Wednesday Reading: Romans 7:14-17
Key Verse: Romans 7:15
15 For that which I do, I know not. For what I desire, that I do not do; but what I hate, that I do.
Devotion:
We can’t take readings from the book of Romans talking about being of this world without revisiting this section. When the Apostle wrote these words he found himself to be far short of what he should be, even calling himself carnal and sold under sin. We should not have to look too deep within our own lives to see that that is exactly where we are as well. No matter how hard we try to be good, we are still sold under sin. How do we know that? Because what we say and what we do are two different things.
I am not talking about saying that you will do something for someone and then doing (or not doing) it but rather things of the law. No matter how strong we think we may be we will always find some part of our lives that we give into temptation through; it’s not that we want to but rather that we don’t often notice it until after the fact. We are simply not strong enough to keep clear of sin in our lives. That is where our Heavenly Father comes in because He has promised us that He will help us. He has already allowed His Son to die for our sins and He has allowed the Holy Spirit to continually guide us – as long as we are willing to listen.
We may be able to tell others how Christians should be acting and even show them in some cases, but we always fall short of fulfilling the whole Christian life. It is not that we are bad people but that we have been born into a sin nature to start with. That sin nature is impossible to get rid of because we simply cannot do it. But God allowed His Son to die for us so that we will not be held back by that sin nature. So, even though we do give in to sin and break God’s laws, we continue to have Someone looking out for us and are still able to gain God’s forgiveness. Yes, we will sin. Yes we will break God’s laws. Yes He will forgive us. Let’s just try hard not to make a habit of breaking His laws!
Points to Ponder:
Do you try to be a good person?
Are you letting God guide you?
