Every believer has two natures, two principles, the
flesh and the spirit, the old man and the new man, living within. These two are
constantly opposing one another.
There is within you the old man of sin. Though in
Christ you are perfectly redeemed, justified, pardoned, sanctified, and
accepted, your carnal nature is just as vile and evil as it has ever been. It
will never get any better, but only grows worse. Old Adam is still old Adam,
though Christ lives and reigns in the heart. This old nature you must carry
with you as long as you live in this world. It will cause you much trouble,
pain, and sorrow. But you can never be freed from this body of sin until it is
laid in the grave.
But, if you are a believer, there is another nature
in you, a new man created in the likeness of Christ. In regeneration God does
not renew your old nature, he gives you a new nature. He does not renew your
old heart, he gives you a new heart. This new nature and new heart loves God,
seeks holiness, and longs for perfection. Thus there is a perpetual warfare
within you. You long to do good, but evil is present with you. You cannot do
the things you would.
This
is the way things are now with all true believers. But, blessed be God, it
shall not always be so! The day is coming when those who are born of God shall
put off this body of flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ shall one day deliver us from
the body of sin and death. Yes, we shall be perfectly free from all sin! But
not until we see Immanuel face to face.