BAD NEWS, GOOD NEWS

I am writing this specifically to those who have recently accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and to those who struggle with sin in their Christian life. Do not be alarmed. What I am about to tell you may seem horrible, but to be forewarned is to be forearmed. I wish someone would have told me what I am about to tell you, early in my Christian life; it would have saved me innumerable hours of doubt and frustration. I have some really bad news for you. Don't panic. I also have some really good news that softens the impact of the bad news. Are you ready?

The greatest Christian who ever lived, the man God used to write over half of the New Testament, constantly struggled with his own sin nature. That's right, the Apostle Paul, calling himself a "wretched man," spends an entire chapter in his letter to the Romans describing his struggle with sin. (This is the same guy that God had enough confidence in to allow him to be whipped with stripes on five different occasions, to be beaten with rods three times, to be stoned once, and to be shipwrecked three times according to 2 Cor. 11:23-25). The seventh chapter of Romans describes what few young Christians hear about early on; often, someone counsels them only after years of personal struggle. By then, many have given up and returned to living life as they see fit.

The bad news is that we are just like Paul, who knew what he should do as a Christian, but was constantly yielding to temptation. He described his struggle this way: For that which I do, I do not allow others to do; for what I want to do, I do not; but what I hate, that is what I do (Rom. 7:15 SP - Skip's Paraphrase). He went on to say, "For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (Rom. 7:22-23 KJV). Within every Christian, there are two natures: the old human nature that prefers sin, and our new nature that desires to live a holy life out of gratitude for His saving us. So in other words, our human nature desires those things which our new nature abhors, and that conflict results in cognitive dissonance (a troubled conscience).

The good news is found in chapter eight, where Paul refers to the Holy Spirit sixteen times. He is only mentioned once prior to this in Romans. What Paul could not accomplish, and what we cannot accomplish ourselves, the Holy Spirit does for us. He gives us life (1-4), He helps us fight sin (5-8), He resurrects the dead (9-11; 22-25), He gives us power over sin (12-13), He guides us (14), He makes us heirs of God (15-16), and He even guides our prayers (26-27). You see, you and I were not saved by our own ability to become Christ-like, and we certainly cannot live a Christ-like life this side of heaven (Gal. 3:1-5). That is why we must continually trust in His finished work on our behalf, and wait for the day when we shall be like Him (1 Jn. 3:2). Come Lord Jesus!