Jun 2 – Be Battle Ready

“²¹ So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. ²² For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, ²³ but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.”

This brings a conclusion to Paul’s transparency with us about his internal struggles against the sin and temptation brought about by the flesh. Paul warns that he has discovered a dangerous trend: “When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me.” (v. 21b) It is a principle that as we grow in faith and our desire to be obedient to God’s Word, we will be faced with temptation. Perhaps one could say that the more we try to be righteous, the more temptation to sin will come. What can we do? Cry out to God! Ask Him for help to conquer temptation and sin. 

“No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.”  — ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬

In summary, Paul’s argument is this: On the one hand, Christians have a deep, Spirit-given desire to serve God, in obedience to His law. On the other hand, and in many ways contrary to the overall desire of the Christian to be holy and righteous, the Christian finds their desires overridden by a more powerful and temporary desire to sin.  Doesn’t this ring true to us? Sin can be a blinding and overwhelming desire. It is shortsighted, and not long lasting, yet it can hold so much power over a person. How many times have you given into the desire to sin, only to shortly thereafter be reminded of your failing commitment to following God’s law? This is why we need Christ. This is why the old sinful, fleshly part of us must die and be buried with Christ. When this occurs, God ensures that we are also raised with His Son Jesus. We are given new life. We are given a righteousness, not our own, but Jesus’. This is why we need Jesus to give us the Spirit. He will help us in our daily, minute-by-minute battles against temptation and sin. By God’s grace, and through His mercy, we can live a righteous life. Paul will discuss this more in chapter 8.