Q099_061825 Rom. 6:6 What Is Our "Old Man" And Our "Body Of Sin"?

Q099_061825 Rom. 6:6 What Is Our "Old Man" And Our "Body Of Sin"?

How do different strategies aid in addiction recovery? Here, the focus lands squarely on how faith, rather than psychology alone, shapes the way people see themselves, their sin, and their behaviour. Colin Cook takes listeners into Romans 6:6 and asks what Paul really means by "our old man" and "the body of sin." Many Christians, he notes, treat the "old man" as a dodgy inner segment that can be scrubbed out over time.

Colin pushes back hard on that idea: "You don't have a sinful nature. You are a sinful nature. Your natural humanity belongs to the kingdom of Adam." Instead of carving life into a neat spiritual part and a messy carnal part, he explains that Paul is talking about the whole of human nature under what he calls "the Sin Kingdom of Adam" – guilt, shame, secrecy and pretending to be better than you are.

Baptism, he says, symbolises that the entire self goes down into Christ’s death, not just a problem corner of your personality. Colin also tackles translation issues. He argues that "that the body of sin might be destroyed" is better understood as "rendered powerless". Expecting your human nature to vanish leads to disappointment, like his own teenage bus ride home after baptism when he realised his lustful thoughts hadn’t magically disappeared.

The heart of his message is deeply practical for anyone dealing with addiction or recurring sin. By faith, people can say to God that they are no longer counted as sinners because Christ has already taken that judgement.

From there, the grip of old habits loosens over time: "Your reaction to a sin is more powerful than the sin itself." If you’ve ever wondered why you still feel so human after turning to faith, this episode gives you plenty to chew on – and might just change how you speak to yourself after you slip.