"If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good." Romans 7:16
Are you struggling with any known sin? Be encouraged because the mere fact that you struggle with it shows that you hate it. You are not alone in this struggle, every believer in Christ experiences such struggle against sin in one way or another. The desire to be free from that known sin is proof of piety. Sinners don't have such struggles with sin, they love it.
We all came to Christ from a life of sin, and when we come to Him, evil is not taken out of us instantly, there remains a residue of sinful ways lingering in us from our past lives, this residue of sin constantly appears in the form of fleshly desires resulting in our struggles with sin. The apostle Paul described his own struggles, saying that the things he hated doing, he found himself doing, but the good he knew to do, he did not do.
He attributed this struggle to the believer trying to be sanctified by the keeping of the law; once this happens, sin is revived, and we are defeated because the law was not given to defeat sin, but to expose and judge sin. In Romans 6:14, he said that sin shall not have dominion over us because we are under grace and not under the law. When we approach living the grace life with the mindset of the law, we will constantly be defeated. This becomes a law, which the apostle called the law of sin.
Each time a believer in Christ Jesus attempts to live for God by the law, this law immediately comes into operation and defeats him. But this trend will be reversed when he turns to the cross. In turning to the cross, the Holy Spirit comes into operation and provides him with the power needed to overcome sin. In Romans 8:1, Paul said that the law of Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made him free from the law of sin and death. It is only by turning from the law to Christ that this struggle with sin is overcome.
Toni
