Christians Still Battle Evil Desires

It’s one of the most unsettling realizations for many new (and even seasoned) believers: why do evil desires still rise up within me, even though I belong to Christ? If I’m truly saved, shouldn't those sinful impulses vanish? What does it mean when Scripture warns that “on account of these the wrath of God is coming” even as Paul speaks to believers?

Mary, a thoughtful Christian, asked these questions in a bundle that speaks to a core concern of many. Her question centers on Colossians 3:5–6, where Paul writes:

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”

What are we to make of this? If evil desires are listed right alongside outward sins like sexual immorality, and if wrath is coming because of them what does that mean for Christians who still feel these desires?

Let’s walk through three foundational truths that bring clarity and hope.

1. Evil Desires Still Exist in Christians

The first truth to accept one that might shock our inner perfectionist is this. Christians are not yet free from all evil desires.

If total sanctification happened the moment we were saved, Paul’s commands to “put to death” the flesh would be unnecessary. He’s not writing to unbelievers; he’s speaking to the church, the redeemed people of God. That means the presence of evil desires in our hearts does not mean we are unsaved it means we are still being sanctified.

Paul says in Colossians 3:9–10 that Christians have “put off the old self” and “put on the new self, which is being renewed.” Notice the verb: being renewed. This is an ongoing transformation. We are not yet what we will be, but by God’s grace, we are no longer what we were.

The presence of sinful desire, then, is not proof of spiritual failure. But our response to those desires what we do with them reveals whether we belong to Christ.

2. God's Wrath Comes Against Desires and Deeds

Mary also asked whether God’s wrath is reserved only for sinful actions, or whether evil desires themselves warrant judgment. The answer, based on Paul’s wording, is clear: both desires and deeds bring judgment.

In Colossians 3:5, Paul doesn’t distinguish between behavior and motive. He lists physical acts like sexual immorality, but also inner realities like passion, evil desire, and covetousness all things that can remain hidden from others. And then he says, “On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”

This echoes Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 5, where anger and lust are equated with murder and adultery in God’s eyes. God doesn’t merely judge external actions he sees and judges the heart.

This might strike fear into some. After all, who among us has never wrestled with a sinful desire? But here is where the gospel shines most brightly.

3. The Wrath We Deserve Fell on Christ

The good news is that while sinful desires deserve judgment, Christ has borne that judgment for all who trust in him.

Just one chapter earlier, Paul reminds believers:

“God made you alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13–14).

This includes our sinful thoughts, desires, and actions. All of it nailed to the cross. Jesus bore the full weight of wrath so that we wouldn’t have to.

This is why Paul doesn’t simply say “put to death your sins or else you’ll face judgment.” He roots our battle against sin in our identity in Christ. We fight sin not to earn salvation but because we are already saved. The wrath of God will never fall on those hidden in Christ. That’s not because we’re flawless it’s because Jesus was flawless in our place.

4. Our Ongoing Battle Confirms Our Salvation

So if our sins are forgiven, why bother fighting evil desires at all?

Because our ongoing battle with sin confirms our salvation. If we stop fighting, stop caring, stop resisting that’s when we should be alarmed.

Romans 8:13 puts it bluntly “If you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Our fight against sin is not the root of our salvation it is the fruit. We don’t war against sin to earn God's love; we war against sin because we have already been loved and transformed.

Paul writes in Philippians 2:12–13 “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Even our desire to fight sinful desires is evidence that God is at work within us.

5. We Live in the “Already and Not Yet”

One of the most important theological frameworks for Christians is understanding the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.” We are already forgiven, adopted, and seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). But we are not yet fully sanctified, glorified, or free from sin’s influence.

It is possible and normal for a genuine believer to still struggle with evil desires. What matters is how we respond to those desires:

• Do we excuse them or confess them?

• Do we indulge them or crucify them?

• Do we ignore them or bring them before the Lord in repentance?

True believers don’t make peace with sin. They make war on it.

Final Word of Hope

To every Christian struggling with the presence of evil desires: you are not alone, and you are not without hope.

God does not condemn his children for having a battlefield in their hearts. He calls them to fight with the strength he provides. And he promises that the day is coming when sin will be no more.

As 1 John 3:2–3 assures us. “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

Until that day, fight on. Not for victory, but from it because Christ has already secured it.

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