THE INWARD BATTLE OF ROMANS SEVEN THANKING GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST It is not the condition itself that produces this thanksgiving, but the understanding of it. It also come because the answer to the dilemma is seen. In answer to the question, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" the renewed heart shouts back, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" That is, God is going to deliver me from the source of this frustration. He will do it through Jesus Christ, when He returns for His own. As it is written, "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself" (Phil 3:20-21). Indeed, deliverance is on the way! This battle has an appointed time and place of termination. SERVING WITH THE MIND "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God." And what is the summation of all that Paul has seen--all that we can see in this battle with the flesh. We can see there is a real "me," and an imposed "me." There is a part of me that expresses my real desires. There is also a part of me that expresses things contrary to my desires. SERVING WITH THE FLESH " . . . but with the flesh the law of sin." "The flesh" is the natural part of us. Nothing good is found in it, as has been powerfully affirmed. The "law of sin" is the sin principle that dwells within the flesh. It is not that the flesh CAN serve this dreadful law. This is what it does. In fact, it cannot do anything else. "The flesh" cannot serve God or the law of God. It has been corrupted and cannot be changed. -- Tomorrow:
" I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." (7:25)
This represents the ninth and final conclusion to which the understanding of inner conflict led. Perhaps it will be well to enumerate those conclusions once again. They exemplify the godly way of assessing inner conflict.
1. "If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good" (verse 16).
2. "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (verse 17).
3. "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing" (verse 18).
4. "Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (verse 20).
5. "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me" (verse 21).
6. "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (verse 22).
7. "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (verse 23).
8. "O wretched man that I am!" (Verse 24).
9. "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin" (verse 25).
When it comes to the real "me," the part that is regenerated, in which the Holy Spirit dwells, and which is reconciled to God, "I myself" serve "the Law of God." That is what the real me thinks about, ponders, loves, and desires. I live by every Word of God, delight in it, and desire it more than my necessary food (Job 23:12). My mind is devoted to the Law of God. That is not surprising, for God has put it into my heart and written it upon mind (Heb 10:16). He has given me the same nature as possessed by the Law: holy, just, and good. He has made me "spiritual" like the Law, and able to gladly receive what God has to say. Like Jesus, I also "delight" to do His will.
I understand "my mind" to be the part that has been "illuminated," which comprehends the "good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom 12:2). The "mind" is not merely the part where thinking is done, for he has spent considerable time reminding us that is also the place where "the law of sin" expresses itself.
This means that regeneration confers upon men a mind that is devoted to the Word of the Lord. Wherever this is missing, a most serious condition exists.
From time to time, novices in the faith may imagine they have made good progress in their spiritual life. Satan will lead them to believe they are better in their flesh than they once were. Perhaps they have conquered old habits successfully. However, as soon as they let down their guard, "the flesh" breaks forth, confirming that it consistently and without exception serves "the law of sin."
There is a particular teaching that is making the rounds these days. It is not a new teaching, but an ancient heresy that has been revived. It states that we can be morally "perfect," with no flaw whatsoever. Those who embrace it generally make no claim to having achieved this perfection. However, they do say it is possible here and now, while we are in the body. They reason that if Jesus told us to "be perfect" (Matt 5:48), then it surely must be possible.
This passage (Rom 7:15-25) has devastated this false teaching. It is the testimony of one the premier members of the human race. Among the most elite, the Apostles, this man "labored more abundantly than they all" (1 Cor 15:10). In a remarkable text, the Holy Spirit calls Paul to the witness stand to confirm the faith of the saints. With unmistakable words he states nothing good resides in the flesh. It is the realm in which "the law of sin" resides, and is the part of us which serves that law of sin. The very presence of the flesh, together with the "law of sin" that resides in it, makes us imperfect whether sin has been expressed externally or not.
How thankful we must be for the promised deliverance from this vile body. Then nothing about us will serve "the law of sin." Then we will never again have to contend with that law, or confess to its presence within us. It will never raise its ugly head, for it will be forever removed from us. In the meantime, we will receive help from God when we are able to identify and confess our real situation. In this case, what you do not know can really hurt you! You do well to make it your aim to see the conflict within correctly, and to approach it in a proper frame of mind.
PRAYER POINT: Father,
Thursday, New Series: THE MIND OF CHRIST