Hey Guys,
I must confess that the issue of indwelling sin has been heavy on my mind these past few weeks. was led to read romans 7 today during lunch and thought i'd share my thoughts.
I think most ppl are familiar with this confusing, tongue twister of a passage (22 "do"s in 5 verses..-.-) where paul describes himself as wanting to do good but doing evil instead. It's a passage that talks about this internal struggle between the flesh that craves sin, and the mind that longs for God. This is me, and i know it is every single believer in the history of our faith. Now, it is easy to respond to this passage negatively because it talks about a defeated [insert your name here], and really - with the tongue twister portion highlighted in my bible - it is usually the only part i focus on, but today i realized that there is a victorious component i've always missed in the past that is so crucial.
While defeat (succumbing to sin) should not be the main experience of the christian life but it is an utterly inescapable aspect, we need to embrace the fact that we will never attain perfection and that we are utterly dependent on God. Righteousness - not the kind we display to the world - but true, God-honouring righteousness (which is the only kind that matters), can only be obtained through faith in Jesus. This does not excuse us to sin, rather we're meant to make war with our own fleshly desires and struggles towards God's holy standards. Do not be alarmed or surprised when sin overwhelms your life because it can and often does happen, whether we realize it or not. The 3 signs of a saved christian is not a spotless life, but a love for the laws of God, a hatred of his/her own sin, and a recognition of the fact that their wretched sinfulness requires a saviour. In other words, a saved christian WANTS to be perfect but knows that he/she CAN'T be, and they embrace this frustration out of love and devotion to God.
Now, i promised you victory in Romans 7 earlier on, and it is simply these two points:
1) My righteousness (and therefore victory) does not hinge upon my works/performance, but upon my faith in God's grace and mercy.
2) Passages like 2 Cor 3:18 and phil 2:12-13 promises that God's working on me to make me more like him; so that if i fall, i can get up and climb higher - victory over the bondage of sin is possible, sin is not something we need to "put up with."
Encouragement for the week: you're a sinner, never downplay or ignore this fact, deal with it. The sooner you do, the sooner you get out of denial and self righteousness, and the sooner you can fall under Grace. This should clothe us in humility and a profound sense of gratitude towards God. Instead of freezing us in fear/shame, it frees us to say to our accusers "YES! You're right, I am such a sinful person, isn't that great?! let me tell you about Grace!" It allows us to serve Him even when we know we're so unworthy w/o feeling like a hypocrit, and it allowed me to (hopefully) encourage you all despite personally struggling through a spiritually dry season.
May we bring Him glory even through our ungodliness,
Edward
"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me." - Romans 7:21
"However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." Romans 4:5
"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus...and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." 1 Corinthians 3:8-9
P.S. we've all heard of too many cooks in the kitchen, but apparently the same holds tru of hamster wheels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KhkfK12NiQ
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