The Heart of the Gospel - Pt 5

So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 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. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:17-20 ESV).

One more thing we ought to process is that in our total rebellion everything we do is sin. So, if all men are in total rebellion, everything they do is the product of rebellion and cannot be an honor to God. It is merely a part of our sinful rebellion. Of course many of these acts which flow from inward unbelief conform outwardly to the revealed will of God (for example, obeying parents or telling the truth). But they do not conform to God’s perfect will because of that mere outward conformity. God does not look at what we do, but what we believe. Our rebellion is a matter of faith, not works. Works first is backward thinking. Our reading shows clearly that there is “no good thing” in our flesh. This is a radical confession of the truth that in our rebellion nothing we think or feel is good. It is all part of our rebellion. The fact that Paul qualifies his depravity with the words, “that is, in my flesh,” shows that he is willing to affirm the good of anything that the Spirit of God produces in him (cf. Romans 15:18). “Flesh” refers to man in his natural state apart from the work of God’s Spirit. So, what Paul is saying is that apart from the work of God’s Spirit all we think and feel and do is not good. We ought to recognize that the word “good” has a broad range of meanings. We will have to use it in a restricted sense to refer to many actions of fallen people which in relation are in fact not good. For example, we will have to say that it is good that most unbelievers do not kill and that many unbelievers perform acts of benevolence. What we mean when we call such actions good is that they more or less conform to the external pattern of life that God has commanded in Scripture. However, such outward conformity to the revealed will of God is not righteousness in relation to God. It is not done out of reliance on him or for his glory. He is not trusted for the resources, though he gives them all. Nor is his honor exalted, even though that’s his will in all things (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:31). Therefore even these “good” acts are part of our rebellion and are not “good” in the sense that really counts in the end in relation to God. This truth provides the foundation for a complete transformation in Christ. It answers those nagging questions about the “good” people do and why those things are not sufficient to redeem. It is the heart of man that needs redemption, not his behavior. Employ this truth to motivate yourself to complete surrender and devotion to Jesus. That’s where you will find your greatest satisfaction and freedom from the bondage of sin and death!