This article is a summary of the following episode: Why Do I Still Struggle with Sin? (w/ Luke Kjolhaug)
Every Christian eventually asks this question. We come to Jesus with joy, we believe the gospel, we know we are forgiven, and yet the battle within us continues. Temptation remains. Sin still rises up from places we thought had been conquered. We hear sermons about new life, new creation, and holiness, and we wonder why our hearts still feel divided.
Many believers assume something must be wrong with them. Some assume their faith is weak. Others fear they were never saved. But Scripture paints a very different picture. The ongoing struggle with sin is not a sign that God has abandoned us. It is the normal experience of the Christian life.
Saint and Sinner
Christians throughout history have used the phrase “saint and sinner” to describe the believer’s identity. It simply means this: in Christ we are fully righteous in standing before God, and yet in our flesh we remain sinful until the resurrection. Both realities are true at the same time.
Paul himself speaks this way. He calls himself the chief of sinners while rejoicing in his union with Christ. He speaks of indwelling sin with painful honesty and then lifts his voice in hope because Christ is his righteousness.
This is not a half-and-half identity. We are not fifty percent saint and fifty percent sinner. We are fully counted righteous in Christ and fully aware of the sin that remains in our bodies. We are a new creation, yet we still await the day when our bodies will be raised in perfection.
The War Within
The New Testament consistently describes a battle between the flesh and the Spirit. Galatians 5 makes this clear. Romans 7 expresses the tension in vivid detail. There is a real war happening inside every believer. The flesh pulls one way, the Spirit another.
Before conversion, there was no war. We followed the desires of the flesh without resistance. The fight itself is a sign of life. A dead heart does not wrestle. A living heart does.
This means your struggle with sin is not evidence that God has turned his face from you. It is evidence that the Spirit is at work in you. The conflict only comes because you belong to Christ.
The Danger of Forgetting the Gospel
When we remove the saint-and-sinner reality from our understanding, we drift into two unhealthy directions.
Some fall into despair. They assume their failure disqualifies them. They convince themselves that no true Christian would still struggle. They hide their sin. They fear that one more failure will reveal them as frauds.
Others drift into pride. They begin to measure themselves by their performance. They imagine themselves strong. They compare themselves to others and become harsh and judgmental. They reduce the Christian life to checklists and progress charts.
Both paths pull us away from Christ. Both paths rob us of joy. Both forget that the Christian life rests entirely on the finished work of Jesus.
Why God Expects Us to Struggle
First John tells us that anyone who claims to have no sin deceives himself. Hebrews 4 invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace for help in time of need. These promises are written to Christians. God assumes we will struggle. He expects us to confess. He prepares mercy ahead of time.
We have a Savior who intercedes for us. We have the Spirit who sustains us. We have the Father who welcomes us again and again.
The struggle will be part of our life until the day we see Jesus face to face. That day will come, but until then, we walk by faith. We look to Christ. We rest in his righteousness. We fight with the confidence that the battle does not determine our standing with God.
The Purpose of the Fight
Understanding this tension does not minimize the call to holiness. It gives the only foundation where holiness can grow. We pursue godliness not to earn anything but because everything has already been granted to us.
Second Peter tells us that God’s divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Our effort is never to secure our place with God. Our effort flows from our place with God.
We obey because we have been loved. We repent because grace makes repentance possible. We serve because Christ has served us.
Normal Christianity
If you wake up tomorrow and the flesh is pulling at you again, that does not mean your salvation is in question. If you find yourself weary from the battle, that does not mean you have failed. If you find sin still lurking in your heart, that does not mean Christ has withdrawn from you.
It means you are alive. It means the Spirit is in you. It means you desperately need Jesus, which is exactly where faith thrives.
The Christian who understands this tension can finally breathe. You do not have to pretend. You do not have to perform. You do not have to hide. You fight sin, and you rest in Christ. That rhythm is the normal Christian life.
The Hope That Carries Us
One day the war will end. The flesh will fall silent. The body of death will give way to a body of glory. Christ will wipe away every tear. But until that day, we look to him.
He is the author and finisher of our faith. He began our salvation, and he will complete it.
So take heart. The struggle does not disprove your faith. It reveals it. And the Savior who holds you will not let you go.
