What's a body to do? It's human nature to be long on intention and short on action. Even worse, the internal battle between good and evil is more intense than we likely realize.
The apostle Paul was not one to rationalize or hide his sinful nature. This giant of the faith was bluntly honest regarding his struggle with sin. Consider these words:
"For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." (Romans 7:15) ... "For I know that nothing good dwells 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." (Romans 7:18-19) ... " I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:21-24)
These hardly sound like the words of a man attempting to whitewash personal sin. A full recognition of his true nature set Paul on the path to profoundly appreciate the grace of God in Christ: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! " (Romans 7:25)
Perhaps the greatest danger we face in life is in believing that we are good. The hard truth is we are more evil than we realize. None of us are beyond the worst criminal behavior, much as we might like to think otherwise. The roots of sin run much deeper in our lives than we are willing to admit. Our plight is more desperate than we know.
Depressing thoughts? You bet. But like Paul, it is only when we realize how bad and desperate we are that we can truly appreciate how profound God's grace and forgiveness are in Christ. If we do not honestly grapple with Paul's bluntly honest words in Romans 7 we are not truly ready to embrace the truth that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
I cut my sinful nature plenty of slack. I dare in my mind to believe that I am beyond certain evil behavior, even though I know that what Paul says in Romans 7 is true. It is only the grace of God in Christ that will keep me from what I am fully capable of humanly.
The danger of "seniority" in Christian living is that we can easily come to believe that Christ's goodness in us is really our own goodness. That attitude is the surest step toward a dangerous sinful fall. We dare not lose sight of the fact that we are more sinful than we know and God's grace in Christ is greater than we realize.
May we face life today with a clearer understanding of who and what we really are, and with an even greater awe of God's goodness and mercy through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Steve
The apostle Paul was not one to rationalize or hide his sinful nature. This giant of the faith was bluntly honest regarding his struggle with sin. Consider these words:
"For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." (Romans 7:15) ... "For I know that nothing good dwells 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." (Romans 7:18-19) ... " I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:21-24)
These hardly sound like the words of a man attempting to whitewash personal sin. A full recognition of his true nature set Paul on the path to profoundly appreciate the grace of God in Christ: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! " (Romans 7:25)
Perhaps the greatest danger we face in life is in believing that we are good. The hard truth is we are more evil than we realize. None of us are beyond the worst criminal behavior, much as we might like to think otherwise. The roots of sin run much deeper in our lives than we are willing to admit. Our plight is more desperate than we know.
Depressing thoughts? You bet. But like Paul, it is only when we realize how bad and desperate we are that we can truly appreciate how profound God's grace and forgiveness are in Christ. If we do not honestly grapple with Paul's bluntly honest words in Romans 7 we are not truly ready to embrace the truth that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
I cut my sinful nature plenty of slack. I dare in my mind to believe that I am beyond certain evil behavior, even though I know that what Paul says in Romans 7 is true. It is only the grace of God in Christ that will keep me from what I am fully capable of humanly.
The danger of "seniority" in Christian living is that we can easily come to believe that Christ's goodness in us is really our own goodness. That attitude is the surest step toward a dangerous sinful fall. We dare not lose sight of the fact that we are more sinful than we know and God's grace in Christ is greater than we realize.
May we face life today with a clearer understanding of who and what we really are, and with an even greater awe of God's goodness and mercy through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Steve
posted by steve @ 9:17 AM
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