Some of us don't really know what's right and wrong, and that's okay! But others of us KNOW what's right and wrong and we CHOOSE to do what's wrong. Is this getting anyone's attention? Sometimes we get so angry with ourselves that we fall back into the same routine, or we feel bad in the presence of the Lord and we try and try not to do it again- that is a GOOD thing. The Lord wants you to love him enough to WANT to change, to TRY to change, to go to Him after we fail.
But there are other people that feel enslaved to it. They can't say "no" to the party, they can't put down the bottle, they can't stop lusting, they can't stop giving in to emotions and feelings and thinking this guy is "the one" and giving themselves over and over away to someone who truly wasn't "the one". There are people that KNOW the right thing and yet can't seem to do it- and they don't really care. They can't seem to find a passion for church, a desire to have their quiet time, they rebel from the rules, and they seclude themselves from anyone who is going to tell them they are "wrong." They will hide from the light in order to find contentment in the dark; to be comfortable in their sin and in their current condition. THESE are the people I'm trying to reach right NOW. How do I know what you're doing and feeling? I know because I have been there and so has Paul. He wrote:
"What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise...I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time."
He is saying that we can't do what is right because our sinful nature is too powerful. We keep giving in. The SIN that's living in YOU is MAKING you do the WRONG things. Our sinful nature makes us WEAK to sin. The WEAKER you are in standing up against sin, the FURTHER you are from the heart of God.
As Christians, or even as nonbelievers... there comes a point where you need to make a decision DO YOU WANT TO BE SAVED? We of course jump to the first "correct answer," "Yes!" BUT I think that a lot of people are quick to say they want to be a "Christian," a "Christ-Follower," a "Disciple" but they forget that it is a COMMITMENT.
You don't just decide to be a Christian one day and go to church. You don't just want to escape hell by proclaiming you love the Lord. This is something that you need to sit down and decide, that EVERY DAY for the REST of MY life I am going to hand MY will, MY wants, MY desires, over to someone else. You CHOOSE to let the SPIRIT come in and CHANGE you. If you KNOW what's "Right" you CHOOSE what's right. When you have a waging war inside you, you KNOW what the Bible says, or you seek counsel and you ultimately LET the Spirit win. The devil has already been defeated!
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires...the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
These verses and the ones continuing say that if you're running from God, avoiding "Spiritual people," absent from the body of believers, rather have your own way, than God's way- then you are controlled by the sinful nature still, and you can't please God. And if you don't even feel the war within, that if you don't have the Spirit in you, then you do not belong to Christ (v. 9)
In college, I became VERY weak to sin and desired things that God didn't. I was fed up with trying to live according the Spirit. I felt like I could have more fun living my own way. I felt like people liked me more, there were so many hot guys, and alcohol made me free. I said "yes" to it all. I didn't want to go to church anymore, because I had partied SO hard the night before--what would they think?! I couldn't join the choir or sing on the Praise Team because if anyone had seen me out the night before I'd be ruined.
At the end of my 4 years, my future got hazy. I had no idea where to go, know idea what career path I wanted, and I had to be on my own in 6 months. I had to get it together and the only way I knew how was to look at others that had it "together." My sister was an amazing influence on me. She played guitar, recorded you-tube videos, pursued things I only dreamed of. She had time to do all this stuff AND had my parents support. She had an awesome boyfriend and just everything you could want. And my parents- they have a lasting marriage, a circle of friends that are actually dependable, jobs that are propelling, and overwhelming joy. They had HOPE. They had a FUTURE. And they relied on JESUS. I started going back to church, journaling, and doing my devotions. It was tough, but I knew that I needed to make a decision- a commitment to be who God wanted me to be, to follow HIS plan, and to STAND up to Sin. I found myself thinking I was bipolar at times because of the war going on within me. One day I loved this guy and thought he was the one I wanted to marry, and the next day I felt like God was telling me He had someone else. I went back and forth on feelings and emotions. Alcohol and drugs put me at a position where I was drinking but I just wanted to stop being drunk or stop being high and I couldn't. I wanted to have more control in life but the things I was choosing were wrong... I needed to hand them over to God. I gave up my friends, I gave up the parties, I gave up the alcohol and drugs, I gave up what the Devil gave me to destroy me and traded it all in for the Spirit.
You can't be lukewarm. You can't be a man or woman that lives only by rules. You can't be a sideline Christian. You are either full-force-surrendering your life-dying to yourself kind of Christian saying you'll do WHATEVER it takes to be holy, OR you may want to re-evaluate your salvation and what you thought you were getting into when you said you wanted to be saved.
BUT if you WANT to say "no" to what's wrong, if you DESIRE to be better, if you truly HATE sinning against your Father, then He is going to help you! "The Spirit HELPS us in our weakness.""The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26)
Open your eyes to your resources! Look at all the churches, groups, mentors, and fellowship groups that are looking to welcome you in. Get involved and stick with it! You've made a commitment! Now do your part!
We are MORE than CONQUERORS!
