Today I think we’ll talk about how the Holy Spirit gives us the desires to do the opposite of what our sinful nature desires. As believers, we are saved and made righteous in God the Father’s eyes through the blood of Christ. Being that we are human, there is a great tension… We agree with God, but cannot do what He commands. Our sin nature is always at war with God.
“And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 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. 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.” Listen to what verses 22 and 23 say, “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to sin that is still with me.”
Listen to what my Bible commentary says:
“Not guilty; let him go free.” What would those words mean to you if you were on death row? The fact is that the whole human race is on death row, justly condemned for repeatedly breaking God’s holy law. Without Jesus we would have no hope at all. But thank God! He has declared us not guilty and has offered us freedom from sin and power to do his will.” ~ From The New Living Translation
That’s sobering. We’re not supernaturally turned into “sinless” people; we still mess up, (sometimes we mess up ALOT )!
“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.” Romans 8:5-8
Paul is describing two different types of people:
1 ~ those who are dominated by the sinful nature
2 ~ those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit
If it wasn’t for Jesus offering us a way out, we all would be in the first category. We must daily choose to make living for God the center of our lives. We discover God’s guidelines as we read the Bible. So when (not if), we find ourselves in questionable circumstances…We can ask ~ What would Jesus do? That is when the Holy Spirit points us in the right direction.