Is Our Nature Still Sinful After Being Born Again?

Do we still have a sinful nature after becoming a born-again Christian? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 833-843-2673. Pastor Adriel is standing by and looking forward to talking to you. You can also post your question on our Facebook or Instagram account and you can email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com.

Well first up today, let's go to a voicemail that we received yesterday. What advice do you have for an individual who's coming from under spiritual warfare? Well, there are a number of passages that talk about spiritual warfare in the New Testament. Obviously, throughout Jesus' earthly ministry, he was coming against the evil and he was binding Satan, we might say, through the miracles that he was accomplishing. And ultimately, through his death on the cross, he's disarmed the principalities and powers.

He's conquered them. That's what Paul said to the Colossians. And so I think the first thing that I would say is Jesus has the victory.

And so this isn't a battle where there's any question about who's on top. God is absolutely sovereign and in control. And Satan, the evil one, is under the control, the sovereign control of the Lord. And Christ is victorious over Satan. So I think we have to go into this discussion recognizing that.

Too often I think that we don't realize that. And then in terms of the real spiritual battle that's taking place, the first thing I would say is prayer. Prayer is so important. Now, the apostle Paul, in Ephesians chapter 6, he talks about the armor of God. Ephesians chapter 6, beginning in verse 10, he said, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

So right there, he's telling us how to be prepared, if you will. And he said, We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand firm, stand therefore. Now, just note right there in that passage how many times the apostle Paul uses that word stand. There's this idea of readiness, of vigilance.

In other words, we don't engage in the battle, laying down asleep, not watchful, not vigilant. We're standing and stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. Now, here's the one thing that I want you to take away from all of that.

Well, two things actually. One, note the armor there, the armor of God that the apostle Paul describes. These are all gifts that the Lord gives to us. Truth, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness. You're not standing in your own righteousness. You're standing in the righteousness that God gives you, the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

That is really, really important for you to understand. This isn't you standing in your own strength, in your own righteousness, even in your own faith. These are all gifts that the Lord gives to us. Number two, praying, praying at all times. That's a part of how we engage in this spiritual warfare is by praying to the Lord, seeking his face, and drawing near to him.

That's how it works. We're not doing these incantations or trying to karate chop the devil, that kind of a thing. No, we stand in the truth, studying the scriptures, being grounded in the gospel, and praying to the Lord for his strength, for continued vigilance. It's something that we were called to do and that we must do as believers. Thank you for that question, and may the Lord help us all to stand. That was an interesting image you just gave me about karate chopping the devil.

I have never tried that. Call us in the next 20 minutes. Here's the phone number to call. It's 833-THE-CORE.

You might want to jot that down for future reference. 833-THE-CORE or 833-843-2673. Let's go to Karen from calling in from Springfield, Missouri. Karen, welcome to CORE Christianity. Hi, thank you for taking my call, Pastor. Thank you for calling, Karen. What's your question, sister? Well, several years ago, prior to reading Hebrews 10 26, for if we sin willfully after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.

Of course, a great deal of... I was terrified after reading that because after following a few verses, and it led me to Psalm 19 13, where King David prayed, keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins, so that he didn't commit the great transgression. Tying those two together terrified me because I felt that I had created, that I had committed a presumptuous sin.

Now, I have since pretty well worked through that, but I really would like to know your thoughts on that. Well, I think when we're approaching what we call the warning passages of the book of Hebrews, these passages in Hebrews that give these very strong stern warnings, in particular, the two that are, I think, most often brought up are Hebrews 6 and Hebrews chapter 10, and this idea of sinning willfully or sinning deliberately. Many people, many Christians, when they read those verses, this is true of me, when I first read through the book of Hebrews, are terrified because they think, I've sinned deliberately.

There are times as a believer where I knew I was doing the wrong thing and I still did it, and of course, you have the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but does that mean that I'm lost, that I'm eternally condemned, that there's no more opportunity for repentance or for restoration for me? So a lot of people care and read these passages, and they're gripped by fear, and that's why it's so important for us, when we're thinking about these warning passages, to understand the context of the book of Hebrews. I preached through the book of Hebrews a couple years ago, and this was so key. The author to the Hebrews is writing to a group of believers who had heard the gospel very clearly. They had seen the power of the Holy Spirit at work. Hebrews chapter 6 really describes this, you know, they tasted of the heavenly gift, they were made partakers, if you will, in one sense of the Holy Spirit.

The powers of the age to come were breaking in on them. They had heard it, they had seen the signs and the wonders, and yet, some of them there were not mixing the word, the gospel that they had heard with faith. In other words, the problem that the author to the Hebrews is trying to combat is unbelief.

It's people who have heard the truth over and over and over again, and yet instead of embracing it, instead of their hearts being softened, their hearts are growing harder and harder. And so the author to the Hebrews is very concerned, and this willful sin, this deliberate sin that's being spoken of, it's not stumbling into sin or struggling with a particular habit that they can't seem to kick. The willful sin that's being described is turning from Christ, is rejecting the truth of the gospel, and as the author to the Hebrews goes on, you know, he really describes this. He says, how much worse punishment, verse 29, do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has outraged the Spirit of grace? These people are tempted to trample Jesus and his gospel underfoot by turning away from the gospel and relying upon their own works. They were going back to the sacrificial system of the old covenant in order to justify themselves, and the author to the Hebrews says, if you do that, if you're trusting in something besides Jesus for your salvation, if that's what you choose, you'll be lost. You've outraged the Spirit of grace, and so the reminder for all of us here throughout the book of Hebrews is over and over again, cling to the gospel. Don't cling to your own works. Don't cling to, you know, the sacrifices that you offer to God.

That's not what justifies you. The only sacrifice that can save you is the once for all sacrifice of Jesus, and that's what the people in the book of Hebrews were being tempted to reject. That's the sin that's being referred to, and so we have to understand that. A lot of believers, you know, they struggle with sin, as all Christians will and do, and they think, well, maybe that means that I've fallen into this.

No, that's not what the author of the Hebrews is talking about, and so that's the idea of the sort of willful disobedience, and that's what we gather from the book of Hebrews. Does that help you, Karen? It helped me, except for King David when he said, presumptuous. So how can you tie King David praying that in order to keep him from the grave? Would that be the same thought?

Yeah, I don't know. I think I wouldn't necessarily tie those two texts together, although they're both talking about sin. David and the psalmist, over and over again throughout the book of Psalms you see this, they say, Lord, keep me. Keep me from sinning against you. Psalm 119, with all my heart I have sought you, let me not wander from your commandments. Jesus himself, Karen, taught us to pray in Matthew chapter six, lead me not into temptation. God, keep me.

I know that I'm prone to wander. I know that I'm prone even to presumptuous sin, so keep me from those things. I think that's all David is praying there.

I don't think he has in view this sort of Hebrews chapter 10 kind of a sin of apostasy and rejecting the gospel altogether. He's saying, Lord, in your mercy, guard me. Protect me from sinning against you. And that's a prayer I think that we all should be praying, that you can pray, that I pray, certainly. Lord, protect me.

Keep me. And so that's how I would understand what David is saying there in Psalm 119. Thank you so much for your questions. Thank you, Karen. We appreciate you being one of our regular listeners. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. By the way, you can watch us live on YouTube. We have a YouTube channel, and if you missed the program, you can always watch at a later date or any of our earlier episodes.

So check us out on YouTube. Let's go to Jim calling in from Lincoln, Nebraska. Jim, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yeah, my question is, I was going to an independent church, and they have decided to join another church, actually a bigger group, and I'm just wondering, if I don't believe 100% in the doctrine that they teach, would I be considered a hypocrite if I still was going to that church?

No, I don't think so. Not necessarily. I know that there are a lot of believers, faithful believers, who are plugged into and serving even in churches on a Sunday morning, helping to set up and do that kind of a thing, where they don't necessarily agree with every single doctrine that maybe is held to or preached in the church, but they feel like, well, the core things are the things that we agree on, and so we have fellowship here, and we're able to do that. I would say, if you can do that, if you can be there, and you're being edified, you're being built up by the preaching, you're being encouraged, you feel like it's a place where you can serve and grow together with other believers, wonderful. And if you want to have conversations, I think this is a healthy thing, too, to be able to have conversations with the pastor and the elders there about the things that you differ on, perhaps, to dig into the scriptures, to be Berean together, I think that that's also wonderful. I will say, sometimes people join churches with the hope of changing those churches and saying, okay, I don't agree with the theology here, I don't agree with this practice in particular, but I'm going to join, and I'm going to help bring this church into the light, that kind of a thing.

And they go knowing that they disagree, but thinking that they're going to be able to bring about this great change, and a lot of times that can lead to divisions, and that can be unhelpful and unhealthy. But I think if you can charitably have discussions, if you can be there and be edified by the preaching, because for the most part it's preaching sound doctrine, the apostles' doctrine, that's what the church should be proclaiming, and you're able to sit under that preaching and fellowship with other believers, it's important to get plugged in. I know that there are some Christians who are in areas where there just aren't a lot of churches to choose from, and so they end up going to one particular church where they don't necessarily agree with everything, but they're still blessed by the fellowship and by the preaching, and I think that that's totally okay, Jim.

And so that's what I would encourage you to do, and I appreciate your question, brother. Thank you, Jim, we appreciate you listening to Core Christianity. Well, Pastor Adriel, we have a question that came in via voicemail yesterday.

Let's listen into it. Hello, my name is Fletcher, and I was listening to the program, and a caller by the name of Addison called in about Christ moving through the midst of people. Your answer was really good, but I think he was also getting at is, how was he able to do that? How was he able to physically move through the midst of the people so that he wouldn't be captured or caught?

And maybe if you could answer it in that way, I'd be interested also as well. Thank you very much, bye-bye. Yeah, I remember exactly that call, Addison, a younger caller, was really sweet, and they called about a scene in Luke chapter four where Jesus was basically taken to the edge of a cliff, and the religious leaders wanted to put him to death. And verse 29 of Luke chapter four says, they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they might throw him down the cliff, but passing through their midst, he went away. And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and it continues. And so the question is, well, how did Jesus do that? Is he sort of bobbing and weaving through the crowd?

Did he just sort of levitate over them, that kind of a thing? We're not told. I happen to think, Fletcher, that this was just somehow in God's providence that he was able to get through the crowd.

Nobody did anything. We know ultimately that the Lord is in absolute control, and what I had mentioned to Addison was that Jesus was destined to die, but this was not going to be the manner of his death. This was not how the prophets described his death.

He was headed to the cross to bear our curse, and so it wasn't his time to die yet. I don't know that I would say it was sort of supernatural, you know, he flew over them or that kind of a thing. Typically in the Gospels when Jesus does miracles, the Gospel writers have no problem saying that. They're not trying to hide anything, and so I think, just providentially, he was able to walk through the crowd, and no one laid a finger on him. And so that's, I think, the best answer I could give. Really, there isn't anything more specific than that in the text.

And it does seem remarkable that they wanted to kill him, but nobody did anything, and yet I think we could chalk it up to God's providence, and the fact that it was not Jesus' time to die is certainly not there in that way. So thank you for that question. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adrian Sanchez. If you are one of our regular listeners, we'd like to invite you to consider joining what we call our Inner Core. It's a special group of people who support this ministry because they believe in what we do. Yes, and if you've been blessed by the broadcast, if you're encouraged by the daily answers to questions about the Bible, questions about the faith, questions about the Christian life, would you consider partnering with us?

Become a part of the Inner Core. It's a monthly donation of $25 or more. It really helps us keep the broadcast going, but it also is a way for us to continue to work together, really to advance the gospel. We really want people to understand the core teachings of the Christian faith, and we know that you do as well. As a member of the Inner Core, we have exclusive offers for you, things that we give out.

One of those gifts is this book, Core Christianity, written by theology professor Dr. Michael Horton, just really expounding upon the core truths of the Christian faith. We also have other video content and things that we know will continue to build you up in your own faith and in your own walk with the Lord. So prayerfully consider joining the Inner Core, partnering with us if you've been encouraged by our ministry. One of those exclusive things that we offer our Inner Core members is some regular devotionals from Pastor Adrian. So please do consider signing up for the Inner Core.

Here's what you do to go to corechristianity.com forward slash inner core to learn more. Or you can call us for that offer or any one of our offers. Here's the number. It's 833-843-2673. Let's go to a voicemail that came in with a question about our sin nature. Hi, my name is Abigail.

I'm in Kansas City, Missouri. I heard this weekend on a different Christian radio program, a pastor fairly well known and well listened to say that we don't really have an old sinful nature anymore. We just have vestiges left of it, and that really bothered me, because I know for sure that, you know, I still sin. So I just wondered if you could help clarify, you know, what the truth of God's word has to say about the old sin nature.

Thank you so much. Hey, Abigail, thank you. Let me encourage you and just say I think everybody listening right now can say, yeah, we're with you, Abigail. We still sin. There's not one believer on the face of the planet who does not in certain ways fail to obey God's law. We all sin in thought, word, and indeed. Now, it's important for us to understand when we start talking about sin and human nature or the idea of a sin nature, sin is not of the essence of what it means to be a human. It's not like, you know, sin is just a part of humanity in that sense. Remember, Adam and Eve were created good by God without sin. We might say actually that true humanity, humanity in its truest sense is without sin.

It's how God created us to be, perfect in holiness and goodness in righteousness. Sin entered into the world and corrupted in one sense humanity. Every part of us has been affected by sin because of the fall of Adam, but it's not of the essence of what it means to be human. Now, since sin entered the world, we are, according to the Apostle Paul, by nature, children of wrath. This is something that he talks about in the book of Ephesians. In Ephesians chapter 2, beginning in verse 2, actually, the Apostle Paul said... Let's start in verse 1. He says, And you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

So that's the state. We're born in sin. We're born in Adam. We inherit the guilt, the corruption associated with Adam's sin, but in Christ, our humanity, if you will, is being renewed in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness.

You see this in places like the book of Colossians, Colossians chapter 3 verse 10, or a little bit later in the book of Ephesians, in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 22 through 24. Listen to what the Apostle Paul said, and I think this is what we're all called to. Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires. That old self, you still have it, but you're to put it off and be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. So that old self that we still struggle with, that is still a part of us, we're called to put it off, to lay it aside. It is a battle. I mean, Paul talks about that in Galatians chapter 5, the battle between the flesh and the spirit, but we're called to put it off, to lay it aside, and to put on the new self given to us by God through Jesus Christ.

And so that's the encouragement for each and every one of us. Thank you for that question. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to a call from Tony calling in from Memphis, Tennessee. Tony, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hey, God bless y'all. Thank you so much for your ministry.

I love you all and you're helping us so much. I was wondering, do you believe in the baptism of the speaking in tongues? Thank you for that question, Tony. Do I believe in, I think you said the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. Well, certainly, you know, Paul says by one spirit, we were all baptized into one body.

They're talking about faith, regeneration, the gift of salvation that's given to us. In fact, Paul also said that apart from the Holy Spirit, no one can even say that Jesus is Lord. And so I would say every single Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit in that sense. We all have the spirit. We've been sealed by the Holy Spirit. You can't be a Christian and not have the spirit.

And so that's that's made very, very clear. Now, we're called to be filled with the spirit also. And that happens as we grow in our understanding of what the word of God says is the word of Christ dwells in us richly.

That's what it looks like. And the ultimate sign of having been filled with the Holy Spirit, I would say, is not speaking in tongues or miracles. It's the fruit of the spirit.

It's love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. These are the signs that we've been filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, in the early church, in the apostolic time, there was this miracle, the gift of speaking in tongues. And it was this extraordinary thing that was ultimately there to help advance the gospel in the early stages of the life of the church. The focus is always, Tony, on the preaching of the gospel for the forgiveness of our sins. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.