Originally Posted by revdrgade
One of the things that we gained when we received new life in Jesus Christ is an awakened spiritual nature. We came to know what God considers sin and what is righteous behavior. We are still learning this more and more as we walk with Him.
But until we leave this world our flesh still clings to us. We have a spiritual nature from God and a fleshly nature as an effect of the rebellion of Adam and Eve against God. That means that we have a "battle" going on in our minds between these two.
Rom 7:14-25
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!
NIV
In these few lines, Paul explains why some of David's Psalms(and other parts of Scripture) confess failure to be perfectly following God's will while others speak about us being the very "righteousness of God".
Our failure is all in the realm of Sanctification(our growth in holiness in this life) and not in the realm of Justification(our having been saved by the blood of Christ).
God has declared us righteous/justified but is still working on our new life with conviction by His Spirit. The Spirit teaches us daily things we haven't learned. Thus God uses the word "ignorant" - we still don't know it all. We are "disciples". We are learning.
And as we study His Word and aim at righteous living, we grow. That we make mistakes in our lives or even backslide into former sins we see that we still need to learn how to use the spiritual weapons which God has given to us to fight the good fight of faith.
In summary: We now have two natures. With our renewed spirit we serve God....with our clinging flesh we show our ignorance of how to follow the new life in Christ completely.
