Have you ever stopped to ponder this question? What is your conviction on this issue?

Is your conviction based on what other people have told you, or because you have searched and wrestled through the scriptures in order to find out for yourself? This question and the outcome to this question is actually very significant to the life of a Christian. Are we enslaved to our sinful nature or are we totally free from it? Why do Christians still sin? How does grace truly affect Christians if they sin? How does grace help Christians to overcome sin? You will be surprised, perhaps even shocked, by the answer in this book! It's not what the majority are saying!

Ryan Rufus is married to Kylie and they have two beautiful girls named Renae and Chloe. They currently live in Hong Kong where they have gone to support a thriving new church called 'City Church International'.

Do Christians Still Have a Sinful Nature? Ryan Rufus 2006 Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) Credit to: My father, Rob Rufus, who really established and set the tone of grace in my life. Terry Virgo whose grasp on grace has really impacted my life. Much of this book was inspired by him. Other credit must go to Dudley Daniel, Kenneth E. Hagin, Sy Rogers, Chris Wienand and many others whose idea's, thoughts and interpretations of scripture have helped fashion the convictions held in this book. Much thanks to Dale Volker who designed the front and back cover and set the layout of this book. You are a champion and a good friend!

Please visit: www.citychurchinternational.com for more information.

I would like to honor my beautiful wife Kylie, who has come with me on an incredible adventure. Your thoughts and perspectives were priceless when I was wrestling through the concepts of this book. What a delight it is to be sharing this life with you!

If you could ask most Christians throughout the world the question, 'Do Christians still have a sinful nature?' Most would not be able to give an answer that is 100% either yes or no! Most are confused about this and I find that Christians just avoid the question altogether. The confusion comes from simply misinterpreting scripture, but I do not believe that scripture allows for confusion on this subject. Scripture is explicitly clear on the matter and gives us the answers that should settle this issue once and for all! By reading this book I pray that this is what will happen to you. Confusion on this subject weakens us and makes us more vulnerable to the enemies' attacks. The enemy wants to keep us in a dark cloud of confusion and just accept anything that comes our way. One of the biggest questions that Christians are secretly asking themselves is, 'Will I ever be free from sin?' Maybe it's just my ignorance, but I have not

heard much preaching or read any books that actually answer these questions. It's about time that people start hitting the nail on the head and hitting it hard- even if it flies in the face of hundreds of years of teaching that is an offence to the cross! John 1 says that Jesus is the light of the world who came with grace and truth. If you open your heart to His light, grace and truth, it will overcome all the darkness in your mind and in your life and you will live as a free child of God. Most Christians don't just want to sin. If they could flick a switch and stop they would! The heart of a Christian is actually trying to find a way to stop sinning. Many are angry and perplexed as to why they still sin. And many have just accepted that they will be slaves to sin till the day they die. Freedom has become a myth to them. A vain hope. Whenever the whip of sin cracks they just hopelessly obey! But Jesus promised that those who know the truth will be free! This book is not about keeping the law and trying to be perfect. It's about understanding what has already happened to us in Christ. It's about grace, truth and freedom. And I pray it absolutely blesses you!

The Bible says explicitly that if we are born again then we no longer have a sinful nature. It is completely removed and taken away from us. I am going to clearly show you this from scripture, but just before I do, I know that there are many who adamantly believe we still have a sinful nature and this kind of stuff is going to start wars with them. Well I didn't write this book for that reason. If they want to believe they still have a sinful nature then they can believe that. But they mustn't tell me that I've still got a sinful nature because my bible convinces me that I dont! Now I am writing this to those who want to hear and be free, not to those who are looking for theological fights. So to those who want a fight, I suggest you don't read this book. But to those who would like this question answered, lets continue.

Foundational Scripture #1 Colossians 2:11,12 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,
12

having been buried with him in baptism

and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. There it is in plain language. Verse 12 tells us that we were united with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. That is being born again. Verse 11 tells us what happened in the transaction- that our old sinful nature was circumcised and put off. The only way you could misunderstand this scripture is to misunderstand what circumcision means and therefore not really know what 'the putting off of the sinful nature' means. The circumcision by the hands of men is to cut off the foreskin! -The 'flesh', and throw it away! The circumcision done by Christ is to cut out the sinful nature and throw it away. Too many Christians talk about your old self rattling in the coffin and making you sin and that you just need to die to your old self. I used to even say that but it is wrong!

What happens to the foreskin when it is cut off? It shrivels up, rots and dies- never to reattach again! Sorry to be so graphic but that is exactly what happens to the sinful nature. It shrivels up, rots and dies- never to be reattached again. Too many Christians are teaching a 'Yin Yang' theology that yes, you have the new God nature which is good, but right next to it is your old sinful evil nature and you have to learn to live with it but keep dying to it! That is heresy and it's an offence to the cross! Because of the cross your old self died and was buried and the sinful nature removed, then God raised you up in Christ with a new nature never ever to have the old sinful nature come back! Foundational Scripture #2: 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come! If you are born again in Christ then you are a new creation and the old is gone. What is the 'old' it's talking about? Is it your body? No. That is still the same, it hasn't gone anywhere. Your mind? No. That

is still the same, it hasn't gone anywhere. Is it your old self/ inner man that was dead to God because of the sinful nature? Yes! It died with Christ, and God has raised you up with Christ with a new nature. You are a new creation, not on the outside but on the inside. Your body is not new, your mind is not new, but your inner man is new. Before you were born again your spirit was dead to God. Why? Because of the fall in the garden. Because of Adam's sin, sin entered mankind. Now everyone born is born spiritually dead with a fallen sinful nature. We inherited it. And that nature enslaved us and controlled us (Eph 2:1,2), making us enemies of God. But then look in Colossians 2:13 at what happened. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. We were dead because of the sinful nature in us. We were born with it like a cancerous tumor attached to us. Then God made us alive with Christ! And what happened in the transaction? Our old self died and therefore the sinful nature had nothing to attach itself to and so was put off/ circumcised. Now we're alive

with Christ. We are new creations. That old sinful nature that causes death is taken away never to come back. It's impossible for it to come back. It has nothing to attach itself to. Before it could attach itself to a fallen nature but it can never attach itself to a righteous God nature. The Bible says we are participators in the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4). That doesn't make us divine. It just means we have the life of God in our new nature. It's now impossible to be a Christian and have a sinful nature. It's impossible to have a new nature and the old nature. Jesus came to get that old nature out of us and give us a new nature. The old is gone and the new has come. How could you go to heaven if you still had that old fallen sinful nature? Do you think God is going to let that old smelly thing in? No way! Some say, 'Well God will take it out just before we get to heaven.' That isn't in the bible. No, the bible says the moment we are united with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, we are born again and in that we are circumcised of the sinful nature. 'Old things are gone', and God gives us a new nature- 'the new has come'. The next foundational scripture really drives this home. I hope you are ready!

Foundational scripture #3 Romans 6:3-7 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4

We

were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5

If we have been united with him like this in his

6

death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-7

because anyone who has died has

been freed from sin. Now lets not talk just yet about freedom from sin. That is coming and it's awesome! First I want to firmly establish from scripture that a born again believer does not have a sinful nature. Verse 6 says, ' For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with'

The word here in verse 6 'know' does not imply any vagueness. It implies a full understanding and an absolute assurity-100%! There is a big difference between hearing and knowing. Jesus didn't say, 'You shall hear the truth' He said, 'You shall know the truth and it will set you free.' It's not in hearing the truth that sets you free, it's in knowing the truth, accepting it and believing it that sets you free! Do you know the number for emergency or have you just heard it and forgotten it? There's a big difference between one and the other! One can save your life. The other can't! The Bible says that Adam knew his wife Eve and she became pregnant. Now Eve didn't get pregnant because Adam knew about her - he 'knew' her! Do I have to spell it out - it's talking about sex! It's the same word used here in 6v6 - know. It's an intimate word. It causes conception and life. Now have you just heard 6v6 or do you know it? That means you understand it by revelation. You accept it, believe it, it has set you free. You always remember it, it stays clear to you and you own it. You could even teach it to others! Now, what do we know?

'For we know that our old self was crucified with him Three things here, from this statement, we need to find out and know. 1- What is our old self? 2- What happened to it? 3- When did this happen? 1- What is our old self? Greek- 'Anthropos'

Anthropos- is the Greek noun for 'man'. It has multiple meanings one of which is with reference to the unregenerate man. The 'old man' or 'old self'. It being the source and seat of sin. The source of sin in your life came from your 'anthropos'- your 'inner old self'. Your 'inner old self' was the part of you that was dead

to God and under the control of the sinful nature (Rom 7:5). It was ruined and didn't have a chance. Why? Firstly it was born dead to God. Secondly it was born with a sinful nature that was like a systemic parasite that had infested and taken over control. Thirdly this old self, with the sinful nature controlling it, was unable to keep Gods law because everything His law said you should do, the sinful nature wanted to do the opposite! And because it was in control, and you were enslaved to it, you didn't do what the law said but what the sinful nature said! The bad news is the sinful nature thrived under the law. The worse news is that we were bound to the law! So this old self, this old you, was an enslaved prisoner that was not right with God and had no hope of living for God. In fact this old you was not in a good place at all! Wouldn't it have been awful if God just left us (old self) in that state? Well He didn't. He did something about it that we need to know. 2- What happened to it? It was crucified with Christ!

'For we know that our old self was crucified with him' The Holy Spirit united us with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. So everything that happened to Christ is as though it happened to us. Even though it didn't physically happen to us, we get all the benefits from it as though it did happen to us! So because our old self was united with Christ in His crucifixion, it means that our old self was crucified. It wasn't stunned, made unconscious, very badly beaten but still okay. No! Killed! Dead! 3When did this happen?

' For we know that our old self was crucified with him' Not is being crucified. Not will be crucified. Not has to keep being crucified. It was crucified. Past tense - it has happened. Done and finished. Never has to happen and can never happen again! Do you know what the scripture is saying here? Your old self is dead and never has to die again. It is heresy to say we need to keep dying to ourselves. It just shows we

don't know this scripture. And stop worrying because the bible doesn't contradict itself on this issue. 'Pick up your cross and die daily' is not talking about dying to yourself. Its talking about dying to your will and plans for your life, and surrendering to Gods plans and will for your life. By Paul saying he 'faces death daily', he is not saying we have to keep dying to ourselves daily. The context is that he is on the front lines of the gospel and there is so much opposition and people literally trying to kill him, that every day he accepts the fact that it could be his last. Every day he lived was like another day he was spared from death. And the awful feeling was like dying everyday. No, this verse is saying that you have died and never have to die again. Once we truly know this scripture we'll never say again that we need to die to ourself. So 6v6 is saying that this old you died with Christ. This old you that wasn't saved and couldn't live for God, because it was held captive by the sinful nature, died. Now the rest of the verse tells us why this happened. The reason why we died.

' For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with' The reason we died with Christ was so that the 'body of sin' might be done away with. The 'body of sin' is not talking about your physical body. If it was then your physical body has been 'done away with'. Then Christians would be teaching some weird cuckoo religion that all who are saved don't have a physical body, it just looks like we do. What on earth would the world think of us then? No the 'body of sin' is not talking about the physical body it is talking about that entity of sin that was inside us attached to our old self. That parasite that had a life of its own that was causing death in us. The sinful nature! The 'body of sin' is the sinful nature. Scripture here makes a distinction between your old self and the sinful nature. 'our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with' They are different. The old self was you. The sinful nature was a parasite you inherited and were born with. Both were a part of you. They were inseparable.

You couldn't surgically remove the one from the other. You couldn't separate them by any magic or ritual. You couldn't even tell where one began and the other ended. Here's a story that helps to illustrate what we're talking about. 'There was once a certain weed (sinful nature) that began to grow up onto a large tree (old self). This weed tapped into the very life of that tree and began to grow bigger and bigger until it had entwined itself around the whole tree and had become hard and slowly sapped the life from that tree. The weed no longer existed on its own, it existed because of the life of the tree. One day a farmer killed the roots of that tree and the tree died. Guess what happened to the weed? It died as well! Now thousands of years later, long after every trace of that weed had rotted and completely vanished, a seed from that old tree sprouted and grew up into a new tree with new life never to have that old weed come back again.' The reason why that old tree (our old self) had to die was so that the weed (sinful nature) could be removed and done away with. So then God could raise us back

to life not as our old self but as our new self that was free from the sinful nature, no longer bound to the sinful nature but bound to Christ in resurrection life and the power of the Holy Spirit! So we could then serve and live for God in a new way. You are no longer the same. You are totally different. You are a new creation. You have been born again. Made alive to God. Given a new spirit and a new nature. The God nature. Nothing from the old carried through or got placed back in you! It is all gone and you are completely new. Once you were a beat up old Datsun 1200. Now you are a brand new Ferrari. God didn't put the old Datsun engine back in. You have a brand new Ferrari engine! Can you hear it purr? Everything is brand new. Old things have gone and behold all things have been made new!! (Sorry to those who don't like Ferrari's but you get the point don't you?) So we have looked at Colossians 2:11,12 that told us we were circumcised of the sinful nature when we were born again. We looked at 2 Corinthians 5:17 that told us that old things have passed away and God has made us completely new. And we looked at Romans 6:6 that told us that our

old self died so that the sinful nature could be removed, that God could raise us up with Christ into new life with a new nature. I Think that these scriptures are so clear and strong on this issue that it is safe to build a foundational doctrine that the born again believer no longer has a sinful nature. Now I know that some are already asking the question, 'Well if we don't have a sinful nature, then why do Christians still sin?' We are going to answer that question in chapter 2 so don't jump the gun! But first there are some scriptures that, if interpreted wrong could undermine this whole teaching and need to be looked at. What about the seemingly contradictory scriptures? Now I know that some say Well what about the scriptures that seem to indicate that I still have a sinful nature?. Well lets look at some of these scriptures. Let me first say that these scriptures need to be read on the foundation of truth we have just

looked at. They must be interpreted in context with these scriptures. The Bible wouldn't spend so much time telling us we don't have a sinful nature and then turn around and tell us that we do. Galatians 5:13-24
13

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do

14

not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. as yourself." each other.
16 15

The entire law is

summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify
17

the desires of the sinful nature.

For the sinful nature

desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
19 18

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are

not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
20

immorality, impurity and debauchery; ambition, dissensions, factions

idolatry and and envy;

witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish

21

drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I

did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, gentleness and self-control. Against such things
24

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23

there is no law. desires.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus

have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and

Firstly, nowhere in these scriptures does the bible explicitly say that a born again Christian still has a sinful nature. People have just concluded that. Secondly, the New Testament Greek word for flesh is sarx. Now the NIV translators usually always translate flesh or sarx as sinful nature. Now this at first doesn't seem wrong because sarx can mean sinful nature. But when you realize that the word sarx actually has many meanings you realize there is room for interpretive error. Sarx doesn't always mean sinful nature. W.E. Vines expository dictionary of bible words lists 14 different meanings for the word sarx. For example, he shows that it can also mean the substance of the body (1 Cor 15:39), the human body (2 Cor 10:3A; Gal 2:20; Phil 1:22), the lower and temporary element of the Christian (Gal 3:3,6,8), the

externals of life (2 Cor 7:1; Eph 6:5; Heb 9:13), the natural attainments of man ( 1 Cor 1:26; 2 Cor 10:2,3b), cicumstances (1 Cor 7:28), the holy humanity of the Lord Jesus ( Jn1:14; 1 Tim 3:1; 1 Jn 4:2; 2 Jn 7). Jesus the Word became flesh/ sarx (1 Jn 1:14). He was in flesh yet He didn't have a sinful nature. So in these Galatians scriptures the word sarx is definitely used but only sometimes means sinful nature. It often just means your body (which has natural appetites that have the potential to get out of control). These scriptures are actually telling us to not live carnally which is to live with your body in ascendancy (control) over your spirit, but to rather live spiritually with your spirit in ascendancy over your body. And you can do that because verse 24 says, 'Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.' Therefore you no longer have the sinful nature in you producing all its obvious sins, but you have the Spirit of God inside you producing all His glorious fruits. Romans 8:5-15
5

Those who live according to the sinful nature have

their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. life and peace;
7 6

The mind of sinful

man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature

but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
10

But if Christ is in you, your

11

body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 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 through his Spirit, who lives in you.
12

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it

13

is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
14

because those who are

15

led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you

did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again

to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. Firstly, again, these scriptures do not tell us explicitly that the Christian has a sinful nature. Secondly, its contrasting an unbeliever with a believer - not a believer who lives by the sinful nature and a believer that lives by the Spirit, as some might believe. Thirdly, verse 12 tells us we have an obligation but not to the sinful nature. Why? Because we don't have a sinful nature! And if we are living according to the sinful nature we are not saved and we are going to die - eternal death! No! Our obligation is to let the Spirit of God help our spirit to live in ascendancy over our mortal bodies. In other words to not let the desires of our bodies get out of control. James 1:13-15
13

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting

14

me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
15

but each one is tempted when, by

his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Again the bible doesn't say here that we have a sinful nature. Secondly, the original Greek does not say evil desires in vs14. The NIV translators added that in, which is unfortunately misleading. The Greek word there is Epithumia. It simply means desires or lusts or appitites . The bible is not saying that we have evil desires, but that our desires or appitites are tempted by evil. Therefore, if we do not keep our appitites under control then we can be easily tempted and dragged into sin! In other words, if you don't bring your natural appitites under control then you can be easily tempted and dragged away etc. I believe there is a common thread that runs through all these scriptures. It's not about Christians still having the sinful nature and learning to keep it under control but that we as Christians need to learn to walk by the desires of the Spirit and not the desires of our natural body. A huge difference that we will talk about later on.

Conclusion: There is a major glorious truth here in all these scriptures that so many Christians are unaware of the born again believer does not have a sinful nature. The theme here that repeats itself over and over again is that you and I were united with Christ in his death and our old self died and the sinful nature was completely removed never to come back again. Then God raised us up together with Christ into new life and gave us a new nature! That's pretty exciting. You do not have a sinful nature. If you are born again then you do not have a sinful nature! Now the conclusion is awesome because if your old self has died and you no longer have a sinful nature it means that you are released from the slavery of that sinful nature and are no longer a slave to sin! Now I know immediately people ask the question, 'Then why do I still sin?" This is what we are going to talk about now in the next chapter, but please allow the truth of chapter 1 to sink in. Hear it. Accept it. Believe it. Know it!

The mistake most Christians make is to conclude that if they still sin then they must still have a sinful nature, and if so then they just need to die to themselves. To be honest, thinking like that actually makes us more vulnerable to giving in to sin. And it's a demonic deception designed to keep people in bondage. It is simply wrong to make this deduction. That is theology based on experience rather than on what the word of God says. The word of God says: 1- you have already died once with Christ and never have to die again, 2- your sinful nature has been circumcised and removed and 3- you have been raised up with Christ into new life with a new nature. If our thinking is first based on this theology, then

we'll have a much better chance at understanding why we can still struggle with sin. The answer to why Christians still sin is two fold and very simple: 1- Because they give in to temptation. 2- B e c a u s e o f w o r l d l y t h i n k i n g s t i l l i n t h e m . Christians do not sin because they have a sinful nature driving them to sin. That would be the case if Christians still had a sinful nature, but we have seen from scripture that we don't. But Ryan then why do I still feel like sinning? It's called temptation. It's not coming from the inside of you. It's coming from the outside of you. Before you were saved, sin was on the inside trying to get out. Now that you are saved, sin is on the outside trying to get in! Before you were saved, you had the body of sin (sinful nature) living inside you trying to express itself through your body in the form of sin. Now that you are saved, sin is on the outside trying to get back in. How? Through your body in the form of sin. One is internal. The other is external. Both are looking for the same results. It's not the sinful nature driving you. It's temptation luring you.

Some people say, 'Well if we didn't have the sinful nature then we wouldn't sin. Therefore if we do sin, it is proof that we still have the sinful nature'. They have made a fundamental error. It is possible to not have the sinful nature and still sin. Take for example Adam and Eve. Did God create them with a sinful nature? No. He created them perfect. Nothing on the inside of them was driving them to sin. But sin came from the outside in the form of temptation and was trying to get in. And what happened? They sinned. You mean to tell me that even though they didn't have a sinful nature that it was still possible for them to sin? Of course it was! So just because we don't have a sinful nature doesn't mean it's impossible for us not to sin! Temptation is something that will be here with us till the day we go to heaven. And it is still possible to give in to it. If it were impossible then we wouldn't feel the tug of temptation. It would be like water off a ducks back. Just because we don't have a sinful nature doesn't mean we won't feel temptation. Likewise, just because we feel temptation doesn't mean we have a sinful nature.

Take Jesus for example. He was fully God yet the bible says he emptied himself of his divinity and took on the form of a human (Phil 2). Fully God but fully man. He was in a human body that needed to eat, sleep, go to the toilet. It felt pain, it sweated just like ours, and in fact everything was the same with his body as was with the rest of mankind except that he didn't have a sinful nature. He didn't carry the fallen bloodline of Adam. He carried the perfect blood of His heavenly Father. That is why he was able to be an acceptable eternal sacrifice for mankind's eternal sins. Now Hebrews 4:15 says, 'For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.' Now Jesus, who never had the sinful nature, was able to be tempted. People say, 'Well that was Jesus. You know - God!' Yes but the bible says he was made like us. That is why it is possible for him to sympathize with our weakness. Because he was made like us and felt all those weaknesses and temptations too. The point is it is possible to be without a sinful nature

and still be tempted to sin. But there is another point here - that its possible to be tempted and not sin, just like Jesus - 'but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Well that was Jesus and not sinning is impossible Ryan, I mean come on! Are you preaching some sinless Christianity? Well, not in the way that certain movements do, which put people into bondage, but in a way that says that actually overcoming sin is not impossible. After all, no one ever makes us sin. We are the ones who ultimately decide to give in to it or to resist it. That is why knowing that we don't have a sinful nature anymore removes the excuse, 'Well it wasn't me it was my sinful nature. It made me do it. I just have to die to myself', and puts more responsibility on us to resist temptation. It was possible for Jesus not to sin and its also possible for us not to sin. Now we have also got to understand the fact that our body is a neutral instrument to whoever is in control of it. Our body doesn't make moral decisions. It's a hunk of meat that does what it is told. Your body does what ever you tell it to do. So if you are under the

control of your spirit then your body will always do what your spirit wants. If you are under the control of your unrenewed natural mind then you will do whatever you are being tempted with. Our bodies in themselves aren't bad. Our bodies can't just sin. We let them sin. It's what we let them do that is good or bad. A gun in itself isn't good or bad. It's whoever is in control of the gun that causes the good or bad. Whether an armed robber who uses it to shoot people who try to stop him, or a police officer who uses it to stop an armed robber from murdering innocent people. Now we are more than just a hunk of meat. We are spirit, soul and body? To be more accurate is to say that I am a spirit, I live in a body and I have a soul. Your spirit is the part of you that contacts the spiritual realm. God is spirit and we were made in his image. Those who worship God must worship in spirit (John 4). Your body is the part of you that contacts the physical realm. And your soul is the part of you that contacts the mental realm. Your soul has to do with your mind, will and intellect. You are a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body - but you are not that body. It is just your earth suit!

If that body dies, then you (the real you, your spirit), would instantly be with God. If you are born again then you will never die, that is your body will die, but the real you will just go on to be with the Lord. Too many Christians just see themselves as flesh and bone, and not as a spirit being living in flesh and bone. And because of that they generally just do fleshy things or whatever their body feels like doing. Now God has done something to our inner man (made us alive with Christ) but he expects us to do something with our body and our mind. Romans 12:1,2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.
2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this

world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Remember why Christians still sin? Because of temptation (sin trying to get in to our bodies) and

worldly thinking still in them from before they were saved. Two things God wants us to do here: present our bodies to God, not temptation, so that sin cannot get in; and renew our minds i.e. get all the worldly thinking out and replace it with the word of God and His way of thinking. Our bodies: I said before that our bodies were neutral and an instrument to whoever is in control. Well, our bodies are an instrument, but they aren't completely neutral. They have appetites and desires. The mistake Christians make is confusing the desires of the sinful nature with the natural desires of the human body. The desires of the sinful nature are evil and always end up in sin. The desires of the human body are natural but have the potential to get out of control. For example the desire to eat. It's a good desire because if we didn't have it then we would forget to eat and accidentally kill ourselves. But it is a desire that can get out of control. What about sex? God has given us all a sexual drive for procreation and for the enjoyment between a husband and wife. It is a pure and beautiful thing. But the devil wants to pervert it. Our sexual drive can get out of control if we let it.

What about rest. It's a natural desire. Your body is telling you it needs to recuperate therefore you need to lie down or sleep or you are going to run into physical deficit and your health will suffer. But that desire can get out of control and we become lazy and don't feel like doing anything. Now how do these desires get out of control? Well, when we respond to these desires our bodies simply say, 'That was good. That felt great. Do that again.' And your body makes no moral judgement as to whether what you are doing is right or wrong. It just feels something good and wants to do it again. Now you may give in to temptation sexually. All your body says is that was good. Do that again. It's your inner man that struggles with it and feels guilty. But your body doesn't care. The devil wants to try pervert our desires and take them into excess and bring us under the control of our desires that are out of control. Those kinds of Christians are called carnal Christians. Or in other words 'body led' Christians. They are led by the desires of their body and not the Spirit of God. It doesn't mean they have a sinful nature, it just means they have let their body get out of control, and instead

of bringing their body under control, they just let their body dictate. Now we all have a certain level of carnality in us. Why is that? Because when we were born again only our spirit changed. Our body and mind stayed the same! Our body still has appetites that can get out of control and continually need to be kept in the right place and our mind is still full of worldly thinking and needs to be renewed by the word of God which is a long process. So we need to be patient with ourselves because God is! Our mind: Now I have said that it's not the sinful nature driving us to sin but temptation luring us to sin. It's also worldly thinking still in our mind that leads us into sin. See we grew up in a world that's thinking is based on the fallen sinful nature. Godly thinking people have usually always been in the minority in the world. Most of the world throughout all generations have been godless and dead to God. In fact enemies of God and full of their own selfish ambitions. Take the tower of Babel for example in Genesis 11. Man wanted to unite under his own abilities and make bricks and build a

city with a tower that reaches to the heavens. It's the very essence of humanistic worldly thinking where man says: 1- We don't need God to unite us. 2- We don't need Gods method of doing things (Gods method was to build with stone but they made bricks- the self made man) 3- We'll build a city and a world that doesn't need God. 4- We'll build a tower that reaches the heavens. We can get there on our own, in fact we don't need God at all. We'll do what ever we feel like doing. That has been the very attitude that has been shaping the thinking of mankind ever since. And it's all based on the sinful nature! That's the world that you and I grew up in. So now that we are saved we may not have the sinful nature in us any more, but we still have a certain degree of thinking in us that is based on the fallen and corrupt wisdom of this world, which is based on the sinful nature. And that's the stuff you have got to get out of your mind and replace with the word of God. We all come into Christianity with thinking patterns that are ungodly. Salvation didn't wash them

all away and replace them with the bible like an instant download of the bible into your mind. God didn't do that. That's what we have got to do according to Romans 12:2. If we don't do it we will remain worldly in our thinking and maturity in Christ. And our maturity level will be reflected in our actions and thinking. According to W.E Vines Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, there are two Greek words for the term worldly or carnal. Sarkinos and Sarkikos. They both come from the word sarx (flesh that has around 14 meanings). Paul uses both these words when addressing the behaviour of the Corinthian church. They both mean unspiritual and worldly. But Sarkinos means worldly and unspiritual as one without the sinful nature i.e. a born again Christian just being worldly. Sarkikos means worldly and unspiritual as one with the sinful nature i.e. Someone not born again who you would expect to behave in a worldly way. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly (sarkinos) - mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still

worldly (Sarkikos). For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly (Sarkikos)? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? There was an expectation for them to grow up from being unspiritual to being spiritual. Immature (because of worldly thinking) to mature (because of godly thinking). But they were staying immature, unspiritual and this was because they were still thinking like the world! In verses 1 and 2 Paul accuses them of being Sarkinos. Saved yet still acting unspiritual and like the world. But in verses 3 and 4 he accuses them of being Sarkikos! Acting just like people who are not saved, unspiritual and still having the sinful nature. God has already gotten rid of 'sarkikos' in us, but He is telling us to get rid of 'sarkinos' from our thinking. Stop thinking, and therefore acting, like the world. Start thinking and acting like Jesus.

Conclusion: Now if the question is provoked 'then why do Christians still sin' by the statement 'Christians no longer have a sinful nature' then it reveals that many still thought we had a sinful nature. To ask, 'Then why do Christians still sin?' shows that they thought it was because of the sinful nature. But thinking that way is dangerous because it's telling us that we don't have total control over ourselves. And if we don't have total control over ourselves then we'll still have an excuse for sinning, 'well it wasn't me it was my sinful nature'. No. Being born again frees us from the controlling power of the sinful nature by removing it. But now we have got to u n d e r s ta n d t h a t s a l v a t i o n d i d n ' t f r e e u s f r o m temptation. Temptation hasn't been removed. Why? Because the devil is still here! Temptation will be removed when the devil is removed. Bottom line is we'll all face temptation till the day we die. That's why Christians still sin. Not because they have a sinful nature driving them, but because they give in to the temptation that is luring them. Fortunately we have a gracious God whose grace will never run out. He'll never reject us because of our sin. He continues to forgive us and help us through into total victory.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17) The bible says that we can reign in life. Not by anything we do, achieve or accomplish but simply by what we receive- the receiving of God's abundant provision of grace and His free gift of righteousness will cause us to reign in life. Now to reign in life is to know that you are right with God. It's to know that He is happy with you, approving of you and pleased with you. Someone once said that God is not mad at you- He 's mad about you. It's to know that His love is towards you constantly and his

favor on you. To reign in life is to live totally free from crippling guilt and condemnation with an awareness of your absolute right standing before God that can never change! See all of Gods salvation and blessings come to us by grace, through Jesus, because of the finished work of the cross. They don't come because of anything we do whether good or bad. God has chosen to relate to us, and have a relationship with us, never on the basis of our performance but always on the basis of Christ's performance on our behalf. The bible says that this righteousness we receive is a free gift. That means we dont earn it. That means it's not a reward we get for good behaviour. We mustn't flatter ourselves ever by thinking we could somehow do things that would cause us to be righteous and make up for all our sins. Our sins were horrific and separated us from God. We could never claw our way back into right standing before God by pathetic little 'acts of righteousness'! The bible tells us anyway that all our righteous acts were like filthy rags. No the gift of righteousness comes to us by grace, because of what Jesus did for us, through faith not works.

Ephesians 2:4-9 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5

made us alive with Christ even when we

6

were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. Jesus,

7

And God raised us up with Christ and

seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ in order that in the coming ages he might
8

show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by
9

grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God works, so that no one can boast. Romans 3:21-25 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
22

not by

This righteousness from God comes for all have sinned and fall short
24

through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

23

of the glory of God, Jesus.

25

and are justified freely by his

grace through the redemption that came by Christ God presented him as a sacrifice of

atonement, through faith in his blood. Romans 5:1,2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2

through whom we have gained access

by faith into this grace in which we now stand. Now this righteousness put us into absolute right standing before God. since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. When we stand before God it is as though Jesus Himself is standing before God. In fact it is as though God doesn't see us but Jesus. And this is true because Jesus is our heavenly mediator the book of Hebrews talks about. Now when God looks at us He sees us as righteous before Him. But he doesn't just see us as righteous, we are righteous before Him. 1 Corinthians 1:30,31 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our

righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Something that Christians need to know is that they are 100% righteous before God and that can never change! God gave us the free gift of being 100% righteous before Him. Not 95% and we have to make up the rest! That undermines the gospel. Totally 100% all the time. Nothing can affect this 100% right standing before God. Why? Because this right standing isn't based on what we do but on what Jesus has already done! If it is based on what we do then it is no longer a gift but a reward for works and we forfeit grace. Galatians 2:21 "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Yet so many Christians just can't accept that.

Somewhere in their thinking there is a little 'yeah but' and it needs to be obliterated! What happened at the cross and how does it affect our life? Well many things but one thing I want to focus on is propitiation. It simply means the satisfying of Gods wrath. See Gods wrath was on its way to us. God is just and therefore all sin must be judged and punished. We were in our sins and deserving of punishment. Eternal punishment for eternal crimes against God. But then Jesus intercepted the wrath of God that was on its way to us. The cross stood in-between the punishment of God and us. And Jesus bore the full brunt of it on himself so that we didn't have to. We could be spared of that horrific eternal judgement for sin. Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, Now Jesus did that for all of mankind but the free

benefits of the cross are only accessed by faith. (Romans 5:1,2) So if you don't have faith in Jesus and the finished work of the cross then you will receive none of the benefits. What are the benefits in regards to propitiation? Well God placed all your sin on Christ when he hung on the cross. Forget anyone else, lets talk about your sins. Every one of them was placed on Christ. (Isaiah 53, Psalms 103, Colossians 2:13-15, 2 Cor 5:21) That includes all your past sins, all your present sins and all your possible future sins. It had to include all your future sins otherwise anyone who sinned after the cross wouldn't be included! No! When God says all your sins he means all - Past, present and future. Now are you ready for the good news? If God has already punished all your sins on Christ then all your sins have been dealt with. Past, present and future. God is just. He will never punish the same sin twice. Imagine a judge who punished you to 25 years in prison with hard labor for burning someone's house down. That was your just punishment. And you served your time. Imagine if you got out of prison after you

had paid your penalty and the judge turned around and said, 'Another 25 years'. Do you think that would be just? Of course not! Justice has already been satisfied. The penalty was paid. It would be totally unjust to serve another sentence because then you are actually receiving this new punishment for nothing. Now if God has already punished Christ for all your sins, why would he then turn around and punish you for your sins as well? That would be punishing the same sin twice. God is just. He will never punish the same sin twice. If it has already been punished in Christ then it will never be punished in you! We never have to live in fear of being punished for sin. Someone once said that the safest place in a bush fire is where the fire has already burnt because it can't burn there again. Where is the safest place for sinners to be? In Christ where the fire of God's wrath has already burnt. It will never burn there again! My point is this. If you are in Christ then your sins will never be punished again! That means even if you still sin you will not be punished for those sins because they have already been punished! If you are not in Christ but under law then you are still facing punishment. But if you are in grace you will never

face punishment. Jesus already has faced it all for you! You can sin under grace and you will never be punished! For those under law - judgement for sin is yet to come. For those under grace - judgement has already been and gone. No matter how much you might sin under grace you will always remain in a 100% righteous standing before God. People say that if you sin you need to get forgiveness. The fact is as soon as you came into grace you were forgiven all your sins - past present and future. Under grace now you are forgiven even before you sin! People say if you sin now you need to be cleansed of that sin. The fact is you have already been cleansed of all sins. If you died and went to heaven without confessing some sins and getting 'cleansed' of them, you wouldn't have to worry about being punished or even confronted of those sins. They are long gone! 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 103: 2,3,12 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits 3 12

who forgives all your sins as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Some people are scared that they may sin when they're in heaven and get thrown out. No that will never happen because the blood of Jesus will still be working in heaven and if he's forgiven us all our sins then he has forgiven us all our past, present and future sins all the way on into eternity, if it were even possible to sin in heaven. What I am doing, which is a very unusual thing, is building a theology that says, if you are in grace you could still sin and God would not punish you or reject you or take his grace away from you. I'm not doing it to try and give people an excuse to sin. I am doing it to show you something of the wonders and depths of Gods grace. So that we can be totally set free from law and never go back to it but always remain free under grace.

These are not my own thoughts and opinions. This is the Gospel that Paul preached. Have a look at how Paul says it in Romans 5:20- 6:1... The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Paul is saying here that grace comes to those who are under the law, who turn to Jesus Christ, and deals with all their sins. There is no sin (past, present and future) to great for grace to deal with. No matter how big the sin, grace is bigger. He is also saying that now we have come into a new era. An era where God relates to us on the basis of grace and not on the basis of our sins! Before we were saved we were dead in our sins, and sin reigned in us:

'so that, just as sin reigned in death,' Now we are alive and in righteousness and grace reigns: ' so also grace might reign through righteousness '. (That is the gift of righteousness that brings us into 100% right standing before God.) Now I used to read that the wrong way round, that righteousness reigns through grace. Meaning that if I was in grace then righteousness was reigning and I wouldn't sin, and if I was sinning then I wasn't righteous and I was out of grace. But he is saying that grace reigns through righteousness, or rather that in righteousness grace reigns. Meaning that if you have received the free gift of righteousness through being born again and you now stand before God 100% righteous, you wouldn't suddenly lose that standing before God if you sinned. Instead grace kicks in and deals with that sin. In other words grace reigns over that sin. Paul is saying as some other bible translations say that where sin abounds grace does much more abound! Grace always reigns over sin. Sin never reigns over grace. There is no sin that is

beyond grace. There is no sin that can overtake grace. In other words no matter how much you sin as a born again believer, grace will always overtake that sin and keep you in right standing before God! Once you are in grace there is no sin or amount of sin that can take you out of it! You didn't do anything to earn your 100% righteous standing before God and there is nothing you can do to loose it! Grace is the reason why we could keep sinning because we would still stay righteous before God! 1 John 2:1,2a My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins You could mess up and fall under grace every day of your life and grace would still always reign over that sin and just keep dealing with it. Grace can never run out because where sin abounds grace does much more abound. That is why you can never lose your salvation! To say you can is heresy and people who think you can do

not understand grace. If you think you can lose your salvation it means that keeping your salvation is based on your performance and if you just don't perform quite good enough then you lose your salvation. I have one word for what that is called- works! Some people say well if I mess up and sin with this particular sin I struggle with for the hundredth time in one day, well then I just don't deserve to be forgiven anymore and I must carry around this condemnation. The fact is you never deserved to be forgiven the first time you did it, let alone the hundredth, but God did forgive you. Even if you did it a thousand million times in one day you still wouldn't deserve to be forgiven. The fact of the matter is he already has forgiven you. Because 'where sin increased grace increased all the more'. Grace looked ahead from the cross at every sin that would ever be committed and dealt with it right there! There is no sin that can ever get away from grace because grace always reigns! Even the Unforgivable sin from Mark 3 and Matthew 12! (That sin only relates to those who have hardened their hearts to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, who is the only one who

can draw them to Christ. Therefore they will never be forgiven. If your are born again then you have never commited that sin and never can! ) That's why grace is so good - because even if I do sin grace is right there keeping me 100% righteous before God. Now it has been hard but I have really been holding myself back from having to qualify certain things. Because I know a lot of people will struggle with what I am saying. And I know that it is provoking all kinds of questions that I have avoided answering because it would have distracted and taken away from what I was trying to get across. Some would say I'm preaching 'greasy grace'. They would say I'm confusing people and they're going to think it's okay to just carry on sinning. They may even think that the more they sin the more grace they will receive. But listen, if the way we preach grace does not provoke the question, ' Shall we just keep sinning if grace will keep increasing?' then we are not preaching true grace! Paul's gospel provoked that very question: What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace

may increase? (Rom 6:1) He knew he had to answer that question because he knew it would be the first question people would ask just after he had been speaking on true grace. The gospel Paul preached said now that you are in Christ and stand before God completely righteous, it really wouldn't matter how much you sinned, grace has already forgiven you and continues to keep you righteous before God. And he knew that would provoke the question: Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Does the way you speak about grace provoke that question? Think about it! See our problem is that we want to go on to verse 2 of Romans 6 too quickly. Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2

By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in

it any longer? Yes, Paul goes on to teach some awesome things about freedom from sin which we will cover in the

next chapter, but we must be so careful not to move to quickly onto that when we haven't caught what he was just saying. You cannot teach people about sanctification before they truly understand justification. Justification is the foundation for sanctification not the other way round. I once heard it put so well. If you want to paint a picture of a landscape and some buildings using watercolours, what you need to do is paint the landscape first. Then once the paint has thoroughly dried, only then can you begin to paint the buildings. If you don't wait for the landscape to dry then the paint from the buildings will mingle in with the landscape and make a mess of the painting. If we do not allow ' where sin increased, grace increased all the more' to really settle into our hearts, then when we hear ' We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?' we will really struggle and be confused and come up with all kinds of theology. We must linger in it for a while. Day's, months, years if necessary until we have really got it and then move on. Grace truly is so wonderful. It's better than you believe. It is the good news that's not too good to be true. My Dad always says, 'It's so good because it is true!'

Conclusion: This grace isn't designed to make us contemplate sin and how we can get away with it. It is designed to empower us to live close to God at all times regardless of what happens. It is designed to give us the confidence and boldness to come before His throne of grace and worship Him and be intimate and enjoy Him no matter what. It doesn't make you want to run out and just start sinning as much as you can because you know there's grace. No it really doesn't. The heart of a Christian is not wishing it could sin and get away with it, but wishing it could get rid of sin. Sin is foreign to the new nature, and if you sin that new nature is grieved. As we approach this next subject we must not fear that we are going to be exposed as some failing Christian who just can't stop sinning. God doesn't even see us like that. He sees us beautiful in Christ even if you struggle to see yourself like that. Nothing will ever stop Him from seeing you like that. Some may fear that in this chapter they are going to hear about things that sound wonderful but are impossible to live in. Like the caged eagle who stares at the open sky just wishing he could be up there soaring. Well we are going to hear wonderful things and you better believe that you can soar free like the eagle! God made you to be free and He's done everything that needed to be done to set you free. And I pray and believe that you are going to see that.

Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:1,2) T h i s S c r i p t u r e i s n ' t ta l k i n g t o C h r i s t i a n s w h o occasionally slip up and feel awful about it and go straight to God. It's talking about 2 kinds of people: 1. Who refuse to give up a lifestyle of sin and are seeking to justify it. They want to live in their sin but still think they are fine with God. Their attitude reveals they haven't had a heart change. They are not born again. Imagine if a murderer got saved but still defended his right to keep murdering. Imagine if a thief got saved but still defended his right to keep stealing. Imagine if a homosexual got saved but still

defended his right to be homosexual. Would you think that these people have had a true heart change? Now a born again Christian might be tempted in these areas and sin but immediately their new nature would be grieved and run straight to God. So really this scripture is talking to those who want to carry on living in a lifestyle of sin and defend it and then use the grace of God as a license to sin. 'Here's my license. I have the papers. I'm allowed to sin and God won't mind. He has to forgive me. Don't you tell me I'm not allowed to. I have the papers right here they say that where sin abounds grace abounds all the more! So that means because I'm in grace I can keep sinning.' That is 'greasy grace'. Greasy grace justifies the sin and not the sinner. True grace justifies the sinner and not the sin. Big difference. God judges sin. He doesn't justify it. The difference is that if you are in Christ then all your sins have already been judged. But if you are not in Christ you still await your judgement. This scripture is confronting those who want to keep living in sin, claiming they are in grace, with why they wouldn't keep living in sin if they were truly in grace. 2. Secondly this scripture is talking to those who struggle with ongoing sin, who think they are just

bound to it and have no hope of being free, and are wondering if perhaps they are not saved. Christians who wonder if they will ever be free from sin and live free from sin. Like a caged eagle who stares up into the open skies just wishing. Many Christians have given up that they'll ever be free from sin, like a caged eagle who no longer stares into the open skies. So it's talking to people who aren't born again who think they are born again! And its talking to people who are born again who think they're not born again! It's telling those who aren't born again that the reason they keep living in sin is because sin is still living in them. And to those who are born again, still struggling with sin, its because they still think sin is living in them when it is not! Therefore they think they just have to give in to temptation when it comes and don't realize that sin has no power or authority over them any longer. Romans 6 tells us that the cage door is open and the skies are waiting! It's not talking about the things we can't do because of grace. It's talking about the things we can do because of grace. Grace isn't telling us we can't sin. Grace is telling us we can live free from sin!

More of that in Chapter 5 but for now I want to give the biblical reason for why we don't keep living in sin. We need to be grounded in the biblical reason because Jesus said the truth will set you free. So if we want to be free we need to know the truth. Many good hearted Christians have tried to give fellow Christians the reason why we don't keep living in sin, yet at best their advice is just personal opinions, cliches, experiences, rules or humanistic programs if it is not grounded on the biblical reason. And if it's not grounded on the biblical reason then it cant set people free. We have got to know the biblical number one foundational reason as to why Christians don't keep living in sin. It is simply this: We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? That is the reason why born again Christians don't have to keep living in sin. Because we have died to sin and it no longer is our master. It's not saying that it's impossible to sin. It is very possible to sin as a Christian. It is not saying that it's impossible for Christians to struggle with ongoing sin. It's saying

that we don't have to keep living in it because we have been freed from it. This means two things that either we can now live free from the slavery of sin because its power is broken or we can go back to slavery by allowing ourselves to just live in sin. The potential for us to live free from sin is there. We need to do something about it, because God has already provided every means for us to be free from it. It's saying that those who still live in sin don't realize they have been freed from the slavery of sin because they have died to it. If a slave dies then the slave master no longer has authority over that slave. What authority could he have? He can whip the slave now all he wants but it won't do any good. The slave is dead to that slave master. And now in Christ that slave has been raised up into new life, away from the slave master, and is free from slavery. Paul is saying we don't need to live in sin if we realize some things.
3

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized

4

into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised

from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5

If we have been united with him like this in his

death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7

because anyone who has died has been

freed from sin. Our old self could not lead us into righteousness because of the sinful nature that was enslaving and controlling us. But now something glorious has happened. That old nature has been crucified. The slave master called the sinful nature has been done away with. It has been completely removed. Now we have been raised up into new life with Christ with a new nature that wants to live for God, no longer controlled by the sinful nature. That's the good news! But what happens next is up to us. We can stay out of the cage, living in freedom, or we can go back to it. See grace doesn't make us not sin. It gives us the opportunity and power to live free from sin. But this doesn't mean that we have the luxury to choose between living in sin or living in freedom. As

though God is just so nice and doesnt mind what we do. No. Grace affords us no means to go on living in and defending our right to sin! Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Grace is saying we must stop sinning because we have died to sin and are no longer enslaved to it. It's saying you were released from slavery so don't go back to it. It would be foolish to be released from slavery and then go back to it. Just like it would be foolish of a released eagle to go back to the cage. It was made to be free. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free no longer to be subject to a yoke of slavery! 'You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.' (Eph 4:22-24)

'Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
7 6

Because of
8

these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
9

Do not lie to each other, since you have

10

taken off your old self with its practices

and have

put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.' (Col 3:5-10) These scriptures aren't law thats telling us we better do this or we won't be right with God. They're saying that because you are right with God you can do these things. Or rather that you can now bare fruits of righteousness because you are no longer enslaved to unrighteousness. Law says bare fruits in order to be righteous. Grace says because you are righteous you can bare fruits. Many Christians wonder if they will ever be free from the controlling power of sin. Now if you ask the devil that question, I'm pretty sure he will tell you no. But I don't want to know anything from the devil except

how threatened he is of me as a Spirit-empowered grace-filled son of God! Now if you ask God the question He might ask you how many Egyptian slave masters made it through the Red Sea to the other side to continue enslaving Israel? When we realize the answer and its significance then we will realize how free we are! Israel was enslaved by Egypt for 430 years. They were controlled literally by the Egyptian slave masters who would whip them and force them to do certain things. Israel was not free. Then on the night of the Passover God set Israel free. Through the blood of a lamb Israel was set free. However, they were still in the land of the slave master and if they stayed there they would have continued to be enslaved, even though they had been set free. So God did something profound. He led them out of Egypt away from the land of slavery and away from the slave masters. And the way out was through the Red Sea. Now the slave masters came to try and bring them back into slavery and so followed Israel through the Red Sea, but God caused the waters to go back over all the slave masters and they were all killed in the sea. Not one of the

slave masters made it to the other side! Israel was completely free from the land of slavery, and from the slave masters, to go to a new land to live in a new way - free and no longer enslaved! Now what profound significance does this have on my life? Well the Bible says that we are the Israel of God and everything that happened to them is a shadow of what was to be fulfilled in our lives. Israel in captivity and bound by the slave masters represents our lives before Christ - our old life that was far away from God and enslaved by the sinful nature. The Passover lamb represents Christ dying to set us free. It was at the cross that you and I were set free. Then they left Egypt and that's like you and I leaving our old life behind. Then they went through the Red Sea and came out on the other side to live a new life. And all the slave masters were completely killed as the sea washed back over them. We have died to our old life and have been raised up into new life with Christ and o u r s l a v e m a s t e r, t h e s i n f u l n a t u r e , h a s b e e n completely annihilated from our lives. Your sinful nature did not make it through when you where born again. You no longer have a slave master whipping you and controlling you to do certain things. Grace

has set you free! You now have come into a new life of freedom in Christ. You don't have to try and get free. You are free. You were set free the day you were united with Christ in his Death, burial and resurrection. When sin comes to try drive you and tell you you are enslaved - remind it how many slave masters made it through the Red Sea - not one! Oh yes, it is possible to live free as a born again believer. It is possible to overcome sin. Grace is the reason why we don't have to keep living in sin. Grace has given us the opportunity to reign in life over sin. Grace isn't so much affording us the opportunity to sin as it is affording us the opportunity to live free from sin! Away from the controlling power of sin. The controlling power of sin is broken and there is enough grace to overcome every temptation in our lives! For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
12

It teaches us to say "No" to

ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live selfcontrolled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13

while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious

appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all

wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14) The grace of God doesn't make us say, 'No'. It teaches us so that we can say, 'No' to ungodliness and worldly desires. The more we understand this grace that I am talking about the more we will be empowered to overcome sin. Lets now talk more about this grace and how it empowers us to overcome sin.

Now Romans 6 is our basis for overcoming sin. There are three keys to overcoming temptation found in this chapter: 1- know 2- count 3- do Romans 6 says that if you want to overcome temptation then there are three keys. There are some things you need to know. There are some things you need to count (reckon on or believe to be true). And there are some things you need to do (or act on because of the things you know are true). 1What do we need to know?

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized

into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We

were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5

If we have been united with him like this in his

6

death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7

because anyone who has died has been

freed from sin. We need to know what happened to us? Why it happened, and when it happened? 1What happened to us?

We were baptized into Christ. This means that God united us with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. (Verses 3 and 4.) Then we also know that because we were united with Christ in his death it means that our old self was crucified with Christ. That old self that was dead to God and controlled by the sinful nature was killed

with Christ on the cross. 'For we know that our old self was crucified with him' 2Why did this happen?

So that the body of sin (sinful nature) could be removed and we could be raised with Christ into new life with a new nature no longer to be slaves of that old nature and of sin. ' so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin' 3When did this happen?

All this happened when we were united with Christ in His death and therefore our old self has been crucified and at that point the sinful nature removed. It doesn't say that our old self will be crucified one day. It doesn't say that our old self needs to keep being crucified. It says that our old self was crucified! It has happened. Never to happen again! It cannot happen again! Now lots of Christians don't know this. And because they don't know this they are not free in this area. Jesus said that if you know the truth then it would set you free. Not hear it and forget it, but know it. You have to know that sin no longer has control over you.

You are no longer enslaved to it. Oh, it wants to bring you back into captivity, but we don't have to let it. Before it had the power over us. Now we have the power over it. Before we were in Christ sin was on the inside trying to get out by expressing itself through our body. Now in Christ sin has been removed. It's now on the outside trying to get back in through our bodies. But we are the ones in authority and don't have to let it. We can resist it and it has to flee! 211

There are some things we need to count. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but

alive to God in Christ Jesus. We are to count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. But scripture here says something else as well in the same way. Now what is this 'same way' that we should reckon with or 'count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus'? Verses 8,9 and 10 tell us.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will

9

also live with him.

For we know that since Christ

10

was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. lives to God. Verse 9 tells us that Jesus cannot die again. Verse 10 tells us that He died to sin once and for all and is now alive to live to God. And verse 11 tells me that the exact same thing has happened to me. That I (my inner man) cannot die again, that I have died to sin once and for all, and that I'm alive to live to God. Therefore it is possible to live totally for God and totally free from sin. Do we know this? Do we reckon with this? Do we realize and believe that it is true? It is not true because we believe it is true. Our believing doesn't make it true. It is true so we need to believe it. This is what the bible tells us to realize and believe. To reckon with. That in the same way Jesus died to sin once and for all, we also died to sin once and for all. I've heard people say that we need to reckon with our sinful nature and be aware of it and what's in it and The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he

what it is wanting to do or we may fall victim to it! Not once does my bible tell me to reckon with my sinful nature. It tells me to reckon that I don't have a sinful nature! Not that I have to die to it, keep dying to it or one day will die to it. But that I have died to it and it is removed and gone. Circumcised! How can I reckon with something I don't have? Sure I can reckon with temptation. Temptation still tries to get me. But not my sinful nature because it is gone! Now all of this knowing and all of this counting is for a reason - so that we can now do something. 311

What are the things we need to do? In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but
12

alive to God in Christ Jesus. desires.

13

Therefore do not let

sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. but under grace.
14

For sin shall

not be your master, because you are not under law,

Therefore In other words because we know these things and believe these things we can now do some things! What things? Not let sin reign in our bodies. Not offer our bodies to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but instead, offer our bodies to God as instruments for righteousness. However, we must see that scripture is not saying that just because we know these things and believe them that sin will automatically not reign in our bodies. It is saying that because we know these things, there is something that we can and need to do. do not let That means that you must not let sin reign. That means you must not offer your body to sin and that you must offer your body to God. This is where we need to take responsibility for our actions. God is not responsible for our actions. The

devil is not responsible for our actions. The sinful nature is not responsible for our actions. We are responsible for our actions. If sin is reigning in us it is because we are letting it reign in us! The bible is saying here that we can now take responsibility for our actions because we are no longer controlled by the sinful nature. Before, when we were lost (even though the lost will give an account for their actions) we were controlled by the sinful nature and it was responsible for our actions. But now, through Christ, God has given back control over our actions to us! God doesn't even control our actions. We surrender control to Him. The devil can't make us do anything. Temptation can't make us do anything. It's us who allow ourselves to do things. Scripture here then is saying that because you have been set free from sin and that it no longer has control over you, you must stop sinning. In other words scripture says don't do it anymore! Stop it! Just stop it! Eph 4: 22-32 You were taught, with regard to your former way of

life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; attitude of your minds; holiness.
25 24 23

to be made new in the

and to put on the new self,

created to be like God in true righteousness and Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and
26

speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let
27

the sun go down while you are still angry, not give the devil a foothold.
28

and do

He who has been

stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your

mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of Get rid of all bitterness, rage and

God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. malice. you.
32 31

anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave

Col 3:5-10 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature (not sinful nature but body with its natural appetites which old worldly thinking still in us perverts): sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. wrath of God is coming.
7 6

Because of these, the

8

You used to walk in these But now you must

ways, in the life you once lived.

rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
9

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken

10

off your old self with its practices in the image of its Creator.

and have put

on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge

So we are the ones who need to take control over our actions. We need to act on what the word has told us. No one can live our life for us. No one and nothing else is responsible for our actions but us. One of the ways that we can overcome temptation is by removing all the excuses we have for why we give in to temptation.

Some excuses: 1) 'It's not me. It is sin living in me that makes me sin.' 2) 'The temptation was just too strong for me to resist.' Excuse 1: 'It's not me. It is sin living in me that makes me sin.' Most people who say this are talking about the sinful nature living in them that is making them sin. It's very convenient to blame the sinful nature rather than taking responsibility for themselves. If it's the sinful nature making them then what can they do? They can't help it. Sadly many people reinforce this excuse by telling people they have the new nature and the old nature living side-by-side and are battling for control. They call it the 'battle with the flesh'. You know Ryan, Romans 7. Doesn't that talk about Paul who is struggling with his sinful nature? Romans 7:14-20 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do.
16 15

I do not understand what I

do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree

that the law is good.

17

As it is, it is no longer I
18

myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

I know

that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. keep on doing.
20 19

For what I do is not the good

I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. This is the most dangerous scripture that you can give to a Christian who still believes they have a sinful nature!! There is no other scripture that would be more destructive in their life than this one if they still believe they have a sinful nature! Paul is not talking about himself as a born again believer. He is talking about himself before he was a born again believer. When he was a Pharisee. Don't believe people who say Paul is talking about himself as a believer. They are wrong! Paul would never lay such a strong foundation in Romans 6 about the believer being free from the slavery of sin and its control, and then undermine all that by saying that actually believers are still slaves to sin.

Contrast: Romans 6:6 'For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7

because

anyone who has died has been freed from sin.' with Romans 7:14 'We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.' If Paul is talking about a believer in both cases then he just completely contradicted himself! We must never quote this scripture to try and console Christians struggling with sin by saying, 'look at Paul's struggle with sin'. Rather quote scriptures on grace and how they are still 100% righteous before God and then Romans 6 on how they can live free from the controlling power of sin. It's not sin living in us that makes us sin if we're born again. Hopefully by now this book has convinced us of that!

Excuse 2: 'The temptation was just too strong for me to resist.' Now this is a very important thing to get right in our mind. Why? Because if we never give in to temptation then we will never sin. And if nothing can make us give in to temptation then we never have to give in. But this excuse is saying that the temptation was to strong for us to handle so the temptation actually made us give in. It was out of our control. We just have to hope we never come across a temptation that's too strong for us or we will uncontrollably just give in. This couldn't be more further from the truth. And again it takes the responsibility for our actions off us and blames it on something else. No. We are responsible for our actions. This excuse doesn't square with the bible any way. The bible blows this excuse to bits. 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

This scripture makes it very clear that there is no temptation that is too strong. There is no temptation beyond our ability to endure. What happens then? We just give in too easily! I want you to imagine something if you will for a moment even though this will actually never happen. But imagine if when you get to heaven and God says remember that sin you committed that time? Why did you give in? Imagine if you said, 'Well Lord, it was just to strong for me to resist'. He would remind you of 1 Corinthians 10:13 and you would have no excuse. Now this is not going to happen because he remembers our sins no more. The point is this that we just give in to temptation too easily. Hebrews 12:4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. In other words we should be resisting sin right up until the point of death! That we would rather die than commit that sin. Now grace doesn't mean that sin doesn't have any consequences. Yes, if we sin we'll still keep our right

standing before God and He will always love, accept and approve of us and never hold our sin against us or punish us because of it. However, sin does entangle us and seeks to paralyze us as Christians and render us ineffective. Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. To be entangled is like a deer that has been caught in a trap and is now tangled up in it and can't go anywhere. Sin entangles us and robs us of our destiny and running our race in Christ and we must resist it at all costs. We know when we are being tempted. Often we resist God and submit to the enemies' temptation. But the bible says we should do the opposite. James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and

he will flee from you. There's a promise that he will flee from you. Temptation will go! Do we resist in our own strength? If we have to, yes! But better to go to Him for strength. He won't resist for you but will give you grace and strength to resist. Hebrews 4:15,16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.
16

Let us then approach the

throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every way yet was without sin. Then it says Let us then In other words if Jesus was tempted in every way and yet was without sin then we can be tempted in every way and also be without sin, if instead of giving in we go straight to the throne of grace and ' receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.'

The problem is most of us go after our time of need instead of 'in our time of need.' So the truth is that there really is no excuse to give in to temptation. And we need to face that. Not live in ignorances' bliss. Because it's not bliss. It's usually feelings of condemnation and guilt and unworthiness and failure! Yet we can live victorious. We can overcome every temptation. 'For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.' (Romans 6:14) How wonderful is that. Ryan are you telling me that I don't have to ever sin again? Yes! Does that mean you will never sin again? I don't know. That's up to you and how you administrate the grace of God in your life. Now our focus, anyway, shouldn't be on trying to live this life to not sin. We haven't run our race by just not sinning. Not sinning helps us run our race but it's not our race. We're not going through life just trying not to fail. You don't climb a mountain not to fall. You climb a mountain to get to the top! You don't run a

race not to lose. You run to win. We are living our Christian life for Jesus to do everything he has called us to do and to do it well. Grace isn't about all the things we can't do in life and all the things we now have to do in life. Grace is telling us that there are all these eternally impacting things that God has for you to do and you can do them now because of grace. Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9

not by works, so that no one can boast.

10

For we

are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. God's kingdom is waiting for us when we get to heaven. But His kingdom is also available for us to receive and walk in right now! All the benefits and inheritance and riches and power of His kingdom. The kingdom puts everything into perspective and releases the power of God into our lives to do His will. The more of the kingdom that's in our lives the more we can impact the world. Sin wants to rob us of that kingdom enlarging in our lives. That's why the word

says, 'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.' The kingdom can be dangerous in our lives if we are messing around in sin. Why? Because His kingdom will give us profile in many peoples lives, but sin will cause us to blow it - and the consequences would be disillusionment in peoples lives. The stigma of this would follow us for the rest of our life. God wants to take you places but sin wants to take us to other places. We cannot serve both. Thats why God is saying pursue righteousness. That means bare the fruits of righteousness because you are righteous. Not bare fruits to be righteous but bare fruits because you are righteous! To do this we need to stop offering our bodies to sin for unrighteousness and continually offer our bodies to God for righteousness. 1 Timothy 6:8-12
9

People who want to get rich fall into temptation and

10

a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and

pierced themselves with many griefs.

11

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue
12

righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 2 Timothy 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. If we are offering ourselves to God and pursuing His Kingdom and His righteousness then how could we ever miss out? How could we ever run our race in vain? No. He will keep you and cause you to do all that He has planned for you. It doesn't mean that if you stumble and fall then you have totally blown it. No. God is gracious and he's teaching and nurturing us through. Like parents teaching their child to walk for the first time. They don't throw the baby out because it keeps falling. That's a part of growing up and learning. There will be some falls along the way. There will be some mistakes and failures. But God

isn't looking at our mistakes or sins. He sees us perfect and righteous in Christ all the time. Now He's helping us to overcome some struggles so we can go on to maturity in Christ and live in our destiny. He's proud of you! Those parents don't focus on the child falling. They focus on the child walking even if it was just one step! They are overjoyed and ecstatic and it always brings a smile to the baby's face! You need to hear your Heavenly Father's praises. He's proud of you. Overjoyed with you. He's beside himself with love for you and pleasure in you. He's not mad at you. He's mad about you! And nothing, including any failure or fall, could ever separate you from His love! For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38,39) Well I hope this book has blessed you. I hope you enjoy His wonderful freedom every day of your life. I pray that you have a full revelation of your 100% righteousness before God. And that you are free to

live for Him, not because you have to, but because that's all you want to do. I pray that no one and nothing will ever take you into bondage or legalism, but that you stay free even if you sin and mess up. To know that His throne room of grace is always open to you! God bless you and may you be a blessing.