Uninvited Sin
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate. Romans 7:15 (ESV)
Pride always comes back to visit. I am sure I did not invite it, it was not welcome, it just came on over.
This time I was just making my own plans. Trying to decide what I wanted to do for God. I wasn’t bothering to ask God what He wants me to do or waiting for Him to show me. I was full of myself and not full of confidence in HIS plan for me.
Speaking of God, Psalm 103:10 says, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” What a gift to know that after asking God to forgive me – He had. That’s who He is. His mercies never cease. All of His promises are trustworthy but I find it most comforting to know that’s true about His promise to forgive us when we confess our sin (1 John 1:9).
In the past my habit has to been to spend some time in agony after the conviction of sin. I beat myself up about allowing myself to be caught in it again. I tell myself that others who have studied and taught the Bible don’t fall into sin like this. Maybe I ought to get out of ministry! You know what? That’s all pride. The desire to hide my humanity, my fallen nature.
God hates pride (Amos 6:8).
Even Paul, who had a very personal encounter with Jesus and was a far better servant of God than I could ever pretend to be, said this, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate.” Romans 7:15 (ESV)
In Colossians 3:15-17, Paul tells the Colossians two times in three verses to be thankful. We need to thank God that He does not leave us in our sin. He convicts us of it so that we will turn back to Him. Isaiah 59:2 clearly tells us that our sin will separate us from God. Thank God that He loves you and me so much that He does not want that separation. He convicts us to close the gap!
What a loving God, tender Shepherd, and merciful King!
Do you have one of these sins that comes to call on you uninvited? Anger, gossip, a critical spirit, over-eating, foul language, pride? Does it show up when you’re least expecting it?
God’s will for us is to grow in the likeness of the sinless Christ so He will always answer our prayers to overcome these sinful strongholds in our lives. When He shows them to us, will we confess the sin and then thank our God for loving us so much that He will not leave us in our sin?
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
Uninvited Sin can be escorted out by the One who will advocate before the Father for us. That, too, is worth thanksgiving!
Romans 7 is one of my favorite passages. It comes after Paul’s conversion and as a result we see that even a solid believer struggles with life. I need to be better at thanking God for those trials and look at them as an opportunity to grow.
Amen! Thank you Lord for your grace upon grace. Your mercies are new every morning.
Pride is sneaky… It snuck in and grabbed hold when I was learning to like myself over the past few years, but that shouldn’t surprise me. Self-deprecation and pride have the same root. I’m learning to worship and rely on God alone.
Candice, What as astute observation that self-deprecation an d pride have the same root. Pride is sneaky! Thanks for reading and commenting.
Yes, thanks to the Lord for His mercies!
Yes Paul, The human condition requires a very Great God! Those opportunities grow us and bring glory to Him!
It is so easy for our sinful nature to take over and control us because we give in. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this subject.
Yes Yvonne, May we have the strength of faith to overcome the sinful nature! Thanks for commenting.
I always think of Brittany Spears song, “Oops I Did it Again!” It’s the truth, I repeat a few sins even though I know they are sins. I long to be able to get it right someday!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Such truth here! I have also found pride sneaking into uninvited places in my mind and heart. I also realized that when we wallow in self-remorse after confessing a sin, that too is pride. Such a subtle thing! We must rely on Jesus’ sacrifice as enough. Period. Not taking it for granted. But also not acting like His sacrifice wasn’t enough. Oh Lord, keep us right in the center of Your will, Your heart and Your Word!
I think pride, over all sin, is the worst (LOL, that’s my humanizing sins as one is better then another, hopefully it’s not misunderstood.) It is the sin that filled the devil and cast him out of heaven. Pride is terrible because it has so many ways, shapes and forms.
Pride, I had before I knew the Lord.
Spiritual pride, is my struggle now.
Uproot it, Lord.
I agree with you, Jessica, I am doing a study now that differentiates between “root sins” and “fruit sins.” Pride is a root sin – it is at the root of many other sins.
Uproot it Lord, Amen!
Amen, Melissa!
I will have to go listen to the song, “Oops! Did it again,” but pray I will stop thinking those words because of my behaviors! Thanks for commenting.
You’re so right that it’s all pride, “The desire to hide my humanity, my fallen nature.” Excellent post and much needed! Thank you.
Thank you, Jessica, for your kind words.
It is interesting and encouraging to see how this post resonated with so many people. I hadn’t thought of beating myself up about a sin as being rooted in my pride and my desire to hide my humanity. This is very timely for me also as the Lord has been opening my eyes to see my pride in new ways in just the past few days. Beth, I appreciate your honesty and all the comments to this post.
Thanks Kristin, Glad it’s helpful. I am reading Nancy DeMoss Wilgermuth’s book (again) called “Brokenness, Surrender, Holiness.” I highly recommend it if pride is an issue you deal with (You seem perfect to me!). Thanks for commenting! Hope all is well with you!
I’ve been reminded a lot this week about God’s hatred for pride. I think this is something He’s trying to point out to me! 😉 Thanks for this reminder!
Emily, I am always glad to hear that the Lord is at work! Blessings.
Great post! Romans 7 is a good reminder of our basic human nature. Thank God for His mercy and grace.
A-Men great Post and great reminders of how blessed we are and to be alert to our old sinful nature and focus on Jesus….
Thanks for reading and commenting, Stephen.
Amen! Without His grace and mercy, we would be truly lost.
Oh you had to mention the uninvited sin of over-eating! Ugh. That one is not addressed in the pulpit much these days. Probably because over half the congregation is overweight, myself included! But yeah, uninvited sin is a web we most definitely can get caught in, but when we confess those sins, that web won’t permanently entangle us, Praise the Lord!
Yes, Lisa! God’s grace is a wonderful gift!
I struggle with pride! And I love your reminder that beating ourselves up after we sin is yet another form of pride – as if Christ isn’t enough and he needs us to punish ourselves. I also like your call for us to thank God for NOT leaving us in our sin. I’ve never thought about doing this. Great post – thank you!
Peggy, I think we all struggle with pride. So glad you found it helpful. Thanks for commenting.
Thank you for being honest and authentic about your struggle. It is easy to feel isolated in our temptation, but it’s encouraging to remember these life verses during these times.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Chloe. God’s Word is encouraging!