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The Human Condition
Let’s take a step back from how Christians should or should not behave and look at the state of the fallen world. All humans are born into sin. Sin is not a learned behavior, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). If you’ve had kids or been around kids of any age, you can see not only their sweet, innocent nature; but also their selfish and demanding one.
Romans 5:12 tells us that sin entered through one man, Adam, and how through that sin, death has spread to every living thing. Sin is the disease for which there is only one cure. The cohesive narrative of the Old Testament decisively points to Jesus; the author and finisher of our faith.
Jesus overcame and defeated death on the cross; He died once for all mankind and gave His life as a ransom for many (Matt 20:28). For all who repent and believe in Jesus have an assurance of salvation and eternal life with Jesus forever.
It’s important to note that although Jesus defeated sin on the cross, He did not destroy our sin nature completely. It is still present and needs to be controlled with the power of the Holy Spirit, alive and at work through a relationship with us.
Paul discusses this dichotomy in us, between the Spirit of God and the spirit of this world (our flesh). We may want to follow God’s law but we are at war with the sinful nature inside of us. By God’s grace and mercy, we have deliverance from this sin nature but free will is still at play. We do not become God’s puppets once we accept Jesus. We have to renew our minds daily and not be conformed to this world (Rom 12:2).
This process of sanctification, changing our minds to become more like Christ, does not happen overnight. A person does not become a Christian and immediately has the perfect mind of Christ. In fact, we will never be perfect, only Jesus is. We do, however, immediately receive access to the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Counselor, and thus begins the journey of our Christian walk that will be filled with victories and struggles.
The important thing to remember is progression, not perfection!
Tomorrow we will discuss how all Christians are in different stages of a race.
How do you see the sin nature show up in Christians?
What are the best strategies for having control over our fleshly desires?
How do you know when there is sin in your life and when it needs to be dealt with?
About this Plan
More than likely you have seen or experienced conflict among Christians, even to the point of people leaving the church. It's not pleasant to be confronted by Christians who don't act like the Jesus they serve. But what if living in this tension was what God intended? How do we respond with grace and forgiveness when we are hurt by Christians?
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