40 A Christian inner Battles

In a life of a Christian . For he or she is a saint and sinner at the same time.
We are saints due to our relationship with Jesus
“All the saints greet you.” 2Cor 13:13 (NKJV)
And we are sinners due to our fallen nature who wants to go after sin
“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.— 1Tim 1:15 (NKJV)
I have a illustration I wrote some time ago :
A Christian’s Inner Battles
Close your eyes and imagine a house where a new baby (the seed, the New Man in Christ) is just born into. This house is your body. This house has a person who already was occupying it. He was ruling its members, and he won’t let go of his position without a fight. He is called the Old Man, Old Nature, or Sinful nature. He runs the house without any rules and order. He dirties the place and lacks discipline. Though the Baby is not strong enough to put him out, he has the strength to ruin many of his plans because the Holy Spirit dwells in this lad. When this Baby prays, fasts, sings rhymes, breaks night fellowship, and reads the word, things begin to happen. Those of the House listen to the Baby except for the Old Man, who often resists or steps out for a smoke. But when this Old Man Tells dirty jokes, smokes, drinks beer, lusts, and kills, those who are in the house listens to him except for the Baby, who tries with all his strength to resist him. One day the Baby grows up just a little and defeats this old man, and this old man seems to have died. However, this is a day-by-day battle, which makes us feel to be victorious over sin when a Christian overcomes a temptation for a day or a time. But this devilish Old Man can’t die till the day when the house which belongs to the New Man in Christ is rebuilt as it is the promise of the Brother (Jesus) of the New Man that it will. So the Old Man regains his strength and takes his rulership over and over again. At times, it binds the Baby with chains of steel.

So he can’t move but begins to cry out as the sins are committed in his house. This we could say when after a long time of victory over sin, we fall into the old habits of sin again. And as we do them, we feel grief in our hearts. Hence, the battle continues for rulership—the Flesh against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh. So those of the house do what they do not want to. One wants holiness; the other sin. When one makes progress in holiness, the relapse comes again. The house even begins to cry out, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” When the house is dirty, it is not the Baby, the seed, the New Man. It is the Old Man who is our Old Nature. And when the house is clean, it is not Old Man, the Sinful Nature. It is the Baby. This is a Christian’s daily life. Two are born into this house, and the older will serve the younger. And that is what the older does not want. He wants to remain the King of the house, but his time, will come to an end, and we can joyfully say at the Christians’ future judgment, all this will take place. Even if the house is destroyed, it will rise again. This Old Man is like cancer who lives as long as the person is alive, but once the person dies, this Old Man dies with it. But this house will rise again when the older brother of the New Man comes to rebuild houses and restore the Baby to his own house. The Old Man will die for good and lose his power forever over the house, and the Baby will be King over his own house where holiness will be the only rule of the house.