When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. Now if I am doing what I don’t want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp. (Romans 7:19-20, TLB)
Have you ever decided to get your life in order and do what is right before God, only to find out that you couldn’t get through a day without messing up? You agree with the Bible that swearing, anger, and pride are wrong, and you decide you are going to stop doing those things. You don’t even make it to work! While you are driving, someone cuts you off and you start yelling obscenities at them. You didn’t mean to do that. You really wanted to do what is right! Those words just flew out of your mouth before you knew it! What happened? You were swearing, angry, and your pride took over because you felt like your time was more important than the other person’s. You failed again. It isn’t fair that the Bible tells you to do something and after you decide to do it you find out that you just can’t!
The Romans verses above give us a clear answer as to why we can’t do what is right even when we decide to. Sin still has us in its evil grasp. That sounds simple enough. We just need to get rid of the sin by confessing and we’ll be ok, right? There is still another step that needs to take place after we are cleaned up. We need the power to walk the way God wants us to.
2 Corinthians 3:5-6, CEV tells us: Not that we are in any way confident of doing anything by our own resources—our ability comes from God. It is he who makes us competent administrators of the new agreement, concerned not with the letter but in the Spirit. The letter of the Law leads to the death of the soul; the Spirit alone can give it life.
It is only through God’s Spirit that we can walk uprightly and do what is right. It is through His resources that we will succeed. Left on our own we will try, try, try, only to find we will fail, fail, fail. Take a moment to talk to God in prayer and ask Him for the power, through His Holy Spirit, to do the things He commands in the Bible. Then go out and walk, by faith, in His strength and not your own.