Have you ever wondered whether you have a sinful nature? Many Christians would say that they do. In fact, the terms human nature and sinful nature are often used interchangeably. It is quite common, for example, to hear a Christian admitting to a sin and then minimising it with the claim “I’m only human” or “I’m just a sinner”. By this they mean that they sinned because they are human and have a sinful nature. The implication of this assumption is that they are powerless to overcome sin.
I have a question. Did your human nature change at conversion? Before conversion, you had a “fallen” human nature, a nature corrupted from birth as a result of Adam’s revolt. You were a sinner and enemy of God in a state of rebellion, condemnation and spiritual death. And if you think these are strong terms, please note that they are not mine - they come from the Bible (Romans 5 and Eph 2)!
After conversion, however, your nature was changed. The Bible uses many metaphors to describe this conversion. Here are some examples:
1) Resurrection from death (by crucifixion) – your “old self was crucified with [Christ]” (Rom. 6:6) and you were “buried with [Christ] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, [you] too may live a new life” (Rom 6:4).
2) Release from slavery or a change of ownership – “you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God” (Rom 6:22).
3) Rebirth – “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” and “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3&5).
4) Recreation – “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2Co 5:17).
Based on this evidence, if you have been converted by God (the theologians us the word regenerated), you no longer have a fallen human nature. You have a new nature. And it was for this reason, that Paul never addressed Christians as sinners but as saints.
Where, then, does the idea that Christians have a sinful nature come from? My guess is that it comes from an attempt to explain why Christians continue to be tempted and also to sin. Paul, however, attributed this weakness to something he called the sarx. Depending on the context, Paul used sarx to mean six different things. In Romans 8:1-17 and Galatians 5:16-26, though, Paul used sarx to denote the evil desires within a Christian.
Sadly, some translations of the Bible, for example the NIV, translate sarx in Romans 8 and Galatians 5 as “sinful nature”. Using “sinful nature”, however, implies that though we have been converted and given a new nature, our sinful nature persists making us somewhat schizophrenic! Significantly, the most recent (2011) revision of the NIV Bible has dropped the term “sinful nature” as a translation of the Greek sarx, using the word flesh instead. Yes, “flesh” is not a word we use often in the English, unless it refers to the living material that makes up plants and animals. But I think we should treat it at one of those words that has been given a unique theological meaning that is quite different to its normal usage.
So Christians struggle with the “flesh”, a tendency to find sin attractive. It is not that we have a sinful nature, for we have been changed, but we still have evil desires. Though Paul doesn’t give any explanation, I would imagine that the sarx is a leftover from the old life, perhaps in the form of bad habits and untrue thinking or beliefs. Fortunatley our new nature will endure for eternity but the sarx will disappear when we die.
Dave Edden helped me with my musings by providing a good illustration. When a man gets married, he is fundamentally changed. He is no longer single, having entered into a marriage contract with his beloved. Further, he and his beloved have become one through the consummation of their marriage. However, a newly married man will still feel single, and he will have to change his single habits and thought patterns.
In conclusion then, because you have been converted, you no longer have a fallen human, sinful nature. You have been recreated, reborn and released. Your old person has died and you have been raised to new life in Christ. For these reasons, sin has no power over you. Sin will only have power over you if you give it permission. And that is why you must not allow the sinful desires of the flesh to control you. Instead, be controlled by the Holy Spirit, for those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God (Romans 8:14).
Cheers for now - Ian
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