1. I am a Christian, but I still sin. Does it mean I never gave my life to Christ? Is Christianity possible without sinning at all? How can I control sinful impulses?
The deliverance from sin that the Bible teaches does not connote a deliverance from the ability to sin. As a matter of fact, as long as we are on earth and wear this mortal body, we will never lose that ability. Additionally, the temptation to sin is common to all men. The only person who has escaped temptations permanently is the person in the grave. When someone claims to have given their life to Christ and that person is still living in sin, there are two possible explanations for that predicament:
- There was no genuine conversion in the first place. The kind of conversion experience that can break the hold of sin over a person’s life must be genuine. That person must come face to face with the revelation of the Cross and see their old man crucified with Jesus on that Cross. This MUST come by revelation. Some people see this revelation the first time they hear the message of the Cross. For others, it is as they persist in digging into the truth and meditating on Scripture. However, the moment light breaks forth in a person’s spirit, victory over sin becomes a reality.
- There was a genuine conversion which was not consolidated. Some believers come to the point of genuinely encountering the Cross and walking in victory but soon fall out of this reality as they fail to take consequent steps to consolidate their experience. These consequent steps are sometimes called the “therefores” of the New Creation Life. Colossians 3 is full of some of those therefores.
After the Holy Ghost has illuminated one’s spirit and brought him/her to a point of laying hold of the victory that comes by the revelation of the Cross, it becomes the IMMEDIATE RESPONSIBILITY of the believer (not the Holy Spirit, not God, but the believer himself/herself) to take practical steps to put an end to the activities of the old sinful nature.
Some of those practical steps might include unsubscribing/unfollowing social media channels that are a source of temptations, disposing of media materials (movies, books, magazines, songs, pictures, documentaries, etc.) that only stir up sinful lusts, and separation from friends and social circles that encourage the sinful lifestyle. The instruction from the Bible is “come out from among them” 2 Corinthians 6:17.
Please note that these practical steps do not by themselves bring deliverance. Nothing less than a revelation of the Cross brings deliverance. These practical steps consolidate the spiritual reality brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit when our eyes are open to see Jesus Christ crucified for our sins and our sinful nature hanging on the Cross with Him.
It is possible to live a Christian life and not fall into sin. The Bible is clear about this in several places (Matthew 1:21, Romans 6:1, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 5:24, 1 John 3:8-9). We must avoid the deception of thinking that the fact that we have tried and failed in our personal lives means it is impossible. “Such things are impossible with men, but not with God” (Luke 18:27).
Daily, continuous, and consistent victory over sin is a reality made available only because the grace of God that brings salvation and that keeps holy has been made available in Christ Jesus (Titus 2:11). Those who have learned to tap into that grace and walk daily in it will experience the blessedness of a continuously sanctified life. Such people would go beyond the realm of repetitive rising, falling, and repenting; that is the unfortunate reality of many believers today.
Sinful impulses can be controlled by:
- Continuously realizing that your old man was crucified on the Cross with Him.
- Learning to draw from the grace to say no to sin, which is available in Christ Jesus.
- Being watchful and prayerful so as not to enter into temptation.
- Fleeing all appearances of evil.
- Be sober and vigilant so as not to fall into the devil’s traps.
- Filling your heart with the word of God, meditating on it day and night.
- Being accountable to a more mature Christian to watch over you.
PS: even though seven points have been listed above, the aim is not to present a list of ‘activities’ that guarantee victory over sin. The real ingredient for victory is the first point mentioned (Continuously realizing that your old man was crucified on the Cross with Him). The other six points are only ways to consolidate the experience of the first point. Those six points, on their own and exclusive of the first point, cannot bring victory over sin. They can only give a false sense of religious piety.
“These rules may seem good, for rules of this kind require strong devotion and are humiliating and hard on the body, but they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires. They only make him proud.” Colossians 2:23 TLB
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2. How is a Christian a new creation? What does 2 Corinthians 5:17 mean?
To understand what it means to be a new creature in Christ, first, it is necessary to understand Creation itself. The understanding of Creation and the fall of man that led to the birth of what we now call the old Creation will provide a solid basis to fully understand what the term “new creation” means.
All those explanations are outside the scope of this Q&A. Relevant books and messages can be suggested later. In summary, however, to get a substantial understanding of 2 Cor 5:17, I’d suggest you begin to read from verse 14:
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NKJV
“…because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died” there is a death that Jesus Christ died for all. This was made possible because God included us in His death before the foundation of the world (Romans 6:8 MSG, Ephesians 1:4). So, the reality is that when Jesus died, we also died (if we have genuinely put our faith in Him and come to a revelation of His finished work at the Cross).
“He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves…” even though we died with Him, we are yet alive. Hallelujah! This is the mystery that I pray you will beg God tirelessly to open your eyes to see. Even though we died, we are alive. We are alive not because we were resuscitated but because another life entirely, another nature that has absolutely no connection with the previous one we had before we died, has now come to dwell in us.
One nature had to die for the other to come in. Both natures could not coexist. The birth of the second could only come about after the death of the first. It is through death that we have entered life, and it is by dying daily that we will sustain, maintain, retain, and grow in this new life. I pray for the Holy Spirit to give you understanding.
“…from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.” It is, therefore, incorrect to regard those who are now new creatures in Christ according to the flesh. What God did was not tame the old nature. God did not help the old nature. God did not strengthen the old nature to make it new. The old nature is completely helpless and hopeless.
God’s decision was to put it to utter death. So, those of us who belong to Christ are completely new. We are brand new men with a brand new nature and a brand new ancestry. Because of the radicality of what God has done, we are also free from all ancestral curses. This is because the person who belonged to our original ancestry and was thus under bondage to their covenants (that old nature), was crucified with Jesus at the Cross.
The new nature we now carry has a heavenly ancestry. We are thus completely excluded from the dominion of Satanic powers (Colossians 1:13), not because of some serious prayer and fasting routine, but simply because of the basic understanding of what Jesus Christ has done.
“…old things have passed away…” This is another critical understanding of what it means to be a new creature. The Bible says old things have passed away, not just “old bad things” or “old sinful things” but old things in general.
Dear reader, I want you to know that if you have faith in Jesus Christ, old things have passed away (not old things are passing away or old things will pass away). Old struggles, old habits, old addictions, old limitations, old difficulties, old confidences, old identities, and old notorieties have passed away.
“…behold, all things have become new” The next word is probably the most important in that verse: behold. The word behold means see. It speaks of a divine revelation, and that is the key to experiencing in practice the rich blessings locked up in that verse.
Your eyes must be open to behold, by divine revelation, this reality before you can actually experience it. I wish you would bow your head right now and beg God to open your eyes to see. Much of our victory over sin and the devil lies in our ability to see and keep seeing. Little wonder Satan fights so hard to blind the eyes of people so that they will not see the light and know the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4).
I also noted that Paul prayed a lot for the eyes of the understanding of his converts to be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). The secret of beholding the Cross continuously is the secret of constant victory over sin and the devil. “All things have become new.” This is what the Bible says, and I wish you will believe it. All things, not many things or most things. All things, not just all bad things. All things have become (not will become).
Your spiritual identity has become new; your records in heaven have become new (Satan has nothing to accuse you of since all your sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus); your ancestry has become new (as you have been grafted into a heavenly genealogy and are no longer within reach of ancestral powers); your nature has become new (you now carry the life of God in you, you can no longer be a slave to sin). Praise the Lord.
