For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)
Anyone is capable of making a big number on a single hole, even the pros.
At the 2011 Texas Valero Open, Kevin Na made a 16 on the par-4 9th hole. That’s the worst score on a par-4 in PGA Tour history. Five-time Masters Champion Tiger Woods made a 10 on the par-3 12th during the final round of the 2020 Masters by hitting three balls in the water.
And greats like Annika Sorenstam and my penultimate hero, Jack Nicklaus, made a big number or two in their playing careers, I’m sure—even if not many!
Any golfer – pro or otherwise – is capable of making a mess of a hole. The same truth applies in life; any human is capable of doing anything. I don’t mean this in the positive such as, “Anyone is capable of reaching their dreams, goals, etc.” What I mean is anyone is capable of doing anything contrary to the things of God; anyone is capable of grievous sin.
As followers of Christ, we know we have been saved from our sin and the penalty of our sin by God and his abundant grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). We also know that we battle sin daily because “by nature [we are] children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3) and until our glorification (Titus 2:3), we will battle sin every moment of every day (1 Peter 2:11; Ephesians 2:1).
Yet, we still will say, “I’d never do that!” When we have this attitude, “that” sin is the one we will do, the sin we are very capable of committing.
In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul confesses that he does the very thing he hates: evil. Evil is failure to bring God glory in thoughts, actions, and deeds. Paul desired to do what was right in the eyes of God but struggled like every other flesh-driven man (Romans 7:17-18). The Apostle Paul penned the majority of the New Testament and was the greatest preacher other than Jesus himself to have ever lived. Yet, he testified he was the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
Certainly, this statement acknowledges Paul’s depravity but this evil is also the reason why Jesus came into this world as fully God and fully man—to save sinners. If Paul battled his flesh, we most definitely will. Paul’s transparency should alarm us and cause us to reconsider statements like, “I’d never do that!”
May God reveal to us in this very moment that, apart from the Lord Jesus, any of us are capable of grave, heinous sin. May it never be! May God’s precious Word strengthen us for when temptation comes, and may we be quick to flee when our flesh is tempted. It is clear. We are all capable of evil, but God is faithful (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Prayer- Father, I confess my flesh is weak, but your grace is sufficient to lead me to flee evil and pursue righteousness.