Romans 7:13-25
Skeletons in our closets, bad habits we can’t seem to renounce, our secret stash of hidden sins. We all have them. Hidden from the view of public, swept under the rug, veiled by excuses, but we know, deep down, it’s still sin none the less. In contrast with God’s holiness and His commandment for us to be holy, in Paul’s words, our sin became utterly sinful (v13).
Yet we know the verses to quote against these habits, we know what is good and what is right before God, yet we always fall back into the secret heap of forbidden desires and spur of the moment regrets. We lose our temper, we curse under our breath, we exchange gossip, our thoughts wonder into dangerous places, and our hearts forgot to heed God’s word. We stumble and guilt piles up in the closet of our hearts.
”I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (v15) Paul’s words describe precisely the painful confusion behind every man’s struggle. Read on and you would see the heart cry of every honest Christian who struggles with sin.
“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (v18)
“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” (v19). Paul calls us prisoner to our own sinful nature, we are trapped and chained. We can’t free ourselves with knowledge or sheer will-power. We can’t break the chains with our own strength or wisdom. “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” cried Paul. (v24)
The solution? Grace. Undeserved favor we gained when Christ chose to die to pay the price of breaking the chains to set us free. “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Paul answered. Christ has done it for us.
Trust in God that the grace that He lavished on us to call us into the knowledge of His kingdom is sufficient to change us from our sinful nature into His very image.
Action: Surrender and trust God in one area in your life that you know is not pleasing to Him.
Yet we know the verses to quote against these habits, we know what is good and what is right before God, yet we always fall back into the secret heap of forbidden desires and spur of the moment regrets. We lose our temper, we curse under our breath, we exchange gossip, our thoughts wonder into dangerous places, and our hearts forgot to heed God’s word. We stumble and guilt piles up in the closet of our hearts.
”I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (v15) Paul’s words describe precisely the painful confusion behind every man’s struggle. Read on and you would see the heart cry of every honest Christian who struggles with sin.
“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (v18)
“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” (v19). Paul calls us prisoner to our own sinful nature, we are trapped and chained. We can’t free ourselves with knowledge or sheer will-power. We can’t break the chains with our own strength or wisdom. “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” cried Paul. (v24)
The solution? Grace. Undeserved favor we gained when Christ chose to die to pay the price of breaking the chains to set us free. “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Paul answered. Christ has done it for us.
Trust in God that the grace that He lavished on us to call us into the knowledge of His kingdom is sufficient to change us from our sinful nature into His very image.
”T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.”
and Grace will lead us home.”
Action: Surrender and trust God in one area in your life that you know is not pleasing to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment