Romans 5:15, 19 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

This passage is pretty high-level theological logic, but it is important in understanding the human condition. There are those who don’t see how Adam’s sin would infect all his descendants, but that can be observationally verified. A pastor friend who had a kindergarten at his church once said to me, “Anyone who doesn’t believe in original sin should just watch the children with me for five minutes.” It is obvious that we have a rebellious, disobedient streak from early childhood. That’s why it’s so important that Jesus’ obedience made righteousness available to all. The righteousness has to be received by faith, but it is just as real as the sin that came through Adam. When we are in Christ by faith, for the first time “acting naturally” means “acting righteously.” It’s not that Christians never sin, or that unbelievers never do really good things, it’s that a person’s character, their nature, changes when they are in Christ. That’s why John could say that “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9) (This is one time the NIV gets the Greek tense right, where many other translations miss it.) In Christ we are righteous by nature, so we need to keep our eyes on Him and act natural!

This is an important point that I haven’t always grasped. Our flesh continues to have a sinful, self-centered bent, but when we are born again spiritually, our spirits have the righteousness of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21) The struggle between our flesh and our spirit is something Paul wrote about a great deal, in Romans 7, Galatians 5, and elsewhere. It has been a struggle for me as well, but the better I understand that it is ultimately a “done deal,” the less struggle it is to let the Holy Spirit be in control through my spirit, and let my flesh take the role God intended for it. I inhabit my flesh and I am to be a good steward of it, but I am never to let it be in control. I can’t consistently live that way in my own strength, but by God’s grace it is gloriously possible.

Father, thank You for Cathy reminding me last night that I wanted to take melatonin before going to bed. It indeed helped me get a much better night’s sleep. Help me be a good steward of this body without placing my flesh in any way ahead of Your kingdom and Your righteousness. May I be active in my obedience, not just avoiding bad stuff but doing Your will in every situation, so that the works of the devil may be destroyed and Your kingdom come, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!