Right Between the "I"s

For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. Romans 7:15

In chapter 7 Paul will begin a process of placing us right in the middle of two powers. This is a continuation, or a fleshing out, of his argument about those is Adam and those in Christ. These are application rich verses (esp. 14-25) that put justification up for examination.

What does justification look like? Will I stop sinning when I become a believer of Jesus Christ?

The answer to these questions (and those like them) have been asked by the church and of the church for years. 

Today, we have unfortunately traded these important issues for simple, glib, and lacking answers that leave everyday Christians confused about what their faith is supposed to look like and the outside world looking suspect at the church while labeling followers of Christ "hypocrites."

We have some things to learn from Paul's dealing with the flesh (not the NIV's "Sinful Nature") and the law. First, the life of following Christ is a fight (verse 15) and if we are going to progress in the faith then it is a fight in which we must be engaged. Most often, I notice Christians taking this fight to others. Maybe because that is what they hear from the pulpit. But the truth is, the fight is right here in me. I must fight the things I want to do, even if I put up a fight against myself. This is Paul's logic (verses 15-20) and it is powerful! I could read these words again and again. They bring me such hope for veracity toward my own sin.

Second, this battle is one of the mind (more on this later). We do not do what we do not believe. We may not always do what we believe. When I seek my own sinful desires, I do it because I believe (as twisted as my mind can be) that I will benefit from it. The truth is, I am wrong (a lot) and I end up harming myself more often than not. I love Paul's words in verse 24, "Wretched man am I." This is Paul! This is the guy that is supposed to have it all together! But his mind leads him down the same road my mind leads me. I am torn between myself. There are two "I"s. The "I" that I am and the "I" that I want to be (the one that I am created to be).

This is why God's Word (and a full, driven, and passionate knowledge of it) is absolutely necessary for us to grow and for us to help others grow. Keep your "practical" advice on how to live my life, pastors, just give me the Word to line my life up to (which seems to be what is cut out of sermons in the name of being "practical"). The Word is practical, in and of itself! It reveals us and it comforts us (even those hard passages that no pastor will preach, like Romans 7:14-25), it gives me strength to fight the good fight!

The fight is not only in me, it is also with me!