I am convinced that the most common reason for falling into sin is that people do not understand their true identity and purpose as Christians. As children of God we can and should expect the Holy Spirit to make changes in us to such an extent that our struggle is lessened. A transformation occurs in what we desire - righteousness - and in what we do - obeying God. It is not that the Christian life becomes easy, but we learn to live from our center - the Holy Spirit's life in us manifests a life of righteousness.
If the old self is dead, how does sin still live in our bodies? Our flesh still awaits redemption. Our problem is that our new nature is tied to a body of flesh. The flesh (in Greek, sarx) is the "sin principle" at work in our lives. It is no longer our real identity as redeemed men and women; however, this "sin principle" tries to affect our whole being and needs to be progressively overcome. There is a struggle to integrate our bodies with the reality of our new nature.
Wimber then outlines some simple acts of faith intended to help with this struggle.
- Confronting sin
- Confessing sin
- Performing appropriate actions of repentance
- Receiving God's forgiveness
- Forgiving others as God forgives
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