“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:22-25)
We all struggle with sin in our lives. And, at times, we all lose the fight, whether we are willing to admit it or not. Many, these days, seem to just accept their sin as normal and good, as we can see by observing our neighbors all around us, and by hearing or reading their diatribes and prideful boasts that daily inundate the various media. Others just think they can counter balance sin out by doing good deeds or by obeying the Law, God’s Law or human ethical and moral laws as laid down by governments, society, culture, family, and self.
We who have faith in Jesus know the struggle with sin. We, however, unlike the world, desire to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, to be conformed to His image. We wish we could be free of the nagging temptations that stream at us constantly from the world through the media. The Apostle Paul felt the same way. He detailed for us his own struggle with sin. Paul knew that he was free from sin, death, and the law as he was in Christ Jesus, yet he still felt the allure of sin and the desires of the flesh. He knew that in his own strength he could not overcome them. He knew that he needed help for he was still living as a human being in the world. He desired not succumb to sin nor embrace it.
The only solution for him and for us as well, is to rely totally on the Lord Jesus Christ Who had declared him to be righteous and Who, by His Holy Spirit was able to help him to walk in obedience. He has made us is righteous and holy, not by our works or our willful desires, not by our self-reliance either, but by His death on the cross on our behalf.