February 6, 2018 BOUND OR NOT ?
Romans 7:14, 24 “For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into bondage to sin.” “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”
Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
Many, if not most, believers readily relate to Paul in Romans 7 when he said that he found himself doing the very thing he did not want to do; he wished to do good, but he did not do the good he wished to do. This passage of scripture is one of most importance, because if misunderstood, one misses the key part of the good news of the gospel. What is so critical for us to understand when reading Romans 7:14-23, is that this section of scripture is not Paul’s testimony, but a description of what his life was like when he was living according to his flesh-or self. In verse 24, Paul came to a point in his life when cried out that he was “a wretched man” who longed to be set free from life in the flesh. Starting in verse 7:25 and continuing into chapter 8, Paul explains the key to having victory over sin and the flesh; in chapters 7 and 8, Paul contrast life in the flesh with life in the Spirit. Every believer, at some point faces the same battle that Paul faced regarding the Spirit and the flesh. There are only two choices at any given time for the believer; to live according to the flesh, or according to the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:2 is a key verse in that it tells us: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” In 8:6, we read: “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Many purport the idea that as a believer, we still have a sin nature that is alive and well, and we must always be battling this old sin nature; they say that we are prone to sin. It is true that we can revert back to living according to our flesh-the old sin nature, or the flesh-but we do so by choice. If there is one clear message in the gospel, it is that the power of sin has been broken and that we have been made new creations and given a new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit-a new nature! The key is that we know our identity in Christ and that we walk according to the Spirit. Jesus has defeated sin and He lives in us, enabling us to live free from the power of sin. There is a wonderful antidote or cure for living according to the flesh and it is found Galatians 5:16: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Let us know that Christ lives in us and that He has set us free from the power of sin and death. And let us this day choose to walk according to the Spirit-according to who we really are.
Ephesians 4:22-24: “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Blessings, Buddy
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