So I haven't done this in a while. Maye it is because I've been lazy, or maybe I just needed a reason to be inspired :). Sorry these always tend to come out in sermon form... I can't seem to help that.
"I do not understand what I do. For What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do...It is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives within me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I can not carry it out...For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. Oh what a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
-Romans 7:14-24 (as written by the apostle Paul)
I know what I ought to do and do not do it. Instead I do the things I despise. Who has never felt that way? If you have not, I want to meet you and learn your secrets. Even the apostle Paul wasn't able to escape this trap, and he wrote half the new testament. This tells us 2 things; one is good and one is bad. First the good; If even one of the most respected founders of Christianity, and arguably the most successful evengelist who ever lived has admited to this struggle, we should not bediscouraged that we find ourselves entrenched in it today. The bad side, however, is that our enemy, the devil, is crafty enough and sneaky enough to pry his way into the life of a man who was as spiritually sound as Paul. Meaning he could easily do it to most of us.
So what does this mean for us? Do we simply say: "Well Paul dealt with it, so it must be ok?" And then we just move on continuing in the same things, in the same ways, just because we feel better about it? NO! Is that why Paul wrote this? To justify your sins? I doubt that seriously, and you know it is not true either. Paul simply did not want you to feel as if you were the only one dealing with this. He wrote this to show his inner struggle. He was trying to beat it. It was not his purpouse to make his readers feel good about sinning. He was working hard to escape the trap he had found himself in, and he wanted to show that. Why? So that his readers would approach this problem with the same seriousness he had himself.
"But because of your stubbornness, and your unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God." -Romans 2:5
Paul knew the danger of letting sin run wild in his life. Giving sin such a foothold in one's life severely messes with their mind. If you let it sonsume you you will act upon it before you can clear your mind enough to choose not to.
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." -Romans 8:1
Wait a minute! Doesn't that conflict with what Paul just said in Romans 2:5? How can I not be condemned if I am storing up wrath with my unrepentant heart? Let's look at this 2 ways.
1st: If you are a parent, this will make complete sense to you. Parents love their children. god loves His children. But Parents have to discipline their children to teach them right from wrong, and ultimately shape them into adults who know how to conduct themselves in a civilized manner. Likewise, God must discipline His children so that they know how to act when they are with Him. Does it mean He does not love them? No. Does it mean he condemns them to Hell? No. Quite the contrary. God disciplines His children, because He loves them, in order to make them better.
2nd: Here is where you have to analyze yourself. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That is a fact. I am in Christ Jesus. Is that a fact? Sure I said a prayer a few years back and asked Jesus into my heart, but what has happened since then? I am told that if I am in Christ I am a new creation. The old ways have gone, and new things have come. (2Corinthians 5:17)
Do I see that? Have I changed? Has there been a transformation in my life? Or, do I still act as I did before I "met Jesus." Jesus said "if you love Me, you will keep my commandments." -John 14:15 Do you love Him? Then why don't you? I bet if you are honest with yourself, you will actually find that you love these other things more than you love Jesus. Change that.
So back to the struggle with sin. We don't want to do it, yet we still do, and because we still do we are storing up wrath for oursleves. So how do we stop? Plain and simple... you have to want to. The problem is that, chances are, you really don't want to stop. Until you do, you will have no success in overcoming your desires. But when you do decide you want to, you will find it easier if you have a brother/sister in Christ to help you. By that I mean find someone you trust to confide in, and someone who cares enough to get on your case about it. Also, A little self discipline doesn't hurt either.
Paul tells us in Romans 8:38-39 that there is nothing that can keep us from our God, and that through Him we are more than conquerors, meaning that we have the power to overcome anything. In Pilippians 4:13 Paul says that we can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength. Notice Paul did not say some things. He said All things.
So where will your desires take you? Closer to God or farther away? What is the desire of your heart? do you want to get closer to God? Or would you rather chase your earthly pleasures and build up a harsher punishment later?
God is a just God, and he does vindicate himself. sooner or later you will see that for yourself.
"Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus The Lord, so walk in Him" -Colossians 2:6
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