The spirit is willing, but the body is weak!
This is the state of most Christians. Deep down, they want to do what is right, but they constantly struggle with sin. This is an insidious vice that can creep up on you much faster than you can imagine and destroy you from the inside out. However, it is possible to overcome it.
Moreover, Paul—one of the greatest apostles—was once trapped in this very state, as he narrated in Romans 7:14-20 (NKJV):
“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
Even Paul realized that, as much as his mind willed to do good, his body kept succumbing to another law—sin.
However, he goes on to show us a way out. As much as man is a natural-born sinner who cannot be fully perfect on his own, he or she is perfected through Christ. Christ came to bring us to the place that all those who came before Him had failed to reach: righteousness.
As Jesus taught in His parables and ministry, He spoke of a people born again—not of this world, but of the Kingdom of God. Just like a newborn person. Beyond that, He said He came to fulfill the law, not to nullify it, by completing all the righteousness required by the law.
To be born again means the old is washed away and you are a new creation.
Now, to attain this state, God urges us to be transformed from the inside out. The real change begins within, not outside. External changes are merely the after-effect of inner cleansing.
Sadly, religion has done the opposite. It urges people to act righteous without showing them how to become righteous within. You see pastors urging you to give tithes, but you rarely hear them emphasize that God will accept your offering only if you give it delightfully—not as though it is an obligation He forced upon you.
Yet this very principle is what separates a true Christian from a mere churchgoer. It is not what they do on the outside, but the state of their heart within.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV)
God doesn’t perceive things as we do. What matters to Him is the state of your heart—not your accomplishments, sacrifices, or acts of righteousness. One way to examine where you stand is to ask yourself this question: Do I do these good works because I really personally want to, or just to please God?
Be genuine with yourself, because no one else is going to hold you accountable—apart from God.
As we read in the previous verse, God did not choose David’s better-looking brother. He chose David to be king of His kingdom because David, a mere shepherd, was pure in heart and zealous for God. He was a man after God’s own heart—not merely seeking miracles and breakthroughs.
This is the kind of state that transforms lives. That is why Jesus was able to fulfill the law completely, while all those before Him could not. From the time of Moses up to the time of Christ, not a single Israelite could keep all the commandments to their fullness—not even once.
The difference wasn’t in anything else but the state of their hearts. That is why Jesus preached:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28 NKJV)
Even a mere thought in your heart and mind is the laying of an egg of sin. If you eventually commit the act of adultery, you are only hatching the egg that was already present. However, not all evil thoughts are yours—some are intrusive thoughts and temptations from demons, which you must kill by using the Word of God. Although some inappropriate thoughts are self-initiated through our lustful and prideful desires. There is no harm if you recognize an evil thought in your mind and cast it out using Scripture. But if you dwell on it and continually meditate on it, then you are laying eggs for the sin Jesus referred to.
This is what religion and the law produce: Christians who pretend to do good on the outside but are dying of anger, lust, and pride on the inside. It feels like an obligatory burden they are bound to in order to please God. But is God truly well pleased with this?
As He said in Hosea 6:6 (NKJV):
“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
This is what God really wants. God is more concerned with a cheerful heart than with your numerous sacrifices.
On the contrary, if one fails to turn their heart from evil, they are prone to fall from grace and decline even further than their current state. Christians who appear good on the outside but are rotting on the inside are in a much worse state than the heathen!
It is much better for you to be fully on the outside (a non-believer) than to be double-sided (a Christian with a carnal mind), because now your punishment and judgment will come from both sides—the devil and God. This is hypocrisy, as you are putting one foot on both sides.
“Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
Indeed, you seek God in vain if you are double-sided. And how much worse will it be for you if you have made both the devil and God your enemies?
That is why, for you to consider yourself worthy of righteousness, the state of your heart has to be right with God. Only then will you walk with God in fullness.
As King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, put it:
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV)
The heart is what makes the difference. It is the spring of your life. For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Even so is your life—it is as good as the state of your heart.
