Grow 10: Romans 7:22-25

Romans 7:22-25 (NASB)

²²For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, ²³but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Giving up!

These verses continue to document another very important step in the lives of many believers.  It is important to note that Romans 7 is prescriptive (it doesn’t HAVE to happen), however it is a very common case for many believers just as it was with Paul in his walk with the Lord.  Paul finally gets to the point of objective despair.  Many legalists live their entire lives trying to maintain the outward image.  They think that if they can somehow fool everybody else they must be fooling God as well.  They forget that God judges the hearts of men and is never fooled by outward appearance.

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Romans 7:22-23

²²For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, ²³but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

In Conclusion

These verses form the conclusion of this section.  In the prior verses Paul has narrated the reality that he affirms that Law of God to be good.  He also has noted very strongly that anytime he tries to go back under that authority of the Law (the “first husband” in verses 1-4) he meets failure and desperation.  Furthermore, he has seen very clearly the reality of the sin nature and what the sin nature does with the law, when we attempt to keep it of our own flesh.  And all this as a believer who has already put his faith in Jesus Christ for Justification.

Delightful

The word rendered “joyfully concur” here (KJV: delight) has the idea of rejoicing, together with something.  Paul is saying, very clearly, that he agrees that the law is good.  In fact it brings him pleasure and delight.  It is as if he can see the beauty and perfection of it and longs to be so perfect.  Longs to be what he was intended to be, but is made incapable of by his sin nature. 

Inner Man

This “inner man” is a phrase used for the immaterial part of man.  It stands for the part of him that longs to be right with God, that longs to have righteousness.  Surely every believer longs in his spirit to please the Lord and to live according to His ways and His standards.  However, there is a pivotal need of understanding.  Our desire is often to be able to show God something good of our own making.  We may agree that a certain accepted standard of Godly behavior is good, but if we are doing it for our own purposes it becomes worthless.  Wrong motivations ruin “good” actions.  East of Eden by Steinbeck provides and powerful illustration:

Two sons (Aaron and Caleb) of a farmer (Adam) both seek to please their father.  The elder Aaron easily receives the approval of Adam because he has known his father, his father’s character and his desires.  Caleb longs for Adam to approve the results of his actions which are good.  However, the types of things he does, and the ways that he does them (while not “wrong”) conflict with the character of his godly father Adam.  The final chords are struck when Adam has lost money trying to improve the lot of mankind.  Caleb, longing to see his father financially restored engages in planting crops to profit off of the war effort (that Adam disagrees with).  The final scene occurs when Aaron presents his desire to be married and live a life that is in step with Adam’s and Caleb presents the money that Adam lost.  Adam accepts the actions of Aaron, but rejects the actions of Caleb because they don’t match in spirit to what he is about as a person.

Similarly, when believers try to place themselves back under the law and come before the Lord with a “see what I have done” attitude the Lord only mourns, and no progress is made.  As we have seen, the gross reality of it is that the harder we try to keep the law the more pronounced our failures become. 

A Different Law

Paul then talks about a different law.  “Law” here is not talking about the type of law like the law of Moses (an objective standard) but rather the “natural law” type of law.  This is the type of law that says, “It always happens just this way.”  This is like the law of gravity.  Every time I drop something it falls to the ground, without exception.

This different law also has a location: in “the members of my body.”  Paul here is talking about his flesh.  We see, again, the relationship of the sin nature to the physical body.  It does not mean that our physical bodies are intrinsically evil by any stretch of the imagination.  It does mean that our sin nature is somehow essentially attached to our physical bodies.  This is in line with our understanding of when we will finally be rid of the Sin Nature – when we are freed from these “old bodies” and given our “new bodies” which are like Christ’s body.

(1 Corinthians 15:47-58) This will occur either at our physical death, or at the rapture.

Making me a Prisoner

Here Paul observes that this law that is at work in his flesh wages a military assault against the Law that he wishes to keep in his mind.  The result of this is that he is in bondage once again.  Yet we know that “it is for freedom that Christ has made you free.” (Galatians 5:1) So how can we, who have been set free then be in bondage?  Paul has already discussed one way believers can be in bondage in chapter 6.  We can choose directly to be in bondage to the sin nature.  Simply obeying the demands of our flesh at all times, that is walking in the sinful desires that the sin nature dictates.  However, here we see another potential bondage for the believer.  If we attempt to keep the law we will wind up in bondage yet again.  The question then is who is our “captor” at that point.  We find that it is the same villain as before: Our sin nature!  “The Sin” has not just one, but two lethal ways to rule us here!  It can rule us by licentious behavior, and it can rule us by legalistic thinking and behavior!  Here again we see the simple reality of the Lord’s words echoed in the negative:

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6

Our relationship with Jesus is not just a door that we walk through, though Jesus himself is the door we must walk through (John 10:9).  He is also the way upon which we tread.  Leaving that relationship to err on either side of the difficulty (legalism or license) takes us off the path that we were meant to be on, and we are left in bondage again.  Notice: Neither one is preferable to the other!

Romans 7:24-25

²⁴Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Wretched

Here Paul declares himself absolutely wretched!  His state of affairs is simply ghastly.  He wants to do what is right so very badly, yet he winds up getting battered and bruised, afflicted and destroyed again and again and again.  This is a full realization of his complete inadequacy to do anything.  It seemed easier for him to come to this conclusion in Romans 1-3.  He could condemn the whole humanity with a penstroke (and include himself) in describing the need for a savior.  Yet on this side of the cross (AFTER he put his faith in Jesus for salvation) he still feels he should be able to offer something to God.  He feels, as most believers do in their immaturity, that he SHOULD be able to do something.  He can’t reconcile the fact that he knows what is right and wants to do it with the fact that he didn’t just need a savior before he knew the Lord – He needs a savior RIGHT NOW!

FREEDOM!

He longs for freedom.  What does he want freedom from?  The body of death.  Death, again, means separation from God.  This is not talking about eternal death (not being saved, or loss of salvation) but of the temporal death that believers can experience by living out of fellowship with God.  He identifies his flesh as the causative problem, keeping him from conforming to the outward demands of the law.  He even calls this inability a law.  Translation: I couldn’t keep it before, I can’t keep it now, I will never be able to keep the law and satisfy the Lord’s righteous demands!  And he cries out in despair.  How can I be freed?  There must be a better way!

Still need a Savior

Paul continues in his acknowledged need of a Savior.  The word “set me free” denotes the idea of saving someone.  It carries the idea of being snatched out of danger.  Like from the jaws of a lion.  Note that he doesn’t say “What will save me”.  Paul is not looking for a method, or a practice, or a special magical prayer that will save him from this miserable situation that he is in.  So many books that are called “Christian” offer wrong answers to this question that are “What can rescue me”.  Some of their wrong responses to this pivotal question:

·         Discipline – Try harder until you get better at it

·         Psychology – Try to figure out why you are so tempted by it

·         Fear based – Just get more scared of God’s wrath

·         Sloppy Agape – “Don’t worry, God really doesn’t care that much anyway.”

·         Any Number of Steps - Progress based “step programs” that demand the world

·         Any Number of days – “40 days of this” “30 days to a better quiet time” etc.

All of these “solutions” do nothing but distract us from our true and genuine need: We need the true grace of God.  Our identification with Jesus Christ on the cross and understanding of our need to look to him and His life at every moment is our only hope. 

Closing Conflict

This chapter closes with a repetition of the problem.  Paul repeats the reality that he sees in himself.  He has given hints and intimations of the joy that is to come in Romans 8, but he wants to make the situation abundantly plain – Justification does not come by the Law (Romans 1-3) and Salvation does not come by the law.  Both come the same way – by grace through faith.  Not in a contract, or a set of rules – but in a relationship with and faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.