Fighting Repetitive Sin
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 to do. Romans 7:14-15 NIV
"What I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep doing." Paul~
Paul sounds like a man that is horribly torn. He wants to do well, but is unable to. Try as he might, the bad he is attempting to avoid keeps surfacing. Paul seems perplexed as to why he leans into sin, while trying to do God’s will. I will be honest and say that I have the same identical struggles. Not that you should, but do you struggle with repetitive sin too?
Believe me when I say that I have tried all of the fixes. I prayed the prayers and quoted the right verses (in their right context). The elders have prayed for me (and a few non elders too). I have been anointed with oil, received the Holy Spirit and my cup ran over. I have even been anointed by a Catholic priest and went to confession..., and I am not Catholic! And guess what? After all of that stuff, I still sin! What a wretched man I am (Romans 7:24)!
While I cannot deny that God heals us of many troubling behaviors, I think it is also true that God might use our sin proclivities to turn our minds toward Him. Or in other words, God may leave us with some repetitive sin in order to make us look up to see where our help comes from (Psalm 121:1). I think that when we are facing our old and familiar sins God offers two most important answers: ‘My grace is sufficient’ and ‘My Son is sufficient’. I can't ignore the thought that each of us has a responsibility, we must each of us carry our own cross (Galatians 6:5/Luke 14:27). And likewise, it is the same with troubles. We need to go into troubles and temptation knowing that if the Lord has allowed it, then we have His confidence that we can handle it. And for all of the other times that the load becomes too much to bear, for all of the times that we did not follow the escape route; repentance, grace and blood are sufficient.
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