November 19
November 19
We must never allow ourselves to underestimate the presence or power of remaining sin.
The apostle Paul gives us an important and accurate description of the presence and power of indwelling sin:
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Rom. 7:15–25)
This passage describes a believer’s struggle with sin, because only a believer would “delight in the law of God.” If you can’t relate to this passage, then you’re probably in some form of denial. Who hasn’t been confused by his or her own actions? You determine to do what is right, but then you get into a tempting situation and end up doing all the things you had determined not to do. Your good intentions fall flat. Why do we still struggle to do what is right? Paul’s answer is that we struggle because sin still lives inside of us. Yes, we have been justified, but our sin has not yet been totally eradicated.
To help us understand the power of remaining sin, Paul describes sin as a law, a war, and a captor. When he says that sin is a law, he doesn’t mean a moral law, such as the Ten Commandments. He’s talking about law here as an inescapable force, like gravity. You cannot will yourself free of gravity on earth, no matter how hard you fight its force. And you cannot will yourself free from the power of sin. Paul also says that sin is a war. We fight in this war, and the battleground is our hearts. Finally, he tells us that sin is a captor. It takes us captive to its deception and power, and we have no power to set ourselves free.
These three descriptors powerfully argue for the necessity of the grace of Jesus.