Why do I sin Part II

Why is it so hard to choose not to sin though? Well, let’s be honest, sin feels good. God replaced our heart with a new sinless one, but our body is still the same sin soaked flesh that we started with. While we have it we are going to be hard pressed to keep from sinning. I want to make it clear though, that I don’t believe it is impossible to live a sinless life after becoming a Christian. Very difficult yes, impossible I’d say no. I believe this for two reasons. First, in Matt. 5:48 Jesus tells us, “be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect”. This is the standard, and I don’t take God as being the kind of Father that sets impossible standards. Secondly, Paul in 1 Cor. 11:1 asks the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ. He could only make such a statement if he were imitating Christ perfectly. This is aside from the point though. Before conversion our flesh influenced our mind which in turn dictated our emotions and will. Post conversion we have the choice of allowing our spirit or our flesh to influence our mind. Which is it going to be?

The hope in all this is that we won’t have this same sin tainted flesh forever. The fact that Christ resurrected physically gives me so much to look forward to. I can’t wait for that day when I hear Christ’s call and I am given that new perfected, resurrected, sinless body. There is so much to look forward to.

Why do I sin? Part I

You may be asking yourself, “If I am a saint and not a sinner, then why do I still sin?” First things first, let’s keep in mind that what you do doesn’t make you who you are. Just because you sin, doesn’t make your identity that of a sinner. You may think of yourself as a saint who occasionally sins. Your identity is secure no matter what you do. That is the beauty of what Christ did for us.

Also realize that we as human beings are not just flesh and bone. I believe that we have three distinct parts that make us up: our body, soul, and spirit. The body being pretty self evident, the soul which I think of as more or less our personality and mind, and our spirit which is the eternal component. When we are born we are born into sin, and both our bodies and our spirits are corrupted by it. It is natural for us to sin at this point. When we become a Christian, we are given a new heart. (Ezekiel 36:26) This is the point when a person actually is able to choose to sin or not. You were a slave to sin but no longer. Now that you have a new spirit that is no longer tainted by sin you have the choice. Think about this though. Every time that you sin you are choosing TO sin. The reason our new sin doesn’t taint our new spirit is because Christ’s death on the cross covers all our sin past, present, and future. This is also why our identity is not that of a sinner anymore.