Read: Romans 7:14-25 "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" –Romans 7:24
Memories of my school days are not thoughts, which I cherish. With a melancholy personality and a quiet, almost withdrawn manner, I grew up lonely, unintelligent, unpopular, unattractive and a social misfit. I tried to fit in, but I was tall for my age, skinny and awkward, and I had long, stringy hair. I was also unwilling to compromise the values, which my Catholic parents instilled in me, just for the sake of being popular.
In high school, I decided to make friends with people who shared my principles and my life turned around. I fit in with this group, and they actually enjoyed my company. I started using make-up, obtained a great hairdo that flattered my face, and stopped hiding in the corner. My self-confidence increased and I came out of my shell. I had more dates than I could accept, I wrote for the school newspaper, I went to the Senior Prom at two different schools and I accepted the marriage proposal from my twelfth grade sweetheart.
From there, he went into the Green Beret and served in Viet Nam, and I went to our local junior college. At the Baptist Student Union on the college campus, I met the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. Over the next few months, my fiancé and I grew apart and eventually broke up. Then, I met a young man at the BSU; and a year later, we married, started a family, and initiated a twenty-year union in service to the Lord.
As a young bride and mother, as well as a toddler in the Christian faith, I was unhappy. Something was wrong with me and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I searched the scriptures; and I came to realize that, like the Pharisees, I lived with sinful behavior and I harbored disappointment and bitterness in my heart. My soul was full of dead men’s bones (Matthew 23: 27).
In Romans 7:14-16, Paul describes the same problem that I had in my life. He also struggled with trying to be good. What he wanted to do, he could not seem to do. What he did not want to do, he did. Then, in verses 17-18, he has a revelation from God. He realizes that it is actually his carnal nature that is sinning, in spite of his spiritual nature wanting to do what is right.
So, in verses 19-23, he admits that no matter how hard he tried, he just could not be good enough. Then in verse 24, the poor man just breaks down and cries out in anguish, “What a wretched man I am!” Then he shouts in desperation, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
Paul is a person who does everything with all of his might. He repeatedly explains in his epistles that he excelled in whatever he tried to do throughout all of his life (Philippians 3: 4-6). Now, he wants desperately to live righteously for the Lord, but he cannot accomplish this feat, no matter how hard he tries.
In these verses, he finally comes to the realization that he cannot change his behavior by self-effort. He felt forsaken, alone, desperate, anxious, worried and afraid. He wracked his brain trying to come up with a solution to the vicious cycle of sin in his life.
This is when God stepped in and gave our brother Paul a divine revelation, “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature (of the flesh) a slave to the law of sin.”
God loves it when His people come to the realization that "being good" is not the way to heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10). When we come to the end of our rope and comprehend that the next step is certain death, we too cry out to God in desperation, just like Paul did. Then, when we cast our life on Jesus, He graciously receives us with all of the love and mercy He demonstrated for us by suffering His horrifying death on the cross.
Paul wrote an interesting tidbit of information to the Galatians, when he shared his great revelation about self-effort with them (Galatians 3:1-5). He could relate to their experiences and he tells them (paraphrased), “Oh, you foolish Galatians! You did not receive the Spirit for salvation by keeping the law, but by believing in Christ. So, why do you think you will reach the state of holiness and receive sanctification by keeping the law? God worked miracles in you, because you believed, not because you earned them.”
We do the same thing Paul and the Galatians did. We think that if we read the Bible more, pray harder, fast longer, serve in a multitude of church ministries and witness to more people, we will earn God’s favor. However, Paul learned to trust for his righteousness, not in his good deeds, but in the person of Jesus Christ. He realized that Jesus is the only one who can deliver us from the works of the flesh. He no longer trusted in himself, but in Christ who is our Deliverer.
On the cross, Christ’s last words were, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He accomplished everything we need for justification, sanctification and glorification at that very moment, when He sacrificed His life for us all. Now, we walk in this truth: “Who dares to accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one - for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself” (Romans 8:33). In this way, God gets all of the glory and we live in the power of His might (Ephesians 1: 19-21).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to remember that without you, I can do nothing (John 5:30); but with You, all things are possible (Philippians 4:13). Set us free from the bondage to the flesh and remind us that sin is no longer our master. We no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, we live under the freedom of Your grace to walk in righteousness and to pursue holiness.
Thought for the Day:
“For in him we live and move and have our being.” - Acts 17:28a
