Abide Devotion for March 21, 2015

Romans 7:7-20

⁷ What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” ⁸ But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. ⁹ Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. ¹¹ For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. ¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

¹³ Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. ^[1]

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What is striking in this passage is Paul’s honesty and transparency in describing his own struggle with sin. This struggle is not just regarding the time before he came to know Jesus, but continues to the present.

In Christian teaching we call this the sinful nature or the sinful condition, the result of what is called original sin. The sin problem that I have is not just that I commit individual sins, but that I have an inborn inclination to do so, that my natural orientation is toward self-centeredness and self-serving. The sin problem is very deep and goes to the core of who we are as fallen people, descendants of Adam and Eve.

Because of his sinful nature, Paul says that he looked at the law in part as an idea list for sin. Because of his sinful nature, even into the present, there is a powerful and pervasive part of him that wants to sin, and that sabotages his efforts at righteousness. This is why his previous words about not offering ourselves back into slavery to sin are so important. The sinful nature wants to go back into bondage to sin, and will war against our faith to move us in that direction.

So what’s striking is that Paul is so honest in describing his struggle. This is an important example for me and for all of us. The key to fighting this struggle is to acknowledge its reality, and our utter dependence on the Holy Spirit in turning us away from sin. This is an ongoing, daily struggle, for which we need ongoing, daily strength. This is why I need to be in the Word daily, in prayer daily, in repentance daily, because Paul’s struggle is my struggle.

So my prayer is for the Holy Spirit’s leading this day, that by God’s grace I can turn away from the inclinations of the sin within me, and live this day for righteousness.

What is the Word leading you to pray about today?

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^[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Ro 7:7–20). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.