You Are Not Bipolar

Romans 7:14

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Someone came to me for counsel and told me they were tired of living their life of sin. They said to me, “I’m bipolar, and whenever the other side kicks in, I want to do wrong.” I responded to them and told them they were not bipolar, but they are a Christian who is battling the flesh. I then referred them to read Romans 7, where the Apostle Paul goes through the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. I told them that even Paul had this same battle they were experiencing, and he was not bipolar.

We have allowed the medical world to give us excuses for our sins by giving sin a medical name, but you will never overcome sin until you call sin what it is: sin. When you got saved, you found yourself in a battle between doing right and the flesh trying to get you to do wrong. It is easy to think we are bipolar, but we are not because we are simply battling the flesh every day. Let me give you several thoughts about this great battle that every believer faces.

First, you must admit that you are carnal. By nature, we love to listen to our flesh, but that does not make it right. Someone said to me that going soul winning was not natural; therefore, soul winning must not be the right thing to do. I looked at that person and said, “That is the stupidest analogy I have ever heard. Of course, we don't want to go soul winning because our flesh does not want us to go.” Just because you are saved does not mean that your flesh goes away; you still have to battle the flesh until you get to Heaven and get your glorified body.

Second, I must admit that inside of me is no good thing. Paul declared in verse 18, For I know that in me (that is in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing. Doing good will never be accomplished in our own abilities because in us dwelleth no good thing. If you try to make the changes yourself, you will fail because you are relying on a corrupt source to change.

Third, God gives you the will to choose to do right. Just because no good thing dwells in us does not mean that I cannot will myself to do right. Every believer has the ability to tell their flesh, “No.” To say you cannot help yourself is to call God a liar. You can help yourself, your problem is that you won't choose to tell yourself “no.”

Fourth, you will never overcome your sin until the disgust for it becomes greater than the pleasure of it. Paul called his sin evil in verse 19. You must hate your sin, but you will not hate it while you continue to do it. This is why you must tell yourself “no” while you still like sin. You must understand that the disgust of sin only comes when you start doing right. The more you tell yourself “no,” the more right you will find yourself doing, and the more right you do will result in a disgust for your sin.

Fifth, you must make decisions with your mind and not your flesh. Stop doing things because you feel you ought to do them, and do them because you choose to do them. Paul found the victory through Christ came when he served God with His mind and not his flesh. I know to some this doesn't sound spiritual, but it is more spiritual to decide to do right with your mind than to do right because you feel like doing right. The feeling of good comes after you do right; therefore, choose to do right with you mind and you will find God will give you the power to overcome sin.