Romans 7:8–10 (NLT) But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.
It’s been a while since I blogged anything. I like to be inspired before I write. Last Friday, we had a great discussion in our staff meeting about dealing with people. At first it was painful for me as it caused me to go through some personal assessment. Today, as I was preparing for our Wednesday Bible study, God began to connect the dots between that discussion, His Word, and some other events in my life.
As a public speaker, I have a tendency to want to define and clarify things. Sometimes that is a very helpful tool in communication. As a pastor, one of the things I find myself often defining is sin. My intention is for people to relate on a personal level to what I am talking about. However, preacher tend to want to categorize sin and touch on certain hot buttons. I admit, I’m guilty of this.
As Paul writes in Romans 7, he says some powerful and eye opening things. God’s intention in giving us the “Law” was to define sin. He wanted Israel to know what was not acceptable behavior. The problem was that Israel was not at a place in their walk with God where they had the power to overcome sin. So when God defined what was forbidden, all it did was stir their desire to sin more.
When I was a kid, my mom would hide our Christmas presents somewhere in the house. Then she would say something like, “don’t go in the garage,” or “stay out of the basement.” When you are a curious adolescent, that sounded a lot less like a commandment and lot more like a suggestion to search. God’s commandments can have the same effect.
People don’t like to be told they can’t do something. For many years I would beg my mom to stop smoking. I really wanted my mom to be around for my kids’ wedding someday, but after a while it was clear that my pleas for abstinence only caused her to dig her heels in more. My oldest son was married two months ago and, although she eventually quit smoking, Mom died of emphysema over three years ago. I wish I would have used a better strategy.
Romans 7:17 says that when we sin, it is not us that commit the act, but sin that lives in our flesh. When we become a Christian our spirits come alive to God, but sin still lives in our flesh. Someday your body will die, but your spirit will live on. Your flesh is not who you really are, your spirit is the center of who you really are. So when you sin, it is not a great representation of you. It is your dead, sinful flesh. Your spirit loves God and wants to please Him. Focus on that part of your being, and don’t beat yourself up when you stumble. God doesn’t focus so much on the act of our flesh as He does the pursuit and desire of our heart. I’m not condoning sin, but addressing bad behavior doesn’t bring real change. God changes us from the inside out. The answer is to become so full of God on the inside that it changes the way you think, and ultimately the way you act.
There is nothing wrong with defining sin, but we need to realize that unless people are at a place in life where they are ready to address it and overcome it, what you intend for good may turn out bad. We overcome sin through the power of the Holy Spirit within us (Romans 8:10-13). There are sins in my life that I am just now able to address because of the place of growth I have come to and the depth of my relationship with the Holy Spirit. We need to assess where people are in their walk with God before addressing certain sins. They may not be ready to change in that area. We are all a work in progress, and for most that progress is slow. I know it has been for me. With God, change happens from the inside out, not the outside in. Paul teaches us that first we have to change the way we think before we can change the way we act. My thinking has certainly changed. Let’s hope the actions follow.
In the meantime, thank God for His mercy and grace. Romans 8:1 tells us that once we give God control of our lives and are desiring to walk according to His ways, He does not condemn us for the mistakes we make along the way. He understands that our spiritual growth is a process and His Spirit is working on us to produce change. It is the goodness of God that causes people to change (Romans 2:4). I am learning that the Holy Spirit is a lot better catalyst of transforming people’s lives than I am. God help us all to have the same grace for those who stumble along this pathway toward freedom from sin. And thank God for those who extend grace to me in as I learn too.
Thanks for sharing!