“I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” -Romans 7:21.
There seems to be a “catch” to almost everything in this world, and the last 12 verses of Romans 7 talk about the “catch” of a sinful nature in the life of a Christian; as our opening verse also indicates, that even as we may try to bring forth good works, there is EVIL present with us. This condition will exist all of our lives while here in the flesh, and we should be comforted and thankful that our salvation is a gift from God, and not earned by good works.
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” -Romans 7:18. Bold type added for emphasis.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” -Ephesians 2:8,9.
This section of scripture is certainly focused on dealing with our (Christians) inherent sinful nature; it's a comfort to know how much even the Apostle Paul struggled with this, but let's take a closer look at what it means in daily life today when we acknowledge that, “ when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
Certainly the sinful nature is an evil present within us at all times (which we must daily “crucify,” see Luke 9:23), but another aspect of evil present with us is our adversary the devil, who never sleeps. Truly, we do NOT wrestle against flesh and blood, but with what we cannot see;
“11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” -Ephesians 6:11.12.
And so our enemy will oppose any good work we intend at any point along the way, whether it's before, during, or after the work. To remember this I use 3 words starting with the letter P; he will try to either Prevent the good, Pervert the good, or Punish for the work afterward, if unable to stop it.
Preventing the good would come through diversions like car trouble, family obligations, power outages, or even just by rationalizing why we shouldn't do it. Any good work we intend should be thoroughly prayed through in advance, which will help us to face setbacks we encounter.
Perverting may come by yielding to temptation for making a good work toward others turn into something with our own self interest in mind. What are our real motives for the work?
“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” -Luke 17:10.
Punishing would usually come afterward, and could be considered a type of chastening that comes from our foe, but is allowed by God to fight against pride in our works. We need to remember that EVERY good gift comes from God, for there's nothing we could do or give that isn't first supplied by our heavenly Father (1 Corinthians 4:7). Paul shared a similar circumstance that he had gone through in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10;
“7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Once we are certain through prayer that God is behind the good work intended, we can rest assured that He already knows the opposition we'll face; if things happen to seemingly prevent the work, we should consider that the Lord may be allowing it to steer us into a more perfect timing that HE desires, instead.
As for the possible perverting of the work, our motives behind any work should always be checked first; but with this done, the perverting could come at any time along the way through temptation by our adversary (1 Peter 5:8), or he may even falsely accuse us as he did with Job in the first 2 chapters of that book. Revelation 12:10 identifies the devil as the “accuser of our brethren.”
And if there seems to be some type of punishing afterward, it is meant for our perfecting unto holiness (Hebrews 12:5-11) because we are God's children; which in the end provides us additional assurance that GOD has led in the good work achieved.
We can have confidence that the good works we take up have the attention of God, but strangely enough they are often proven by the opposition we encounter while performing them! Our reward in Christ is sure, and eternal, but in this type of thing we can see the difference between what a Christian treasures vs. the world and its values;
“19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” -Matthew 6:19-21. Bold type added to emphasize.
“11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” -Matthew 5:11,12.
We mustn't allow the opposition of evil to dissuade us from doing good, for the scripture says we are God's workmanship; created in Christ unto good works, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10); it is a way of sharing the mercy God has shown us with the surrounding world (2 Corinthians 1:3,4). So let us not grow weary in well doing, brethren, for the scripture says that in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint (Galatians 6:9).
“35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” -Hebrews 10:35,36.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” -1 Corinthians 2:9.
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