Romans 7:14-21

 Romans 7:14-21

No one who has ever seriously attempted to live righteously will doubt the power of sin. In this passage, one of the key questions about the struggle with sin is whether this is a Christian or non-Christian who has a struggle. Paul speaks in the present tense, which may indicate that it is a Christian’s struggle. But he uses language such as “sold into the bondage of sin” that is not descriptive of the Christian life. A detailed explanation of this question will have to wait for another time, but for the moment let us assume that both the Christian and non-Christian struggle. There is a principle that we do need to apply to ourselves: we are powerless to overcome sin by ourselves.

When a person becomes a Christian, they do not instantaneously change all the habits and patterns of life in that moment. Their status and standing before God are changed, but their habits are still theirs. Becoming a Christian will not change the behavioral habits that make up our moral character. Before Christ, sin was on the inside, working its way out to every aspect of our being. Fight as we might, we were not successful in overcoming sin. But in the moment we became a Christian, sin was removed from the inside and is now on the outside, trying to find its way back in. When sin was evicted, it left behind its habits from relationship patterns and emotions. From the outside, sin will try to use these as a way back into our lives.

The Christian who comes to this new life from a former life of hurt, abuse, hate, and dysfunction will have habits and ways of dealing with life that are sinful. The struggle they will have as a Christian is that when they face the same old hurts and pain, they will, by habit, tend to react in the old sinful ways. What they want to do, live holy, they don’t do, and what they don’t want to do, practice sin, they fall back into. Before Christ, “powerless before sin” is the only way to describe their circumstances.

But here’s the difference: before Christ, they were guilty and fighting the battle alone. As Christians, they are forgiven, and the Holy Spirit fights along side them. The new believer will struggle and will at times act rather badly, but they are capable of making real progress. They are forgiven, and they have the opportunity with God’s help to overcome the habits of sin. They can, indeed must, start living up to what they have been made. In this case, direction and progress are more important than position.

“Lord, make me full dependent on You and fiercely resistant to sin. AMEN