Paul has established that God’s Law
is holy, righteous and good, in Romans 7:7-13. Now he is acknowledging that the
Law is spiritual and goes on to describe the battle that rages within him, in
Romans 7:14-25. In this section, Paul describes the battle in personal terms.
The Law is spiritual as it was given
by God to Moses and through him to the Israel and it shows how Israel could
live a life pleasing to God. But, Paul laments that he is unspiritual and sold
as a slave to sin. Verse 14.
Paul is a spiritual giant and he
looms large in our estimate. We cannot even imagine that he could be hassled by
sin. He is above sin, we think. But, in these verses, Paul shows how he is also
an ordinary mortal assailed by sin and inner turmoil.
Paul’s dilemma is what he wants to
do, as shown by the Law, given by God and taught by parents, church, school, he
does not do. But what he hates and knows is not right, he does. It looks as if
he had no power over his own choice between the right and the wrong. Verse 15.
This conflict is something that is
common to all human beings. Satan, the ruler of this world, incites us to the
glittering things in the world, of power, money, fame and name. Our flesh,
pushes us into envy, greed, hatred, fear and avarice. Our ‘flesh’ constitutes
the tendencies we have inherited from our first parents and forefathers and
what heredity and environment in which we grew ingrained in us.
This ‘flesh’ is the root of our moral
malady or moral depravity. By nature, we seem to have a bias towards lower
desires, and as we grow, especially from a child to a young adult, we react to
the restrictions imposed by the law and rebel. Once we become a Christian, then
there ensues a moral perplexity, a conflict. It is a struggle which every
Christian will face as he tries to adhere to God’s law and fails every time.
Paul further states that he wishes to
be good, but every time he acts against it, and then he knew that the law is
right. This is so, because he does these by his ‘flesh’ which is naturally
inclined to fulfil base desires. Verse 16.
Next Paul argues that if he does what
he does not want to do, then it is not he who is doing it, but the sinful
nature that is living in him. We seem to sin against our wish, which only shows
the power of sin over us. Verse 17
This sounds like a good excuse for
sinful actions. You can always try to escape saying, ‘It is not me, but the sin
in me that did it!’ Seems like an irresponsible person trying to escape the consequences
of his actions. But Paul is only trying to show the severity of the sinful
nature that lurks in us.
These sinful tendencies of his human
nature, forces the conclusion on Paul that nothing good lives in him. Even when
he has a desire to do what is good and correct in the eyes of God, sin in him
does not let him to do so. Verse 18
Again, Paul laments that he does not
do the good he wants to do, but keeps doing the evil that he does not want to
do. Verse 19. This is typical of a ‘carnal Christian.’ Such a person, though
has been saved and accepted Christ as his Saviour, has not experienced
deliverance from the power of sin in his life. He is still struggling.
Paul is again forced to conclude that
if he does what he does not want to do, then it is no longer he who does it,
but the sin living in him that does it. Verse 20.
This acknowledgement leads Paul to
discover a law that is at work in his life. When he wants to do good, evil is
right there with him. Verse 21. In his inner being, Paul delights in the law of
God and wants to carry it out in his life. Verse 23. But there is another law
in his body that is sinful and is waging a war against his desire to do good. Both
good and evil seem to be within him side by side.
His desire to honour God’s law, Paul
calls as the ‘law of his mind.’ The other law, which is making him a prisoner
of sin, Paul calls as the ‘law of sin.’ This law of sin is at work in the
members of his body and thus seem to be deep-rooted and contrary to his law of
mind. Verse 23.
Our inner being or the spiritual
being or the inner self consisting of our mind and reason desire things of
higher order. It is able to appreciate the good in God’s command. But the law
of the flesh or the body pulls the person down to dwell on the desires of the
lower order.
Paul now cries out as any of us would
do under such circumstances. Paul calls himself a wretched man, a man without
hope. What shall I do? Where shall I go for deliverance? Who will rescue me from
myself? It is as if he has a split personality or a divided personality,
wherein two men residing inside his body, each pulling in different direction. Verse
24
Paul says, ‘In my mind, I am slave to
God’s law but in my flesh, that is my sinful nature, I am a slave to sin’s law.’
It is a moral conflict. Paul seems to be losing the battle, for the body is
dragging him to death as the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23.
The final victorious battle cry of
Paul is God, through Jesus Christ, will rescue him from this body of sin. Verse
25. Deliverance comes through Christ, someone outside us and not from something within
us. Paul could do nothing at all to save himself, but Christ did everything on
the cross, paying the price for his sins. All he had to do is to accept that
and give thanks to God.
We need a power greater than the power
of sin to help us lead the life pleasing to God. It is not possible by our own
effort. A carnal man fails, because he is trying to tackle sin on his own
strength. It will never be possible to do so.
There is limitation to human
knowledge, inadequacy to human resolution and limitation of diagnosis. Paul diagnosed
that there was something wrong within him, but he was not able to prescribe the
right medicine to cure himself. Only Christ could correct the wrong to right.
Becoming a Christian will not stamp
out sin and sinful tendencies. When temptation presents itself, we will fall if
we depend on our own strength. Being born again is probably a minute’s job. But
becoming like Christ is a lifelong process, called sanctification. Flesh
indeed is weak. Matthew 26:41.
We need to take hold of the power of
Christ that is available to us through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. We
need to look to Him for power to deal with our sinful nature, and never try to
deal with sin on our own strength. That is the golden rule for Christian life.
Are you still struggling with sin in
your life?
Are you still being a carnal
Christian?
Are you discouraged and weak and
failure in your walk with God?
May be, you are trying to fight the
battle on your own strength.
Turn your life over to Christ and let
Him do the fighting for you.
Then you can be a victorious Christian,
by the power of the risen Christ.
Hallelujah!
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