If Christians still live by flesh, they don't believe enough or what?
Why do Christians who are "dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ" (
Ro. 6:11) still live by the flesh (or sin)?
This is a great question! In answer to it, check out the following:
Living, by faith, as a joint-heir in Christ.
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Not living according to the flesh, not sinning, is not a matter of just believing enough that you are "dead to sin and alive unto God." Faith is definitely a vital part of the "way of escape" from sin, but it's not "the whole enchilada," so to speak. Every sin no matter what it is invites the Christian person to think and do two things:
1.) Deny who s/he is as a "new creature in Jesus Christ" (
2 Co. 5:17).
If you've been born-again spiritually, you've taken on a whole new nature and identity. You're a joint-heir with Christ (
Ro. 8:17; Eph. 2:6), an adopted child of God (
Ro. 8:15), fully redeemed, justified and sanctified in and by Jesus Christ (
1 Co. 1:30). You're a temple of the Holy Spirit and are "not your own, you've been bought with a price" (
1 Co. 6:19-20). If you've trusted in Christ as your Savior and yielded to him as your Lord, you've been "washed and renewed" by the Holy Spirit, spiritually united with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection (
Ro. 10:9-10; Tit. 3:5-7; Ro. 6:1-6; Ga. 2:20; Col. 3:1-9, etc.).
When a temptation confronts the Christian person, they are, at bottom, being invited by the temptation to live in denial of all of these things (and many others not mentioned). The Christian who lusts, or rages, or overeats, or indulges an addiction, or commits
any sin, is always doing so in denial of who they really are as a person who is "in Christ," freed from the power of the Old Self, sin and the devil.
But, as one man has well put it, "The me I see is the me I'll be." If my conception of myself, my identity, is not formed by what God says is true of me as His child, I will default to the Old Self identity I had before I was saved and from that identity only sin arises (
Ro. 6:6; Ga. 5:17; Ro. 7:18; Ro. 8:5-8).
2.) Deny God's place in his/her life (
Ro. 11:33-12:1).
Every temptation also always invites the Christian to deny God's authority and rule in their life. He ought always to be seated upon the "throne" of one's heart, and when He is so enthroned, when He is in control of the entire person, He leads them ever deeper into the "Promised Land" of their spiritual inheritance in Jesus Christ. As a result, the Christian who is constantly under God's authority and control, grows more and more holy, more and more liberated from the World, the Flesh and the devil, in their daily living.
How does a Christian properly, truly come under God's will and way? By conscious, explicit submission to Him (
Lu. 22:42) throughout each day. God will never force Himself upon anyone, compelling them to live as He wants them to. No, they must agree to His control and change of them, which they must do by submitting to Him, yielding themselves to Him as a "living sacrifice" throughout every day (
Ro. 6:13-22; Ro. 8:14; Ro. 12:1; Ja. 4:7-10; 1 Pe. 5:6).
Submission to God's will and way is not a special tactic for moments of temptation, however. It's the normal state-of-affairs for the born-again person - or, it ought to be. There's no other position one can take relative to God except as His dependent, submitted
inferior. He's GOD, after all, our Superior to an indescribable degree. And so, the Bible describes God's children as
children, branches in the Vine, sheep to shepherd, vessel for the Master's use, disciples to Teacher, and so on. To be in a relationship with God always necessarily requires that we are so in constant deference to, in constant submission to, His will and way.
When, then, the believer takes up their own will and way, watching something foul on t.v., or using rotten language, or lusting wickedly, or hating someone, or neglecting study of God's word, or attendance at church, or showing kindness and patience to others, etc, they have ceased to be under God's control and are in the position of a rebel until such time as they return to a place of conscious, explicit submission to Him again. God will not fill rebels with Himself, or exert His power in them (except to convict them of their sin). No, so long as the child of God remains in rebellion to God - the only position they can be in other than that of submission - God is their
opponent (
Ja. 4:6-7; 1 Pe. 5:5-6).
To restore fellowship with God, the believer must
repent of their sin,
confess it to God, and consciously, explicitly
submit again to His control (
Ja: 4:6-10; 1 Jn. 1:9; Ro. 6:13-22). As the Christian lives in this way with God, the Spirit works in the Christian to change them, over time working in them what they then work out in their daily living (
Phil. 2:12-13; 2 Co. 3:18; Eph. 3:16, Ga. 5:22-23, etc.. This change is very much like the growth of a branch in a tree that cannot be seen to grow in any particular moment but is growing nonetheless, its transformation often only evident in retrospect. Primarily, firstly, the work of the Holy Spirit is done in the realm of the Christian's desires, which is the primal "seat" of their thinking and conduct. He cools inflamed natural desires, dissolves sinful desires, and forms new, godly desires in the believer. This alteration of desire is, then, the first thing the truly born-again person will experience of the life and work of the Holy Spirit in them (
Ro. 5:5; Ga. 5:22-23; 1 Jn. 3:14).
I realize I've written a lot in response to your question, but your question was an important one and deserved a thorough reply.
God's blessings be upon you!