Crucified = Eradicated

I'd like to discuss a passage in Scripture which I see some people misconstrue. 

Galatians 5:16-23:

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Now, oftentimes people will use those verses describing the war between the flesh and the Spirit to conclude that we're never free from the flesh (the sin nature), and therefore our walk as Christians here on earth is a constant battle with ourselves, continually struggling against our desire to sin and striving to walk in the Spirit, hoping the latter overcomes, in which case sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't.  The point is we're trying.

This, however, is not the case.  

Unfortunately those who preach such things want to STOP at verse 23 without acknowledging verses 24 and 25:

"And they that are Christ's HAVE CRUCIFIED the flesh WITH the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

Paul clearly states that those who are truly born-again children of God HAVE CRUCIFIED, past tense, the flesh.  It is dead and buried, once and for all.  And by crucifying that sinful nature, we have also crucified the sinful DESIRES which sprung from it.  We did this when we came to true Godly repentance and belief in the Gospel (the belief that Jesus came to TAKE AWAY our sin) and therefore he gave us a NEW heart and a NEW spirit, holy and blameless, through which God works in us all righteousness and good works.

We do not have both the sinful nature and the Spirit co-existing within us -- Jesus states we're either born of one or the other, and our actions reflect which.  If we're born of the flesh, the result is a life in bondage to sinning, whether it be constant or only occasionally.  If we're born AGAIN of the Spirit, we walk in holiness, and obedience every day of our lives.  We're truly free to do the will of the Father, working for His kingdom, because we no longer have that sinful nature trying to drag us down into sin.

So, take heed of those preaching either denial of the sinful nature, OR a constant life-long struggle against it, as BOTH result in bondage.  We cannot receive freedom from something we either deny exists, or claim we'll always possess.

God's plan is far more wonderful than either an inevitable life of sin, or a never-ending battle against it.  His gift to us is COMPLETE and THOROUGH salvation and freedom -- not simply an E for Effort.