“For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” (Romans 7:15)

Many say when they sin or commit unrighteous deeds, “The devil made me do it.” The Bible does state that it was the adversary in Genesis 3 that deceived Eve (1 Timothy 2:14). Jesus said the devil was a “murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him… he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). In Revelation 20:10, John called him, “…the devil that deceived them…” And in 1John 3:8, he says, “…the devil sinneth from the beginning…”

However, the Bible does not present Satan, Lucifer, or the devil, as being omnipresent (that is, present everywhere at once); but presents him located in one place at a time. Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “The devil made me do it.” However, in John 13:2, John says, “…the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him.” Not that the devil did not have the power to affect men to do evil; but the question is, how is he personally affecting seven billion people on the earth at one time, since he can only be in one place at a time? The answer is obvious, he cannot. Then what is the problem?

The answer lies in the sinful nature all men have from conception (Psalms 51:5; 58:3; Romans 3:23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3). Men are born dead in sins and trespasses. Their nature (the old man) is bent to sin (Ephesians 2:3) and is created in sin (Ephesians 4:22), “…which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.”

Even though a man has a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17), and he delights in the law of God after the inward man; Paul said in Romans 7:23, “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” And in verse 25b, “So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Therefore, as long as we are in the flesh, we have the capability to sin; that is, we can yield our members unto unrighteousness and be led of the flesh, and consequently bear the fruits of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). When you do sin, it is not the devil that made you do it, but:

(Romans 7:15-21) “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. (16) If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. (17) Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (19) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (21) I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”

The reason you sin is because sin is in your flesh and you are still in the flesh. As a child of God, the reason you sin is because you want to sin. (See Romans 6:1-22.) Sin hath no more dominion, or rulership, over you. You have been planted in His death and raised in the likeness of His resurrection. Your old man has been crucified and you have been raised to walk in newness of life. Therefore sin hath no dominion over you. You have been made free from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).

Therefore, child of God, when you sin, stop saying, “The devil made me do it” and say, “No, it is my responsibility not to sin.” You have sinned because of your lack of submission to the Spirit of God in obeying God’s Word. Sin did not make you sin; you sinned because you yielded to the desires of the flesh and did not yield to the Spirit of God. It is not because you don’t have the power not to sin; for you do have the power, for Christ dwells in you (Romans 8:8-16; Galatians 2:20). The problem is you. The problem is you are not praying, not studying God’s Word, not obeying His Word, and not enduring in His Word daily. You are not walking in the Spirit, living in the Spirit, and being led of the Spirit. But on the contrary, you are walking by sight and not by faith (or by Christ; Hebrews 11:6).

Child of God, whether you blame the devil for your sin or whether you take responsibility, there are consequences when you do sin (Galatians 6:7-8).

Where does this leave the child of God?

• To repent and to confess your sins (Jeremiah 31:18-19; 2 Chronicles 7:14; 1 John 1:9)
• To submit and to obey the Word of God (John 14:15, 21-26; 1 John 3:24; James 4:7)
• To turn and to endure (Matthew 24:13; Hebrews 6:15; Lamentations 5:21)

The truth of the matter is, when you sin, you are not deceived; but you are hiding behind the devil, which you feel relieves your responsibility.

Take responsibility of your actions. Note (Deuteronomy 30:19-20):

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (20) That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Choose you this day whom ye will serve!