If we’re already dead to sin, why do we still have to battle our sinful desires?
Paul makes two statements that can feel impossible to hold together:
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
—Romans 6:11
“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”
—Romans 7:19
On one hand, believers are already dead to sin.
On the other hand, we still battle sinful desires every day.
This is the paradox:
“Already dead to sin” vs. ongoing struggle with sin.
We’ll look at:
- Why this is a paradox, not a contradiction
- Positional vs. experiential: what is true of you in Christ vs. what you feel and live
- The “already / not yet” of sanctification
- The believer’s daily battle: flesh vs. Spirit
- Proven ways to handle this battle
- How to respond after you’ve given in to sin
- The comfort of God’s sure promise to complete His work in you
✨ Discover FAQs of Faith Mobile App! ✨Looking for a convenient way to access all your favorite faith-based content? Introducing the FAQs of Faith mobile app, your go-to resource that combines insightful and inspiring content from Faith Answers Press LLC into one easy-to-use platform. Whether you’re seeking answers to faith questions, daily inspiration, or spiritual growth resources, our app has it all. 📲 Download now and start your journey! Click on FAQs of Faith
1. Paradox, Not Contradiction
A real contradiction would be:
- “You are dead to sin in every possible sense,”
and - “You are not dead to sin in any sense at all,”
both claimed at the same time.
Scripture doesn’t say that.
Instead, it speaks in different senses:
- In Christ, something decisive has already happened to your relationship with sin.
- In daily experience, sin still remains and must be fought.
John Stott put it this way:
“Our old self has been crucified with Christ;
yet we are still called to put to death the misdeeds of the body.
What God has done once for all, we must reckon on and live out.”
—paraphrased from The Message of Romans
So the Christian life is not “I am dead to sin, therefore I never struggle,”
but “I am dead to sin, therefore I must not let sin reign” (Romans 6:12).
2. Positional vs. Experiential
A. Positional: What Is True of You in Christ
If you are a believer, God has already done something objective and once-for-all:
“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
—Romans 6:6
“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
—Romans 6:14
- Your “old self” (who you were in Adam) has been crucified with Christ.
- The reign of sin—the right it had to dominate you—has been broken.
- You are no longer a slave to sin; you belong to another Master (Romans 6:17–18).
This is your positional reality:
- You have died with Christ (Romans 6:3–4).
- You have been raised with Christ (Colossians 3:1).
- You are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Positional truths don’t depend on your feelings; they depend on Christ’s finished work.
Martin Lloyd‑Jones said:
“The New Testament never tells us to ‘die to sin’ because we are already dead to sin.
It tells us to reckon ourselves to be what we are.”
—paraphrased from his sermons on Romans 6
B. Experiential: What You Actually Feel and Live
Yet experientially:
- You still feel temptation.
- You still fall into old patterns.
- You still groan under indwelling sin.
Paul himself describes this conflict:
“I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
—Romans 7:22–23
So:
- Positionally: dead to sin’s rule.
- Experientially: sin still fights within you.
The paradox is that both are true—but in different ways.
3. The “Already / Not Yet” of Sanctification
The Bible often speaks in already / not yet terms:
- We are already saved (Ephesians 2:8)
and not yet fully saved (Romans 13:11). - We are already adopted (Romans 8:15)
and not yet fully experiencing adoption (Romans 8:23).
The same is true with holiness and sin:
Already
“You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
—1 Corinthians 6:11
In Christ you are already:
- Set apart as holy (sanctified in principle).
- Freed from sin’s dominion.
- A new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Not Yet
And yet:
“We all stumble in many ways.”
—James 3:2
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared…”
—1 John 3:2
You are:
- Still in a fallen body.
- Still living in a fallen world.
- Still awaiting final glorification when sin will be no more.
So the paradox is not “Either I am dead to sin or I still struggle,”
but “I am already dead to sin’s reign,
and not yet free from sin’s presence.”
4. The Daily Battle: Flesh vs. Spirit
Every day, believers face a real internal conflict.
Paul describes it:
“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit,
and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh,
for these are opposed to each other,
to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
—Galatians 5:17
Flesh here means our old, sin-inclined nature, still clinging to us.
Spirit means the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and produces new desires.
So:
- There is a war between these two sets of desires.
- You feel pulled in both directions.
Romans 8 describes both sides:
- “If you live according to the flesh you will die…” (Romans 8:13a).
- “…but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13b)
This is not theoretical; it happens:
- When you decide whether to nurse resentment or forgive.
- When you choose between pornography or purity.
- When you respond in pride or humility, greed or generosity, self-pity or prayer.
John Owen famously wrote:
“Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
—The Mortification of Sin
The battle is real—but it’s not a battle between two equal powers.
The Spirit is stronger, and sin is a defeated enemy.
5. Proven Ways to Handle This Battle
How do we actually fight, day by day?
1. Remember Who You Are in Christ
Before Paul gives commands in Romans 6, he reminds believers what has already happened:
“So you also must consider (reckon) yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
—Romans 6:11
You fight sin from your identity, not for your identity.
- Start your day remembering:
- “I am united to Christ.”
- “Sin is not my master.”
- “I belong to God.”
2. Refuse to Let Sin Reign
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”
—Romans 6:12
There will be temptations and desires, but you are not obligated to obey them.
- You can say “no” by the Spirit (Titus 2:11–12).
- You can turn away, walk away, shut down what feeds the temptation.
This may be very practical:
- Installing accountability software.
- Confessing patterns to trusted believers.
- Avoiding known triggers and environments.
3. Offer Yourself to God
“Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
—Romans 6:13
Not just “don’t sin,” but:
- Actively offer your body, time, resources, and affections to God.
- Engage in good works, service, generosity, worship.
Idle hands and idle hearts are fertile soil for temptation.
4. Walk by the Spirit
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
—Galatians 5:16
How?
- Stay in Scripture; let the Word dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16).
- Pray honestly and frequently, not only when in crisis.
- Remain in meaningful Christian community: worship, fellowship, mutual encouragement, and correction.
The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) grows not by frantic self-effort, but by steady abiding in Christ (John 15:1–5).
5. Use Ordinary Means of Grace
Historic Christian wisdom points to the ordinary means of grace:
- The preached Word
- The sacraments (Baptism, the Lord’s Supper)
- Prayer
- Fellowship and mutual exhortation
They are “ordinary,” but they are where God has promised to meet and strengthen His people.
Herman Bavinck observed:
“Sanctification is not a work we do in our own strength;
it is a work of God in us, carried out through the means He Himself has appointed.”
—paraphrased from Reformed Dogmatics
6. When You’ve Given In: How Should You Respond?
Because we still struggle, we still fall. The question is: What then?
A. Don’t Hide—Run to God
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
—1 John 1:9
- Do not minimize or excuse.
- Do not wallow in vague guilt.
- Bring specific sins into the light before God.
Confession is not informing God; it’s agreeing with God.
B. Remember the Gospel
Your failure does not undo your justification:
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
—Romans 8:1
The accuser will say:
- “You’re a fraud.”
- “Real Christians don’t do this.”
- “God must be done with you.”
The answer is:
- “Christ died for this sin too.”
- “My standing is based on His righteousness, not my record.”
Charles Spurgeon once said:
“When I thought God was hard, I found it easy to sin;
but when I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion,
I smote upon my breast to think that I could ever have rebelled against One who loved me so and sought my good.”
—paraphrased
C. Make Real Repentance, Not Just Regret
Repentance is more than feeling bad:
- It is turning from sin to God.
- It may involve practical steps:
- Confessing to those you’ve hurt.
- Making restitution where possible.
- Changing patterns, boundaries, access, habits.
2 Corinthians 7:10 distinguishes:
“Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
D. Learn from the Fall
Ask:
- What led up to this?
- What lies did I believe?
- Where was I spiritually, emotionally, physically vulnerable?
Let even your failure become a teacher that drives you deeper into wisdom and dependence.
7. Encouragement: God Will Finish What He Started
Even as you fight and sometimes stagger, Scripture holds out a strong promise:
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
—Philippians 1:6
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
—Romans 8:29
God’s sanctifying work is certain:
- He began it in your new birth.
- He continues it through conviction, discipline, encouragement, and growth.
- He will complete it in glorification when you see Christ and are made like Him (1 John 3:2).
At the same time, your effort matters:
“If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
—Romans 8:13
Both are true:
- God promises to sanctify His people.
- You are responsible to actively put sin to death, by the Spirit.
The Heidelberg Catechism beautifully captures the comfort:
Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A: That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ…
He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father
not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.
—Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 1 (excerpt)
That includes even your ongoing battle with sin.
8. Living in the Paradox Today
You are:
- Already dead to sin’s dominion,
- Already alive to God in Christ,
- Not yet free from the presence of sin,
- Not yet done fighting.
Let this paradox:
- Humble you: you still need daily grace.
- Assure you: sin is a defeated tyrant, not your lord.
- Motivate you: your choices matter in this real war.
- Comfort you: the God who called you will not abandon you.
Or as John Newton said:
“I am not what I ought to be,
I am not what I want to be,
I am not what I hope to be in another world;
but still I am not what I once used to be,
and by the grace of God I am what I am.”
You walk as someone who has died with Christ,
who now lives by the Spirit,
and who will one day stand sinless and radiant before the face of God.
Visit our companion site
Discover the Truth About Jesus Christ
Are you new to the Christian faith or seeking answers about Jesus? Visit JesusIsLordBlog.com for insightful articles, compelling reasons to believe, and a deeper understanding of what it means to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. Start your journey today!
