Slave
To
The Law
Of God
For we
know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under
sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do
the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is
good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will
what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the
evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no
longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I
find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at
hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my
members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the
law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue
me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through
Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then,
with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to
the law of sin.
Romans 7:14-25
Roman
emperors saw torture as a legitimate way to put teeth into their laws. They
were known to bind the body of a murder victim to the back of his killer. Under
penalty of death, no one was allowed to release the
condemned criminal.
As
children of God, we long for purity and holiness, yet at times we feel
helplessly bound to the body of our flesh. Even though we are new creatures in
Christ and we know that the physical body itself is not evil, the tendency of
sin is always with us.
The
forgiveness we receive from Jesus Christ frees us from eternal condemnation.
Then by the strength of the indwelling Holy Spirit we are empowered to do the
will of God. And someday in heaven these mortal bodies of ours will be
redeemed. We are not hopelessly bound by the flesh.
Praise
God, Christ broke the power of sin! We can serve Him in newness of life.
To overcome sin, starve the old nature and feed the new.
Our Daily Bread -