March 19

Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. — John 3:6 BSB

There is no promise that we will be set free in this life from the indwelling and inworking of sin. Many people believe they will grow progressively holier, that one sin after another will be gradually removed from their hearts until they are almost perfect in the flesh. But this is an idle dream, and sooner or later, God's people will have this illusion shattered. Our sinful nature will remain unchanged; the flesh will always be in opposition to the Spirit. Our Adamic nature is corrupt to its core. It cannot be mended, sanctified, or improved. It is, at the last, just as it was at the first—inherently evil—and will remain corrupt until we put off mortality along with the body of sin and death.

All we can hope for, long for, and pray for is that this evil nature may be subdued, kept down, mortified, crucified, and held in subjection under the power of grace. But any expectation of a transformation that makes it holy is nothing more than a pharisaic delusion. Such a delusion, which promises holiness in the flesh, leaves us still under the power of sin. It also stands in direct opposition to the true sanctification of the new man of grace—a sanctification wrought by divine power and entirely distinct from any false idea of progressive holiness in the flesh.