Conflict of the Two Natures

  1. The Conflict
    1. Gal.5:17
    2. Rom.7:14-25
  2. The Way of Victory in Romans Six
    1. An Old Relationship Ends (Rom.6:6)
  1. Two illustrations of the “old” relationship [These two illustrations picture the relationship of the sinful nature to the physical body and its members.]
    1. An evil monarch and his subjects (6:12,14)
    2. An evil master and his slaves (6:17-20, 22)
  2. In both of these illustrations, the evil master or monarch has: a legal claim over the subjects or slaves.
    1. A slave has no rights.
    2. Slaves are required to do the will of their master.
    3. Subjects of a monarch were required to obey his commands.
  3. The Characteristics of our “old man“
    1. He was a slave to sin. (vs.17)
    2. Sin had dominion over him. (vs.14)
  4. The old relationship ended through death. (6:6)
    1. By means of Spirit baptism, the believer is placed in Christ. (vs.3-4)
    2. By faith the believer is identified with Christ in His death on the cross. (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11)
  5. Who died on the cross?
    1. Our old man died on the cross. (6:6)
    2. Old man defined: the person we used to be before salvation, when we were in Adam and still under dominion to our sin nature. (the unregenerate you)
    3. Who/what did NOT die?
      • Our physical body did not die.
      • Our sin nature did not die.
      • Thus, we still have a body of flesh and a fallen, sinful human nature.
  6. HOW did our old man die?
    1. Co-crucifixion (vs.6)
    2. Once for all (vs.10-11). Like Christ’s death, this death never needs to be repeated. We do NOT die daily to sin! We are not dying to sin. We are not told to die to sin. We are told that we already died to sin!
    3. We died with respect to the sin nature. (vs.2; Gal.2:20)
    4. It was through faith that we were united to Christ in His death. (vs.3)
    5. Spirit baptism makes this union real (I Cor.12:13).
    6. Because the death of our “old man” is real, we can never again revert to our unregenerate state.
    7. The person we were when under dominion to sin is dead. The old relationship we once had to our sinful nature as unregenerate men (dominion/slavery) ceases to exist.
  7. Death ends all legal claims of a master or king over his servants or subjects. (vs.7)
    1. While he was alive, a slave had to obey his master. Once he dies, the master can no longer command him.
    2. While a subject is alive, a king can levy taxes, give commands, and control his life. But once that subject dies, the king has no more powerover his life.
  8. Two purposes of our death with Christ (vs.6).
    1. The first purpose: that the body of sin might be destroyed
      • Body of sin: the physical body coltrolled or under dominion to the sin nature.
      • The physical body of every unsaved man is ruled by his master – the sin nature.
      • The body is not sinful, nor is it the source of sin. Rather, it serves as an instrument or tool to be used by the sin nature. (Cf. 6:13; 7:23)
      • Destroyed:  – render inoperative; dissolve a relationship; termination of a business relationship; (Wuest: to reduce to inactivity (κατά – down; ἀργός – argos – inactive))
      • Used in 7:2 (loosed) & 7:6 (delivered)
      • The body of sin is not annhiliated, but is rendered inoperative. (Like pulling the plug on an electric appliance. It still works, and can be plugged in again, but the owner has a choice.)
      • The change: the master/slave relationship ends. Dominion ends. The master/king has no more legal claim.
      • The result: we no longer HAVE to sin. We are emancipated slaves! 
    2. The second purpose that we henceforth should not serve sin
      • The purpose for ending the master/slave relationship is that we no longer serve sin.
      • This change in relationship produces a change in behavior.
      • Once a slave is freed he naturally wants to lead a different kind of life.
      • A freed slave now has a choice whether he wants to serve his old master or not. He no longer has to. Obligation to his former master has ended.
      • This is a permanent change of relationship.
    1. A New Relationship Begins (Rom.6:7)
      1. Freedom: from slavery to the sin nature.
        • This is not freedom from the presence of the sin nature, but from its dominion.
      2. This new relationship is because of:
        1. Resurrection. (vs.4-5)
        2. Spirit baptism (vs.4-5)
      3. The new relationship to the sin nature 
        1. The new man has been freed from sin. (vs.7)
        2. The sin nature no longer has dominion over him. (vs.14)
        3. The new man is released from all obligation to sin.
      4. The characteristics of the “new man.”
        1. The old nature has no “legal right” to rule over the body of this new man.
          • Some emancipated slaves don’t know how to handle freedom and choose to go back to their old master.
          • Thus, the new man is able to say NO to his old nature.
          • The new man may choose to obey his former master, but he is no longer obligated to do so.
        2. This new man has been spiritually raised up (regenerated) and is equipped to live a new life (a new nature; indwelling Holy Spirit; Christ in you).
        3. This new man is dead, but alive! (Rom.6:11; 12:1; Gal.2:20)
        4. The new man is able to walk in newness of life. (vs.4)
    2. New Resonsibilities of the New Man
      1. Reckon yourself to be dead unto sin (the nature)
        • Dead with respect to our old master; the old relationship has ended.
      1. Reckon: count it as a fact (a faith word – believe that you don’t have to sin)
      2. Reckoning does not: make us dead to sin. We already are! Reckoning is commanded in light of the fact.
      3. The sin nature is not dead. We are dead to it!
      4. The Command: (present tense) “Continually keep it in your mind that you died to sin.
      5. Implications of the command: I don’t have to sin any more.