Most assuredly the Holy Spirit convicts a believer of sin. It is He who quickens or makes a spiritually dead person alive and aware of his lost condition then saves and seals him. Yes, the eternal penalty for sin has been reconciled never to be addressed again. The power of Christ's death, burial and resurrection has positioned the believer in a right standing before God. However, this does not eliminate the old nature and tendency toward sin. Galatians 5:17 "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" A truly saved, born again believer is viewed sinless positionally, in Christ, under the blood. By his substitutionary sacrifice we are declared righteous but still have no inherent righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." The Apostle Paul spoke of his own struggle and the battle that raged within. Romans 7:18 "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. v. 19 "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." v. 20 "Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." Hebrews 12:5 " And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:" Heb 12:6 "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Heb 12:7 "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" Heb 12:8 "But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."Struggling with Sin Romans 7
13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But in order that sin might be exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good. 17In that case, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. 20And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. 23But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.b 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
The Word says that God will lead us into righteousness and that we have an unction from the Holy One. If Christians pray and read the word and stay in close communion with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will unction them of something they just said or did that was wrong. I personally hear the Lord tell me what sins to repent of when I pray--like resentment, anger, fear, pride, etc. There is a lot of false doctrine out there, like some saying that repentance is a change of mind. That is only part of it. Repentance involves godly contrition and a change of heart, as well, for it to be a solid repentance. Another false doctrine out there now is that we don't have to confess our sins because Jesus forgave us of them once and for all on the cross. Although there is truth that He did take away all of our sins on the cross, He made provision for us that if we do sin, (and He knew that after we were saved we would sin) all we have to do is sincerely confess our sins to Him and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
