For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the
law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which
is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of
sin.
Here is in this text Paul recognizes and confesses there is evil in him. Coming face to face with the fact that we are not squeaky clean is hard. Evil is in us. Most people today don't accept it; when things go wrong it's someone else's fault–there is no personal responsibility. The Bible has been thrown away as God is ignored. We all need to reach the conclusion sooner or later, better sooner, that there is evil within.
Paul's statements were very methodical and detailed. They begin to ring true of us. It's not about someone else; it's about me; it's about you. The words we see in the Bible can cut to the heart yet we won't face them. The further down you go from verse 18, the more desperate Paul gets. There was sin in and about Paul. The capacity and choice was there to do wrong. It was an inherited evil present in his mind, heart, and nature. This is the means in which Satan can use. We can't deny it; what do we want to do about it? Paul came to a conclusion that he didn't want to draw. He was wretched.
When we do a resume for a job, we are careful to write down good things and leave out the fact that sometimes we're lazy; we come to work late; we like long breaks…we don't want them to know the bad side. We all have good but we cannot get so obsessed with it that we cannot see our wrong. Paul considered the deepest part of himself and realized he needed saving.
There is a two-fold approach here. (1) "O wretched man that I am." We're talking about Apostle Paul. He was respected, noble, intelligent and people took notice of him. YET he calls himself wretched. He never said "look at what I do." He spoke of Christ. There are too many people in the world who just want to be noticed. They won't accept help for anything because they see themselves in total control of their life. They talk proper; they walk proper. Their attitude is "nothing is wrong with me. I'm fine. You're fine." This is pushed down our throats today.
Something is wrong with me; it's wrong with you. We have to think about it. We all have a wrong side. To others we want to seem positive in how we are. We go to great lengths to give the impression that we need no help at all. Yet–we are wicked, destitute, naked, lost, dominated by sin; we are our own enemy. That is, the human nature within us. Paul cried out to the Lord "O wretched man that I am!" We find ourselves making excuses. Yeah. Yeah. I make mistakes, but for the most part….there is no bad; it's just negative. Even our positiveness is corrupted.
Have you ever made it through one day without a bad thought? Have you ever made it through a day without saying something you should not have said? Are you in complete control? NO! There is something in us that must be conquered–that is our tendency to sin. Just like a drowning person, we can't help ourselves. We need someone to reach in and save us. GOD SAVE ME. I CAN'T DO IT MYSELF. SAVE ME FROM THE DEVIL. SAVE ME FROM THE EVIL ABOUT ME. SAVE ME FROM MYSELF! From myself? YES! From myself.
In the rapture we'll leave these bodies behind; there will be no more bad within us. The sinful nature that we have will be gone. The conclusion is that Jesus came to save; I can't say I'm perfect. All I can say is that I'm forgiven. Paul talked about the guilty, hell-deserving person he was–the wretched man he was. Now, can we take responsibility for ourselves? Quit blaming someone else. Quit hiding from it. Quit denying it. We can't ride that horse for it isn't there. It won't stand at the judgment.
(2) We will stand before God alone. There is a book that records all we do, inside and out. It doesn't matter how we've dressed it up, we are wretched. I'll be scared, but when those pages are looked at THANK GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, THE SAME SAVIOR PAUL KNEW WILL STEP IN and say FATHER, I'VE GOT IT TAKEN CARE OF.
That which would destroy me God can control. I am saved. God saved Bob Surber from Bob Surber. We need God in every nook and cranny of our life. He is the one who can help when the evil that is present in our members tries to rule. Let's take responsibility for who we are. Let God save us from that wretched person within us–I thank God through is son Jesus Christ I can be free.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 