fresh perspectives
My friend shared with me recently a new way of looking at sin:
… In Christ, I am a new creation. My old self has passed away and the new self HAS COME. This means that the sinful nature is no longer part of who I am, but is instead a separate entity that still lives inside of me and tries to influence me, but isn’t actually part of who I really am anymore. If you don’t believe me, read Romans 7, 2 Corinthians 5, Galatians 5 or Ephesians 4. When I realized this, it was super cool because it gave me so much power to fight Satan, and made me realize a little bit more of how much God really loves me and sees me. Yes, I still sin, but I sin because I listen to Satan and a parasite that lives within me and is trying to destroy my new self. Viewing it that way has led to major breakthroughs and has given me significant ability to resist temptation, because I know that, because it is not actually part of my Christ-self, it will eventually pass and thus I don’t have to listen to it.
Somehow, when I read this, I had an inexplicable surge of joy. I’ve been reading it time and time again in the Bible, but somehow seeing it again in this way made it something new.
