What does the old Adamic nature inside us want to do?
The old Adamic nature knows only one thing: to rebel against the things laid down by God Himself. Because people naturally listen to the old Adam, they become sinners—not merely because of specific deeds, but because of what they are in Adam, having refused the remedy of the cross.
Les explains that the old Adamic nature knows only one thing: to rebel against the things laid down by God Himself. The human natural tendency is to listen to the old Adam, and consequently people become sinners. This lostness is not because of what a person has done—drunkenness, cheating, stealing, or immorality—but because of what they are: born in sin as children of Adam. They remain lost when they refuse the remedy, which is the work of the cross. Paul constantly emphasizes that the cross has completed everything.