Romans 7:21-25

Romans 7:21-25

I Thank God Through Jesus Christ

Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

Rom 7:23  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.

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Rom 7:25  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.

  

1. Paul is Made Aware of the Fact that When He Wants to Do Good He There is an Evil Crouching in the Corner of His Heart Waiting to Destroy His New Found Desire to Live a Life of Morality. – vs. 21*
1. The presence of evil in the heart of man is a terrifying concept that paralyzes the believer in fear.

                                                              i.      Genesis 4:5-8 

2. In Paul’s Mind he is Aware of His Need for Reformation or Transformation – vs. 22*
1. Our logic or mind tells us that there is a difference between our lifestyle and God’s moral code. This makes us long to change and use our will power to reform ourselves.

                                                              i.      1 Corinthians 15:33 

3. In Utter Horror Paul Realizes that There is a Monster in His Heart. – vs. 23 *
1. The monster is a ravenous beast of fleshly desires that longs to come and devour up any will power that Paul can muster to fight it

                                                              i.      James 1:13-15 

4. Paul Crumbles Under the Weight of His Own Guilt. – vs. 24*
1. Broken because of his lack of hope, Paul call out for deliverance as if caught in an eternal nightmare. It is in this moment of despair that Paul realizes this is all just a bad dream. If the believer was left to follow the law without help, there would be no hope and we would be caught in a nightmare of dualism.

                                                              i.      James 1:5-8 

5. The Reality of Hope Begins to Dawn on Paul: “I Thank God Through Jesus Christ My Lord.” – vs. 25a*
1. There is no hope in my double minded nature. I must, through surrender, receive the grace and mercy of God that is provided to me in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

                                                              i.      James 4:5-6 

                                                            ii.      2 Corinthians 3

6. There Is No Hope in Dualism We Must Believe in the Victory Given to Us by Christ.  – vs. 25b*
1. Without the Holy Spirit’s help, it appears that the believer is caught in this struggle between his will and his lust. This can be pictured by the legalist and the antinomian or the devil on one shoulder and angel on the other. This struggle is not ours to fight on our own. There is hope!

                                                              i.      Zechariah 4:6