Answering the Cry

In Romans 7:6-23 Paul recounts his frustrating Christian life of trying and failing to serve the Law of righteousness by his own self-will. Then in Romans 7:24-25 Paul cries out in heart anguish.

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God (for deliverance) through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Parenthesis added by author)

Here in 7:25 Paul says I thank God” after coming to the recognition of who he is “in Christ,” seeing and the consequential victory. Paul no doubt came to see that he was “in Christ” as the “new creature” (2Cor 5:17). You see, in Romans 6:3-4 Paul says we as believers have been placed into Christ’s death and risen with Him in newness of life… this great truth is only appropriated as we identify with and trust in these truths, knowing the blessing of Christ’s resurrected “Spirit of life” within believers. Paul expounds on this life of “the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus” in chapter eight that speaks of “the Spirit” in 14 verses.

Romans 6 is Paul’s doctrinal foundation explaining our co-death and our new life “in Christ.” It’s here that Paul answers his question of “Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom 7:24). Since believers collectively died with and “in Christ,” we’ve entered into a new state of being delivered from the power of Sin, released from the dominion of “Sin in the flesh”… all this is accomplished through Christ’s cross-work for us and as us. We experience victory only by our reliance upon the power of His “Spirit of life” in us.

Thus the way of victory in Christian living is to look away from self, looking to “Christ who is our life” (Col 3:4a). We look to Him who resolved the sin issue for us as seen Romans chapters 3-6. Study these chapters.

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, (so) that the body of sin might be destroyed (Greek, kartargeo,made of no effect”, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin (from Sin’s dominion). (Romans 6:6-7, authors adaptation)

“For the law (operating principle) of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath (already) made me FREE from the law (the operating principle) of sin and death (in my flesh). (Romans 8:2 authors’ adaptation)

What Christ did for us… as seen in Romans ch. 4 (forgiven and reconciled), ch. 5 (justified and at peace with God), and then our co-death “to Sin” and to “the law,” and co-resurrection in Christ as seen in Romans 6. These doctrinal truths are very basis for our already accomplished deliverance from Sin’s penalty and power... “in Christ.” These truths are the context of our deliverance that we must identify with, always being mindful of these truths that we might live as freemen… knowing who we are “in Christ.”

All the foregoing discussion of these great truth provides the context as the answer to of Paul’s cry of Romans 7:24 and his recognition in v25 that he can be thankful for Jesus Christ in whom he is free. This then is the context of the new status and paradigm for Christian living we see in Romans 8:1-4, where  

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 (KJV)

The phrase “through Jesus Christ our Lord” in Rom 7:25b carries the idea of mediation. Jesus does for us what the law and self-effort cannot do. “What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom 8:3)

Paul summarized verses 7:13 to 24 with the words “so then” in verse 25 – “So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” There is always an ongoing tension within the believer who struggles between serving the righteous law of God known in his spirit and souls and that of the sin-nature in his flesh. Verse 25 simply summarizes the tension caused by this duality that Paul recognize within his being. In Romans 7:24b Paul uses the words; “who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Paul then recognized he had a “body” problem, which he later calls Sin in the flesh(Rom 8:3).

But I discern in my bodily members [in the sensitive appetites and wills of ‘the flesh’] a different law (rule of action) at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs [in the sensitive appetites and wills of ‘the flesh’]. (Rom 7:23 Amp).

So when we see the word “flesh” in these chapters we are talking of the ‘Sin-nature” that is based in the flesh body of every one of us even after we are saved and so long as we live in these bodies of flesh. This Sin infection was passed to us as the offspring of Adam. Accordingly, we sometimes have what Paul calls “the mind of the flesh” that we should turn from… turning to Christ in our Spirit.”

Paul finally realizes His ‘mind’ needed to stand upon and be set upon the Romans truths. Paul writes

“… [on one hand] with the mind [knowing the truth] I myself [very emphatic] serve the law of God...” (Rom 25b)

“… but [on the other hand] with the flesh (I serve) the law of sin.” (Completing Romans 25)

The word “serve,” (above) applies to either the “law of God” or the “law of sin.” Paul presented these as active laws as being ever-present in his life. The activity of these two laws produced tension in his life. Paul already loved ‘the Word of God’, but he was still under the active influence of the “Sin in the flesh.”

Paul portrayed this duality within himself by these two terms, “the mind” and “the flesh.” The proper “mindset” is of his renewed believer “in Christ,” while the sin nature “in the flesh” still remains in his “body” as long as he lives in his human body of “flesh.” Paul’s dilemma, as is our dilemma, was that he was aware of two opposing laws, 1) “the law of the Spirit of life prompting him from within his spirit, and 2) the lie of “the law of Sin and to death prompting him from “the flesh.” One is the very nature of God, the other is the Sin-spirit of the Evil One. We all face this tension. Without knowing the Romans truths Paul reveals to us we cannot begin to understand who we really are “in Christ” and then “stand” upon those facts.

The inward pull of the law of sin is the frustrating problem for Christians. Sanctification is an ongoing process within believers, leading us to mature in mind and yieldedness to his new found knowledge of the Romans truths and the will of God that he senses in him. We will never be free of the temptation of sin as long as we live on earth. The temptation to yield to sin’s belief system and seek pleasure from this world system will always be there.

An important thing is for us to know that the temptation will always be and know that there is no sin in the temptation. We ought never to assume that there will be some point of complete victory over sin while we live in these corrupted sin-ridden human bodies on this earth. Paul writes of being ‘dead to sin,’ but this does not mean freedom from temptation or even the occasional commission of sins. Thankfully, His shed blood has paid already for ALL sin at the cross, before we even do it.

Both the “law of the mind” and “the law of sin” operate in their own sphere. Both seek to influence the soul-self of the believer every day. We resolve the issue by applying and identifying with and standing upon the truths of our liberty from both the penalty and the power of sin that Paul present in Romans 4-6. The believer must be “girded with truth” (Eph 6) and “stand” on God’s Word… by faith, depending upon the power of the “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (8:2a). This is the way of our daily walk.

It should be painfully obvious that Christians don’t have the resources in themselves sufficient to live the Christian life. These Romans chapters demonstrate that the sin-capacity dwells within the believer’s flesh, and his human will is powerless against the Sin nature – only a will yielded to Christ is able to overcome and be the victor. Our failures are good provocation for us to discover and learn of our powerlessness to live the Christian life by the ‘our self.’ This is at the core of Christian learning and living. There is nothing blameless in our self, but we are ‘holy and blameless in Christ’ (Eph 1:3-4). This all prepares us for chapter eight— where we have God’s answer to the powerlessness of the believer to live the Christian life.

The fact is that, because we are forever freely forgiven of ALL trespasses (past present and future), we cannot ever be condemned by God. Thus Paul writes of this new paradigm in the opening verse of chapter 8.

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened (made alive spiritually) together with him, Having (already) Forgiven You All Trespasses;” (Colossians 2:13)

There Is Therefore Now No Condemnation To Them Which Are In Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)