Romans 7 reminds me of a friend battling Parkinson’s Disease. He recently told me that he feels like he is a prisoner in his own body. His body no longer moves as he wants it to move, his voice is weak, but his mind is sharp. Today’s chapter is about the human struggle between mind and body. The apostle Paul begins by noting that he is writing “to those who know the law”. The truth is universal, but the message is to those who trust the law to make them holy. First, he uses marriage as an example of the limitations of the law. If a married man dies, his wife “is released from the law that binds her to him”. She can then remarry, since she is no longer legally wed to another. Paul explains that “you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another”. Paul proposes that we are then free to “serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code”. To be clear, Paul is not saying the Law of Moses is bad; in fact, he writes, “I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law”. God sets clear standards for us because of the human tendency to rationalize our own behavior. Today everyone seems ready to be offended, while utterly unconcerned about hurting others. Pride can blind us to our own sin.
A lawless society devolves into chaos, but selectively following certain rules creates a false sense of moral superiority. Both produce death. Paul says, “the law is holy… righteous and good”. But he explains the dilemma; “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual”. He describes our situation; “For what I want to do, I do not do… and… I do what I do not want to do”. As Jesus said of the sleeping disciples “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Even top athletes give in to weariness because, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all”. Paul, the great missionary confesses, “I know that good itself does not dwell in me… For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out”. If Paul lacks righteousness, then what chance do I have? Our bodies want to be satisfied, and our minds quickly conjure up self-centered thoughts. Can knowing the law change that?
The chapter closes with this internal debate reaching a conclusion. Paul explains that our physical bodies are corrupt to the core, and our flesh cannot be tamed. Though he wants to perfectly follow the law, he repeatedly fails. “The evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing”. He describes the struggle between his inner man (his mind) and his outer man (his flesh). “In my inner being I delight in God’s law”. Paul makes a distinction between the old man and the new man. He describes a lifetime of habits and reactions as the “sin living in me… waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin”. In utter frustration Paul cries out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body?” We think of the drug addict, or the serial abuser filled with remorse in the aftermath of damage. In my personal moment of repentance, God brought to my mind all of the innocent people that I harmed. For the first time in my life I compared myself to God’s standard and felt the weight of shame. I understood Paul’s anguish and desperation, but friend, the chapter does not end there. Paul closes with the answer for everyone that has been unable to overcome sin through their own efforts. “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Paul will now speak from the perspective of a man that has been made new. His body was worn and battered, but his faith was vibrant as he introduces a new element into the equation. We are more than body and mind; we are also spirit. When God’s Holy Spirit lives in us, our spirit is united with Him forever. The next chapter teaches about freedom from the law of death through the Spirit of Life. There is triumphant power in His Spirit!