Romans 7:18-20 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.  20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Paul speaks of the wrong that he does being the fault of sin that lives in him. This is not an attempt to shift the blame away from himself. Rather, it is an admission of guilt. He knows that his sinful nature leads him to sin, which means the good that the “new man” wants to do is left undone.

Those who follow Jesus have the same conflict in their lives. You know what God’s law calls you to be. In gratitude for the deliverance that Jesus won for you, your desire is to live as God’s servant. But you find yourself in the same predicament Paul was in: I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.

That is such a good description of my life. Yours too? Some people understand this to mean the devil is always tempting us to sin. While that is true, that is not the main thrust of this passage. Rather than referring to an outside influence, Paul is speaking here of the evil that lives in him as a result of original sin. He knew that he was by nature an enemy of God, and this inner corruption made him susceptible to the temptations of the devil and the world.

Satan is surely at work. You know that to be true. If you recognize it, consciously, it will help you to deal with temptations as they come. Cheryl was talking to one of our daughters, about five years old at the time, who had done something wrong. Cheryl  mentioned that the devil is always trying to lead us to do things that make Jesus sad. She knew she was getting through when our daughter said, “I wish I could just zip up the Devil’s mouth!” If only it were that easy. We tend to think that it is the devil’s fault when we sin. The words “THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT” were once a popular saying in our society. But we can no more shift the blame away from ourselves than Paul did. We bear the responsibility for our actions. We are accountable for what we do.

Walter Matthau once presented an Academy Award for best editing. In doing so, he quipped, “I really need a life editor–one to edit out all of my mistakes!” In effect, that is what Christ has done for you. With faith in the death of Christ as the payment for your sins, in God’s sight you and I are perfect, pure and sinless.