A Losing Battle?

“ I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.  But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree with what is good…So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.  And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.  But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  I love God's law with all my heart.  But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?”

How many times have we all had those thoughts, and often wondered, “How can I be a real Christian and struggle like this? Am I the only one who does this?”

You probably recognize that paragraph as the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 7. The Apostle Paul battled with sin. Wow. Possibly the greatest follower of Jesus who ever lived. He evangelized much of the Middle East and Europe. He wrote 14 letters which are books of the Bible…and he battled with sin.

The strain of trying to do things in your own power is exhausting, and that is what Paul is talking about in Romans 7. This chapter is about the defeated life. We have all been there. The defeated life is exhausting . And, there is a huge emotional cost we pay when we live there. A few of the emotions we deal with are;

Confusion.

Verse 15, “ I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” Did you notice the number of times Paul used “I” in that verse, 6 times. I…I..I.  Paul had to learn, as we all do, that “I” can’t live a victorious life. 

Paul did not have all the answers, so it is ok if we don’t. Sometimes we just don’t understand why we do the things we do. Struggling to do what you can with your own will power causes confusion.

Guilt and shame

“I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience proves that I agree with these laws I am breaking.” Vs. 16

Paul said he knew what he was doing was wrong, so he had a bad conscience. You know what you are doing is wrong. I know I shouldn’t eat this, say this, look at this, do this, use this, go there…but I do it anyway. That causes a problem with your conscience, which causes you to have guilt and shame.

Compulsions and Addictions.

A compulsion is a habit that you do so often that it gets out of control. You do something so much that you can’t NOT do it.

“But I can't help myself because I'm no longer doing it. It is sin inside me that is stronger than I am, that makes me do these evil things.” Vs. 17

Paul is not making excuses, he is just stating the fact. We have a natural inclination not to do the right thing, but to do the easy thing, the comfortable, the popular, the quick.

We start the day saying, “Today is going to be different. I am not going to do… or today, I am going to…” but, at the end of the day, we find that today is just like yesterday, another failure. So then, we end up with:

Self condemnation.

“I know I am rotten inside as far as my old sinful nature is concerned.” Vs. 18a Paul is condemning himself. There is a difference in confessing your sin or your problem, which is healthy, and judging and condemning yourself. Some of you are really good at this. Because you still have the same struggles, you begin to condemn yourself. “I am no good.” “I am hopeless.”

Frustration.

“No matter which way I turn I can't make myself do right. I want to but I can't! When I want to do good, I don't; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway! Now if I am doing what I don't want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp.” Vs. 18b-20

The law of sin pulls you down. Like gravity pulls you down.What if I decided to fly, I could flap my arms all day and never fly because the law of gravity is stronger than my arms. Same as trying to change by will power. I decide to change and I try to change and I may do it for a while, but eventually I am going to fail. Just as the law of gravity is stronger than my arms, the law of sin is stronger than my will power. This lack of victory causes frustration, which leads to discouragement.

Discouragement and despair.

“It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong…In my mind I want to be God's willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin.” Vs. 21 +23

Paul is desperate. He has been fighting and fighting and losing. Finally he says, I GIVE UP. I can’t do this. That is when we get to the answer.

“Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Rom. 7:24-25

Paul said “WHO” because the answer is not a thing, but who. The answer is not a program, a book, a method…the answer is Jesus.