Our Greatest Victory

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Obtaining Victory over Our Greatest Battle

Romans 7:14-25

“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?     

                  The hardest thing to change is ourselves.  With all the advanced technology, the discoveries of medicine, and the discoveries of science, we can manage and overcome problems and obstacles that previous generations thought impossible.  However, for all our advancements in science, industry, and engineering, the one thing we still cannot manage is the beast within, the inward struggle with our sinful nature.  We can try to deny its existence but it reveals itself daily as we journey through the daily affairs of life.  We get angry and speak regrettable words to the people we care about most.  We try with all our might to break unwanted and harmful habits, only to succumb to them at the first provocation.  However, the problem with sin goes far deeper than just acting in ways we do not want and are hurtful to others.  It stems from a heart that desires to live independently of God’s sovereign control.  We hope to be the masters of our destiny rather than God.  We want God’s approval and assistance, but not His sovereign rule.  We wish God to remain at a distance, allowing us to do as we please but ready to act and respond when we need His help.

                  In Romans 7, Paul confronts us with the inward, unquenchable thirst for self-motivated desires.  We see ourselves when we read his words, in which he confesses his losing battle with his sinful desires.  We strive to do the right things daily but find ourselves doing the very acts we condemn others for.  Consequently, guilt, insecurities, and feelings of brokenness remain our constant companions.  We are confronted with the conflict of good versus evil, right versus wrong, and we continually find ourselves doing what we despise in others.  But in this battle, we are not alone.  Paul is right there with us.  Paul gives expression in words to the inward frustration we experience on a daily level.  Although we desire to do what is right, we continually find ourselves doing the things we despise. Yet, at the end of the precipice of despair, Paul gives us a message of hope.

                  Paul has masterfully confronted us with the reality of sin and the devastation it brings upon all people.  We are all guilty of sin, and all deserve judgment.  However, Paul desires to make it much more personal.  Sin is not a problem of society, sin is not just a problem with 'those out there.' Sin is a problem in our hearts.  He has confronted us with our sinful desires, not to condemn us, but to show us the answer.  In verse 24, Paul asks the question we all find ourselves asking, 'Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?' In other words, where can we find hope and help with the inward brokenness deep within us?

The answer is yes!  But the answer is not found within us or with humanity, the answer comes from Christ.  When Christ died for us, He not only paid the debt of our sins, He broke the chains of our bondage to sin.  It no longer masters us, for Christ has sent His Spirit to empower us to walk rightly before God and others. While we still may struggle with sin, He has given us the ultimate victory. When we stand before Christ, we will obtain the ultimate freedom over sin (8:1-17).  Jesus changed the narrative so that it is no longer about sin and death but righteousness and life.  All that is needed to obtain this freedom is to accept by faith the work Christ has done and then walk by faith by daily and consciously surrendering to the control of the Spirit. No matter how deeply ingrained our sinful habits are, no matter how ridden with guilt we may be, there is hope.  Our hope is in Christ who can break the chains of sin and replace them with the joys of righteousness. We just need to ask!

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