"The Devil Made Me Do It!"

03/22/2004

How many times have I heard that line and laughed?
How many times have I heard that line and not realized how true it was?

It seemed like a good excuse! A funny way to get out of something!
"Can't blame me, I didn't do it, the Devil made me do it!"

But as time goes on, and as I learn more and read more and delve even deeper into God's Word it is really not so funny, and it is really very true!

In Romans 7:17
But I can't help myself, because it is sin
inside me that makes me do these evil things.

Doesn't that sound exactly like, The Devil Made Me Do It? It does to me! And what does that mean? Is the Devil in control of us, or is God in control? Well, that depends. Is the "Spirit of God living in you," or are you "controlled by your sinful nature?"

Romans 8:9
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature.
You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the
Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that
those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living
in them are not Christians at all.)

Paul is obviously talking to Christians here, because they are the ones who have the Spirit of God living in them. And Paul is also relating to all of us as he shares his struggles in Romans 7 and 8 about these two natures being opposed to one another. He tells how he wants to do right, but he still does wrong in the Scripture that follows. I think it is one of the most interesting pieces of Scripture in the Bible. Just my opinion!

I know I am rotten through and through so far
as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter
which way I turn, I can't make myself do right.
I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't.
And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.
But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not
really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
Romans 7:18-20

It reminds me of an old saying I saw on a placard as a child:

"I know you believe you understand what you think I said,
but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I really meant."

Yes, being the strange child that I was, I memorized this because it fascinated me so. I also memorized:

"Farrell's features fabulous food and fantastic fountain
fantasies for frolicking, fun-filled, festive families."

Farrell's was an ice cream parlor close to our home and if you could stand up on your chair and recite this, you could win some free ice cream. I learned how to recite it...but I never learned how to get over my shyness and stand on my chair and say it. So, I never got the free ice cream! But that's another story...

Back to where we were, with Paul and his struggles with sin in Romans 7:18-20.

I guess I find this Scripture so interesting for two reasons. Because it seems to go round and round, back and forth, and at first you wonder exactly what is Paul saying? Then when you realize what he is saying, it is something each one of us can relate to in so many ways.

Paul wants to do good, he really does! He tries and he tries, but to no avail. Every time he wants to do good, he does just the opposite. He ends up doing the very thing he didn't want to do. And He hates it! He knows that he is doing wrong, but he does it anyway. He can't help himself. He just doesn't know what is wrong with him. Why does he keep on "failing?"

Then he realizes, "The Devil Made Him Do It."
Is this a cop-out?
Can he really blame the devil?
Shouldn't he be stronger than that?
Isn't he a godly man?

Well, yes, he is a godly man! That is exactly the problem and the solution! It is the very law of God in him that points out where his sin is. And when it does, the very one who does the tempting to break God's law, does the condemning if we should follow through with it...the Devil!

But Romans 8:1-2 says:

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong
to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has
freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin
that leads to death."

God knows our minds, our thoughts and sees our every action. God is not surprised by any of it! I think sometimes we are more surprised by ourselves and our own sinful nature than He ever is. He already knows what we're going to do before we even do it. We are in the dark so much of the time and when it is over, we wonder how we got ourselves into such a mess?

Watching "Bruce Almighty" last night on video, I was struck at a particular point in the movie when "God," played by Morgan Freeman is walking with "Bruce," his arm around his shoulder, explaining to him that he knows everything about him. As I watched that scene, it made me wonder when I am face to face with God and everything I have ever done and every thought I have ever had is there between the two of us, what will it be like?

Then I realized, I can know what that is going to be like already if I will only get honest enough with God today, right now, right here! I don't have to wait until I die to get next to God and discuss all these things...get them all cleared up. I can do that today!! I can be that honest with God because He already knows everything about me anyway. Who do I think I am hiding it from? Only myself. Certainly not God!!

If I clear the books today--if I get bold enough and courageous enough to "stand on my chair" today and say, "God, I have something to tell you! I have everything to tell you!" We can get this business taken care of right here, right now, and when I meet God face to face there will be no fear of condemnation because I "belong to Christ Jesus!" I have been freed "from the power of sin that leads to death."

I'm sure Paul did that! I think that's what these verses are all about. He is sick to death of the sin in his life. Whether it is simply in his thoughts, or even moves into his actions--he wants the freedom that Christ Jesus has offered to all of us, and by sharing his struggles with us, we know that we are not alone in ours.

It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do
what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love
God's law with all my heart. But there is another law
at work within me that is at war with my mind. This
law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that
is still within me. Oh, miserable person I am!
Romans 7:21-24

When we become a Christian, we don't suddenly stop sinning, but what happens is we become aware of God's law within us now, and we aren't comfortable with the sinning any more. Little by little, as time goes on, we become more aware of the sins in our life and we just don't want to do them anymore. It is not because we think we shouldn't, it is because we simply don't want to. They aren't quite as much "fun" as they used to be. We sure wish we could just quit.

But quitting usually takes time. Sometimes, there is a miraculous healing. Sometimes we can put down that last cigarette and never pick up another one. Sometimes we can tell that last lie, and be done with all lies. Sometimes we can just stop, because God makes us able, but most times, it simply takes time to form new "godly" habits whether that be in our actions or in our minds. It's a process God takes us through to teach us His ways.

I wonder though, with these verses, if Paul is struggling with his actions at this point in his walk with God, or simply with his mind? He says there is "another law at work within me that is at war with my mind." (Rom. 7:23) Sometimes, it is simply that battle in our own minds that can condemn us, faster than anything we might do or say.

How many of us are fighting that battle? All of us, if we will be honest with ourselves! We might be able to stop smoking, but that does not stop us from thinking about wanting to smoke. We might be able to keep from telling lies, but that does not stop us from thinking about the lies we'd like to tell. The mind...it will go places we would rather not. Is that sin? I don't believe so! I believe the sin comes with step two...acting on those temptations!

God destroyed sin's control over us by
giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
He did this so that the requirement of the
law would be fully accomplished for us
who no longer follow our sinful nature
but instead follow the Spirit.
Romans 8:3-4

We have a sinful nature in us, it wants to do wrong. That sinful nature wants to think badly of people, it wants to condemn them, it wants to judge them and place us above them. It is full of pride and lust and the "it's all about me" syndrome! Admit it, if we could just always have things our way and if everyone would just dress the way we would like them to and enjoy the exact same things we enjoy, then the world would be a much better place to live in!! As in the line from My Fair Lady, "Why can't a woman be more like a man?"

That's the sinful nature in us, tempting us, but instead we are called to follow the Spirit in us! God's Spirit! The Holy Spirit!

If the sinful nature controls your mind, there
is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your
mind, there is life and peace. For the sinful nature
is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws,
and it never will. That is why those who are still
under the control of their sinful nature can never
please God.
Romans 8:6-8

That is why we don't want to walk, as Bruce did, with God's arm around our shoulder as He is telling us He knows everything about us. We are not happy with "everything about us." Our thoughts wander into places we don't want anyone to know about! Not even God, but God already knows. All that God asks is what do we do with those thoughts when they come? Do we entertain them? Follow through on them? Or do we hand them right over to the only power that can control them, the Holy Spirit?

The first thought is not the sin, the follow-through becomes the sin! Paul knew that! He had the thoughts, perhaps sometimes he even followed through with them, as we all do, but deep down in his heart, he didn't want to. That's the part of the heart that God knows, the part that no one else knows. He knows our deepest feelings, our truest feelings, even when we don't.

We get caught up in the surface of our lives. We get "wrapped around the axle" of our sinful thoughts and the horrible person we are because of them, not realizing that we truly have been freed from the "power of sin that leads to death" through Jesus Christ.

So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no
obligation whatever to do what your sinful
nature urges you to do. For if you keep on
following it, you will perish. But if through
the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it
and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led
by the Spirit of God are children of God.
Romans 8:12-13

When we become Christians, our minds do not suddenly change. All our old habits and ways of doing things and our ways of thinking about things are still a part of us. It is a process of walking with God each day that changes those things about us that are no longer pleasing to us or to God. That is why the church is full of sinners, because we are there! We have been sinners in the past and we will be in the future. The only difference is, we are forgiven and we are on the "road to complete recovery" when we believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and allow Him to transform our hearts and our minds by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. He alone is the One making us Holy.

Why do we need a Sabbath day? Look back in Exodus 31:13.

"Tell the people of Israel to keep my Sabbath day,
for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between
me and you forever. It helps you to remember that
I am the Lord, who makes you holy."

If we run about and hurry here and there, never taking time to rest and build our relationship with the Lord, then we start to think that we are doing this "holy" walk with God on our own. We think it is our responsibility to change, to become a better person, to stop the thoughts that our minds continue to plague us with.

But, if we will stop and rest, we will find it is God who is making us holy, not us! We will find that He is the One who will transform us, mold us, change us, and help us. We do not need to struggle so, we just need to rest in Him and discover the power He has placed in us when we invite His Holy Spirit to live in us.

"-if the Holy Spirit controls your mind,
there is life and peace." Romans 8:6b

There is no peace in a mind that is hostile to God, and our sinful nature "is always hostile to God." (Romans 8:7) We can battle that our whole lives, or we can allow God to do it for us! When we allow God to do it, we can live in the peace that Jesus left us with.

So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves.
You should behave instead like God's very own
children, adopted into the family-calling him
"Father, dear "Father." For his Holy Spirit speaks to us
deep in our hearts and tell us that we are God's children.
Romans 8:15-16

We should not be cowering and hiding our deepest thoughts from God. We should bring them to Him immediately, as soon as they "appear" on the horizon of our minds and "deliver" them to the foot of His Throne! Even though it seems like we might depositing our garbage in the Throne Room of God, it is okay! He is looking for it! He wants to clean it up! He likes us to bring Him the worst parts of who we are because He alone can transform them into something beautiful. We cannot! We will only turn them into more garbage and create a whole garbage landfill when we even try!

Instead of listening to the thoughts that the Devil puts in our minds, we should be listening to the Holy Spirit and what he "speaks to us deep in our hearts." That is the truth about who we are and about what we desire to be! The rest is just garbage!! Dump it quickly before it starts to stink!

We all struggle like Paul struggled. We are not alone! It is only a lie from the Enemy that says we are alone.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead,
lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead,
he will give life to your mortal body by this same
Spirit living within you.
Romans 8:11

Jesus lives in us! As He controls us, our old sinful nature will lose its control! Allowing His transforming process to work wonders in our hearts and minds will lead to the life of peace that He desires for all of us on this earth! It will have us saying:

"Jesus Made Me Do It!"

And we will know a joy like we have never experienced before!!

Living to serve Him,

Diane