“ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.¹⁹ For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. ²⁰ Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. ²¹ I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” Romans 7:18-21.

We all have friends and/or loved ones who we want to “do right” but they just won’t.  We beg, plead, get mad, get glad and to no avail.  To their credit, they try for a day or so but fail…that is usually the point where we consider strangulation (insert sarcasm).  We fuss and they fail.    The vicious cycle continues to roll on.  The problem is no one can do right until they get right with the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of one’s nagging and the other’s self efforts.  If we could “do right” and by doing right I mean overcome our sin nature, then Jesus would not have had to pay the terrible price He paid on Calvary’s Cross to pay our sin debt and give us dominion over sin.  Let me be clear, an unbeliever cannot do right…they cannot gain victory over their sin nature because they are relying on their self efforts.  They may say no to sin and yes to their self efforts and self will but their sin nature is stronger than their self will.  Again, if this was not so there would have been no reason for Jesus to go to the Cross to save us from sin.

This why we pray for the Lord’s mercy on them instead of strangle them.  Knowing the Lord wants them to come to the saving knowledge of Him so much more than we can imagine, we trust Him and His ways and do our best to stay out of His way.  God is the only one Who can change their heart.  It is not until they are born again that they are able to have dominion over their sin nature.

What about the born again Believers who are under bondage?  Those who sincerely love God but cannot over come their sin nature.  Their sin nature has dominion over them as well.  Why can’t they overcome their sin nature?  A born again Believer should have dominion over their sin nature, right?  Sadly, there are many born again Believer’s who are fighting their sin nature the same way they did before they were saved ….they are relying on their self will.

Upon our Salvation our faith is placed in Jesus Christ for what He accomplished on Calvary’s Cross – pay our sin debt and give us dominion over our sin nature.  The Holy Spirit dethrones our sin nature and gives us authority over it…this is a glorious moment.  Immediately, religion steps in and points us to methods of man for victory over our sin nature which the Lord has already delivered us from, and our faith is placed in our efforts, once again for victory.  The Saint loves God and their faith is in Jesus for their Salvation but in another bridegroom (methods of man) for sanctification. This is spiritual adultery.  When our faith is in anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ for our deliverance, we will have the same results…failure.  The vicious cycle continues.  Our sin nature is no longer isolated when our faith is in our self efforts.

“ If My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14.

There are far too many Christians who need to humble themselves and realize there are brothers and sisters who truly love the Lord that are under bondage.  They hate their sin as much as they hate others.  I’m not talking about the ones who are bellied up to the bar claiming to be a Christian with a cocktail in their hand – no, they need to get saved.  I’m talking about the Christian’s who don’t know why their sin nature reigns in their heart and don’t know how to live for God.  We, those who are called by God’s Name, need to turn from our self righteousness and get on our face and pray for His children who are under bondage.  We need to pray for their understanding and deliverance.  Again, I’m not talking about those who are comfortable in their sin.  I’m talking about those who are seeking deliverance of their sin and are relying on their self efforts.

We must pray for the saved and unsaved.  We must pray for God’s mercy on the unsaved in hopes they will come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We must pray for God’s deliverance of those who are in bondage.  We also must pray for discernment to understand the difference between the two.  Pray for the lost but understand, they cannot over come their sin nature.  Pray for the saved who are in bondage but understand as well, they cannot overcome their sin nature either BUT they CAN say yes to Jesus and HE has already overcome sin…HE will deliver them from the dominion of their sin nature when their faith is in Him and not their efforts.  The unsaved do not have the ability to say yes to God, they are spiritually dead – they have no hope until they are saved by the Blood of Jesus.  Pray for the lost. – Donna Clark Warren