Struggle Against Sin Doesn't Signal Defeat
that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit;
Many of us carry a quiet assumption that the Christian life should feel like an easy upward climb—each day a little more peaceful, a little more holy, with sin fading gently into the background. So when we find ourselves still fighting the same temptations, still losing ground some days, we wonder if something has gone wrong. Maybe we conclude that real growth has stalled, or that God isn't working in us at all.
But Paul's words push back on that assumption. Putting away the old man isn't a passive fading; it's an active putting off, a mortification—a killing—of a self that grows corrupt through deceitful desires. Growth in Christ doesn't bypass this death; it requires it. The old self doesn't quietly retire. It has to be put away, and that putting away is often costly, exhausting, and far from peaceful.
This means the struggle itself isn't evidence that sanctification has failed. It can actually be evidence that it's underway. If the old man were not being confronted and resisted, there would be no battle at all. The presence of the fight—the clenched fists, the grief over falling again, the wondering whether we're making any progress—can be a sign that God is at work, calling us to lay aside what is corrupt rather than let it settle comfortably in.
So take heart if your days feel less like still waters and more like warfare. That discomfort is not necessarily distance from Christ; it may be the very shape sanctification takes as the old self is put to death so something new can be put on.
For a fuller look at why this struggle doesn't mean you're losing, read The Gospel Coalition's piece, "Struggle Against Sin Doesn't Signal Defeat."
Read the source: The Gospel Coalition →