That Sin Problem

Romans 7:15-25

Your struggle is evidence of true spirtual life!

My local newspaper reported that 18-year-old Nathan Williams robbed a convenience store. He told the judge, “I still don’t know why I did it.” Rie Fujii, 24, pleaded guilty to abandoning her children while she partied. “I don’t know why,” she said. And pharmacist Robert Courtney pleaded guilty to diluting customers’ cancer drugs. He said, “I keep asking myself, ‘Why?’”
Why? We know why. It’s that sin problem. Humans are sinful creatures. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

But that’s just for non-Christians, right? We are, after all, supposed to be new creatures in Christ. After we trust Jesus, our sin problem will diminish—and eventually disappear.

Think again. In Romans 7, Paul shared his continuing battle with sin. He said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (v.15).

Sound familiar? Is there any sin in your life that you know is wrong, but you continue to struggle with it?

That’s good news! Your struggle is evidence of true spiritual life! The proof that you are a Jesus-follower is not determined just by a one-time profession of faith. If you are a true follower of Christ, you hate sin and you love what’s right . . . even though you sometimes give in to temptation.

Paul went on, “It is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me” (v.17). That wasn’t a cop-out. It is the real ongoing struggle that Christians face. Although we are forgiven by God, we continue to live in a fallen world. Paul’s appeal was, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (v.24). He answers his own question triumphantly in verse 25: “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

So, are we off the hook when we continue to sin? “By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (6:1-2). Confess any sin that the Holy Spirit brings to mind today. Ask God to help you live a righteous life. By His grace, you can do it! —Cindy Kasper

bottom line: If sin is a hindrance, seek Jesus’ deliverance!

soul journey