Q118_072726 Rom. 7:14-22 Accept The Contradiction Within YouQ118_072726 Rom. 7:14-22 Accept The Contradiction Within You
How it Happens with Colin Cook
Colin Cook reflects on Romans 7:14–22 to discuss the tension between wanting to do good and falling into sin, especially in the context of addiction. He focuses on shifting identity from being defined by addiction to being rooted in Christ while still accepting responsibility for harmful actions.
14:26•27 Jul 2026
Accepting the Contradiction Within: Faith, Identity and Addiction
Episode Overview
- Paul's words in Romans 7 describe a person who genuinely hates evil and wants to do good, yet still does what they hate.
- The law is described as spiritual while humans are carnal, which shows that rule-keeping alone cannot make someone righteous.
- Colin emphasises that saying "it is no longer I who do it" is about identity in Christ, not an excuse to avoid responsibility for sin.
- Identifying oneself as a child of God who struggles with alcohol, rather than as an alcoholic, is presented as a key step towards recovery.
- A picture of overlapping circles is used to show how, over time, a person's identity can separate from their addiction while remaining honest about the struggle.
“"We don't have to identify as an alcoholic. We can say, hello, I'm George, and I'm struggling with alcohol."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This instalment of "How it Happens with Colin Cook" turns straight to Romans 7:14–22 to wrestle with that question, especially for anyone tangled up with addiction.
Colin talks through Paul's famous words about wanting to do good but doing the opposite: "For what I will to do, that I do not practise, but what I hate, that I do." He treats this as a brutally honest picture of human nature, not a licence to dodge responsibility. You'll hear him stress that the law is "spiritual" while "I am carnal, sold under sin," which, in his view, shows why sheer willpower or rule-keeping never quite fixes us.
What really stands out is Colin's focus on identity. He unpacks Paul's line, "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me," as a call to re-root identity in Christ rather than in failure or addiction. He argues that saying "this is no longer me" doesn't mean shrugging off accountability; it means refusing to fuse your whole self with your worst behaviour.
That leads him to a gentle critique of labels like "I'm an alcoholic." Colin respects honesty about addiction but suggests a shift in language: "I'm a child of God, and I'm struggling with alcohol." He uses the picture of two circles—self and addiction—moving from completely overlapped to slowly pulling apart. For those battling alcohol, drugs, food, sex, or obsessive worry, that image offers a simple way to picture recovery as an identity shift rather than a constant self-condemnation.
If you're tired of feeling like your addiction defines you, this talk might nudge you to ask: who are you, really, beyond the struggle?
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