Problem in the Church: Romans 7

#SoulHealingTime

Luke 5:31-32
31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Isaiah 53:3
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

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Problem in the Church: Romans 7
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***Identifying the one who is speaking***
Romans 7:14b
* (KJV) "I am carnal, sold under sin."
* (NIV) "I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin."

***Identifying the struggle of the one who is speaking***
Romans 7:19-20
* (KJV) 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
* (NIV) 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

That makes sense, for someone who is "carnal/unspiritual" and (still) a slave to sin. But that is the bad news, not the Good News of Jesus Christ (aka the Gospel)!

Romans 7:23-24
* (KJV) 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. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
* (NIV) 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

Is this passage (Romans 7) talking about a born again Christian or "new creature in Christ"? Does it mean a saved person always sins and never stops sinning willfully (in agreement with the devil and in disagreement with God)? Salvation in Jesus Christ is salvation from sin. It's coming out of bondage to sin and being set free indeed to serve God in righteousness (John 8:36; Romans 6:18).

Challenge yourself today to think upon Jesus' great work of salvation that He shed his blood for. He came into the world to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

Emphatically, Romans 7 is not talking about the new creature in Christ being in a struggle with sin. Jesus saves from that. The struggle of the apostle Paul ended when he came to be "in Christ Jesus" and under no condemnation, walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (Romans 8:1). The Romans 7 experience has a conclusion in Romans 8 and it's not the way a new creature in Christ walks.

Romans 8:1-4
* (KJV) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
* (NIV) 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:2 destroys the reality of Romans 7:23. That law of sin working within is rendered powerless by God's grace through the Holy Spirit, no longer controlling the person in Christ and driving him/her to sin in obliviousness or blatant disregard for God and his ways. The Spirit rules the person in Christ who is saved from sin (Galatians 5:16). The (sinful) flesh is put to death in Christ (Galatians 5:24; Romans 6:6). Sin shall not have power over the person in Christ (Romans 6:14). So, the "us" in Romans 8:4 is precisely we who are in Christ, not the defeated but still honest "wretched man" of Romans 7:24 who is kept in bondage to sin and wanting a way out. That way out was Jesus for Paul (Romans 7:25a) and it is Jesus for us today that call upon his name. The foundation for being in Christ and walking "under grace" is laid out earlier in Romans 6 (the whole chapter). And the relationship a believer has with sin vs righteousness is clearly highlighted.

What believers believe about who Jesus is and about sin will determine whether they get saved/set free from sin indeed or whether they will die in their sins as unbelievers (John 8:24; Matthew 7:21-23).

Matthew 16:15
He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

We who have purposed to follow Jesus and have Bibles, let's take Jesus' warning at heart to be careful to not be deceived by anyone coming in his name (Matthew 24:4-5). And may we choose how we want to be standing when He returns to judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31), and let's be standing that way now:

Revelation 22:11
He that is unrighteous, let him be unrighteous still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.


See also:
Are we all sinners? (Repent and be converted)

Crucify The Flesh (YouTube playlist)

Who is the man struggling in Romans 7?

Struggle with sin and double-mindedness 

Romans 10:9 Salvation

Considerations on the Romans Road to Salvation

Problem in the Church: 1 John 1:8

Problem in the Church: Isaiah 64:6

Jesus vs False Teachers

The Church that Jesus Built (Upon this Rock)