The Struggle for Freedom

The apostle Paul's words ring so true when I think about the sin nature that exists in all of us. It's just there. We criticize it in others in moments when we think we are doing okay; we feel remorse when we have times of just wanting to do better, planning to do better . . . and then realizing it's not within our power. "The trouble is with me," writes Paul, "for I am all too human, a slave to sin." 

What does that mean? It means that as humans, we are born into slavery. We don't consciously acknowledge it until we are caught in a dark and confining place, not knowing how we got there but recalling bad decisions we have made.

My first encounter with such a decision (and its consequences) was when I took a piece of candy from a dime store without paying for it. Yes, I was soon in a very dark place. I could have been Judas. I was compelled to confess to my parents, who had the wisdom to take me back to the dime store to confess to them and pay for what I stole.

In many cases, we get to that dark place after a series of bad decisions. In others, it results from one really big, bad decision that impacts not only our lives, but the lives of others, often for years. If we could look into the future, we might see that the impact goes on for generations!

Looking back at those decisions, we see the truth in Paul's words: "I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate." And again: "I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway." And once more: "I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong."

Photo by Gary Coots ©2011

How perplexing to live in this state! As humans endowed with free will, we feel we are in control, yet the bondage-to-sin dilemma calls us to admit that we are imprisoned, longing for freedom. Some of us respond to this incarceration by turning up the pride. We sin loudly and proudly, as if it was our right to be and do that which offends.

Yes, sin has a hold on all of us. It is our master as long as we succumb to it and give it the power it demands. Then the sin nature takes over our thoughts and actions. I have learned that sin gains power when kept in darkness. When we hold on to it in that dark place so no one will know, it grows insidiously, taking root in our psyche. As Paul concludes, "So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it . . . And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature." You know, it's the-devil-made-me-do-it" syndrome. "I want to do what is right, but I can’t. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it," offers the wise apostle.

Nothing examines the battle between the flesh and the spirit—and the one who rescues our souls from it—like Paul's agonized cry in Romans 7. As a follower of Jesus Christ, he longs for righteousness. "I love God’s law with all my heart," he says. "But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord."

I look around and within to observe myself, my family, and my friends, all subject to the power of sin in our lives. We all struggle with one or more behaviors, weaknesses, or inclinations that rule our days and nights, often defeating us in the daily battle. These sins limit us from the fullness of life that God intends for us. It might be an irresistible attraction to pornography, an inability to control spending, a philandering tendency that takes hold and won't let go. Maybe it is a physical addiction to something chemical or behavioral, a compulsion to take things that don't belong to us, a loose tongue that slanders others and betrays a long-time friendship. Sometimes it's anger and defensiveness that comes from a heart turned inward, hardened by things others have done to us. Or the cumbersome sin of omission, that nagging feeling that we could have spoken or taken action, but didn't.

The answer is indeed in Jesus Christ. How wonderful that our Lord and Savior delivers us from all of this, redeeming us from a life of error. All we need to do is call on Him. He not only cancels our sin if we confess and ask for forgiveness, but He also heals us and teaches us to forgive ourselves and others.

All Bible references are from Romans 7:7-25 , the New Living Translation