Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (Romans 7:21-23 NAU)I can identify with Paul can’t you? “What’s wrong with me?!?” “How could I have thought that way . . . acted that way?!?” The truth is everyone of us are wretched human beings intrinsically. It is not within us as human beings to gain victory over the power of sin and the rot it brings to our lives. We need help from outside our humanity.
Paul lets out his famous, eloquent groan. He feels as if he has a decomposing body strapped to his back. That body, of course, is the old nature in all its corruption. In his wretchedness he acknowledges that he is unable to deliver himself from this offensive, repulsive bondage. He must have help from some outside source. (William MacDonald)
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:25 NAU)I struggle to walk in victory over sin in my life. In my mind I recognize and focus on the truth that I am fee from the power of sin in my life, I want to obey God. But, because of the old nature of sin in my flesh, I continue to sin. And I even amaze myself at times with my sin. I wonder if I will ever walk in consistent victory over sin. Can you relate?
But there is victory in Jesus! Though the victory will not be found in myself as a human being (the flesh), it can be found in Christ. Victory is found in Christ’s ability to conquer sin and the enablement He gives me to live victoriously over sin and spiritual discouragement. There truly is victory in Jesus!
Next: (14) Walking in Victory
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