Why Do I Struggle?
If I am a Christian and have a new nature then why do I act the way I act? Why do I struggle in so many areas of life? This is a good question and one we all have asked. The answer is this- We have a heart that naturally opposes God, and we have a spiritual enemy that partners with that opposition, and we live in a world that enthusiastically supports our inward and outward opposition to God. We have the world, the flesh, and the Devil dedicated to the destruction of the New Man. This battle is very real and the battlefield is our will, our intellect, and our emotions; we are not in heaven yet.
God has given us a life to live, on earth, surrounded by His enemies, enemies without and within, enemies that reject and hate Jesus Christ the Lord! It is our victory over these enemies that proves salvation to be real! Remember the victory of Job. His righteousness was proved to be real by his overcoming the temptations of the Devil!
There is an Antichrist spirit in the world who opposes and criticizes any and every effort to honor Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The people of God are not to compromise the Word of God, but they are to walk out the Word of God, while in a hostile environment.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
We Show The Victories of Christ Are Real
Our victory over inward darkness, proves God's wisdom in choosing to redeem us through Christ Jesus. The purpose of salvation is to give us victory over sin, over death, and over the Devil. Jesus alone has purchased this victory for us. As we overcome sin we show that God was indeed right in choosing to redeem Himself a people through Christ. Jesus saved the elect and reconciled them to God. He defeated sin, He defeated our fleshly nature, He defeated the devil, and He defeated the world, and He did it because He loved us. Our challenge is to overcome and thereby show all creation the reality of the wonderful victories purchased for us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Our Life On Earth
God could have translated us directly to heaven the very moment we were born-again. But instead He chose to leave us in this demon possessed, sin infected world. And in addition, He chose to leave us in a body that is opposed to God, and He chose to leave us with a mind and heart that naturally opposes God. He then tells us to manage our bodies and renew our minds through His Word. This is where we win the battle. We bring Him honor and glory by using His weapons to defeat the Devil, and sin, in our own body, mind, and heart! Even though we struggle, we do not allow evil to rule us! We show principalities and powers in heavenly places, the great wisdom of God, in His eternal purposes through Christ Jesus. God has dealt with evil through Christ Jesus and we, His people, show the evidence of God's victory over evil, through our victory over evil! We testify, by our lives, to the greatness of God. And this is our supreme and high calling-to bring God glory and to love Him
See New Man