Crucify The Sinful Nature

Crucify The Sinful Nature

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:24

Paul says that all those who belong to Christ crucify the sinful nature, along with its shortcomings and sins. We as believers have not yet completely taken off our sinful nature, and we are still inclined to sin. We don’t fear and love God enough. We are driven to anger, envy, impatience, sexual immorality, and other evil impulses. However, we don’t act on these impulses, because as Paul says here, we crucify our sinful nature with its passions and desires. Suppressing wickedness, fasting, or exercising other spiritual disciplines isn’t enough to crucify the sinful nature. It happens only when we live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). God’s threats to punish sin also serve as a warning and frighten us from sinning. Armed with God’s Word, faith, and prayer, we refuse to give in to the desires of the sinful nature. By resisting the sinful nature in this way, we nail its lusts and cravings to the cross so that the sinful nature—though it’s still alive and moves—can’t achieve what it wants, for it’s fastened to the cross by its hands and feet.