Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Our youngest son, Jax, says, “I don’t know why I keep doing bad things.” He seems to have a propensity for trouble. It’s more kid-like behavior than anything genuinely troublesome, but he’s a repeat offender of sneaking food, drinks, and devices up to his room. He doesn’t mind if I write about it. After all, the child tells his business to teachers, student directors, and random parents at the bus stop.

Jax’s willingness to speak about his choices may be due to our example. Erica and I openly share the sins of our youth with our children. Me more than her because, like Jax, I, too, had a propensity for trouble but on a larger scale. I remember continually finding myself in precarious situations, even after exploring more of my faith. Thankfully, it became less frequent as I learned to trust Jesus while journeying through my adolescence. However, something happened as the years passed. I thought loving Jesus and loving who I became in Christ meant my sinfulness would subside because I had changed. Unfortunately, my conscience knew what was right, but my actions told a different story.

Romans 7:18-19
¹⁸ And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. ¹⁹ 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.

Paul, the apostle, wrote those verses. It might sound odd that he struggled with this frustration, especially after he experienced a life-changing event on the road to Damascus. One might be tempted to think Paul had it all together and never struggled with sin again, and we can slip into thinking this about ourselves, too. However, as Paul details in Romans 7:20-25, being saved doesn’t mean that we no longer sin. We are still prone to be slaves to the sin within us, but thank God for Jesus!

Holding onto our sin and attempting to deal with it by ourselves keeps us running in circles and living in the dark. As we learned last weekend, we cannot fix our sin by working on it because it’s not something we can do for ourselves. Christ is our one true source for salvation—only he can save us from a life of sin.

When we give our lives to Christ, we are no longer viewed as sinners, but unfortunately, we still may find ourselves doing things we don’t want to do. Our behaviors likely won’t change immediately. It is a process of transformational growth that comes through continually trusting God and thanking him for his grace. It humbles us in our daily approach to life.

The apostle Paul knew better than anyone that “all those years of darkness could make a person blind.” His willingness to trust God, learn from him, work out his faith, grow, and teach others showed we don’t have to walk in darkness. We can accept God’s forgiveness and allow Christ to change us, too.

John 8:12
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Trusting who God says we are shapes how we respond to sin.

Questions: 
What happens when you attempt to resolve sins by yourself? Does it bother you when you want what’s right, but the wrong things keep happening?

Next Steps:
Work on your sins by sharing them with someone who will hold you accountable. Trust God enough to discuss your personal, relational, and earthly sins through prayer and building a relationship with him.

Check out a Freedom Group and/or Celebrate Recovery to help give you a clearer image of what your choices really say about you and what you can do to grow closer to God and freedom.

Prayer:
God, I know failure is around the corner when I try to handle everything on my own. Help me to focus on trusting you and the people you have placed in my life. The work is never done. Grant me the patience and focus to pursue the freedom found in Christ. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Philippians 2:13
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.