Sinful man

 

Sinful man

 

I wanted to take a look at Romans 7:14-26 – in this section we see Paul talking about himself. Paul refers to himself as a wretched man in verse 24. If Paul is a wretched man, who am I. In this section Paul states 15 – I do not understand what I do, for what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do. 17 – As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 – I know nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 – For what I do is not the good I want to do, no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. 20 – Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 – When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 23 – But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war, against the law of sin at work within my members. 25 – So then I myself in my mind am a slave to Gods laws, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

 

What Paul is saying is that even he had difficulty waging the battle against sin. I take comfort in this for I too recognize that I am unable to conquer the sinful man that dwells within me, in fact none of us can successfully conquer the sinful nature that dwells within each of us.

 

That is why in 1 Peter 3:8 – The Lord tells us to live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

 

The Lord knows how difficult this battle is that we wage with our self every single day until the day we die. Each of us will continue to wage the battle against sin until we die that is why he said, have compassion, be sympathetic, we are all struggling to live a righteous life, but we will fail, we will sin, we are not perfect. That is why it is important that we forgive one another, not be easily angered, listen, and live at peace, love, because it is just as difficult for the other guy to live righteously as it is for us. We all go through periods of doubt, uncertainty, fear, pain, suffering, misery, indecision, low self-esteem, worth, depression, loneliness, feeling abandon, worthless, un-respected, etc. This is our sinful nature at work; this is the work of the evil one. All of us experience this from time to time and for some of us, all the time. That does not mean we are unlovable, unworthy, ugly, inferior, introverted, and any number of other self-destructive emotions and feelings. The truth is, we all feel that way from time to time and we will all feel that way from time to time until the day we die.

 

Sympathy – a relationship between individuals in which whatever affects one affects the others in a similar way. Mutual affection or understanding. The capacity to share another’s feelings. A feeling or expression of sorrow for another’s distress or loss.

 

Compassion – actively sympathetic concern for the suffering of another, mercy.

 

We all hurt inside from time to time; we all take our hurt out on others out of frustration, fear or anger. The important thing to realize is that we are all experiencing the same thing and we need to cut each other a ton of slack because we are not all perfect.

 

Jesus said in John 8:7 – If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. Each of us is with sin; we will always be with sin. The key is to recognize that we are all sinners and to not be discouraged.

 

Do you sometimes feel as though you’re fighting a losing battle against sin?

 

Just about the time you have got things under control you lose your temper or your lust runs wild. When Paul spoke of the law of sin and death Romans 8:2, he wasn’t referring to rules and regulations. Instead, he was speaking of a principle that says sin and death always pull us down. They always compel us to do wrong. No matter how long a man knows Jesus Christ, he’ll feel sin trying to pull him away from God.

But that doesn’t mean defeat is inevitable.

 

Jesus not only promises us victory, he assures it. Just as the principle of the spirit of life states that the spirit always lifts us up. As the laws of aerodynamics liberate airplanes from the downward pull of gravity, so Gods spirit frees us from the downward pull of sin. The next time you are tempted to sin, turn to God's spirit. Ask him for the power to lift you above the power of sin. Romans 8:6 – The mind of the sinful man are death, but the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace.

 

There is certainly hope and reason to increase our faith because the spirit lives within us and although we may be tempted we will never be tempted beyond what we are able to bear. Is life hard, difficult, confusing, seem impossible to understand, well join the crowd. It is not easy for any of us. However the Lord promises that as long as we live according to his commands he will not let the sinful nature overtake our spirit. In Romans 8:10 – we see But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

 

Satan will not have victory over those who live their life for Christ. Christ is our savior and our redeemer. We have been set free from the death due to sin for our Lord died on the cross to save us, free us from the chains of sin. What a friend we have in Jesus. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for this bit of insight into Paul’s writings. I had read this section several times before but this was the first time I could equate it to my life. Yes I am a sinner, but the spirit of the Lord will overcome my sin. Will I sin again? Yes! Will I be forgiven? Yes, if I ask for forgiveness. I love you Lord, I love myself, and I love my neighbor. I humble myself before you and give you the power, the glory and the praise. Amen.