It all boils down to this, doesn’t it?

When all is said and done, you and I will do want we want.

God will not force His will upon us. Another way of saying that is, God honors the free will He has given us, although that does not mean we’re free of consequences.

The late Peter Marshall once said this:

We are too Christian, really, to enjoy sinning, and too fond of sinning, really, to enjoy Christianity. Most of us know perfectly well what we ought to do; our trouble is that we do not want to do it.

Whether we ever experience a lasting joy in Christ and live our lives for Him with a spiritual “wreckless abandon” depends on what we do with our “want to.”

James addresses the outcome of what we do with our internal “want to” in a very blunt way: “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it,” James 4:17.

The Apostle Paul takes a different approach than does James. While there’s no doubt Paul would agree with James’ conclusion, Paul allows himself to wrestle in writing at some length about the human condition of one who has committed his entire life to God …

“So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life — that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me,” Romans 7:14-23.

Can you relate to Paul’s conundrum?

Are we really stuck in a joyless condition of wanting to do right but unable to do so? Of being too Christian to keep on sinning, but too fond of sin to enjoy Christ?

Is this the warped end of our free will?

Paul begins to answer that for us as he concludes chapter 7 of his letter to the Romans …

“Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin,” Romans 7:24-25.

So what has Christ done to enable our “want to” to fully yield to Him and passionately pursue life following in His steps? Follow along with Paul as he explains …

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit,” Romans 8:1-4.

So as Christians, what is our real situation?

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God,” Romans 8:5-8.

Hang on, Paul is just getting warmed up, stay with him!

“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you,” Romans 8:9-11.

Now let’s have a big drum roll as Paul draws all his thoughtful arguments to a profound conclusion and winds up in agreement with James …

“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God,” Romans 8:12-14.

Did you catch the point that if we yield our will to the power of the Holy Spirit, He enables our “want to” for Him to defeat our ” want to” for sin?

That brings us back to our beginning today — when all is said and done, you and I will do what we want.

If we want Christ, the Holy Spirit enables us to surrender to, and live for, Him.

If we don’t want Christ, that will show through in thoughts, emotions and desires, and ultimately, in our actions.

So, what do you really want? Who and what do you really want to live for?

Scotty