The War is Victory

Statements like, “I just can’t help it,” or “No matter how much I try, I just can’t seem to change,” are common to all of us. Believe it or not, these statements are half the solution. It is true, we can’t change. We can’t help it sometimes. We are filled with sin. If you deny this, you deny the truth.

Saint Paul understood the problem sin, but he didn’t leave it alone. Most of us, after failing to change so many times, give up. Saint Paul never gave up. He kept fighting the war that was raging in his heart. We all have the same war, so don’t fret.

Brethren, we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 7.14-8.2

Understanding the war is the first step to victory. Too many people stop at accepting their sin. Since they cannot stop, they stop trying. Statements move from, “I can’t change,” to “Since I can’t change, I’m just going to enjoy it.” This is not victory.

It might be easier, although I would suggest it is not easier, to stop trying. I believe the war is victory. What God wants from us is to acknowledge sin is what we want to stop in the first place. This is the danger of our contemporary social struggles.

Instead of accepting that certain behaviors are sinful, we choose to redefine sin so that we don’t have to fight against temptation. Think of this in context of today’s reading. “Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is bad, so I will change the law.” We eliminate the conflict. This is not victory.

You might be intrenched in a particular sin you have been fighting against. I want you to be encouraged today. If Saint Paul can admit the war within his heart, so can you. Instead of giving up, admit that what you are doing is wrong. Admit that you are having a hard time stopping. Admit that you need God. Do all that, but NEVER admit that your sin is ok.

The war is victory. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall flat on your face in sin. Get back up and keep fighting. God knows your heart. God knows you are struggling. God will not condemn you for failing. He might condemn you for not trying, but He will never condemn you for failing.