The War Within – Sin living in me

Firstly, the tendency of the flesh is to ‘Give them back their own Medicine’ (wrong intention).

The world teaches us to ‘hit back’ a person’s evil (e.g. opposite evil acts such as flirting vs ignoring) with something equivalent (a purposeful verbal insult to silence or hurt them) with the intention of ‘forcing them to bow to our authority’ or ‘make them taste their own style of flirting/ignoring’. Sounds fair? Perhaps.

However, Scripture teaches us the ‘higher way’ to “not” do such things but rather to do the following instead:

“not repaying evil for evil or insult for insult; but on the contrary blessing, because to this you were called, so that you should inherit blessing.” (1 Peter 3:19)

“Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.” (Romans 12:17)

It is easy to get carried away when we are angry. Worst still, we can be misunderstood via such situations if we ‘don’t guard our tongue/acts’ in those moments.

Recovery is this: Stop! Yes, stop being carried away at that point & just ensure that you don’t sin further. If possible, immediately as ‘when you realise it’.

“Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:40)

“But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 4:3 – 4)

“For if we were judging ourselves, we would not come under judgment.” (1 Corinthians 11:31)

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

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. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

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.

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!” (Romans7:15 – 25)