As believers, redeemed by the blood of Jesus we are not complete on this side of heaven (scarification process) for the Apostle Paul said,
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Rom. 7:15-20 NIV).
This shows that Paul still struggled with living in the Spirit and denying his flesh. This can be understood if we heed the words of our Lord, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41)(ESV). While paying special attention to, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Paul was a redeemed man during the time of this struggle for the unredeemed, “The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14 NIV). And “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Rom. 8:7 NIV).
Why? Because: “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts” (Eph. 4:18 NIV). “ Enslavement is bondage. We get the word slave from the Greek word doulos, which means become slaves, enslaved, held in bondage, made a slave or under bondage (Biblehub, 2016).
Sin is not uncommon for believers, for in John’s first letter to the church he tells us: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV). This is written to believers therefore struggling with sin in the sanctification process is nothing new. Sin is universal: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23 NIV). A habitual pattern of sin can be seen right after the fall, Adam and Eve hide from God, Adam blames his wife, Eve blames the serpent and their son kills his bother (Abel) out of jealousy.
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