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.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
What a wretched man I am!
Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Romans 7:20-25
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There is a significant difference between “admitting I am a sinner” and “waging war against that sin”.
In most cases, the invitation to become a Christian involves “admit that you are sinner, believe in Jesus’s death on the cross, confess your sin and receive grace through faith”.
And I fear, for too many of us, our war against sin ends there.
But merely admitting that you are a sinner is no different than, honestly, most every person on the face of the earth—and probably also the demons. Every person knows and admits that they do things they shouldn’t do.
Acknowledging that you have sin in your past and sin in your life makes a Christ-follower no different than the world. Merely recognizing that you have a conscience sets you not apart from the world.
Instead, the Holy Spirit calls us to not just admit sin, but wage war against that nature. To not merely admit that it exists, but to fight against it through all means available to us every day.
Paul says it this way, “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”.
Are you waging war against the sinful nature inside of you? Are you crying out to God for rescue from it? Are you growing to hate the sin in your life and taking steps to eliminate it?
Or… have you become content to merely admit that it exists?
Pursue righteousness, holiness, and conformity to the image of His Son. For this is what faith in God looks like.
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Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your forgiveness. Help me to live a righteous life and live set apart from the world for you. May I recognize and wage war against my sins, rather than be content in their existence. Amen.