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Response
The primary issue raised by this question is one of semantics. Some individuals prefer the term “sin nature,” while others opt for “sinful nature,” and still, others choose the more ambiguous “flesh.” Regardless of the specific terminology used to describe the conflicting aspects, what remains significant is the ongoing internal struggle experienced by Christians.
The second challenge lies in defining the term “nature.” The interpretation of this crucial word shapes one’s understanding of the distinction between the “old man” and the “new man,” as well as their implications in a Christian’s life. One perspective defines “nature” as an inherent “capacity” within a believer. Accordingly, the old man represents the previous way of life characteristic of an unbeliever. From this viewpoint, the Christian possesses two conflicting capacities—the former inclination towards sin and the newfound ability to resist sin. In contrast, an unbeliever lacks this internal conflict; devoid of the capacity for godliness, they are solely governed by their sin nature. While they may perform “good works,” their motivations are perpetually tainted by sinfulness, and they lack the ability to resist sin due to their inherent nature.
Conversely, a believer harbors the potential for godliness through the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Although they retain the capacity for sin, they now possess the strength to combat it and, more significantly, the desire to lead a righteous life. Through Christ’s crucifixion, the old man was also crucified, liberating the Christian from slavery to sin «knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. », <a href="https://w(Romans 6:6). We have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness «Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. », (Romans 6:18).
At the moment of conversion, the Christian receives a new nature. It is instantaneous. Sanctification, on the other hand, is the process by which God develops our new nature, enabling us to grow in holiness over time. This is a continuous process with many victories and defeats as the new nature battles with the “tent” in which it resides—the old man, old nature, flesh.
In Romans 7, Paul explains the ongoing battle even in the most spiritually mature individuals. He laments that he does what he doesn’t want to do and, in fact, commits the evil he detests. He attributes this to “sin living in me” «Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. », (Romans 7:20). He delights in God’s law according to his “inner being,” but he recognizes 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” (v. 23). Here is the classic example of the two entities, whatever terms they may carry. The point is that the battle is real, and it is one Christians will face throughout their lives.
This is why believers are encouraged to put to death the deeds of the body «For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. », (Romans 8:13), to eliminate that which causes a Christian to sin «Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affections.»Action, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry: », (Colossians 3:5), and to eliminate other sins such as anger, wrath, malice, etc. «But now you also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. », (Colossians 3:8). All this emphasizes that the Christian possesses two natures—the old and the new—but the new nature requires continual renewal «and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: », (Colossians 3:10). This renewal, of course, is an ongoing process for the Christian. Despite the constant battle against sin, we are no longer under sin’s control «knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. », (Romans 6:6). The believer is genuinely a “new creation” in Christ «Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. », (2 Corinthians 5:17), and it is Christ who will ultimately “rescue [us] from this body of death. Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).
