A great frustration of life is knowing what we want to do, but instead we do the very thing we don’t want to do. If you have ever been on a diet, then you can relate to this dilemma. Don’t be discouraged, the Apostle Paul, the man who wrote a significant part of the New Testament, had the same struggle:

For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)

Paul realized that the Law was not the problem, but the problem was within:

However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. (Romans 7:16-17)

Paul makes an important distinction between who he is and the sin that dwelt within him. If our goal is to become sinless, we become frustrated. Jesus was the only one who was sinless, but He did say that we could be free. When we realize that we’ve been attempting to achieve an impossible goal, then it can be liberating to discover that our responsibility is to abide in Christ. When we accept our humanity and embrace our dependence upon God, then we will sin less and enjoy life more. We must believe that our identity is in Christ and believe what God says is true about us. God views His children as saints – do we see ourselves as God sees us? Paul identified our flesh as the location where sin manifests itself:

For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. (Romans 7:18-20)

If Paul closed his letter at this juncture, we would be frustrated. Christians have two unchanging realities. The first is we will always have sin issues. Paul described the paradox of sin management. The more we focus on getting rid of our sin and overcoming the constraints of our humanity, then the more frustrated, isolated, and cynical we become.

The second unchanging reality is we will always have our identity in Christ. Which of these two constants defines your life focus? God has given us the promise of His indwelling Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is available, but it’s not automatic; however, as we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desire of the flesh. We can have the victory not through determined resolution but divine revelation.

Rick Higgins

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark