Re: The Lord's Prayer

I have always thought of man as having a dual nature and being born with a sin nature, but after reading your article, I looked around and found this article too.

This is just a part of it, I'll leave the link. It does give me a lot of "food for thought on the subject"


Sinful Nature versus Flesh

Today’s modern teaching of the “sinful nature” is based on some recent translations of the Bible. Modern translations like the New International Version (NIV) and New Living Translation (NLT) use the term “sinful nature” throughout the New Testament. However, it’s more of an interpretation than a translation. In both the King James Version (KJV) and New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, there is no use of “sinful nature”. It’s only in newer translations.

So, what is this word being used for “sinful nature”?

The Greek word that NIV and NLT translate “sinful nature” is the word sarx. It is defined as “the flesh, the meat of an animal, the body (as opposed to the soul or spirit)”.

The KJV and NKJV version simply translate sarx as “flesh”. It’s your body, the natural part of you that experiences this reality through the five senses–taste, touch, smell, hear and see. The flesh is very different than the sinful nature.

Take Romans 7:18 for example and read both the NIV and the NKJV:
◦“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Romans 7:18, NIV).
◦“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find” (Romans 7:18, NKJV).

Why is this important? Your flesh is this tangible part of you where sin resides. Sin lives in your flesh. But, if you believe that sin in your soul and spirit, that your nature is to sin, then your identity is all about sin management. But, if you can believe that your nature is good, that you are a child of God, then there is hope to live a victorious life. You can conquer the flesh, because Christ did.

But, I still sin.

So do I. As long as you are alive, your flesh will be prone to sin. But, God has somehow uniquely separated your soul and spirit from your body when you become a believer. Your body is dead to sin. Romans 8:10 says, ”If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” In Christ, God considers your body dead because of sin. So, we are encouraged to do the same: “Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).

http://season.org/grace-do-i-have-a-sinful-nature/
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