Good Cop, Bad Cop

The New Man and the Old

     I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
     I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.
     Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
     So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
     What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
     Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.


Scripture:
Romans 7:15-25


Defining Moments:

     When you welcomed Jesus into your world, He restored the blood supply to your spirit--that part of you that had been beaten and left for dead by the things of sin and deception. He gave you a new heart, complete with a guarantee of full protection against the punishment of hell, against the fear and finality of the grave. He placed in you His own Holy Spirit to give you a new way of thinking, a fresh awareness of God's presence, and a promise that one day your faith would pay off with a one-way ticket to paradise.
     But look who's still hanging around. Your heart may be in heaven, but God's left your feet here on the ground, where the person you used to be can still have a say in your choices and remind you how much fun you all used to have together.
     Don't be surprised when civil war breaks out in your heart, when you're torn between the God you love and the temptations that still know how to play your song. Your sinful self is beaten, but he's not going without a fight. Get ready, though. He has his weaknesses, too.

Next Up:

     Since old habits don't go away overnight, and may continue to be a nagging source of frustration and ( at times) failure, where does the victory start coming in?

      " God will no longer be a cause of dread to me. I very soon find, however, that I am going to be a great cause of trouble to myself."
                                               --Watchman Nee