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by Bill Seng

“For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” ~Romans 7:22-23

Do not be naïve, we are all sinners. When we tell ourselves that we do not sin, we are not only lying to ourselves but to God. The Apostle Paul lays out a compelling case in this chapter concerning the depravity of human nature, but also a confession in some sense. Did you know that the Apostle Paul was capable of sin? That seems to be what he confessed by saying that, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19). We all wrestle with sin and have the power to overcome it, but the tug of temptation is so powerful that sometimes we fail to do so. Why is that?

In Genesis 8, Noah makes a sacrifice to God after the flood, and God establishes a covenant with him. The words of God are, “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood” (v. 21). This truth is profound and very revealing. Every inclination of the human heart is evil, even from childhood. What does that mean? That means the problem of sin is a big problem.

It is known as the doctrine of Total Depravity. Mankind is totally corrupt because of original sin and no one comes to God upon his or her own volition. Maybe I am jumping off the deep end with this next statement, but I think I’ve made that leap before; I think that sin has so corrupted us that it afflicts us down to our DNA. Our earthly bodies are corrupted by sin as is clearly evidenced in Scripture. There are many people born with physical and mental defects that can do nothing in their own power to overcome these conditions. No, they did nothing to deserve physical or mental handicap, but the problem of sin is so devastating that our very DNA cannot escape its clutches.

Let me clarify a little more. In the Garden of Eden, God did not make a world where defects would exist. Nobody would be born crippled, blind, or even be capable of deteriorating up to death. His creation was good. But there was something about original sin that corrupted more than just the hearts of mankind, but actually transformed the land and cursed the animals. Without a shadow of doubt the world became sinful to the core. If sin has corrupted us all the way down to our DNA, how can we avoid sin?

The Bible tells us if we walk by the Spirit we will not give into the temptations of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Our physical bodies crave that which is sinful, but the Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome the power of temptation. That is why the Apostle Paul rejoices at the end of this chapter, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).

We are sinners and our sin condemns us. Sin corrupts us down to each and every cell in our bodies. We cannot entirely escape sin, but God has given us power through the Holy Spirit to overcome. And if we fail to overcome temptation and sin, it is comforting to know that we have an advocate in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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