We know that the Law is spiritual. But I am merely a human, and I have been sold as a slave to sin. In fact, I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do what I know is right. I do the things I hate. Although I don’t do what I know is right, I agree that the Law is good. So I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.
I know that my selfish desires won’t let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. And so, if I don’t do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them. Romans 7: 14-20 [CEV]
Our identity is under scrutiny here. We are human, and because of what happened at the beginning of Genesis we are slaves to sin – the downside of freedom to choose between right and wrong. Although we are exiled from the Garden of Eden, we can imagine what it might be like to be perfect – we know about the perfection of Christ, but we have sin “living in us” Who are we really? Are we basically evil individuals with the Holy Spirit making us know and want to be better? Or are we basically temples of the Holy Spirit with some remaining human nature that can’t be totally evicted? Perhaps we are both?
Lord, I want to follow your commands and I know that your law is good. Help me to overcome the sin that lives in me and to know and feel the freedom that I have in Christ. Amen.
Dave MacLellan
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