I Hate Sin, But I'm a Sinner

I am a sinner. I hate sin, but yet I am a sinner. Do you ever get frustrated that you live a life that in sinful? I do. I often find myself wondering, "why do I give into sin if I love God"? In Romans, Paul tells us that we were slaves to sin, but we are now set free and have become slaves of God. If I am a slave of God why then do I reflect a life of someone who is a slave to sin? Why can I not be released from the sins that haunt me and encapsulate my life? It's not that I don't have faith; I have faith that God has saved me from my sins. It's not that I don't pray; I pray daily that God will lead me away from temptation and give me the power to say no to sin. It's not that I don't spend time in God's word; I’ve seen how God rebukes those living a double lifestyle of lukewarmness. Why then do I submit to sin?

I submit to sin because I am fully human. Jesus, unlike I, was fully human AND fully God. He is the only one that has ever lived a sin-less life; to think that I could even come close to living such a life would be ludicrous. I hate sin, but I also love sin. I hate sin because it is against God whom I love and keeps my life from glorifying Him. However I love sin because it declares that I am hopeless without a Savior. Without Jesus, I have no hope because I am a sinner.¹

I hate sin, yet I am a sinner. I constantly do the things I don’t want to do; this clearly proves that there is NOTHING good in me, apart from Christ. I have the desire to not sin and do what is right, but I don’t have the ability to carry it out; I end up doing the evil I hate instead of the good I desire to do. What a great joy then I have in salvation through Jesus Christ, loving me enough in spite that I am only able to do what is right in my mind, and not in my flesh.

Do you ever get frustrated with giving into sin? If you don’t, this should raise some concerns. However if you do, I would encourage you to read Romans. Sin in the believer’s life is a constant reminder that we are in desperate need of a Savior. Praise be to God that even though we are a people full of sin, He has provided a path to freedom!

¹ Romans 7:15-25.