“So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 7:21-8:4 NIV)
Have you felt this way? Have you felt like you were somewhere between the good that you want to be and the bad that you used to be? And the bad just keeps on rearing its ugly head? I think Paul was right on the mark when he said “What a wretched man I am!” The new me “delights” in God…I so want to do what is right and good all the time. But the old me, keeps getting in the way. The old ways of thinking keep popping back up. It is a constant struggle. So who can save me from that vicious cycle? Jesus!! And only Jesus! The old law required a sacrifice for the atonement of sin. That law depended on man, and man had to struggle to attempt to live up to God’s requirements…man just could not live perfectly. Jesus became a man to be that sacrifice…the life perfectly lived…the sacrifice that met the requirements and satisfied the law forever.
So, we have no condemnation because of Christ! We are free from that burden. We get to live…no longer chained to our patterns of sin…but free in Christ! We get to live under the law of the Spirit of life. There is a line in a song that says “we worship with the sound of broken shackles falling to the ground”. I love that picture. Jesus has set us free from the shackles of our old nature…the old patterns. He freed us from the law that said “you sin, you die”.
He knows that we will struggle against our old thought patterns and behavior. We will still struggle with the helplessness and worthlessness we feel because we cannot live the way we want. Jesus understands.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses”. (Hebrews 4:15 NIV)
I think it may be BECAUSE we have the gift of grace…free and completely undeserved…that we are more aware of our sin and the struggle it causes in us. I feel so unworthy to have received forgiveness and mercy and grace…anything from God. I know…I KNOW…that no one can earn grace. It wouldn’t be grace if you had to earn it. Grace is a gift…a free gift. But I remember the old me. I remember the sin. I remember the coldness of my heart. BUT…and thank you Father…God’s grace is so much greater than our sin!!
“This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.”
(1 John 3:19-20 NIV)
I admit that sometimes have a hard time understanding what Paul writes. I find myself reading back over it, one phrase at a time, trying to grasp the full meaning of the words. So I may have missed some huge issues here…and may have misunderstood the things I wrote about. But one thing I completely understand the struggle to live a life wanting to do what is good, but having to fight the evil that is right there. It is a comfort to know that Paul…mighty, powerful, faithful apostle and servant of God…felt that same struggle. There might just be hope for me after all.
Good study, (new) Sherry. I share in that struggle, too … so there is comfort in knowing that we are not alone. Not only did Paul understand such a struggle … but so did Abraham – Moses – David – Peter – and – yes, even Jesus sympathizes with weaknesses. But even greater – as you noted – is the fact that we are “set free from the law of sin and death” … and that even when our hearts condemn us (because we know ourselves so well), God is greater than our hearts! Good words from God expressed here by you. Today, you are my teacher. Thank you. Rex
WELL REX, YOU ARE THE ONE THAT SHOWED ME THE VERSE SAYING JESUS UNDERSTANDS OUR WEAKNESSES. YOU ARE THE ONE THAT TAUGHT ME THAT GOD IS GREATER THAN MY HEART. THERE IS VERY LITTLE THAT I KNOW ABOUT THE BIBLE, THAT I DID NOT LEARN FROM YOU MY DEAR FRIEND. YOU SHOWED ME THOSE THINGS, AND THEY CHANGED MY VIEW OF GOD AND MYSELF. BUT THE STRUGGLE WITH TRYING TO DO GOOD…FIGHTING THE EVIL RIGHT THERE, THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION BECAUSE IT SOUNDED SO VERY FAMILIAR….KINDA LIKE THE PERSON I SEE IN THE MIRROR EVERY MORNING.
I remember the first time I really understood all that it meant for God to be greater than my heart. I have lived by feelings for most of my life. If I felt close to God, then I must be close. If I felt guilty, then I must be guilty. This is a tough way to live. Especially when you alwys feel guilty and rarely feel close to God. My heart would condemn me a lot. I couldn’t sleep … rarely relaxed. Always tried to mantain this outward calm while inside I was freaking out most of the time.
When I found out that God was greater than my heart it really did set my heart at rest. Once I understood all that that meant … my heart not only rested but it actually started to feel close to God.
When “feeling close to God” didn’t last … I got to learn the rest of the lesson. The verse says we can KNOW it. Not that we can FEEL it. So I finally learned that feelings are deceiving and not an accurate judge of my heart.
The old me lived based on feelings and was so miserable I could barely make it through a day. The new me is learning to live based on knowledge of God and I may not always be happy, but I know serenity and joy like never before.
PAIGE, FEELINGS ARE DECEPTIVE AREN’T THEY? I FEEL WORTHLESS…BUT GOD SAYS OTHERWISE. I FEEL WEAK AND USELESS….GOD SAYS OTHERWISE. SINCE HE KNOWS ME…EVERYTHING ABOUT ME…GOOD AND BAD, MAYBE I OUGHT TO LISTEN TO HIM. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO FEEL IT, SO I HAVE TO WORK WITH THE KNOWING OF IT. IN HIM WE ARE SET FREE FROM THOSE PAST THINGS…HE SEES US CLEAN AND RIGHTEOUS. AMAZING!
I have lived an entire life based on feelings and how I reacted to them. I always felt that no matter what I did- God was going to take care of me- even if what I did was bad. He finally had to let me waller in the pig poo until I really had to turn to Him. As a coach, I only felt as good as my last game- and then only briefly. If we won- I felt good- and then had to get ready for the next one. If we lost I felt like a failure. Even when we were the state champions- I still felt like something was missing- and it was. I am a very emotional person- especially if I perceive something as unjust. I used to feel like I had to do something about it- to stick up for what I thought was right-even if I went about it in a wrong way. I am learning not to do that but it has been such a huge cost. I know with God that sin caused a huge sacrifice by his son- dying even though he was perfect……Lots of good lessons here, Sherry- Thanks for letting God use you to help others……
IT IS SUCH A FIGHT EVERY DAY ISN’T IT..TO DO THE GOOD THAT NEEDS DONE..AND DO IT GOD’S WAY! EVIL IS RIGHT THERE TO TURN WHAT WE INTENDED AS GOOD, INTO SOMETHING WRONG. SATAN PLAYS WITH US LIKE THAT I THINK. I CAN START OUT WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS AND END UP IN A MESS BECAUSE I LET MY OLD PATTERNS OF PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOR BACK IN. BUT, WITH GOD’S HELP, I HAVE NOTICED THAT MORE AND MORE I CAN PUT AWAY THOSE OLD THINGS. I CAN HUSH THAT VOICE…I CAN OVERCOME THAT “REACTION”. IT IS A BATTLE…BUT WHO BETTER TO FIGHT ALONG SIDE ME, THAN THE ONE WHO SET ME FREE?? (AND HE HAS ALREADY WON THE WAR RIGHT??) THOSE SHACKLES ARE BROKEN…I JUST HAVE TO REALIZE IT AND STEP OUT OF THE PRISON. THANK YOU BARRY FOR YOUR HONESTY HERE…GOD IS AT WORK IN YOU. I SEE HIM IN YOU. praying….
Wow, I do not think I have seen that lesson so clearly before. Maybe it is because I needed it so much right now, that I needed to see it?
did that make sense?
I like knowing that God is greater than my heart. So when my heart is feeling a “mean way”, and my thoughts are not very kind, God knows this weakness of mine, and forgives these sins. wow again,
thank you today for this encouragement.
CELIA I THINK THAT IS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP READING GOD’S WORD OVER AND OVER AGAIN. BECAUSE THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN YOU NEED TO SEE SOMETHING, AND IT WILL BE LIKE THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE EVER READ IT. ALMOST AS IF IT WASN’T IN THE BIBLE THE LAST TIME YOU READ THAT PART!! I KNOW, I’VE DONE THAT SO OFTEN LATELY. IT WILL BE A PASSAGE THAT I READ MAYBE EVEN JUST A WEEK AGO…AND I READ IT AGAIN AND SOMETHING WILL JUMP OUT AND GRAB ME. GOD IS JUST GOOD LIKE THAT!! I’M HAPPY THAT YOU FOUND SOMETHING TODAY THAT YOU NEEDED.
Hey Sherry. I am just dropping Passover encouragements. Happy Passover. This is our day. A day God’s power is shown. A day slaves are set free. A reminder of the purpose in our journey. God is still the great I AM. We are on our journey. I am so glad we are not alone. We are a part of such a big story, and you are a beautiful daughter of the King.
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY AMY. I LIKE THAT WE ARE DAUGHTERS OF THE KING
The old me wasn’t all bad, and the new me isn’t all good. But praise God for the difference! The old me had no capable help…no solid place to stand…no reason to expect or to do better. The old me was without God and without hope in this life. The old me was alone… dreadfully alone. The old me was a prisoner to the law of sin. I imagine that as Paul wrote of this terrible condition into which sin places us, he could hardly wait to write of the after. He fully and well explained the “before” of his life. He couldn’t wait to tell about the “after”…the now of his life. Before-…wretched… a prisoner of sin…trapped in a body of death…unable to progress…desperate. After-…rescued…no condemnation…freedom from the law that says when you sin you die…hope…a destiny…a Savior…help in actually doing the good we intend to do for Him. Yes, the new me sometimes (too many times) resembles the old me, just as the old me sometimes resembled what is now the new me. But there is a world of difference brought to us through our Savior. Our struggle then was losing…our struggle now is winning. Then…no matter how long or how diligently we struggled in the end it was just us. Now…we fight with purpose and when we fall, we shall arise. Now we not only have something worth fighting for, we have Someone worth fighting together with. We no longer have only a law, we have a Friend. So, even though it sometimes feels like it, me and that guy back then (before Jesus washed me with His blood), we are NOT the same. No…not at all…not even remotely. Jesus is making all the difference. It is the difference of day and night…the difference of death and life…of shame and of glory. Blessed by He! May we, more and more, see ourselves through His eyes. We are not quitting, are we, you all?
THE FIGHT WE NOW FIGHT IS WITH PURPOSE…FOR A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE. AND IT IS SO MUCH EASIER WITH JESUS FIGHTING WITH US AND CHEERING US ON! I LOVE THAT THOUGHT! I HAVE NOTICED LATELY IN MY LIFE, THAT THE OLD STUFF FLARES UP, BUT I AM ABLE TO TAKE IT CAPTIVE MORE EASILY. I DON’T SINK COMPLETELY INTO THE SEWER, BUT I AM ABLE TO COME TO GRIPS WITH THINGS AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT GOD IS GOD AND HE IS WORKING GOOD FOR ME. I STILL HURT. I STILL HAVE WOUNDS THAT NEED TO HEAL. I STILL HEAR THE OLD VOICES TELLING ME ALL THE BAD THINGS THEY WANT ME TO HEAR. BUT I AM MORE ABLE TO HEAR THE VOICE OF MY SAVIOR CHEERING ME ON…FIGHTING BY MY SIDE. THANK YOU DOUG FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL WORDS, AS ALWAYS.