ROMANS UNWRAPPED 122

"..........So then with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."  Romans 7v25. 

This is Paul's summary of a section in which he expounds his personal struggles after conversion: becoming a Christian will certainly be the end of our future troubles, but in many ways it will bring more present ones, particularly the conflict with our inner self as he explains in verses 14-25.

He begins in v14 by placing the protagonists in sharp contrast to each other: "The law is spiritual; but I am carnal".  The law is wholly from God, the very essence of God given to us, untarnished and unmixed with anything of this fallen world, the pure thoughts of God, the pure words of God. On the contrary, I am carnal, created by God, made in the image of God, but tarnished by the fall and when something pure and holy as the law comes into contact with a fallen humanity there will be conflict. He DEFINES THE PROBLEM............as a member of Adam's fallen race I am sold under sin; I inherit a fallen nature who sold me to the mastery of sin. That is what happened in Eden, and that will be with me till the end, according to verse 25; however for the Christian, not totally, as he explains here that there is a dichotomy between the mind,( the intellect,) and the body, whose fallen nature will remain.

This situation manifests itself as follows: "that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, that I do not, but what I hate, that do I". Thus Paul illustrates the inner conflict that comes for believers; formerly I didn't concern myself too much, but getting saved  I become more sensitive and so a conflict is engaged. Now says Paul, since that is true, I am consenting that the law is good, it's just that I can't live up to it. So what is the solution? How does the Christian whose conscience is tender deal with it? He does so by DISSASOCIATING HIMSELF FROM THE PROBLEM.  Listen "it is no more I that do it but sin but sin that dwelleth in me".  You see what he is doing? He is doing for himself what God has already done at Calvary; He disassociated us from sin by death(chapter 6v6) and Paul now applies it to himself, and is saying we must do the same: in the words of the Lord Christ in GETHSEMANE "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak". He goes on to express the same thing in words that cannot be bettered "For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not......."

All Christians must understand, that the flesh will never change this side of eternity; it has not been removed and it cannot be improved. "That which is born of the  flesh is flesh," said Jesus to Nicodemus, the high ranking member of the ruling San Hedrim; it will never change because it is corrupted by a fallen nature. Will we face up to the reality of ourselves that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing?

He proceeds in verses 21-23 to speak of his DISCOVERY OF THE LAW OF SIN.  "I find then a law......". We define a law in this context as an event, which, when repeated constantly, always produces the same result; like the law of gravity etc. Here he visualises two laws, the law of God and the law of sin. The law of God will always encourage good, the law of sin always promotes evil. "When I would do good, evil is present with me. I delight in the law of God after 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. Again he separates himself from an evil force trying to dominate him by stating this is not what he wants deep down. Thus the conflict rages and will rage to the end, but there is another dimension.

DELIVERANCE FROM THE POWER OF SIN  through Jesus Christ the Lord v25. Thus Paul takes us back to chapter 1 where he says "The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation". The gospel changes our future, it also changes our present. The discovery that on the road to heaven I will be troubled by sin, that my body will be a battle zone, is hard to accept, but in the next chapter he will enumerate the vast resources at our disposal.