There is Hope

    Often times I feel like there is no hope for getting over my sin. Just as Paul says "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out." (Romans 7:18). I desire greatly to do good, what I know is right and pleasing to the Lord, but I often times mess up and find myself back at square one. I realize there is forgiveness, and I accept this, but when I look at the monster that is my sin I feel defeated, for my sin is great. Yet grace abounds.
    There is one major flaw in this perspective: I can't conquer my sin. I, alone, can never free myself from sin. I am a fool to ever think that I can conquer sin on my own. For if I could there would have been no reason for the cross. I'd wager to say it is even prideful to think that I can defeat sin. Often times when I am confronted with sin I try to fight the battle on my own, but this is wrong, and I will always lose.
    There is hope however. God promised to deliver the people of Israel from their uncleanliness by placing in them His Spirit.

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." - Ezekiel 36:25-27

Jesus did not leave us here to fend for ourselves when he ascended, but he also left us with the Spirit. Through the Spirit and what Christ did on the cross we have all we need for the battles we face. Peter iterates this very thing in his second letter:

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - 2 Peter 1:3-4

    I cannot rely on myself to resist sin. Rather I must surrender myself to God, His Spirit, and Christ. If I am consumed by the Spirit, I will not be able to help but to walk in God's statutes. Gordon Dalbey says it well in his book Healing the Masculine Soul,

"Under the new covenant initiated by Jesus, another avenue has been opened for lasting saving power. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, the powers separating us from God—namely, our self-centered pride that leads us to sin—have been overcome. We no longer live by threat of the Law, but by the promise of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to draw close to God and overcome our desires of the flesh."

    The battle against our sinful desires is not a hopeless battle. As much as the enemy would like me to think otherwise, there is hope. I myself cannot win the battle, but the battle was won on the cross. It is there that Christ died, to cleanse and deliver us from our sin, to deliver us from death to life, eternal life! We also have the Holy Spirit living inside of us that will help us to walk according to God's statutes. It empowers us! All we have to do is surrender. Surrender our pride and stop trying to fight the battle we can't win alone. The battle that is already won! There is hope! God made us as masterpieces and he wants to restore us to the masterpieces he intended us to be.