For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which
dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is
present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I
practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am
no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is
present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the
inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand, I myself, with my mind, am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh, the law of sin.
Romans 7:14-25
Many Christians believe that we alone must choose to lean towards God in order to determine our spiritual fate. They may say, "Repeat this prayer with me, and you will be saved." However, some people may wonder why they choose not to lean towards God. R.C. Sproul, channeling the thoughts of Jonathan Edwards, explained that humans will choose according to their greatest inclination. Humanity in its fallen and depraved condition cannot choose God unless the Holy Spirit changes the soul's inclination. This sentiment is shared in the writings of Paul and by many prominent men of faith, including Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Spurgeon, and more. When we come to Christ, it is because we truly want to, but it is the hand of God that intentionally changes our hearts from stone to flesh and draws us towards Him.
That is Grace alone.
Comments