Romans 7:15-23 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 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 good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

As a Christian in my sin I feel absent as if I were not even really there. It happens and I am present in mind but absent in heart. I hate what I am doing but continue to wallow in it and I do not even understand why it is that I am doing it. In verse .............it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." Sin that makes its home in me or that lingers around in me, it comes in me and lingers around and starts making itself comfortable on a couch of misery and a foot stool of pain........and it delights with a glass of wine smugly and boastful in its victory over me. And in here it is a battle a fierce battle, fighting in a raging ruthless war and I can't win fighting by myself for I possess no power of my own to beat it. In me there is a new creation in Christ that is living in a sinful fallen body. The flesh is not who I am and yes it will pass away but it is the new me that is the real person inside......the inward being that desires to do good. When sin dwells in me it is not because I desire it, the impulse for my sin does not come from who I am in Christ but from the pull of my flesh going against my will.

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

25 I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Oh, how I am abundantly, considerably, substantially, infinitely, highly, vastly and exceedingly thankful to God. There are no words that could measure the vast amount of gratitude that I have in my heart for the life through His son Jesus Christ that He has given to me. It kills me to think of how I fall so often to my flesh. I detest intensely with in my soul the pull of the flesh and the reign that it has over me and all Christians. Although, I know that we should be thankful for this battle but it is hard for we desire with all of our being as a means to obey and love our God to do what is right and good and to bring Glory to Him. But when we fail we weep loudly inside for we do NOT what we want to do but the very thing that we HATE. We the inward new man that Christ made desires and rejoices in good and hates sin but our nature which we live in delights in and rejoices in the dark holes of sin that we fall in daily or jump in as John Piper would say. Thankfully only to Christ we are not held captive to our nature.

I was thinking yesterday in church right before we were going to take the Lords supper about Jesus and the pain he went through. I came to tears thinking about how He carried that cross with agony and humility up to calvary for me and my sins. The first nail that was pierced in his hand was for me and my sin, the second nail that pierced His skin was for me and my sin, the spear that went through his side was for me and my sin, the exscruitiating pain He went through hanging on that cross on that day in front of the world was for me and my sin. I feel so unworthy for the blood that was shed and I am unworthy, but because He loved me He did this for me so that I would not be held captive to my nature. Although there are times that I forget that I am not held captive to it I pray that I will remember Him and His love for me and the sacrifice and tremendous amount of pain he went through for me.

So how are we fighting our nature that enevitabley will continue to pull on us as long as we have breath of life in us? When the flesh pulls with its dark and sweaty hands what are we going to do? How are we going to fight it off……alone with our own weapons of righteousness………do we have any? No, we do not and that is what I feel Paul is saying. Alone we can not beat our nature we need with great desperation our Lord to give us the weapons and the strength to fight the battle that is waging in us.

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-18
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Imagine yourself for a moment standing desolate in Africa and surrounded by a vast amount of flat land. It is very hot and you notice that you are naked and vulnerable with nothing you are alone in this place and then you feel a hot and powerful breath of air blow on your neck, you turn to find yourself face to face with a massive dominant male lion. You are staring straight into his eyes and in them you see no mercy only death, you become frightened to the depths of your soul. What are you going to do here……this beast is awaiting to devour you and you have nothing to fight back with.






Isn’t that what we are doing with sin! We can not fight sin if we try to do it alone with no help from God. Ridiculous we are naked in from of a ferocious lion just waiting to be devoured! But with the full armor of God we will be able to beat this beast it will be a battle but he will not devour us for our Lord is our strength and our Sword! We must hide his Word in our hearts and mind where we must fight this battle. Quit trying to fight it on your own………YOU CAN’T DO IT! You do not possess the power to fight this evil only God can possess you with the amount of power to persevere and beat the pull of your flesh the evil that dwells in you. So put on your belt, your breastplate, shield, helmet and your sword and fight with the Lord by your side.

The reason I have spoken of this is just that lately I have felt a battle raging in me like never before. I have never felt the battle in me like I did this past week. And the realization that I was trying to fight it off by myself was hopeless and it just was a continuous circle that I went in for a whole week getting no where. Why because I did not fight it with the Armor of God. I was naked and waiting to be devoured. Oh God forgive me a sinner, guide me Lord to keep my eyes on you always and to notlet the grips of darkness overtake me even for a moment, may every moment of my life not be wasted in sin but focused on Your glory.