Those of us whom have given our lives over to Christ are called by many names (not all of them good) but one of those is that of "believer". Which, while a true enough descriptor, hardly does it justice at all as our new life is far more than a mere belief. After all, beliefs change all the time whether due to more information being learned, a change in perspective or just for no real reason at all. It (the term "believer") is one reason why there is such a difference in response between those who follow Christ and those who do not when we hear of a "believer" who may be walking away from their faith. For the non-believer, it is a matter of "oh well" but for believer who hears of such, it is a devastating, heart breaking thing.
The very moment of our salvation, far more changed than what we merely chose to believe. There was a very real change made in us. We were made new, not merely reconditioned or refurbished but a whole new being came into existence - one that did not exist prior to that moment.
"... if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here" ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17
We know that the Spirit dwells within us - He has done so since we gave our lives to Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19). We also know that prior to our salvation, we were dead, spiritually speaking and thus, separated from God (Ephesians 2). We also know that the Spirit and our "sinful nature" do not get along - at all; the Spirit desires the things of God while the old nature desires rebellion against Him (Romans 8:5-7).
When we received the Holy Spirit, the old was, in a way of thinking, booted out of us - but while they were kicked out, they were not destroyed by any means. The old nature is dead to us (Romans 6: 6-7) - that is, it does not have any real power over us (regardless of what it or the enemy says) even though it does actually still exist. Now, it follows along with us like some kind of shadow self, while the "new us" is what lives within. The new can, and does, speak to us from within. The old speaks to us from without. The we that exists now is alive, spiritual and united with (and totally dependant upon) Christ - a whole new version of ourselves. But if that is true, why then do we still sin at all?
Do you have children? If you do, you may have had the experience of having them do something they knew was wrong just because a friend told them to do so. Now they knew it was wrong. They knew they would get in trouble, but still they did it anyway. If you have been alive any length of time yourself, you have likely done the same thing - gone along with the crowd even though it meant doing something you thought (knew) was wrong just to fit in or maybe because it was "familiar territory". Keep in mind, the old is dead to us but not destroyed - they are still right there with us all the time (Romans 7:21). Not only that, but we are intimately familiar with the old as well - after all, we have gone through a lot together (although likely not much we are overly proud of).
So while "the flesh" or the "old nature" or whatever you want to call it has no real power over us anymore, they do still influence us. They continue to talk to us, attempt to lead us and draw us away from God - that "is" what they know to do after all for sin only knows how to rebel against God. And, unfortunately so, we listen and we are drawn into whatever it is that they (the old version) wants us to do. In a way, we are submitting to peer pressure from the old. Thus, we rebel against God, or sin. In a very real way, it is not we who sin but the old self who sins - however, we are still there and it is we who choose to listen to the tempting voice of old ways over the voice of God (we sin).
But what if you have been listening to the wrong voice? Just because you eat a candy bar does not mean your weight loss diet is done; it just means you ate something you should not have and you pick up and carry on as before, putting that mistake behind you. But if you keep eating the candy - day in and day out - then going back on that diet becomes harder and harder to do plus your dietary mistakes will start to take a toll on you. God will not turn you away nor throw you away but the longer you listen to the wrong voice, the harder it gets to hear the right one and you will start to see real earthly consequences of your actions the longer it goes (for the Lord disciplines those whom He loves - Proverbs 3:12).
But praise be to God for while He has condemned the old, He has given life eternal to the new through Jesus Christ, our Lord!
Uh, but what do you do if you have been listening to the wrong voice lately? Well, stop listening to the old is somewhat obvious. And you may need to change the people whom you have choosen to associate with as well, if they are enabling or endorsing your bad choices (“Bad company corrupts good character.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:33). And finally, do not let the mistakes of the past (or even, right now) hold you back - you have not gone so far as to be beyond the reach of God's love (Romans 8:38-39). Turn your face to God, lock your eyes on Him, open your ears to His voice alone, follow the leading of the Spirit and go for it.
On tidbit that may be worth the mentioning: God is love (1 John 4:8) and 1 Corinthians 13 lists off the characteristics of love (which are those of a living being, in case you had not noticed). One of those is "keeps no record of wrongs". If you are walking away from your faith (or have at some point), when you return to God, He does not keep this long list of things you did wrong that you have to make up for doing - you cannot do so anyway (could not before, cannot do so now). You are as close to Him in that moment as you were when you first accepted Christ. So do not fear returning to Him - He anxiously awaits your return, with open arms.
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