Are you feeling overwhelmed by sin? How honest are you about yourself? The Apostle Paul was willing to take a long, hard look at his deepest, darkest inner like. What he saw there was troubling, but true: he was a slave to sin (Rom. 7:15). In fact he realized that nothing good lived in his flesh (7:18) - a fact that caused him to cry out in wretchedness (7:24).
Paul's realistic appraisal of his spiritual life came from measuring himself against the high, holy expectations that God has for all of us, what the Book of Romans calls the "Law" (7:7). The more Paul became aware of what God wanted, the more aware he became of his inability, in his own strength, to live as God wanted. The only answer to Paul's wretched condition - and to our own - is Jesus Christ (7:25). Only Jesus makes it possible to fulfill the righteous requirements of a holy God. (8:3-4). Thus Paul's honesty led to hope.
The same is true for us. In confession we can find God's forgiveness. Admitting our weakness we can find His strength. If we deny our true condition, we deceive ourselves, and doom ourselves to lives enslaved to sin (1 John 1:8-10). How realistic are you about your shortcomings? Have you accepted God's assessment of you as a sinner, and then turned to Him for forgiveness and restoration?
