ON CHRISTIANITY

DEAR REV. GRAHAM: The other day I decided to make a list of my main faults so I could begin to do something about them. But I got discouraged, because I don’t see how I can ever overcome them. How can I become a better person?

— W.Q. DEAR W.Q.: You are discovering one of life’s hardest lessons: Even when we know how we ought to live, we still lack the inner strength to do it. Even the Apostle Paul admitted, “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19).

Why is this? The reason is because within each one of us is a spiritual disease that we cannot get rid of on our own. This “disease” is what the Bible calls sin — and it’s like a deadly cancer that weakens us and keeps us from living the way we should. But it’s also a disease we cannot cure on our own. We may be able to change in some ways … we may overcome a few bad habits — but sin holds us back, and it frustrates our every effort.

There is another solution — and that solution is Jesus Christ. He came into the world to free us from the penalty and the power of sin. Sin’s penalty is death and eternal separation from God; sin’s power keeps us from living the way we should. But by His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ overcame the penalty and power of sin for us.

As you have discovered, we cannot overcome sin’s power on our own. This is why I invite you to turn to Christ and open your heart and life to His life-changing power. The Bible says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).