BIBLE PASSAGE:
I do not understand what I do. For what
I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
(Romans 7:15)
MEDITATION:
During biblical times the people experienced all kinds of strife,
however it is safe to say that in our world today, we also see
problems of all kinds. There is rebellion between children and
their parents. We see the breakdown of family relationships,
(especially in homes where there is no father figure,
or the father is there, but irresponsible).
The population of single parents continues to grow by leaps and
bounds as couples (sometimes just one spouse) lose sight of their
marriage commitments. We have seen a steady decline of morals
and an increase in immoral activities. The proliferation of cults
continues; existing ones are increasing in membership and new
ones are being created.
With the implementation of so many government giveaway programs,
there are people who have become freeloaders with no desire to earn
a living. Instead they have an expectation that everything should be
given to them for free. Even with the actions over the years to level
the field for everyone, racism is still a problem in our society. Every
individual has the same opportunities to succeed, however those who
do not want to try, still make excuses and continue to blame it on
issues that no longer exist.
Some of the causes of strife include conflicts between countries,
corporate greed, selfishness, power struggles (due to ego and
arrogant pride), and rebellious disobedience, just to name a few.
If we take the time to analyze the possible causes of problems,
it appears that selfishness is the underlying reason for conflict
and strife. When reviewing God’s Word, we can see that James
has the same rationale.
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they
come from your desires that battle within you? (James 4:1)
James asks a question and then answers it in the form of a question.
In essence he is saying, “Doesn’t it make sense that quarrels and
strife comes from the selfish battles within you?” What ‘desires that
battle within you’ is he talking about? Since he is addressing believers,
more than likely he is referring to the many evil desires trying to
control us – it is the battle between good and evil.
The primary reason believers have turmoil is that we know God’s will,
but we choose to do the things we want to do anyway. Think about the
things you do, that you would not do if your pastor stopped by for a visit.
Would you drink, smoke, take illicit drugs, watch ‘R’ or ‘X’ rated movies,
have arguments with your family, curse, etc.? Most would answer, “No”,
however some of the same people say things like,
“Sure, I would drink a beer
(or do something else) if Jesus was with me”.
Think about what that means.
We have more respect for our pastor than we do for the Lord. We have
lowered God to our level, instead of trying to humbly rise to His level.
Why? Because we want to do what we want to do, and we will justify
our actions, since we don’t physically see God like we do out pastor.
But we need to remember that God still physically sees us (and hears
what we say), and when we casually make statements about being okay
with doing things in His presence that we know He does not approve
of, we are walking on thin ice.
We cannot become insensitive to the things that are unrighteous in His
eyes and expect to have a close relationship with our Savior. If we have
become desensitized to the things that are wrong, it should cause us to
have questions about our profession of faith, and our surrender to the
Lord. In other words, have we really surrendered to His will for our life?
For non-believers, there isn’t necessarily a battle between good and
evil since they are already children of the devil. They will remain that
way until they ask the Lord to save them, and they become His adopted
children…then the battles will begin. For believers there is the constant
struggle between what we know is right, and what Satan tries to convince
us we should do to please ourselves.
It bothers Satan to see peaceful believers, so his desire is to create as
much turmoil as possible. True believers know firsthand the problems
Satan can cause, and especially if he is successful in convincing us to
yield to temptations.
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,
to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war
against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)
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. (Romans 7:21-23)
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and
the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict
with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
(Galatians 5:17)
Why does this battle continue after we become children of God?
It continues because Satan wants to destroy our desire to serve
the Lord. He does not want us to be effective witnesses for God.
Unbelievers already belong to him, so he doesn’t need to spend
any time trying to discourage them. But if he can discourage
believers, then he can successfully have a negative impact on
their efforts to serve the Lord.
We are not alone in this internal battle raging between right
and wrong. Paul, one of God’s greatest missionaries, faced the
same turmoil that all believers do (and it may have been more
intense for him since God was using him to spread the good news
to many nations).
Look at Paul’s awareness of the struggles he was facing.
And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that
the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who
do it, but it is sin living in me. 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. 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.
(Romans 7:16-19)
All followers of Christ can understand and relate to Paul’s frustrations.
He wanted to be busy about doing good, but he knew he was hampered
by the sin within him which was striving to rule (and ruin) his life.
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. (Romans 7:20-23)
We can sense the impact this internal battle was having on
Paul. He was being damaged to the point that he seems to
be having doubts about his own salvation.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue
me from this body that is subject to death?
(Romans 7:24)
We can see how Satan managed to change Paul’s focus from the
good he was doing in serving the Lord, to the sin contaminating
his desire to do good. Did Paul allow this struggle to discourage
him to the point of giving up his efforts to serve the Lord? Did
he succumb to the power of the sin that continued trying to seize
control of his life?
No, he didn’t because he knew the source of his turmoil, but he
also knew the power of deliverance through Jesus Christ. Paul
was thankful that what he could not overpower in his own
strength, he could defeat through the power of Jesus Christ.
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 7:25)
ACTION:
If you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, then you probably
have never experienced this internal battle in your own life
(but you may have experienced something similar, when the Holy
Spirit speaks to you about your need to surrender your life to the
Lord and choose to follow Him now and all the way into eternity).
However, if you are a Christian, then you can probably relate
to what we have read about Paul. It can be perplexing and
discouraging whenever this battle continues to rage within us.
And, like Paul, if we allow our minds to be preoccupied with
the lies of Satan, we too can become discouraged and begin
to have doubts about our own salvation.
So, how did Paul handle this internal battle? First of all he
recognized the source of the problem. He knew that God is
not the God of confusion, so his turmoil had to be a result
of something in opposition to God, which of course, is Satan.
For God is not a God of disorder but of
peace—as in all the congregations of
the Lord’s people. (1 Corinthians 14:33)
Next, he realized that his desires of the flesh did not ‘go away’
when God saved him and called him to serve Him by doing the
good works He had designed especially for Paul.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus
to do good works, which God prepared in advance
for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
And lastly, Paul relied on the power of the Lord to prevent him
from changing his focus from serving the Lord, to the sin that
was trying to discourage him and cause him to have doubts of
his salvation. He made a conscious decision (‘in my mind’) to
be a slave to what God expected of him, and he knew that if he
allowed his fleshly desires to reign, he would remain a slave to
sin and its consequences in his life.
Was Paul successful with his approach? Absolutely! We can
see in God’s Word how Paul remained dedicated to do the
good works God ‘prepared in advance for him to do’. If it
worked for Paul, it can work for us as well. God has plans
for all who belong to Him, but we have to make a conscious
decision to follow His plan designed especially for each of us.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, you know the plans and schemes of
Satan to disrupt and discourage me. You know how he
does not want me to be ‘useable’ by You. You know how
overpowering he can be as he works within my mind,
even to the point of causing me to question the salvation
You have given me. I pray Father, that You would defeat
the evil one’s efforts to change my focus from Your plans
for me, to his desire to discourage me. Help me to discover
the Spiritual gift You have given me and guide me in using
it to serve You as You planned for me to do. Help me to be
so focused on the good works you expect of me, that I will
not be distracted or discouraged by Satan. Thank You,
Father for the favorable changes I can expect as a result
of You helping me defeat the evil one’s schemes in my life.”
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