Struggling with sin

[Mr_E]

I am struggling with something I read in my Bible and I am hoping to get some good Christian advice. I think I know the answer, but I want to be sure that I am not misreading the Bible so that it says what I want to say (instead of what it truely means).

Galatians 6:19-21 says...

19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Reading this makes it sound like you are not a true Christian if you are guilty of any of the sins listed. But if you look back at Chapters 7 and 8 of Romans the and put that into context with the above verses from Galations, it sounds like a slightly different message...

In Romans 7:14-20 Paul says:

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Romans 7:25...

25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

And Romans 8:5...

5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

So if I am reading the verses in Romans right, Paul is saying that he too struggles with sin.

He is saying that if we do like want to do the sinful things we do then we are not guilty of the sins we have committed because Christ died so that our sinful natures would also die.

It also sounds like there are times when he acts in his sinful nature (not just sinning, but acting in his sinful nature, which may or may not be worse than simply sinning).

In conclusion, it sounds like he is saying that if in our hearts we desire to live by the spirit and hate the sinful nature, then we are not guilty when in moments of weakness we fall victum to our sinful nature.

But then when I go back and read Galatians 6:19-21 again, I begin to question my conclusion...

19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I have to admit that in moments of weakness I fall victum to some of the things listed above. For example, when my wife and I get into an argument sometimes I yell things that I don't mean because I let my anger take control. This would be an example of a fit of rage. They are not things that I am proud of, or things that I live for. In fact, they are things that I hate. But it almost sounds like I am living in the sinful nature when I do those things, and thus I will not inherit the kingdom of God as I am.

So, which conclusion right...

If in our hearts we desire to live by the spirit and hate the sinful nature, then we are not guilty when in moments of weakness we fall victum to our sinful nature.

Or

If we are guilty of the acts/desires of the sinful nature, even if we hate them, does that mean we will not inherit the kingdom of God?

 

[Onlythingavailable]

I believe it means that we are all tempted, but as followers of Christ we do not wish to pursue temptations. We do not wish to follow the things mentioned in Galatians 6:19-21, instead we seek that which God wants. We all struggle, but in Jesus Christ we have a faithful high priest (Hebrews), who knows everything we are going through and intercedes on our behalf. Through Jesus Christ we are forgiven when we confess and repent our sins. This doesn't mean we have a license to sin! The repentance must be sincere. So I suppose I'm going with your first suggestion, with the added "twist" that we need to be repentant of our sin, which you by the way seem to be. Just approach God in prayer and ask for forgiveness, and keep fighting the sin.

By the way, you might want to post this thread in the Christian Advice forum as well. You'd probably get more responses there.

 

[Mr_E]

Thank you very much for your response! It was very helpful.

I will post this in the Christian Advice section as you sugguested.

 

[sinneD]

Hey Brother..

All of us have a sinful nature.. each one of us fall short of the glory of God, and deserve judgement.. but because of the finished work of Christ, that penalty has been paid in full, and we are now fully entitled to the kingdom of God..

Now, some of key words in all that are:

• FINISHED work of Christ
• Paid in FULL
• FULLY ENTITLED

Scripture doesn't teach that we will now be free from sin... on the contrary, it teaches in many places that as long as we are on this earth, we are subject to a sinful and fallen body.. the difference is that THE PENALTY for that sin has been paid (FULLY paid)....

As a Christian, you will sin.. but through Christ, your have already inherited the kingdom of God.

Be At Peace, My Friend..

Dennis

 

[aiki]

There is a difference between stumbling and grovelling happily in the mud. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:17 that "...the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would." His point in writing this was to remind the Galatians that every Christian battles inwardly between the holy urgings of God's Spirit and the carnal cravings of the flesh. Paul writes this, however, just after commanding the Galatian Christians to "walk in the Spirit" so that "they will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh."(Gal. 5:16) Paul here indicates that the battle between the flesh and the Spirit is won by "walking in the Spirit," which is a different thing than simply living in the Spirit (a distinction Paul makes clearly at the end of Gal. 5). He means by "walking in the Spirit" that the whole round of daily activities are performed under full and conscious submission to the will and leading of the Holy Spirit. This is different from "living in the Spirit," which is what all Christians begin to do the moment they are saved and continue to do regardless of the level of their obedience to God. A person who is walking in the Spirit may stumble and fall morally, but they will get up and dust themselves off (aka confession and repentance) and resume walking in the Spirit very quickly. If, however, a Christian has no interest in walking in the Spirit at all, if there is a contented ease with sin, if the life of such a one is characterized by fleshly pursuits rather than spiritual ones, it is very likely that this person is not really a Christian at all. This is what Paul is getting at in verses 19-21 of Galatians chapter 5. Really, the entire last part of Galatians 5 is a study in contrast between one who is walking in the Spirit and one who is walking in the flesh.

Nothing in what Paul writes in Galatians or in Romans indicates that a Christian can sin with impunity if their heart wasn't in it. Paul communicates in both books the struggle between the Spirit and the flesh and explains how one may find victory in the struggle by continual submission to the Holy Spirit, but as far as your question is concerned that is all he communicates.

Sinning occasionally as a Christian does not mean you will not inherit the kingdom of God. One's salvation is not dependent upon one's perfect success in this regard. Sinning easily and continually, however, does mean that one will not inherit the kingdom of God, for such conduct usually reveals the absence of genuine salvation.

Peace to you.

 

[Mr_E]

Thank you all very much! It is good to read what you guys had to say. I feel much better. It is hard to imagine how sinners like us could possibly deserve such a forgiving and loving God! Every now and then I go through these kinds of struggles, but once God gets me through them I come back more faithful than before (and I believe that this time He worked in large part through you guys who gave me such wonderful advice)!

Edit: Anti Existance, I really appreciate your encouragement a great deal. After reading what you wrote, I wanted to draw your attention to a few verses Paul wrote in Romans. I am not trying to be critical of your comments, but this is something I came across while studying this part of the Bible.

In Romans 5:8-11 Paul says...

8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

 

[Nobility]

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