O
wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:24
NKJV
Does
it seem to you that the apostle Paul sounds just a little frustrated in this
passage? One of the reasons I enjoy
studying the life of Paul and reading his letters is the fact that he is
experiencing much the same things we all as believers experience. In the seventh chapter of Romans, Paul’s
lament is having to live his life as a believer in a body controlled by a sin
nature. Of course, as a believer in
Christ, Paul and anyone else who has made the same decision to accept Jesus’
sacrifice for our sins is forgiven, yet the frustration of wanting to live up
to God’s standards while trapped in this worldly body is evident not only in
Paul’s letters, but to us every day.
Paul
spends the entire seventh chapter of Romans explaining and expounding on the struggle
all believers face attempting to live up to the standards God has set for
us. In terms that often resemble an
argument in a court of law, Paul not only shows us why we struggle, but
explains in no uncertain terms that although at times the struggle seems
hopeless, there is in fact hope for all who believe in Jesus Christ.
What
shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not
have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness
unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by
the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the
law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment
came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I
found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me,
and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and
just and good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But
sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good,
so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. Romans 7:7-13
NKJV
In
his own way, Paul tells us that the law shows us how high a standard God has
set before us. Unfortunately, the result
is the knowledge that we can never live up to that standard. Although the law is good, and we can use it
as a guide for our actions, because of our sin nature we also realize the
ultimate futility because sooner or later we will stumble and fall because of
the sin which lives inside of us. We
often think that if we can control our actions we somehow have achieved success
but Paul makes it clear here that our thoughts condemn us as well. No matter how hard we try, because of our sin
nature it is impossible to live a sinless life.
For we
know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
For what I am doing,
I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I
hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the
law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells
in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good
dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not
find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil
I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Romans 7:14-20 NKJV
Did
you know Paul was a sinner? As holy of a
life as he tried to live, and in spite of all the good he accomplished in his
lifetime, in the end Paul was a sinner just like all of us. Have you ever wondered just what types of sin
Paul was struggling with? I believe most
of us tend to think godly people struggle with different sins than the rest of
us, but in reality all of us share the same sin nature and are tempted by the
same sins. Have you ever had these same
thoughts go through your mind that Paul shares with us here? You want to do good, you try to do good, but
in the end you fail. Yet Paul also sheds
some light on this struggle we all share by the revelation that it is our sin
nature that is responsible for the sin we commit. We sin because it is our nature, and it is
for this reason Jesus forgives us of our sins whenever we ask Him to.
I find
then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
For I delight in the
law of God according to the inward man. 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. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this
body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with
the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25 NKJV
Do
you notice how Paul differentiates between our inward mind and our outward
flesh? Inside we desire to do right, but
outwardly the sinful body just keeps on sinning. The one thing the law will always do is show
us that we cannot save ourselves.
Knowing that, God has made a way for all to be saved from the penalty of
death by having His own Son, Jesus Christ, pay that penalty for us. Yet because He was the Son of God, he
defeated death and rose again so that we might spend eternity with Him, in a
new body devoid of this sin nature. This
then, is the hope that lives in all of us as believers.
There
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not
walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
NKJV
Have
you ever seen the reaction of accused people when they hear the words “not
guilty”? Think about that for a minute
and then tell me why there will be so much rejoicing in Heaven. Shouting, praising God, singing and dancing,
it all makes perfect sense when you consider that not only will we be saved and
forgiven, but we will also receive a new body that has no sin nature. In the twinkling of an eye, we will all be
changed. Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Keep
watching.
