Romans 7

Though I have read Romans 7 before it is interesting how the full affect doesn’t hit you until God wants to speak to you through it (true for all scripture). I’ve often heard about how the world is turned off because they see the church as a place full of hypocrites and for the most part I would agree; as Christians we have no stronger testimony than to live what we believe but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The disconnect for me is this – if I am a follower of Christ Jesus and I am dead to sin through the death, burial, and resurrection of my Lord then why do I still struggle. Notice I didn’t say tempted, for even Christ was tempted. No I struggle as Paul talks about here in verse 14 “So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.” He is not talking about what he used to be like; instead he is talking about the present (read verse 15). The difference now that we have accepted Christ is that we recognize sin for what it is, thus proving that the law is good. Paul says that being saved from our sins does not keep us from being human nor does it void out our sinful nature. What, how can this be! Paul came to this conclusion when he wanted to do right, he inevitably would do what was wrong and like Paul I love God’s law with all my heart. What I have not understood is what Paul talks about next. Verse 23 “But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.” Read chapter seven and remember chapter six, verse fifteen “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!” Though these words came from Paul’s lips we must keep in mind this is God’s Word and this message was not simply how Paul felt or what he was going through but was a divine message from the Creator of all life sent to all of His children, for we all struggle. If you don’t struggle with sin as a child of God then either you are dead physically or you were never alive spiritually. Without understanding this principle that Paul talks about I would allow my sin to derail me and therefore break the continuity of the harvest of “good deeds” God was doing within me, which Paul talks about in verse four. In review God gave us the law so that we might know our own short-comings and therefore understand our need for a Savior but the law was twisted by the enemy of God to stir up evil desires. Once we came to Christ Jesus we were no longer judged by the law but loved by God’s grace. That meant many things, one we now are able to produce a harvest of good deeds for our Lord but it also means we are still human and the nature of sin still is within us. It also meant there would now be a war raging within us between what we know is right and what sin would have us do. Therefore, not only did we need Christ before being saved but we need Him more and more every day! If we love Christ Jesus the war will not die down but instead rage all the more but if we ever get complacent about our sin then we have turned from Him and need Him all the more.