If I’m Born Again, Why Do I Still Sin?!?

06 Aug If I’m Born Again, Why Do I Still Sin?!?

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a dark and sinister novel, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, and considered one of the 100 best novels ever written.  In it, Stevenson writes, “Man is not truly one, but truly two.  In each of us, two natures are at war—the good and the bad.”  Then, he tells the disturbing story of Jekyll and Hyde, to make his point forcefully.

Dr. Jekyll, a tall, handsome physician in London, becomes obsessed with the idea of good vs. evil, and experiments with various drugs and comes up with a concoction that changes him into another person with another body dominated by the evil side of his character. This evil self, he calls Mr. Hyde. 

As Mr. Hyde, he gives himself full freedom to indulge in whatever bad behavior he wishes, and then changes himself back into Dr. Jekyll, who remains his cordial, philanthropic self. But there’s a hitch.  Dr. Jekyll gets addicted to this evil side of his character and takes the potion more and more often.   

But it becomes more and more difficult to change back into Dr. Jekyll as his bad side takes over.  He knocks down a little girl in the sidewalk, and steps on her, he murders an acquaintance in cold blood, and indulges in whatever evil fancy he chooses. 

Finally, in the body of Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll deliberately takes a lethal dose of poison, because he knows that his evil side has gotten total control, and his good side cannot control it anymore.  The only hope to avoid a complete giving over to evil is to kill Mr. Hyde, even though Dr. Jekyll knows that he will be killing himself, too. 

Mercy!  What a foreboding idea!

Does this describe the plight of Christians, as well? Are we really “two” completely different selves battling within ourselves for supremacy? Many people think so.

But in our blog post last week, we clearly made the case that this is not true for Christians.  Christians are not two persons, two natures, in a schizophrenic battle for supremacy.  

Christians are Spiritually Born Again in the Inner Man

Rather, a Christian is one person… spiritually born again (1 Peter 1:23).  Ephesians 4:24 says, “put on the new self which, in the likeness of God, has been created in true holiness and righteousness.” 

In his commentary on Ephesians, John MacArthur has written:

Biblical terminology… does not say that a Christian has two different natures.  He has but one nature, the new nature of Christ.  The old self dies and the new self lives; they do not coexist.  It is not a remaining old nature but the remaining garment of sinful flesh that causes Christians to sin.  The Christian is a single new person, a totally new creation, not a spiritual schizophrenic.  It is the filthy coat of remaining humanness in which the new creation dwells that continues to hinder and contaminate his living.” 

Paul says in Romans 7 that his inner man (the redeemed new self)

• No longer sins (vs. 16)
• Wants to do good (vs. 21)
• Joyfully concurs with the law of God in the inner man (vs. 22)
• Serves the law of God (vs. 25)

In contrast, he says of his outer man (the unredeemed body/brain)

• Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh
• Different law in the members of my body
• I serve the law of sin which is in my members
• With my flesh, I serve the law of sin

In four different places, Paul puts sin in the outer man… the flesh, the body, his members, and again, his flesh. 

Again, MacArthur writes,

So righteous is this new self that Paul refuses to admit that any sin comes from that new creation in God’s image.  Thus, his language in Romans 6-7 is explicit in placing the reality of sin other than in the new self.  He said. “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body (6:12) and “Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin” (6:13, emphasis added). 

So, the battle between doing right or wrong is a battle between the redeemed and righteous true self (inner man) and the leftover power of sin in the brain that is still corrupted and programmed to follow sin.  But we are not two equal selves, one good and one bad, battling each other. 

Christians Must Still Battle Sin in the Outer Man

However, there is still a battle going on… but between the true spiritual “us,” and the power of sin in the fallen body in which we are still housed. 

The great task of the Christian life, then, is for the inner man to gain increasing mastery over the outer man, which requires two things.

First, it requires our understanding that this is a slow and challenging process.  There are many passages of Scripture that tell us we must “grow” in our walk with the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:6-7, Ephesians 4:15, 1 Peter 3:18). 

This is disappointing.  We wish we could “poof” to spiritual maturity, like the frog who is kissed by the princess and is instantly and completely transformed.  But we can’t.  It doesn’t work that way.

Second, it requires that we cooperate with God in the process of growing spiritually so that our inner man gains increasing mastery over our outer man.  Growing is not all-God and it is not all-self.  It is God and us working together. 

Philippians 2:12-13 says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work within you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” 

Notice that it says, “work out your salvation,” not “work in your salvation.”  He is not implying that we have to work for our salvation.  That is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Rather, we “live out,” or demonstrate our salvation by how we conduct our lives. 

Conclusion

So, at the end of last week’s blog, I said that this week we would answer the question of why Christians still sin, and why we are not condemned by God when we do.  The answer is that “I” do not still sin.  Remember Paul said in Romans 7:20, “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”  And that is why it doesn’t break our relationship with God.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) Romans 8:1 is true because of all the truth explained in Romans 6 and 7! 

Yes, God still holds us (inner man) accountable to grow spiritually… to gain increasing mastery over our body/flesh (outer man)… but the sin of the outer man does not threaten the salvation of the inner man.  

Now that we are saved, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we cooperate with God in the process of growing spiritually.  God works in us, “both to will and work for His good pleasure.” Then, we respond to the work of God in our lives by being faithfully obedient to Him.

So, while there is a battle even after being born again, that battle is not between two natures within one body, as proposed by Robert Louis Stevenson, rather it is the battle of the one true you against the sin that still resides in the flesh. The battle is against the old programming still residing in the brain.

Knowing that we – the true “us” – are spiritually born again, in the likeness of God in true holiness and righteousness, can strengthen us to help the new inner man gain increasing mastery over our outer man as we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:18)

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