The reason why Jesus died on the cross for our sin is to pay the penalty of our sin, which is death. We supposed to be the ones who would die for our sins, but instead, Jesus took our place and died on behalf of us. So when He died on the cross, He also crucified our old (sinful) nature, which is called flesh. Our flesh is a part of us that makes us sin because our flesh is infected by sin when sin entered into the world. In Galatians 5:19-21, it shows the characteristics of our flesh, "When you follow the desires of your flesh (old nature), the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." As we can see in these verses that there is nothing that can come out of our flesh. Jesus not only paid the penalty of our sin but also to crucify our flesh.
So where is our flesh now since Jesus crucified it on the cross, well, it is still in us. However, it does not have the power to control our lives anymore. Since we now belong to Jesus through our genuine faith in Him, we received a new nature. Our new nature is controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. When we walk by the Spirit or do what is right in God's eyes, we are walking in our new nature. As we continue to walk in our new nature, we produce the fruit of the Spirit of God: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Since our old (sinful) nature is in us, we will be tempted to sin, but we do not need to listen to our sinful nature, we can say "no" to it and continue to walk in our new life or nature in Christ Jesus. So our goal as a believer in the Lord Jesus is to walk by the Spirit daily so that we cannot carry out the desire of our flesh. God already transformed our lives. We are like a caterpillar that has been transformed into a beautiful butterfly. We do not need to crawl around the tree branches. We now have wings that we can use to fly around. We are free to explore our surroundings by using our beautiful wings. Likewise, we do not need to live according to our flesh, but we are now free to live in a new life or nature in Christ Jesus.
Ask yourself these questions: What are the works of my old nature? What did Jesus do to my old nature on the cross? How did I receive my new nature? As a believer, how should I live my life by?
Write down all the worries that you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for dying for my sin and crucifying my flesh so that I can be forgiven and not be controlled by my flesh. Thank you that you have given me a new nature. Please help me to continue to live in my nature by walking by the Holy Spirit daily. Please help me to say no to sin and do the right thing. Please help me now with (mention your prayer requests). In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.