Three times in Romans chapter seven the Apostle tells us sin dwells in us. The emphasis today is on the outward results of sin, not the inward reality. It is only that person who understands indwelling sin who is useful to and fruitful for God.
Our very nature is opposed to God. Every act of sin shows the old nature being antagonistic toward God. No area of our life is secured without a struggle. When we would do good, evil is always there to fight against it. There is a continual civil war going on within each of us, and it will remain so “till death do us part.” This is why we are to, “put no confidence in the flesh.” We are to have a habitual distrust in ourselves.
In our modern day we no longer blame sinfulness, but replace it with “sickness.” We want external reformation, without the Spirit’s internal regeneration. Outward cosmetic surgery will not change the inward condition of the heart. The Puritan, John Owen, dreamed for “a commonwealth of godliness,” but saw it all collapse. The political aspiration he had for his beloved nation burst like soap bubbles. He saw clearly, in the latter part of his life, that the reality of it all was indwelling sin.
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