Romans 7:24-25
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin..
The title of this devotion is based on a sermon by the great theologian, Charles H. Spurgeon, where he expounds the teachings of Paul in Paul's Letter to the Romans.
I believe that in Romans 7, Paul described his Christian life, the one he lived after his personal encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. Here we realize that even devout and faithful saints, such as Paul, suffer and struggle with sin, just like every other believer. In fact, it would seem that the closer one gets to God, the more the believer is annoyed by his sinfulness and the more frequent and the greater is the temptation that the devil presents before him.
Paul contrasts the internal battle of two natures – the carnal and the spiritual. It is a constant battle, which lasts a lifetime (Romans 7:21-23). The carnal self will keep fighting against the new spiritual self for mind and body control. The good news is, so long as we persevere in faith and obedience, we will triumph in the end and we only lose the battle when we do not seek the help of the Holy Spirit to overcome our carnal self. As Paul would also point out in another letter, No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
And in this way we learn that believers will continue to confront and struggle against temptation. We also realize that the people we read in the Bible are in fact not different from ourselves when it comes to the struggle against sin. The truth is that we even have two advantages over what we read in the Old Testament. We have God's word that we find in the Bible to encourage us and teach us how to overcome temptation. And we have the Holy Spirit, who guides us and gives us the power to bear and eventually overcome all trials.
This devotion reminds us that we are in a spiritual warfare. And even though we know that we shall be victorious, because God is on our side, we still do not know the cost of weariness and collateral damage that we will suffer as we go through the war. But our confidence remains, and we have encouraged to continue to fight the temptation, concern and despair that threaten us when faced with challenges. For as we learn in Romans 8:31, if God is with us, who can think to stand against us?
Persevere in the battle against temptation and sin. Depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength. And we are sure to overcome and come out victorious, all for God’s glory. Reflection Questions: 1. What trials are you facing today? What would you want to ask God to do for you so that you may overcome these trials? 2. What factors weaken your desire to resist or avoid temptation? Why not ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength to help you resist or overcome them?
