Romans 7:13-25: a reflection

13Did then that which is good become death to me? May it never be! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, was producing death in me through that which is good; that through the commandment sin might become exceedingly sinful. 14For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin. 15For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do. 16But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good. 17So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. 18For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good. 19For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice. 20But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. 21I find then the law that, while I desire to do good, evil is present. 22For I delight in God’s law after the inward person, 23but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, sin’s law.

Paul describes an inner struggle that many know all too well: the war between what he wants to do and what he actually does. For the good which I desire, I don't do; but the evil which I don't desire, that I practice. He delights in God's law in his inmost self, yet finds another law at work in him, dragging him toward the very things he hates. The struggle is real and painful, and it wrings from him a cry: What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? But the cry is answered: I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! Deliverance comes not from himself but through Christ.

Notice both the honest struggle and where deliverance is found. Paul does not pretend the struggle with sin is easy or already won; he names it honestly, the war between the good he wants and the evil he does, the wretched sense of being unable to do what he longs to do. But he does not end in despair; he asks who will deliver him, and answers, God, through Jesus Christ. The deliverance he needed was not something he could achieve by his own effort; it comes through Christ. The honest facing of the struggle leads not to despair but to Christ, in whom deliverance is found. The answer to the inner struggle is not our own strength but Christ.

That is worth taking to heart, for our own struggle with sin finds its deliverance not in ourselves but through Christ. We know the struggle Paul names, the war between the good we want and the sin we do, the wretched sense of falling short of what we long to be; and we can despair, or try harder in our own strength and fail again. But Paul's cry is answered not by his own effort but by Christ: thanks be to God through Jesus Christ. Our deliverance comes through him. When you feel the wretched struggle with sin and long to be delivered, do not look to your own strength, which cannot deliver you; deliverance comes through Christ, as Paul thanked God through Jesus Christ. Look for deliverance from your struggle with sin not to your own strength but to Christ, through whom God delivers us, as Paul cried out in his wretched struggle and thanked God through Jesus Christ; for the answer to the inner war with sin is not our own effort but Christ, in whom our deliverance is found.

Lord, Paul describes an inner struggle that many know all too well: the war between what he wants to do and what he actually does. For the good which I desire, I don't do; but the evil which I don't desire, that I practice. He delights in your law in his inmost self, yet finds another law at work in him, dragging him toward the very things he hates. The struggle wrings from him a cry: what a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? But the cry is answered: I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! Deliverance comes not from himself but through Christ. Show me both the honest struggle and where deliverance is found. Paul does not pretend the struggle with sin is easy or already won; he names it honestly, the war between the good he wants and the evil he does. But he does not end in despair; he asks who will deliver him, and answers, God, through Jesus Christ. The deliverance he needed was not something he could achieve by his own effort; it comes through Christ. The honest facing of the struggle leads not to despair but to Christ. Take that to my heart, for my own struggle with sin finds its deliverance not in myself but through Christ. I know the struggle Paul names, the war between the good I want and the sin I do, the wretched sense of falling short; and I can despair, or try harder in my own strength and fail again. But Paul's cry is answered not by his own effort but by Christ. When I feel the wretched struggle with sin and long to be delivered, keep me from looking to my own strength, which cannot deliver me; help me look to Christ, Lord, through whom you deliver us, as Paul thanked God through Jesus Christ.