Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church
July 9, 2023
“I Want To Do Good, But I Can't!”
Rev. Steve Whitney
And join us on Wednesday for Modern Worship Collective at 6:30 p.m.
Greetings!

I admit that this week’s Bible passage, Romans 7:15-25a, can be confusing. Paul describes his experience of not being able to do the good things he wants to do. “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) He’s so disturbed by it that he cries out, “Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)

I can identify with this experience. I often want to do great things for God and others, but I find myself getting in my own way or not having the perseverance to do what I’ve planned. Fortunately, there’s good news for us. We may have to peek a bit beyond Sunday’s reading to see it clearly. God does good things through us despite our struggles

See you Sunday!
Steve

Please join us immediately following the Sunday service for our Coffee Hour
(in-person in Trinity Court or online via Zoom).
Theme for Sunday

“Don't let me get me
I'm my own worst enemy
It's bad when you annoy yourself
So irritating”
-Pink
Questions for Reflection
  • Have you found yourself planning to do good things, but somehow things get in the way? What was that like?

  • At the end of Sunday’s reading, Paul writes, “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” How could Paul give thanks when the problem’s not resolved? (It’s ok if you find that confusing.)

  • Looking at Paul's life and our own, even though we may keep doing things we hate, God does good works through us. Can you think of a time when you wanted to do something good and your plan for doing it didn’t work but God accomplished the task anyway? It may be difficult to identify those times. We’ll look at some examples on Sunday.
Romans 7:15-25a

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
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