Paul answers a question, posed by himself, in Romans 7:22-23 that helps Christians of all ages to understand one of the great mysteries of Christian life. Why do we keep on sinning? Now, we are not talking about a constant lifestyle of sin. John makes it very clear in 1 John that this is impossible for a Christian. But Christians do fall into sin, and probably every day fall short in some way or another. For most sincere Christians, this is a source of grief and sometimes despair. Paul says, For 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. Here he is concluding a section of Romans 7 that dealt with the problem of indwelling sin, and I believe sincerely that he was talking about his current experience, not what it was like before he was saved. In essence, Paul was saying that there is an internal struggle going on in his life - a struggle between the Law of God written on his heart and mind, and the law of sin that was rooted within his members. What he means is this, his spirit and his mind wants to follow God, because God has written His Law on his heart. But his body parts are still prone to certain appetites, and they fight constantly to gain the upper hand. Have you not experienced this very struggle? I have. Someone once told me that the difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is not sin. The difference is the struggle. Non-Christians do not struggle against sin, but daily submit to its control and have no desire to turn away from it. Believers, on the other hand, are always involved in a battle to keep their bodies under, as Paul put it in another place, and to submit themselves to the Law of God written on their hearts. In Gods Law we delight, but the law of sin in our members is a strong adversary. How may we overcome it? Paul also answers this in the same chapter. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is only as we submit to Christs leadership by the Holy Spirit - and this must be a conscious, disciplined action we take every day - that we are enabled to defeat the flesh. We must spend time daily in the Word, in prayer, and in exercising the spiritual parts of our being. We must also starve the flesh, refuse to take along provisions for it. Only then can we get the upper hand. But we must not think that the battle is over because we have won a victory. Satan will leave for a season, but the flesh will be back in a few moments. And for that reason, it is, perhaps, our greatest enemy. So what happens when we fail? Do we sit down and have a pity party because we have given the flesh its desire? NO!! To use Pauls terminology, God forbid! May it never be! We are not to give up, give out, or give in. We are to keep up the fight. And as we do so, we are to claim that most blessed of promises found in Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. No condemnation. There is no one who can condemn, for it is Christ that justifies, and His blood cleanses us from all sin. Therefore, we ought to claim this promise, confess our sin, submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit who is convicting us of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and follow the Lord in victory. May God grant that each of you, my readers, find the strength to overcome this great enemy one moment at a time, and may He give us all the final victory soon, when the flesh will be glorified and no longer susceptible to sinful desires.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 17:43:13 +0000
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