freedom from bondage to sin. Before we believed in Christ, our nature was evil. We disobeyed, rebelled, and ignored God (even at our best, we did not love him with all our heart, soul, and mind). The Christian, however, has a new nature. God has crucified the old, rebellious nature (Romans 6:6) and replaced it with a new, loving nature (3:9–10). The penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross. God has declared us not guilty, and we need no longer live under sin’s power. God does not take us out