Wanting To Do Good Will Not Stop You From Sinning

“I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” – Romans 7:18-19

Wanting as compared to doing.  We face a constant pressure to do what we want all the while pushing God to the back of our minds.  It’s like the times that you did, or still do, things that you knew were contrary to what your parents had said to do or not to do.  All the while you were doing your own thing you were aware that you were being disobedient.  So you tried to shut their words out of your mind. It’s the same with your heavenly Father.  Paul wrote about this in Romans chapter 7.

“I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing…..   Although 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 me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” – Romans 7:18-25

At the point of disobedience, your heart rate increases, your mind starts racing … you are acutely aware that you are about to step over the line.  The temptation is about to transition to sin.  Sin happens when you make the decision in your heart.  That is why Jesus said you are guilty of murder if you hate in your heart. You are guilty of adultery if you lust.  It is the battle that will rage in you until you see Jesus face to face.  Your old nature must be nailed to the cross every day, every moment.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13

God provides a way to stop the sin cycle. It is a matter of faith in God and the surrender of your will. Do you look at the waves and your inability to walk on them or to Jesus and His ability to walk with you.  You cannot be successful in your new life by wanting to be good and wanting to not sin.  That is a formula for failure. Don’t be satisfied with “partial” sanctification, believing that the life you are living is as good as it will ever get.  That is not the life you have been called to.  It is the life you have been saved from. You do not have to continue to live that life. How do I know that?  The Bible tells me so and the Spirit confirms it.