Do Christians really have two natures and bounce back and forth between light and darkness, goodness and evil? I have been on many Christian discussion forums and this error consistently seems to surface. It is like we have two different forces dwelling within us which are battling for control and what we do or do not do is what will decide which one wins in the long run. It seems there is a misconception on how the outcome is determined. If we do nothing the evil, dark side wins. In order to counteract the evil, dark side we strive to work to make ourselves good. As Christians we set ourselves to study the Bible more, pray more, go to church more, be more charitable, confess our sins more and all this is done with a zeal which makes us think the good side is winning over the evil side. For some Christians their whole life is consumed with their misconceived method with which they try to guarantee the good side wins. This mindset puts one under a performance and works centered religion rather than center on Christ and what He has done for us for if righteousness comes by the law or our performance of doing good then Christ is dead in vain – Gal. 3:21
I’ve heard this illustration of the black dog and the white dog fighting to win a battle. The black dog is the nature we have received from the first Adam. We are born dead in sin because we have the nature of Adam passed down to us. That is our old nature. The new nature we have been given by Christ’s finished work on the cross is the white dog which is all good. These two dogs are bitter enemies and are constantly fighting each other. When we are involved in what we consider sin or worldly things we are feeding the black dog. When we are involved in spiritual things we are feeding the white dog and whichever one we feed the most will win out in the long run. When this mindset of having two natures gets a foothold in our lives its end result is always focused inward. If we let the evil, dark side take control we end up condemning ourselves and if the good, light side takes control through our efforts to be good then self-righteousness and pride sets in.
Another illustration, which I’m sure you have all heard, is the devil is sitting on one shoulder and God on the other with both whispering in our ears and whichever one we listed to will win us.
But is this what scripture teaches? Is this actually the truth that we have two natures in us and we bounce back and forth between the two, back and forth between darkness and light, evil and good?
Consider the following verses:
(2 Cor 5:17 KJV) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Through belief in Christ we have;
spiritual death removed - Rom. 5:12; 6:23; Jn. 5:24
wrath removed - Jn. 3:36; Rom. 5:9-10; Eph. 2:3; 5:6
spiritual blindness removed - 2 Cor. 4:3-4
spiritual alienation removed - Eph. 2:12-15, 19; Rom. 5:6
enmity removed - Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:21; Eph. 2:15-16
condemnation removed - Rom. 8:1-3; 5:16-18
unrighteousness removed - Rom. 3:10, 22-24; 10:10
We are, at the moment of salvation;
transferred from spiritual darkness - Col. 1:13-14; Eph. 5:8; Acts 26:18
freed from the curse of the law - Gal. 3:10-13; Rom. 10:4
freed from the slave market of sin - Gal. 4:7; 5:1, 13; Rom. 6:6-9, 17-20; Jn. 8:34-36
have natural man status changed - 1 Cor. 2:12-14; 15:45-46; Jude 19
perishing status changed - Jn. 3:16; 10:28; 1 Cor. 1:18; 15:17-18; 2 Cor. 2:15; 4:3-4
sinner status changed - Rom. 5:8, 12, 19; 1 Tim. 1:15
I believe these scripture, and many more, show that we are not dwelling with two natures battling for victory in us. You are either in the darkness, lost in the old Adam, or in the light, saved by Christ and given His nature, but you can’t be both at the same time.
(Col 1:12-13 KJV) Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: {13} Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
You can’t be in two different kingdoms at the same time. You are in either one or the other. If you believe you have two natures, one evil and one good, then you are living in unbelief of the truth of Christ and His written word.
