Romans 7:18-25
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 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. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 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.”
When you first read this scripture you may think that the writer is some wretched sinner that doesn’t know the Lord at all. He can’t possibly be saved and sanctified talking like that. But then you realize it’s Apostle Paul, the author of almost half the New Testament. How is he not walking before the Lord perfectly? And if he’s not, what’s the chance any of us will? Paul’s words create a theological conundrum of epic proportions. What are we to think?
First, let’s be honest. We’ve weaved multiple narratives to justify and substantiate our carnal inclinations and earthly desires. It’s called religion. I don’t care what religion you refer to; religion is created to control behaviors. Religion is about the do’s and don’ts. It’s about self aggrandizement, status and position. And flesh loves religion. In matter of fact, religious differences was the justification for murdering Jesus. When Jesus refused to conform or capitulate to the whims and wills of the religious establishment, he had to be eliminated. Jesus favored relationship over religion, enlightenment over ritual, love over indifference. He drew the line. Good and evil cannot ever coexist in peace. One or the other must die.
Paul presents us with a dynamic truth. Our flesh will never change. We will struggle the rest of our days to keep our flesh under subjection. Paul further writes, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:6-8
This truth, while tremendously sobering, is also powerful and liberating. Many of us battle our entire lives from things that have burrowed into the crevasses of our broken humanity and cause us unbearable grief and suffering. And if we’re aren’t careful we begin to believe we aren’t worthy of God’s love. The Enemy would love for us to equate our personal struggles with our worth and value to the Lord. But the devil is a liar!
Our struggles are simply evidence we are in the flesh. As long as we are in these carnal bodies we will battle with something, because flesh is a mess. But praise be to God there is a solution. We have been given the remedy to carnality. We’ve been given Jesus. He is the antidote for carnality and sin.
Everything flesh desires, God dislikes. What flesh seeks to experience, God seeks to give you more. Flesh enjoys lust, God desires love. Flesh seeks retribution, God seeks loving solutions. Flesh always seeks to please, appease and satisfy itself. The Spirit of God always seeks to provide and console others.
Saints of the Living God, the bottom line is we cannot live this life in the manner God desires without the power of the Holy Spirit living within. And even with the Spirit of Christ coursing through our veins sin is still present in our flesh. The answer isn’t more rigid rules and regulations. That’s religion. Jesus came to eliminate religion, not embrace it. The answer is more Jesus. More relationship. Only in Christ will we find the power to mortify the deeds of the flesh, because flesh is a mess!
God bless
