HOW CAN I BE A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST IF I STILL SIN?

Are we really a new person now that we have been “born again?” Has the “old man” disappeared? A number of verses affirm that have been “set free from sin”:

·       We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:6-7; ESV)

·       But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,  and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18)

How have we been set free from sin? This is perplexing because it seems that we are struggling against sin more than ever. Besides, many other verses indicate that we are not free from the power of sin. Instead, even in the same context, we are directed to oppose sin, which seems to indicate that sin is still active in our lives:

·       Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (Romans 6:12-13; Hebrews 12:1)

What then does it mean to be “free from sin?” We understand that we have been set free from the penalty of sin through the Cross. However, these verses indicate something in addition to Christ having become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Clearly, we have not been set free from the temptation of sin. Every day testifies to its power and influence. However, we have been set free from the dominion, domination, or absolute control of sin.

While we were in the flesh, sin had utterly blinded and dominated us. Therefore, Paul wrote:

·       For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. (Romans 7:11; Hebrews 3:13)

Our heart and mind had been so deceived that we couldn’t clearly see the presence of our sins. We might have understood that murder and rape are wrong, but we were unwilling to see so much about our sinful lives. We had been like the rich young man who had come to Jesus asking about eternal life. When Jesus asked him about keeping the commandments, he confidently answered: “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” (Matthew 19:20).

He was blind to his own sins. We too had dwelt in the darkness, which had concealed our sins, especially from ourselves. This had been a self-imposed darkness. We couldn’t bear to see our unworthiness and therefore hid from any light that might expose it:

·       “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:19-21)

We have come to love the light because we have been born from above. Consequently, we want to please God and to abide in His light. Sin has become abhorrent to us even as it continues to tempt and deceive. Therefore, Jesus called us “blessed”:

·       “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:3-6)

Such blessedness does not come immediately. It comes as we continue to abide in His Word:

·       So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

However, despite being a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), our struggle against sin is more intense than ever. While before, we had been comfortable with sin, now we grieve over it and struggle against it:

·       For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:17)

Especially after we have given ourselves wholeheartedly to God (Galatians 5:24), a battle rages between our two natures. Consequently, we are divided against ourselves. The Spirit resides in our renewed spirit where we have become redeemed and adopted. But this isn’t true of us in our entirety. Meanwhile, we await the completion of God’s work:

·       …we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:23-25)

Our Lord has only made a beachhead into our lives. However, the ultimate victory over sin is guaranteed:

·       No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9)

The Holy Spirit will not allow us to become comfortable with sin, as we once had been. As a result of His work, we are set free from sin’s domination but not its power, not yet at least. We are a work still under construction, and construction sites are messy. To put it another way, we are being humbled by our moral failures so that we can be exalted (Luke 14:11; 18:14).