When the ‘real you’ doesn’t want to sin

“I need to stop doing it. After all, I am a Christian.”

Do you ever find yourself feeling this way after becoming entangled in a particular sin? Deep down you hate that thing because you know it is unrighteous, but in moments of temptation and weakness, you go back to it.

First of all, thank God that the Lord places a holy hatred for sin within every one of His children. Just imagine if, rather than hating to sin, you relished sin and couldn’t wait to engage in it over and over again. Thankfully, believers in Jesus want to live a different life, a holy life. 

Born-again people are “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) who want to say “no” to temptation and sin. We desire to please Christ who now lives in us, and our body is “a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:18).?

At the same time, a “basement room” sinful nature remains within your soul. Your old nature previously dominated your life, back when “you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world” (Ephesians 2:2).

Your old nature is the old you, while the real you today is who you want to be as a follower of Christ. Your sinful nature was put to death when you were converted, (see Romans 6:6-8) but these sinful desires are still hanging around in the basement. And although somewhat dormant, these desires are extremely dangerous and spiritually toxic, especially when willfully pursued. 

In other words, there is essentially an invisible and wicked corpse residing within the basement of your soul. It is putrid, not to your physical sense of smell, but to your godly intent and your holy motivation as a believer.

The Apostle Paul, as a follower of Jesus the Messiah, described his sinful nature: “I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! … 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” (Romans 7:21-25).

Like Paul, you also delight in God’s law in your inner being. That is, if you are born again. The real you loves to obey the Lord. And yet, the desires of your basement room represent a clear and present danger to your life of Christian discipleship. The moment you choose to step down into the basement by entertaining an evil thought or engaging in sinful action, you begin feeling driven to take another step, and then another.

Perhaps Paul found himself at times spending a couple of minutes, or even longer, harboring an ungodly attitude toward his persecutors. Unrighteous thoughts of one kind or another led Paul to write, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do … As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature” (Romans 7:15,17-18).

Was Paul denying his culpability for unholy thinking and sinful behavior? No, not at all. The apostle was simply recognizing that the real Paul was who he wanted to be. And while he certainly was not perfect, the apostle nevertheless was completely committed to pleasing the Lord. By the grace of God, Paul hated sinful thoughts and wicked behavior and was living a Spirit-filled life. 

Paul expressed his righteous desire for the Christians he was privileged to serve: “Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong … Aim for perfection” (2 Corinthians 13:7,11).

Jesus, of course, is the only perfect one, and His perfect sacrifice on the cross and atoning blood wash away the sins of believers. Meanwhile, as we remain in this world and in this “body of death,” (Romans 7:24) we continue to struggle with temptation, sinful thoughts, and even sinful behavior. But we are never content with sin, especially if we find ourself giving into a particular temptation over and over again. This is not how we want to live, and this ongoing internal conflict led Paul to write, “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” (Romans 7:25).

If you are born again, my friend, holy affections emanate from your inner being. What a joy it is for believers to know that our sins are forgiven and Heaven is our eternal home! Therefore, we continue to resist sinful thoughts, desires and behavior. 

Thankfully, your heart and mind are distinct from your basement room with its sinful desires, and we are free in Christ to remain upstairs as we enjoy fellowship with the Lord and seek to do those things that are pleasing to God. We can resist evil desires that would otherwise fill our hearts and minds. The choice is ours, moment by moment. And since we love Jesus who endured the agony of the cross for our salvation, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

A great way to guard our hearts is by continually meditating upon Scripture, including this powerful passage: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13).