THE INWARD BATTLE OF ROMANS SEVEN I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO IT " . . . but how to perform what is good I do not find." Other versions read, "but I cannot carry it out" (NIV), "but I cannot do it" (NRSV), "but to accomplish that which is good, I find not" (DARBY), "I have the mind but not the power to do what is right" (BBE). THE GOOD THAT I WILL TO DO This does not refer to obeying moral laws, civil laws, and helping our neighbor. Faith moves our will into a higher realm--one that governs the domain of external expression. "The good" of reference is consistent and uninterrupted. THE EVIL I DO NOT WANT TO DO The believer does not want to contend with waywardness in his own self. We would to God we had no part of us that had to be subordinated, for evil does have to be subordinated. But such a condition, however greatly it is willed or desired, is not with us! Withheld From the Saints It is tragic beyond description that this perspective has been largely withheld from the saints. Even though the circumstance exists in every person that is in Christ Jesus, relatively few have any understanding of it, and no one totally comprehends it.
" . . . for to will is present with me" (Rom 7:18). Other versions read, "For I have the desire to do what is good" (NIV), "I can will what is right" (NRSV).
With the person in Christ, it is not a matter of not wanting what is right. Faith effects the will! However, while willingness is imperative, it is not omnipotent. A modicum of honesty will confirm that being willing is not the same as accomplishing the thing willed.
Paul is saying he is willing to do what the Law demands, down to the smallest detail. To state it another way, he did not want to sin, and he did want to walk perfectly before God. That was his heart. These were such consistent desires that the thoughts presented by the flesh were foreign to his thinking--unwanted intrusions into his mind.
Being "willing in the day of His power" (Psa 110:3) is essential, but it is not the total answer. We will yet be delivered from a state wherein we are willing, yet cannot fully do what we want.
Here is the frustrating part of the faith-life. While we remain in the body, there are good things we want to do, yet cannot find a way to do them fully! Every believer knows this is the case. Daily we seek grace to help in these times of need, when we are, of ourselves, impotent to do what we already know is good.
The word "DO" is not a casual word, as though Paul was satisfied with some token expressions of his will. Rather, he wanted to perfectly execute his will, with no element of dissatisfaction. It is like the disciples falling asleep when they really wanted to stay awake (Matt 26:41).
The individual being led by the Spirit wants no deviate thoughts--not a single one. He wants to "attend upon the Lord without distraction" (1 Cor 7:35). The desire is for uninterrupted communion with God. "The good" that is willed is to always have the things of God fresh, always be joyful, strong, and dominated by the peace of God.
The desire is for no taint, however small, to be found upon our service to God. It is for no spot or blemish to be found upon our lives. That is what we want! But who has discovered the power to realize those desires? That is the point of our text. Faith has made us willing, but not all-wise or all-powerful.
There are thoughts that have to be "cast down." As it is written, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor 10:4-5).
There is a sense of aggression and strong violence in the text. Our will is not to have imaginations that must be thrown down, and thoughts that must be captured. Such things are "evil." But who is the soul that has experienced such a state? "The evil I do not want, I do." "DO" does not mean fulfill. It means something surfaced in ME that needed to be put down!
We are NOT willing to have thoughts and lusts that must be denied, or rejected. Things like this are "evil." Yet, such things DO arise in us. We must even be taught by the grace of God to reject them, thrusting them from us. " For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts" (Tit 2:11-12). Our wills are NOT to ever have a worldly passion to which we must say "NO!" But what believer has ever experienced the thorough satisfaction of that desire in this world? "The evil I do not want, I do." "DO" does not mean I executed the desire. It means something came up in ME that had to be denied, or rejected!
How grand it would be, says our will, if there was nothing in us that needed to be crucified, mortified, and put to death. Things that require crucifixion and death are evil. Are such things resident in our total makeup? Indeed they are! "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col 3:5). These things are "evil." Is there any among us who dares to boast they have no "members" that need to be put to death, or mortified? "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul" (1 Pet 2:11). Who is the believer that will affirm he has not confronted "fleshly lusts" from which he had to "abstain?" "The evil I do not want, I do." "DO" does not mean carry out. It means something arose in ME that had to be put to death--something from which I had to abstain!
Our will prefers not to have anything about us that needs to be subdued or conquered. After all, we have been called to an inheritance into which nothing defiled can enter (Rev 21:27). That is the environment we want. Anything that has to be subjugated is "evil." Ponder what Paul says of the body. "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" NIV (1 Cor 9:27).
Here is an enemy you carry with you night and day. We are painfully aware of its presence every conscious moment. It shouts its desires and preferences in our minds at the most inopportune moments. "The evil I do not want, I do." "DO" does not mean I followed the dictates of my body. It means I have a body that is wayward and must be ruled!
The perception of this text is a precious key that unlocks Kingdom mysteries to us. No person who sees this will question the need for the grace of God. The demand for an indwelling Spirit will not be doubted by those who see this. The need for perseverance and an aggressive fight of faith makes perfect sense to those who identify with this text! They will not question the need for edification, meeting with kindred spirits, or ingesting the Word of God. Their understanding moves them to seek every advantage possible. They will seek all of the graces afforded them in God's great salvation.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in Jesus' name, I am anticipating deliverance from this vile body. Until then, I praise Your name there is grace to help in the time of need.