DELIVERED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

Passage: Romans 7:14-25

Key verse: 25

NIV

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual,(A) sold(B) as a slave to sin.(C) 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.(D) 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.(E) 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.(F) 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a](G) For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.(H) 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.(I)

21 So I find this law at work:(J) Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being(K) I delight in God’s law;(L) 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war(M) against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin(N) at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?(O) 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!(P)

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law,(Q) but in my sinful nature[b] a slave to the law of sin.(R)

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Footnotes
  1. Romans 7:18 Or my flesh
  2. Romans 7:25 Or in the flesh
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, (A)sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For (B)I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with (C)the law, that it is good. 17 So now (D)it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells (E)in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 (F)For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, (G)it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For (H)I delight in the law of God, (I)in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members (J)another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from (K)this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

The law is holy, spiritual, and good. But we are not. We all have sinful natures. Much as we want to be slaves to righteousness and offer our bodies to God, we are still bound to sin. We do what we do not want to do (sin). We do what we don’t want to do (righteousness). We sometimes feel like we have split personalities. We really want to obey God’s commandments. We want to live as good Christians, but try as we may, we cannot get rid of our sinful nature.

So, what do we do? Paul calls the sinful nature “evil (that) is right there with me.” (21) This is what causes the battle inside of us. We delight in God’s law. We love Bible study and time spent in prayer, convening with our God. But there is another law at work, which wages war in us, making us a prisoner of the law of sin. So, again, what do we do?

First, we recognize our wretchedness. We admit we can’t get rid of our sin on our own. Then, we cry out for a rescuer. We admit that only Jesus Christ our Lord can rescue us from this body of sin and death. And then we thank God for him who saved us.

Prayer: Father, thank you so much for your Son. We are powerless on our own. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord for our deliverance!

One Word: We are saved through Jesus Christ