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17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. ~ Romans 7:17-20
Today, we return to our study of Romans 7 where the Apostle Paul instructs us that although we play a role in our sanctification, it is not us that renders the changes that come therein. These changes are rendered in and through our souls by the Holy Spirit Himself. When we were "born again," it was our spirit that was awakened to God and His culture. Our spirit was made alive to God due to our justification through our faith in Christ. That is when the Holy Spirit came into our hearts to make us alive to God and His culture. Not even our changed hearts make us right with God.
Our sanctification takes place in our souls which is made up of our minds, our wills and our emotions. Simply put, our sanctification is the aligning of our souls with the culture of God as spelled out in His word.
In Romans 6-8 the Apostle Paul gives us a three part process whereby we are being changed by God from the inside out for the work of the ministry to which He has called us all. This process involves a biblical understanding of our relationship to sin as spelled out in Romans 6. This process also involves a biblical understanding of our relationship to the law of Moses in Romans 7. And, as we will see in Romans 8, this process also involves a biblical understanding of our relationship with the Holy Spirit.
In v.17-18 of today's passage we read, "17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find."
For the believer in Christ who has been redeemed by the grace of God, there is now something within us that causes us to want to do good, something that agrees with the Law and says that the Law is right. That something is the Holy Spirit. He is that something within us who says what the Law tells us to do is right. The Apostle Paul also says, there is something else in us that rises up and says "No, go your own way away from God!" That would be the flesh or the sinful desires that are still in us. Even though we find ourselves determined not to do what is bad, we suddenly find ourselves in such circumstances that our resolve to do good wanes, and, we end up doing what we had sworn we would not do.
So, there is a division within the believer in Christ. As humans, we all have within us a spirit, a soul, and a body. These three parts of our souls are distinctly different one from the other. Our spirit desires not to sin, it agrees with the Law that it is good. And yet, there remains in us "sin," which wars against our spirit. Due to this, failure is always a reality for us, even though we may be resigned to resist the temptation to go against God's Spirit who lives in ours. Since we have God's Spirit dwelling in us, we do not have to be constant failures. And, our success is always due to His presence within us.
In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."
Here the Apostle Paul underscores God's solution to the situation that has been accentuated in the previous verses. As believers in Christ, we can fight this battle in which we are engaged. Whereas, it is sin that is the ultimate culprit for all of the death and destruction in our lives, through our sanctification God is getting us to the place where we take responsibility for our choices. This does not mean that we will ever be perfect this side of heaven, this merely means that we are capable of living the type of life the Lord Jesus died to give us.
Our sanctification is a work primarily in our thought life. In 2 Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul tells us about his "thorn in the flesh," which was a "messenger of Satan." This unwanted "thorn" was key for Paul's growth in the culture and wisdom of God. Our story is no different that Paul's. Sometimes these trials come in great succession, and the design of these unwanted trials is to drive us into a deeper intimacy with God. Trails, although often from Satan, are useful to the process of our sanctification. And, the goal of this process is always "more of Him and less of me."
We must be careful to heed this warning against trying to live a holy life in our own strength. When we do this, we set ourselves up for failure. When we give in to that which we are dead to, namely sin, even though it may appear to be godly, we are not living out of faith but out of works. Just as it is futile to try to work our way into heaven, it is futile to work our way through our sanctification on our own. We are at our best when we are most dependent upon the Lord. When we operate apart from Christ, we will experience the dichotomy that Paul is describing in this passage. But, even this failure to walk with Him and to know Him, is a very important part of the process.
