Thursday, February 1, 2024
For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin. Romans 7:22-25
After the Message – The Way of the Heart
What is the purpose of the Law? - What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. Romans 7:7
In studying the Sermon on the Mount these last several weeks we have heard Jesus talk about the law – meaning the Old Testament laws that the Jewish people had known. The Scribes and Pharisees taught that to be justified and redeemed they had to observe the laws – all of them and it was impossible for anyone to ever “keep” the whole law. It was too much for a person to do to make themselves “worthy enough.” But Jesus came, not to do away with the old law, but to fulfill the law. We are justified by our faith in Him, not by observing the law. The law – or observing the law – does not make us righteous in God’s eyes. God sent His Son to completely fulfill the requirements of the Law for everyone who would believe in Him. He gives us the gift of salvation and we are free from the burden of trying to do enough “good works.”
So what can we learn from the law? The law is still good for us because it exposes the sin in our lives, and it reveals the holiness of God. It tells us what sin is - What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. Romans 7:7 The law gives us guidelines for living The Jesus Way. It does not make us righteous, but it helps us walk righteously in our relationship with Him. The law shows us that we are sinners and that we will never be able to save ourselves. It reveals and exposes hidden sin and guilt in our lives and awakens us to our need for God.
What is the consequence of sin? – The consequence of sin is death
Sin deceives us: Sin, when followed, leads to death — not life. One of Satan’s greatest deceptions is to get us to think of sin as something good that we deserve, but God wants to deprive us of. When God warns us away from sin, He warns us away from something that will kill us. Sin corrupts our lives and leads us away from God. If we are believers, we are still saved even when living in sin but sin leads to the death of many things. It leads to the death of relationships, marriages, dreams and visions, careers, financial stability, and much more. The reach of sin, especially ongoing sin, is far and affects more than just the person caught in it. It can get to the point where it affects many people in their lives. We like to think we sin in a vacuum, but this is not true.
How does sin affect our actions? For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. Romans 7:14-23
When we become believers, we do not automatically lose the desire to sin. We still have our human nature (sin nature) and it will be at war with our new nature as long as we are alive. Sin causes us to act in ways that we do not want to. We want to do the right thing and we know the right thing to do, but wanting to and knowing what the right things to do are not enough. We need the power of the Holy Spirit, who is stronger and mightier than our sin nature. The Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome sin’s temptations and obey the commands of God. Only by walking in the grace we have been given, studying God’s Word, praying, and worshipping Him, will we know God’s power at work in us through His Spirit.
We have the power to know good and to see good and to want to do good, but without the power of the Holy Spirit we do not have the power to do good.
Who can help us with this problem? - What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin. Romans 7:24-25
Paul realizes his absolute sinfulness and understands that there is no hope of salvation for him apart from God and the same is true for us. The law is good, and beneficial for helping us live The Jesus Way, but it can’t save us — we need a Savior. Jesus stands ready to rescue us when we call to Him, put our faith in Him, and turn from our sin back to Him.
