When you think of Paul, it’s easy to believe he had this Christianity thing down. Perhaps not so much early on when he was trying to arrest and kill Christians. I’m talking about after he came face to face with the living Jesus and became perhaps the greatest voice for Jesus the world has ever known.

So, did Paul have this Christianity thing down? We know a lot about Paul. If we were to put together a top ten list of the greatest Christians to have ever lived, Paul would probably be near the top of the list. The book of Acts tells of many of Paul’s deeds. However, it’s through his letters that we truly get insight into the heart of Paul. In his letter to the Romans, we see that this man who did so much to shape the Christian church and the Christian life was quick to admit that he wasn’t perfect. Not at all. For instance, here are his own words:

Romans 7:15-20 (ESV) – I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Now, it would be easy for the Christian to look at these words and take comfort in them. After all, if Paul had all of this sin in his life, then he really wasn’t too different from us, right?

It would be easy for us to assign our worst sin to Paul and convince ourselves that Paul struggled with that exact same sin as us. We could convince ourselves that our sin can’t be that bad because Paul struggled with it, as well.

Now, we don’t know what sins Paul struggled with. We don’t even know if Paul struggled with “sin” or if he struggled with “SIN” (because we have a tendency to believe that some sins are bad and some sins are really bad). What we do know is this… we can’t take comfort in knowing that Paul sinned and therefore believe that it must be OK that we do to. We can’t say that “if Paul sinned, then I’m in really good company.” The problem with such thinking is that when we measure ourselves against another person, it’s easy to believe that we’re not so bad – especially if we see that person as “pretty good.”

Instead, we must measure ourselves against the only person we should weigh ourselves against – Jesus. When we do that, our shortcomings become readily apparent. When we do that, we don’t take hope in Paul’s confession. Instead, we despair along with him as we realize and confess that we are wicked and in desperate need of the change that only Jesus can give.

However, Paul does give us something in which we can place our hope:

Romans 7:24-25 (ESV) – Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

And that one statement by Paul is a pretty good summary of his letter to the Romans. We are indeed a wretched people, but we have hope in Jesus Christ our Lord.