Romans 7: 20-25
20)
Now if I do that I would
not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me.
21)
I find then a law, that,
when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22)
For I delight in the law
of God after the inward man:
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?
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.
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O |
There
are nothing but blessings to be gained by "...delight(ing)
in the law of God". In fact, we were blessed with the law that we might be
free to live. In that it is the flesh which condemned us to death, the Lord
granted us the Spirit that we might have eternal life.
One
of the many wonderful things about Jesus is that He did not assign us a task
and then leave us on our own to accomplish it. He set Himself as the example to
us of how to live and conduct ourselves.
There
is absolutely nothing that we set our minds to accomplish in salvation that we
cannot do—provided, that is, that what we do is under the direction of God.
Therefore, if we want to live saved, the Holy Ghost will direct us. As easy as
it is to accomplish this, it is just as easy to ignore all that we know of God
and justify to (ourselves) anything we choose to. And we can be quite good at
"running the gamut" from gluttony to fornication.
This
passage, in particular, is often misquoted, misapplied and misguided. The way
in which it is used and abused confuses others. Some find themselves scratching
their heads and wondering how, if Paul was so confused, how we could be
expected to do what he found so hard to do. The answer to this dilemma is
simple: we must first know from where Paul was "coming". That happens
to be from the standpoint of carnal man. This man, born in Adam, knew not that
he was a sinner because there was no Law to condemn him. And where there is no
Law, there is no sin.
When
the Law was instituted, there were two operational principles: the laws of sin
and death. In that it is the law which levies death, if one chooses to operate
in the Spirit, thereby freeing himself from the dictates of the flesh, he opens
the door of Life.
As
saints, we have been made "new," and so, can no longer operate by the
"oldness" of the letter. Before, we were unaware of things such as
lust, but once we were told "Thou shalt not
covet," we became responsible for any such action—and answerable to God.
When the Law came, sin was revealed for what it is, irrespective of the fact
that the very mentality of the flesh is that it labors to be satisfied.
Intrinsically,
the Law, is not bad. It simply points out all that is
bad. Scripture, itself, points out that within man "dwells no good
thing". And just think of the great lengths that the World goes to
acknowledge all flesh. We cannot give enough awards to men for what they do; we cannot praise man enough for
all of his contributions to the "betterment" of mankind. But, guess
what we can do? We can forget about
the Lord "in a heartbeat"; we can ignore His gentle promptings and
urgings; we can totally refuse the offer of His Spirit and benefits.
Much
of what we do and believe is based upon "theory"—that which we choose
to believe is true despite the fact that it is contrary to the proven Law of
God. A law states that if we fulfill
certain obligations, a desired result can always be obtained. Contrasted with
this is the very fickle flesh, which will always "instruct" us to do
whatever we please. The problem is, the only assurance
we have from the flesh is misery.
The
freedom that we have been granted in the Spirit is to be compared to nothing
else, for it is, indeed the Spirit alone which cannot be dictated to by the
flesh. While flesh exists for itself, the Spirit
exists to please God and so, is always a "step ahead," standing at
the ready to anticipate, warn, intercept and deliver. Such a sentient Force
could never be dictated to by that which is purely sensual.
For
one to really be able to "...delight in the law of God," he is going
to have to be used to and love the truth. It is the one who is sincere about
serving Him who will not be irrevocably hurt
by the truth but ultimately helped, as his attention is acquired and he is
moved to change.