I believe that a mutual feeling that people feel is the feeling to want do good, but they continue not to do good. Or you are caught up in the wrong things and you tell yourself that you are going to start doing the right things and you continue to do the wrong things. It's like we have good intentions, but we can never follow though with them.
In Romans 7 verse 21, Paul talks about this law being at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
Through our relationship with Christ we learn about things that are right and things that are wrong. Without the word of God we wouldn't know what is right and have a desire to do what is right and good. Sometimes we don't even realize that what we are doing is wrong. We substitute sins...We tell ourselves...oh I'm not stealing, so I guess if I swear I will be okay. It's not as bad right? That is wrong...it's still sin.
Like I talked about yesterday, living a righteous lifestyle is something that was foreign to us until we began our relationship with Christ. So that desire to do what is right comes from the Holy Spirit doing work inside of us. It comes from our righteousness.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 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 myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, the 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 it-this I keep on doing. 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. ( Romans 7:14-20)
I highlighted some of the part of that scripture that stuck out to me the most. Here it is again. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. How often is that your life? A lot of the time we hear a good message at church and become super ambitious...we say we will change but it's so hard. We try to do it, we want to do it, but we just fall back into doing things that we were doing before. Later on...we relate to this even more...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 it-this I keep on doing. We go from wanting to do good to having the desire to do good and we still cannot do it. It's really sad! It's kind of along the lines of what I posted about yesterday. We have to actually do what the bible says, we can't just be hearers.
Every single day we are in a battle, waging war between good and evil and right and wrong.
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. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 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 7:22-25 )
I couldn't help but highlight all of that. Paul is so right. Inside all of us, when we have a relationship with Christ, we delight in God's law. The problem is that there is another law at work in us that is waging war against the law of our minds and makes us prisoner to the law of sin. Paul says..."What a wretched man I am!" As he shouts that, he follows up by saying..."Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ. In our minds, we are a slave to God's law, and in our sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Thanks to be God for his grace. Every day I sit and wonder, how did I get so lucky to be in the position that I am at, and every answer to that is God's grace. We experience so much every day, good things and bad things. No matter how bad the bad things and how good the good things are, one thing remains constant and that is God's unconditional love for us. I encourage you to be a world changer. Break off the chains of sin. End the cycle of not carrying out the good things that you desire to do it. Mold yourself to new habits and a way of life. It's not going to be easy, but I promise you that you can do it. It takes discipline and it has to become a habit. Once we do that, nothing is stopping you...evil might always be there...but that is just something that we are going to have to deal with.
Do good. Do what you desire. Do the work that will further the kingdom of God.
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