Romans 7:14-25 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Why does sin abound within my being? This thinking process is Paul’s struggle and our own. Often people function in life, believing they are much like a cup that can hold good thoughts or bad thoughts. To a degree that is true: we can choose to think good thoughts and do positive things. We might perform activities that are self-sacrificing, merciful, loving, full of grace. Many times, we function in this mode of goodness and helpfulness. But at other times, we live in a self-serving manner: “me first” is our credo. We do not consider the concerns of others or give them space in our consciousness until we have satisfied our desires and needs. Too often, we will hurt others or even destroy them if they get in the way of our fleshly pursuits. Sometimes, because of our sinful nature, we will fight or quarrel even with our closest loved ones. We will hurt and humiliate others to have our way. Of course, the bigger the context of human existence—wars, hostile actions between groups and nations—the more we see the selfish nature of mankind as part of the human story. We have in us a self-willed, destructive nature without limits. We have come to the point in history where we can destroy everything on Earth through nuclear war. This is the Adamic spirit of rebellion: to tweak existence for our own benefit during our brief time on earth. If we view ourselves as a cup, holding bad things in it, then the answer is to clean out the cup. This is the law’s purpose. Law informs us that we need to get rid of wrong thinking, sinful activities. We think with such a cleansing, everything will be more harmonious in the world. Instead of a competitive world with winners and losers, we would have a world of cooperation and love. The royal law of loving others as ourselves would be operative. Rather than desiring to be the Bill Gates leaders of the world with enormous wealth and people’s adulation and praise, we would be slaves to righteousness and goodness, servants to all. Of course the latter is not what the flesh truly wants. The flesh wants the Bill Gates’ life, but within a “Christian” context of outward goodness. People often wish God would let them win the lotto, then they would give ninety percent away to the poor, the disabled, the needy. “Just fill up my cup with goodness, advantages, Lord, then I will do good all the time.” This is the cry of the Adamic spirit. “I will do your will, Oh God, if it pays out for me. I am basically a loving, generous person, but I don’t have the advantages in life to allow that good person to come to the forefront in my life. A few million dollars would allow the goodness to surface in me.” But God’s goodness does not fill the cup no matter how much wealth or how many advantages we have. Without surrender to Christ, we will always consider ourselves first; our hopes and dreams will come first. The old nature in us desires to alter our existence to make our lives better, not to help others. Adam and Eve appreciated God’s kingdom, the life He gave them. They probably thought, “Yes God, your work is good, your Garden is beautiful, but we can make our existence better by eating of the Tree of Knowledge. We will not rest with you at this time. We will keep the holy sabbath after we have a taste of the Tree of Knowledge.” Of course, God will not share his glory with man. His will is to be done, not man’s will. The cup itself became dishonored by man’s choice; then God said man’s cup would be a cup of sorrow. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. (Genesis 3:10)
What then is Paul talking about concerning the struggle with sin within each of our lives? Why not just cleanse himself, the cup, getting rid of bad thoughts and activities! But he says: So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. We might say, “Paul, just dump out the contents of the cup! Get rid of the evil!” But Paul learns that the problem is not the contents in the cup that defeat him, it is the cup itself. Who will rescue me from this body? It is not the content that is carcinogenic: it is the cup that is a deadly cancer. The entity that I am produces death. Years ago in a comic strip called Pogo, one of the characters said, “We have met the enemy, and it is us." The whole of my being is a slave to sin. The DNA I have inherited is cancerous, producing or leading to death, not only biological death, but eternal death away from a loving God. In today’s verses, Paul despairs: Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death. After Noah came out of the Ark, he sacrificed some of the clean animals and birds to the Lord. The Lord found his sacrifice pleasing. Yet, he says of the people, Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, EVEN THOUGH EVERY INCLINATION OF THE HUMAN HEART IS EVIL FROM CHILDHOOD. (GENESIS 8:21) We see from Paul’s words his identification of the reality of evil in mankind as an integral part of his struggle within himself. Even though he desires to do good, evil is right there with me. In other words, the essence of his inherited humanity has created his problem with sin. The nature of rebellion sits strong within his being, causing him condemnation, for he knows that a selfish attitude and worldly activities run counter to God’s goodness and perfection. Paul knows he is terminally ill: death reigns in him. Can law rid him of this sickness, bring health back into his life? Can law satisfy God’s requirements on his life? Of course, the answer is no. As we have seen, the law is a mirror, showing him his failures. The law clearly outlines the imperfections in man’s soul. The law cannot bring life to the hardness of a man’s heart; the law can show only the hopelessness of man’s condition.
What then is the hope of humankind? How can a fallen people ever please God if the very container we exist in is corrupted? Made in God’s image, is God’s creation now so corrupt that God will destroy it unless it is changed. That is exactly what Jesus said when he told Nicodemus, You must be born again. A new cup is needed. As we read in the Word, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17) This new cup will be able to hold the very presence of God. The voice of God will rest in that cup, speaking to his new creation. We are known as tabernacles of God or as temples of God. We who are new IN THE LORD have been made just as exact as the tabernacle in Moses’ time. Everything in that tabernacle had to be made exactly as God desired. Nothing could be too long or too short: everything had to be precise before God would inhabit that tabernacle. This is true of each one of us. When God redeems us, we are exact, perfect. We are individual places God inhabits. In Moses’ time, the voice of God came from the Ark underneath the cherubim’s wings. Moses went into the inner sanctuary to hear from God, to commune with God. We who ARE ALIVE IN CHRIST have that holy place within us. We have the privilege to talk to God and to listen to his responses. Jesus was not just saying something about our attitude when he told Nicodemus that we must be born again. We do not change the content of the cup, the cup itself must be made new. This is Christianity. This separates us from all other religions and cults. Our work is not good enough to please God, but his work through Jesus Christ is good enough to please him. Jesus is the exact replication of God. When He comes into our lives through faith, the exactness, perfection, holiness of God comes to reside in us. The temple within us, God built. We are his. This life we live is not our life of perfection; it is his life of perfection. Every imperfection that we perceive in us is quickly covered by the saving grace of the blood, if we put our trust completely in his work and not our works. God will not share his glory with you. Your salvation either is a reality or it is nothing. If you try to win your soul’s eternal existence through adding your work to his good work, you will fail and you will find yourself in Paul’s dilemma. Jesus is EVERYTHING. Paul learned this was the answer to his struggle with the old Adamic nature. He told the church in Corinth, I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. . . He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:4&8) Take hold of who you are in Christ today and live in HIS SABBATH rest.
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