READ: Rom. 7:14-26: … For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. … Who will deliver me … I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! …
Paul distinguishes on the one hand the old self, which is sinful and does sin, which is earthly and seeks evil, and on the other hand the new self, which does not want to sin but wants to do good—that which is pleasing to God. He also calls the old self “my members”.
And the new self, he calls the Spirit-enlightened “mind,” the inner reborn person who delights in the law of God (v.22,23). The old self no longer has total control in the believer, but so much remains that perfection is far away.
Between the old self, the sinful flesh, and the new self, renewed by the Spirit, there is a continual struggle.
Every time the law is transgressed again, the new self must acknowledge that the law is good. For the new self, the law is the standard, the guideline for gratitude.
Paul says: the old self that has remained in me since my renewal ensures that what I want to do—the good—does not come to pass, but rather the sinful, which I do not want. Thus I ultimately do what I hate.
Paul points out in verse 21 that this is a recurring, almost “law-like” matter (I discover this “law” in me): I want to do good, that which accords with God’s good law, but always the evil of the old self comes in, so that it is not good after all. While I delight in God’s good law, I am, as it were, held captive by the law of sin that remains in me.
This realization of constant struggle and disappointment makes Paul cry out: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” But this is no cry of despair, for Paul answers: through Jesus Christ I am delivered! Thanks be to God!
Do you know something of Paul’s struggle yourself?
Sing: Ps. 119:15