The good that I would do I do not do; A look at Romans 7

We have been looking at need, rest and, reasonable service. The most recent focus has been on reasonable service and loving accountability within the body of Christ. We have looked at how loving accountability should operate. We have also seen the necessity of body ministry in this loving accountability. In order for loving accountability to work it demands that the members of the body trust each other and, love each other. They must value the progress and wholeness of their brother and sister as much as they do their own. They must be able to readily acknowledge that they are a work in progress. All members of the body….the ones seeking loving accountability and, the ones giving loving responsibility…..must have a realistic view of their continual need of Jesus. Here is where Romans chapter seven can play an important role. Given a proper understanding….it should magnify individual need for Jesus and his righteousness.

Let’s take a look at the passage: Rom 7:14-25 “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. (15) For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (16) Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. (17) So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (18) 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. (19) For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (20) Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (21) So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. (22) For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, (23) but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. (24) Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (25) Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

This passage of scripture must be used to examine our best selves. I have in the past looked at it in relation to my worst self but that does not properly bring the passage to bear on our day to day lives. I think that anyone who gets up on Sunday morning and goes to a church service….goes out to a weekly bible study or, Prayer service, is truly seeking to be a better person....desire to be more Christ like. I think that it would be safe to say that that they delight in the law of God in their inner man and, I think that it is just as easy to see that the good that they would like to do they don’t do….at least not consistently.

Here are some examples that may apply. We want to be kind to people, especially our close family…and yet, many times we are short tempered. Where does the phrase “you always hurt the ones you love” come from? We want to be patient, kind, gentle and meek in our dealings with others but, often we find that the good we want to do we do not really do and the very behavior that we do not want to do… we do all too often. This isn’t just limited to our worst selves…our addictive selves but, is directly related to our best selves….our day to day selves.

A closer look at this will perhaps show each of us our great need for Jesus and his righteousness. This will shine a light on our need and the need of everyone we know and, it should produce humility that would make us more gracious toward our brothers and sisters. This mind set is necessary in loving accountability.