Sin - Confusion

Romans 7:13-19 (ESV) ¹³ Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. ¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. ¹⁵ For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. ¹⁷ So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

I get lost in my own neighborhood. You laugh; I laugh…but it is true. I recall a time just 5 years ago when my family and I were heading back home from a short trip to grab lunch in one of our favorite restaurants. (You get to eat in a train car!) As we were getting close to our neck of the woods my wife told me to take a right turn. I questioned it…it wasn’t the normal path we take home. She insisted it was a shortcut. I thought on it for a moment. I told myself, “self, it is true I have a horrible sense of direction, and my wife has a great sense of direction…” So, I took the turn.

I started following my wife’s directions from there on out as I was out of my comfort zone so to speak. When we took that first turn, we were maybe 3 minutes away from home. Then we took another…and another…and another…then things started to look familiar. Then I realized 8 minutes had gone by. In my confusion I hadn’t noticed that with each and every turn my wife is tucking her face up against the passenger window…fighting back laughter with each turn.

Then I asked her, “Baby, are you seriously sure this is where we are supposed to go?” I turned and made eye contact…there were tears pouring down her face and she had a definitively perfect grin of mischief. Once we made eye contact she couldn’t hold it back anymore and laughed for another 2 minutes straight as the realization that this whole time, my wife was messing with me, had taken hold.

I look back on this and chuckle to myself now…but our sin is EXACTLY like this. This is how the enemy is so invasive and cunning. Our sin nature does everything it can to make us think that in the moment, “this is the right thing to be doing.” It leads you on a false chase towards fulfilling a desire of your heart that only God Himself is able to satiate. It is so alluring and desirable to your flesh. You take a quick look and tell yourself, “It is only a quick diversion…” and then you are sucked headlong down a path that will not “lead you home.”

Look at the Scripture for today. God, through Paul, depicts of the sin nature and the righteous natures doing battle. We do the things we do not want to do, and don’t do the things we ought to do. The one side that represents death and the other that represents abundant life are constantly at odds with each other.

So, you may ask yourself, “How can we navigate through the confusion then?” If it is so subtle and so manipulative and easy to lure you on a path not of God’s…how can we stand against that? You ready for this? Pull up a chair and take a deep breath…

You are completely incapable of doing so. Without God, your flesh will fall for the cunning and confusion every single time. This is why He is such an utterly awe strikingly amazing God. He grants us the Spirit to convict and guide us. That conviction is what points us in the right direction. It points us to the things we need; it points us home.

It points us to the cross of Jesus…every single time.

Soli Deo Gloria!!!!