War!
“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.” —Romans 7:21-23
As Christians we are at war! We are at war with this fallen world, the powers of darkness with Satan at the helm, and with our flesh, sometimes termed our sinful natures. We are fallen creatures that have sin within us, making us corrupt and evil at our core. We know in our heart of hearts that we are not good, especially when we are compared to God’s righteous and holy standard. Most Christians, however, don’t know they are at war. They have been lulled to sleep by the carbon monoxide of culture, unwilling and unable to know the battle that wages around them.
We are at war, but the battle is not fought in foreign lands, nor on our homeland, in the air, or by the sea. The battleground for our fight is within us—our own flesh. Paul understood this all too well as our passage for today indicates. Even though he had the Spirit of God within him, he too felt the desire to sin. He wanted to do what was good, but every time he got ready to do that which was good, he felt evil breathing down his neck. He felt the joy of God whenever He obeyed the Spirit’s leading and the Scripture’s teaching, but unbelief and his flesh continually reminded him that sin was close at hand. As God said to Cain in Genesis 4, “…sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it”—Genesis 4:7.
There is a war that is waged in the members of our body—always desiring to sin, a mind hostile to God’s laws, wanting to do what it wants to do, but the Spirit of God within us quietly reminds us that through Christ we can conquer sin. The verses directly following our passage for today refer us to Christ. Paul wrote, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 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”—Romans 7:24-25.
Paul wasn’t meaning that he lived in a habitual state of sin. He set his mind to obey God’s Word, even though his body continued to wage war. We will never be rid of sin completely in this life, although the more we learn about God, ourselves, how to apply His Word, and how to recognize the lies of Satan, we will sin less and be able to walk in the Spirit more. And this is all because of Christ who defeated sin at the cross. And while sin still works within us until we are glorified or Christ returns, we know that sin can be defeated, as Paul said, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”—Romans 8:13. We can put to death our sinful natures by realizing that by faith we were “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20) and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives within us.
Don’t give up, and don’t give in as the battle with sin rages. It may seem like the night is dark, but dawn is coming. Hold on to Christ, knowing that as He was victorious, so too can you be. Trust in Him and He will deliver you. Amen.
As Christians we are at war! We are at war with this fallen world, the powers of darkness with Satan at the helm, and with our flesh, sometimes termed our sinful natures. We are fallen creatures that have sin within us, making us corrupt and evil at our core. We know in our heart of hearts that we are not good, especially when we are compared to God’s righteous and holy standard. Most Christians, however, don’t know they are at war. They have been lulled to sleep by the carbon monoxide of culture, unwilling and unable to know the battle that wages around them.
We are at war, but the battle is not fought in foreign lands, nor on our homeland, in the air, or by the sea. The battleground for our fight is within us—our own flesh. Paul understood this all too well as our passage for today indicates. Even though he had the Spirit of God within him, he too felt the desire to sin. He wanted to do what was good, but every time he got ready to do that which was good, he felt evil breathing down his neck. He felt the joy of God whenever He obeyed the Spirit’s leading and the Scripture’s teaching, but unbelief and his flesh continually reminded him that sin was close at hand. As God said to Cain in Genesis 4, “…sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it”—Genesis 4:7.
There is a war that is waged in the members of our body—always desiring to sin, a mind hostile to God’s laws, wanting to do what it wants to do, but the Spirit of God within us quietly reminds us that through Christ we can conquer sin. The verses directly following our passage for today refer us to Christ. Paul wrote, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 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”—Romans 7:24-25.
Paul wasn’t meaning that he lived in a habitual state of sin. He set his mind to obey God’s Word, even though his body continued to wage war. We will never be rid of sin completely in this life, although the more we learn about God, ourselves, how to apply His Word, and how to recognize the lies of Satan, we will sin less and be able to walk in the Spirit more. And this is all because of Christ who defeated sin at the cross. And while sin still works within us until we are glorified or Christ returns, we know that sin can be defeated, as Paul said, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”—Romans 8:13. We can put to death our sinful natures by realizing that by faith we were “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20) and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives within us.
Don’t give up, and don’t give in as the battle with sin rages. It may seem like the night is dark, but dawn is coming. Hold on to Christ, knowing that as He was victorious, so too can you be. Trust in Him and He will deliver you. Amen.
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