Right? Wrong?

So I have learned this rule: When I want to do good, evil is there with me. In my mind, I am happy with God's law. But I see another law working in my body, which makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and it makes me its prisoner. What a miserable man I am! Who will save me from the body that brings me death? I thank God for saving me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:21-25 (NCV)

Huh? That is what I feel like saying after I read passages in Romans sometimes. Paul has incredible truths to reveal to us but he can really mix it up. I wonder what the people in the Roman church thought the first time they read this part of his letter!

In chapter six of Romans, Paul discusses the freedom that comes from being saved - freedom from the power of sin. Chapter seven is where Paul loses most of us the first time we read it. The frustration and confusion he portrays is really a good picture of what we as Christians feel when we try to do everything right, but end up failing miserably in some way. Aggravation and discouragement set in and we feel like quitting.

Paul talks about "the law" repeatedly in chapter seven. He is so frustrated with himself because he knows the right thing to do, but ends up doing the wrong thing. He was a devout Jew before he gave his life to Christ and knew the law to the letter. Why then did he struggle with sin and doing what was right? Why do we? The problem is in keeping the law. We simply cannot. Our sinful bodies and spiritual minds are at war. What wretched people we are! We are left with no other choice than to cry out to God.

Romans 7:6 says, "In the past the law held us like prisoners, but our old selves died, and we were made free from the law. So now we serve God in a new way with the Spirit, and not in the old way with written rules." When Christ rose from the dead, we rose with Him. The rules changed! Grace abounds! Sin no longer has power over us. Right and wrong are no longer the dynamic. Our motivation changes from keeping the law to serving Christ. As we serve Him and seek His approval in everything we do, then the law is accomplished!

What are you doing to become a better Christian? Most people will dig into a spiritual "how-to" book, attend a seminar, listen to audio messages, seek counsel, etc... Do you go to church every Sunday, read your Bible every day, listen to Christian music only, stay out of the bars, and follow the speed limit? These are good things, but they are man's interpretations of doing good and keeping the law. These actions are not focused on Christ, but on trying to do the right thing according to our standard; our interpretation of the law. We fall short every time and find ourselves in the same situation as Paul did. Our minds delight in the law but our sinful bodies cause us to do things we do not want to do.

Paul thanked God for saving him "from this body that brings me death." (Romans 7:24) When we consider the sinfulness of our sin and the price Christ paid for our sin, we can only thank God, as Paul did.

Lord, we thank you for the law and how it reveals our sin. Forgive us when we do not rely on Your grace. Help us to stay focused on serving You and becoming more like You.

Janet Stutzman