Knowledge to do Right- Without the Ability

It is quite a paradox Paul speaks of in Romans 7:15-20, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” This passage could prove very confusing. Why is it we do not do what we want to do, but keep on doing what we hate to do?

As followers of Christ, our desire is to please God through our every action. However, even though sin no longer reigns in our lives, it does still remain and so we are tempted to give in to our sinful desires over and over. How must we handle this paradox of knowing that we must do right, but do not have the ability to do so? While it is true, we cannot do right in and of ourselves, it is also true that we can do right- through the work of the Spirit in our lives. Through His power we are enabled to do good. It is when we fail to be looking to Christ and striving by His enabling grace to overcome sin’s temptation, that we often give in to frustration and discouragement. This is why it is so important that we be in prayer for ourselves and for one another- for God’s enabling grace.

Paul writes in Colossians 1:6-14, “since ……...you heard.. and understood the grace of God in truth……. we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

I think it is important to understand that every time we give in to the sinful desires of our hearts, we are showing our love for that sin to be stronger than our love for our Heavenly Father who is able and willing to deliver us from that sin. The key to overcoming is found in Romans 8:5, ‘ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” We must be setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. We all start out on the Christian journey as babes in Christ, with our minds set on the flesh more than on the Spirit, but as we grow and mature in the faith and knowledge of God, we learn to set our minds more and more on the Spirit, for as we grow in the faith, our desire to set our minds on the Spirit increases.

In Romans 8:12-17, Paul writes, “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

The passage of 2 Peter 1 :3-11 is a great aid in setting our minds on the Spirit, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

As those who have been set free from sin’s power, we must be doing the good that we want to do and refraining from the evil that we do not want to do, understanding that this is only possible as we walk in step with God’s Holy Spirit, making every effort to live holy lives, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29). It is a paradox, giving evidence to the truth of the balanced understanding of man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty. God is 100% sovereign, “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10), “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63), and man is 100 % responsible to obey God’s commands, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).