2:29). What is the nature of the change?
It includes giving us a new standard or
make up in our soul. Spiritual life becomes
very important to us now, where before we
were “dead in trespasses and sins.”
The necessary change must take place within
us, as is made clear in Scripture (John
3:3; Rom.7:18; 8:7-9; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph.
2:1; 4:21-24).
Ephes.
2:1-2 And you hath he quickened,
who were dead in trespasses and sins; [2]
Wherein in time past ye walked according
to the course of this world, according to
the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children
of disobedience: (KJV) Sin
is actually the death of the soul. A man
dead in trespasses and sins has no desire
whatsoever for spiritual pleasures. An unbeliever
(carnal man) simply conforms to this world.
Unbelievers are slaves to Satan. Satan is
behind all evil. He rules in the hearts
of unbelievers. We ALL were slaves to sin
before we allowed Jesus into our heart and
life. God, and our stopping sin was not
in our thoughts.
Every converted, redeemed sinner is a saved
sinner; delivered from sin and wrath. The
grace that saves us is FREE. A regenerated
sinner becomes a different person. He truly
desires to live a life of holiness. This
does not come about by any thing done by
us, so we certainly cannot boast about it.
God’s Holy Spirit produces this change
in us, makes us born again,
but we still feel the desire for wrong things
at times. Our old nature has not left us.
Ephes.
2:5-6 Even when we were dead
in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [6] And
hath raised us up together, and made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus: (KJV) When
we are saved, we no longer need to live
under sin’s power. The penalty
of sin and its power over us were miraculously
destroyed by Christ on the cross, but our
old sin nature has not been destroyed and
will not be destroyed until we receive our
new Christ-like bodies at the resurrection. Through faith in Christ we stand
acquitted, or not guilty, before God (Romans
3:21-22). God does not take us out of the
world or make us robots—we will still
feel like sinning, and sometimes we will
sin. The difference is that before we became
Christians, we were dead in sin and were
slaves to our sinful nature and we did not
care that we sinned. But now we are alive
with Christ.
Gal.2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless
I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me. (KJV) I think
this may be one verse that makes Mr. Stanley
think our old nature dies when we are saved.
I believe that it is our sins that die with
Christ, we are no longer condemned (Col.
2:13-15).
How
have we been crucified with Christ? Legally, God looks
at us as if we had died with Christ. We
are justified (Rom.3:24; 5:1) Because
our sins died with Him, we are no longer
condemned (Col. 2:13-15). Intimately, we
become one with Christ. Our new life began
when we united with Him, we died to our
old life (Rom.6:5-11). In our daily
life, we must repeatedly crucify our sinful
desires that keep us from following Christ.
That means that that old sinful nature didn’t
go anywhere. This too is, in a
way, dying with Him (Luke 9:23-25).
We have been reconciled with God (2 Cor.
5:19). We continue to grow into Christ’s
likeness (Rom.8:29). We have Christ’s
resurrection power as we continue to fight
sin (Ephes. 1:19-20). We are no longer alone,
for Christ lives in us! He is our Power
for living and our Hope for the future (Col.
1:27). With His help, our new nature shall
win.
1
Cor. 15:42-44 So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown in
corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
[43] It is sown in dishonour; it is raised
in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is
raised in power: [44] It is sown a natural
body; it is raised a spiritual body. There
is a natural body, and there is a spiritual
body. (KJV) Even
with a new nature, we will continue to sin
. . . God says so! Only when we receive
our new resurrection bodies, will we cease
from sin, like Jesus!
Philip.
3:21 Who shall change our vile
body, that it may be fashioned like unto
his glorious body, according to the working
whereby he is able even to subdue all things
unto himself. (KJV) Our
new bodies we will receive when we are raised
from the dead will be glorious, like Christ’s
resurrected body. Only then will our old
sin nature die!
1
John 3:2 Beloved, now are we
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but we know that, when
he shall appear, we shall be like him; for
we shall see him as he is. (KJV) Our
old sin nature will be dead only when this
happens.
2
Cor. 5:1-10 For we know that
if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a building of God,
an house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens. [2] For in this we groan, earnestly
desiring to be clothed upon with our house
which is from heaven: [3] If so be that
being clothed we shall not be found naked.
[4] For we that are in this tabernacle do
groan, being burdened: not for that we would
be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality
might be swallowed up of life. [5] Now he
that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing
is God, who also hath given unto us the
earnest of the Spirit. [6] Therefore we
are always confident, knowing that, whilst
we are at home in the body, we are absent
from the Lord: [7] (For we walk by faith,
not by sight:) [8] We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the
body, and to be present with the Lord. [9]
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present
or absent, we may be accepted of him. [10]
For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in his body, according to
that he hath done, whether it be good or
bad. (KJV) Our
future resurrection bodies will be perfect
for our everlasting life. They shall never
sin again! Our present bodies will continus
to sin daily until we receive these new
bodies. Paul describes our resurrected bodies in
more detail in 1 Cor. 15:46-58. The Bible
does not tell us everything about our resurrected
bodies, but we know they will be perfect,
without sickness, without disease, without
pain and without sin.
I absolutely agree with Mr. Stanley when
he says that when you are saved, Jesus Christ
abides in you. Unless the Spirit of Christ
abides within a person they are NOT saved!
Romans 8:9 But ye are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if
so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his. (KJV)
When
the Holy Spirit is abiding and working within
you, you will:
- (1)
believe that Jesus Christ is God’s
Son and that eternal life comes only
through Him (1 John 5:5).
- (2)
you will begin to live as Christ desires
(Rom.8:5; Gal. 5:22-23).
- (3)
you will have help in your problems
and your prayers (Rom.8:26-27).
- (4)
you will be empowered to serve God and
do His will (Acts 1:8; Rom.12:6).
- (5)
you will become part of God’s
plan to build up His church (Ephes.
4:12-13).
But,
just because the Holy Spirit lives within
you, does not mean you will never sin again.
That is just no so. Our old nature did not
care about God, and it had no problem with
sin. Our new nature really cares about God
and desperately desires to do right by Him.
And each and every time a born again believer sins, it lies heavy on our
hearts. We are really convicted by our wrong.
We can’t wait to go to God and confess
our sin (1 John 1:8-9).
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON REDEMPTION
God clearly tells us we ALL are sinners
(Rom.3:10, 23). Those redeemed are brand-new
people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives
us new life, and we are not the same anymore.
We are not reformed, or made better . .
. we are made new creations, living in vital
union with Christ (Col. 2:6-7). At conversion
we don’t simply turn over a new leaf;
we begin a new life under a new Master.
The word regeneration is found only found
in Mat.19:28 and Titus 3:5. It actually
means a new birth (redeemed, saved, born
again). We become a new creature in Christ
Jesus by being born again (John 3:5) into
the family of God. Our mind is renewed (Rom.12:2).
This change comes from the Holy Spirit,
NOT anything we can do (John 1:12-13; 1
John 2:29). What all takes place in this
change? It includes a new standard or make
up in our soul. Spiritual life becomes very
important to us now, where before we were
“dead in trespasses and sins”
and God and things of God did not matter
to us. This necessary change must take place
within us, as is made clear in Scripture
(John 3:3; Rom.7:18; 8:7-9; 1 Cor. 2:14;
Eph. 2:1; 4:21-24).
Sin is actually the death of the soul. A
man dead in trespasses and sins has no desire
whatsoever for spiritual pleasures. An unbeliever
(carnal man) simply conforms to this world.
Unbelievers are slaves to Satan. Satan is
behind all evil. He rules in the hearts
of unbelievers. We ALL were slaves to sin
before we allowed Jesus into our heart and
life. Neither God or our stopping our sin
was in our thoughts.
Every converted, redeemed sinner is a saved
sinner; delivered from sin and wrath. The
grace that saves us is FREE. A regenerated,
redeemed sinner becomes a different person.
He truly desires to live a life of holiness.
This does not come about by any thing done
by us, so we certainly cannot boast about
it. God’s Holy Spirit produces this
change in us, makes us born again, but we
still feel the desire for wrong things at
times. Our old nature has not left us.
When we are redeemed, we no longer need
to live under sin’s power. The penalty
of sin and its power over us were miraculously
destroyed by Christ on the cross, but our
old sin nature has not been destroyed and
will not leave us until we receive our new
Christ-like bodies at the resurrection.
Through faith in Christ we stand acquitted,
or not guilty, before God (Rom.3:21-22).
God does not take us out of the world or
make us robots. We will still feel like
sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The
difference is that before we became God’s
children, we were dead in sin and were slaves
to our sinful nature and we did not care
that we sinned. But
now we are alive with Christ. Our sins die
with Christ, and we are no longer condemned.
How have we been crucified with Christ?
Legally, God looks at us as if we had died
with Christ. We are justified (Rom.3:24;
5:1) Because our sins died with Him, we
are no longer condemned (Col. 2:13-15).
Intimately, we become one with Christ. Our
new life begins when we are united with
Christ. We die to our old life (Rom.6:5-11).
In our daily life, we must repeatedly crucify
our sinful desires that keep us from following
Christ.
Redemption reconciles us with God (2 Cor.
5:19). We must continue to grow spiritually,
to be more like Christ (Rom.8:29). We have
Christ’s resurrection power as we
continue to fight sin (Eph. 1:19-20). We
are no longer alone, for Christ lives in
us! He is our Power for living and our Hope
for the future (Col. 1:27). With His help,
our new nature shall win.
Thank
You Jesus!
BEWARE!!!
An Apostate World
Apostasy
Apostasy in the Last Days
Apostacy or Rebellion?
Apostate Carnal Nature
Apostate Christianity
Christians Leaving God's Word
Unbelief
Home Page
For other
web sites speaking on apostasy:
https://www.apostasywatch.com/
http://www.Jesus-is-savior.com
http://www.watchman.org
http://www.carm.org
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