So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 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. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 18 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. 19 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. 20 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. 21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 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. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Verse 22-23 really stand out to me. I love God’s law with all my heart but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. There is a war going on inside of us. I am sure you have felt it and still feel it today. There is a part of us desiring to do God’s will and another part of us pulling against this desire, pulling us back, enticing us toward sin, paralyzing us with fear. As James says, Why are there quarrels and conflicts between us and others? Because we are at war within ourselves (James 4:1). The fight that goes on in our souls often spills out and affects others. Our anger and frustration at others flows out of the anger and frustration that abides in our hearts.
O what a miserable person I am! Paul is not trying to be depressing. He is being real. Anyone who has tried to live a pure life and to keep their eyes from lust and temptation…anyone who has tried to conquer selfishness and truly love others with a sacrificial, sincere love…anyone who has tried to stop fear or anxiety or a crippling addiction…anyone engaged in the battle with sin knows exactly what Paul is talking about. The battle is so difficult at times that one is tempted to throw in the towel, to give in and give up. Of course, when we do, we find ourselves more miserable than before. Sin’s pleasures only last a season.
Where is the only solution? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. It is in the arms of grace, through the power of the Spirit of God, that we are able, day by day, to grow in holiness and love. The answer is not in our own strength but in God’s. Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Each day we must seek the filling of the Spirit, choose righteousness, renew our minds, embrace grace. And along the way we need other brothers and sisters in the Lord to encourage us on the journey.
Lord, help me to avoid the clutches of sin and walk in Your holiness and love today.