It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You understand the Christian faith. You grasp the teachings, the principles, the way you should live. But then, life happens. You find yourself falling into the same old patterns, doing the very things you know are wrong. It’s like your faith is all theory and no practice. You know you should be living differently, but when it comes down to it, you feel stuck. You might be asking yourself, “What Should I Do?”
I recently joined a squash club, thinking it would be a good way to get fit. Quickly, I realized I was out of my depth. The gear was expensive, every game left me utterly exhausted, and frankly, I wasn’t good at it. I remember playing a match and losing in record time to someone who could have been my grandmother. I was aching for days afterwards, while she barely broke a sweat. I started questioning if squash was really for me.
The problem wasn’t understanding how to play. I knew the shots, the court positioning, the strategy. But when I stepped onto the court, my body seemed to have a mind of its own. My arm would swing the wrong way, I’d be facing the wrong direction, completely failing to execute what I knew I should be doing.
Sound familiar to your faith journey? You know the theory of Christianity – love God, love others, resist temptation, live righteously. But in practice? You might find yourself repeatedly giving in to sin, feeling guilty and defeated, wondering how to bridge the gap between what you know and how you live. You might feel like you’re constantly letting God down, stuck in a cycle you can’t break.
So, what should you do when your faith feels like this? It’s a struggle that’s been around for millennia. The Apostle Paul, in the Bible, wrestled with this exact same problem. In Romans 7:18-19, he wrote:
“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
Paul understood the theory. He knew what was right. Yet, he, too, experienced the frustrating gap between knowing and doing. So, what was his answer? What should we do?
His answer, found just a few verses later, is both simple and profound:
“Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25)
It might seem obvious – “Jesus is the answer” is a common phrase in Christian circles. But how exactly does Jesus help us overcome sin? What practical steps can we take when we feel trapped in this cycle?
Understanding Your New Identity in Christ
Paul, throughout the book of Romans, explains that Jesus’ death and resurrection are not just historical events; they fundamentally change the identity of those who believe in Him. He describes it as a “swap” on the cross. Jesus took our sin, our brokenness, our messed-up identities onto Himself. He destroyed them as He died. And in exchange, He gives us His perfect, spotless identity. He exchanges our stained shirts for His pure white one, destroying the stained ones in His death and rising again in newness of life.
Paul emphasizes that Christians are now owned by Jesus and made completely righteous and pure in God’s eyes. This isn’t about how we feel or what we do; it’s about what Jesus has already accomplished. Even when you don’t feel different, even when you still sin, your fundamental identity has been transformed in Christ.
This is why Paul declares in Romans 8:1-2:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Remember who Jesus is – the infinite Lord of the universe. When He declares you are without sin in His sight because of your faith in Him, that is the ultimate reality.
This truth should fill us with thankfulness. But why does God emphasize this so repeatedly in the Bible? Because we are forgetful. We need constant reminders of what Jesus has done. It’s through repeatedly reminding ourselves of the incredible gift of grace, of our new identity in Christ, that we begin to truly grasp that sin no longer has dominion over us.
Changing Our Desires
Understanding our new identity also begins to shift our desires. When we truly grasp the magnificence of who Jesus is and what He has done, our sinful habits start to appear for what they are: shoddy, unexciting, and ultimately pathetic in comparison. The more we understand Jesus’s glory, the more our desires will align with His. Slowly, our wants will begin to change.
So, if you’re caught in that frustrating cycle of understanding the theory but failing in practice, don’t give in to despair or guilt. The answer isn’t self-punishment or a frantic attempt to earn God’s favor. The answer is to cultivate a deeper, more profound understanding of what Jesus has already done for you. The more you grasp that, the more you’ll realize that “being a sinner” is no longer your defining identity.
The Necessary Effort: The “Sweat” of Faith
However, this doesn’t mean the Christian life is passive. Just as I decided to persevere with squash, despite the initial struggles and sweat, following Jesus involves effort and commitment.
Becoming a Christian is described in the Bible in dramatic terms: being born again, raised from death to life, becoming a new creation, moving from darkness to light. These are not passive transformations; they are dynamic shifts that require ongoing engagement.
Struggling against sin is, indeed, a struggle. Did we expect to instantly master it? Keep fighting. Keep pressing in. Keep “sweating.” And throughout it all, hold fast to the truth that Jesus has already transformed you from the inside out.
It’s okay to feel like you’re still battling sin. There is always hope, always light at the end of the tunnel because of Jesus.
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
So, what should you do? Focus less on your failures and more on the finished work of Christ. Dwell on your new identity in Him. And keep striving, keep sweating, knowing that victory is already yours in Jesus.
