Understanding the Crucifixion of Our Sinful Nature

Let me say up front that you’re going to have to think to get this. It’s going to take effort for you to think about it and understand it, which may not be what you want to hear. But I believe you’re reading this because you’re not a person who just wants something that will tickle your ears (2 Tim. 4:3) and give you a good feeling. Some people go from conference to conference and from church service to church service. They’re just living off emotional highs. But this truth lasts long after emotional highs fade. You can stand on this truth, and it’ll become an anchor of your soul and give you a stability that very, very few Christians are operating in today.

Revealing Your Need for God’s Mercy

The purpose of the Law is to show us how sinful we are and make us realize that we need God’s mercy.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:20

The Law bound us to our sinful nature. Imagine a bull trying to believe it’s a sheep—it’s not just mind over matter. All it takes to snap that bull out of its deception is to wave a red flag in its face. Just as a bull can’t become a sheep unless it’s born a sheep, we can’t change our nature without being born again. The Law acts like a red flag, exposing our sinfulness and our need for a Savior.

Romans 7:1–4 illustrates this truth through the analogy of a woman unable to leave a marriage unless her husband dies. Likewise, we couldn’t break free from our old self without it dying. Praise God, the old man is totally dead, gone, and buried.

Embrace Your Transformation

There are several places in Scripture that refer to the death of the old man when we are born again.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Ephesians 2:1

This verse is saying that we were totally destroyed by sin, separated from God, and destined for hell. But look what it says in Romans 6:1–2:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

The Great Exchange

Romans 6:1–2 says we are now separated from sin itself. This means that sin no longer has power over us because Jesus intervened for us. What a great swap! It’s incredible what God has done for us. Many people haven’t fully grasped this truth and still think they have to struggle daily with sin. But that’s not what these verses mean. If you really believe that, then it’s like you’re schizophrenic. But in the spiritual realm, your righteousness in Christ is already settled. It doesn’t change based on your performance, whether good or bad.

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

Colossians 2:13

In other words, it is true that our nature has been changed. And in the same way as that old nature made us slaves to sin, our new nature now makes us slaves to righteousness. But we have to know that that old man is dead and gone and that we aren’t bound to it anymore. If we don’t know that, we can continue to live under bondage, even though we’ve been freed.

The Significance of Juneteenth

Did you know that something similar happened with the slaves in the United States? In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. But the celebration of “Juneteenth,” on June 19, marks when Union soldiers finally arrived in Texas in 1865 nearly two years later.

Some Texans who were part of the Confederate States didn’t acknowledge Lincoln’s proclamation. Not only did they not free their slaves, but they also didn’t even tell them about the Proclamation! The Civil War ended in April 1865, but it wasn’t until June 19 of that year, when Union soldiers finally took control of Texas, that freedom was announced to the slaves there. Some consider this the end of slavery, even though the Emancipation Proclamation was issued two years earlier.

Discover Your True Identity and Claim Your Freedom

So, my point is, while the slaves were technically freed, a lot of them didn’t even know it. In the same way, Jesus has completely freed you from the power of sin. When you became born again, you died with Christ. That means you are no longer enslaved to sin; you have been set free.

In the same way you were a slave to your old man, or sin nature, now you’re a slave to righteousness. This marks the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, people had to perform certain actions to maintain their relationship with God. They offered sacrifices for their sins, showing that God’s grace was available even then.

The New Covenant Difference

But the New Covenant is based on what Jesus did for us, not what we do for Him. This is a huge shift. Just as we became sinners through Adam’s actions, not our own, we are made right with God through Jesus’ actions, not our own. It’s not about our works but about the sin nature passed down from Adam.

The moment you accept Jesus—accept and put faith in what He did—the old man dies, and God makes you a brand-new creation in Christ Jesus. First John 4:17 says that you are identical to Jesus. You are His workmanship. Since God is a Spirit, He looks at you in the spirit and sees you as righteous, holy, and pure. And He’s pleased with you.

Your actions will never be as perfect as Jesus’ were when He walked this earth. Your thoughts will never be as pure and as perfect as His are. But in your spirit, you are right now identical to Jesus.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

1 John 4:17

That sin nature is what I’m calling the old man. And that old man is dead. It’s been crucified with Christ and is nonexistent and gone. Man, that is just phenomenal.

Renew Your Mind and Walk in Truth

If you can renew your mind to God’s Word and understand what I’ve shared, it’ll set you free—not free to go live in sin, but free to live from sin! You’ll wind up serving God more accidentally than you ever have on purpose before, because the love of Christ constrains you.

Getting a real revelation that you have been freed from an old, fallen nature will have radical implications for your life. It is the opposite of what many preach today as the Gospel. That might shock you, but I believe it’s the truth. The sad fact is, most Christians think that salvation only includes the forgiveness of sins.

Rise and Soar: Embrace Your New Life in Christ

If you aren’t born again, it’s as simple as receiving the salvation that Jesus offers. And when that happens, you become a brand-new person on the inside. Being born again is a change from the inside out, and it starts with Jesus Christ living through you. So, if Christ is in you, your body is dead.

I really encourage you to start renewing your mind a little each day with this truth and allow God’s Word to change your life. The victory in the Christian life is letting Christ live through you.