The Answer

Romans 7:^24-25 “I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions…” (MSG).

To gain victory over the battle within the first thing we must do is deepen our understanding of Christ. Romans 6:^12-13 “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. …Instead, give yourselves completely to God… now you have new life…” (emphasis added). The fact that you have been given a new life does not mean you will give yourself completely to God. You can be given a new life, you can be saved, and you give yourself partially to God. A lot of Christians do that and then they wonder why they are always struggling. God is saying, now that you have been given a new life, the onus is on you to give yourself completely to God.

So, having Christ in you is not enough. We thought that was enough, right? Well, apparently not. You have to give yourself completely to God. Jesus does not just want to be resident in your life. Jesus wants to be president in your life. Jesus wants to rule your life and be Lord in your life. Romans 8:² “…For the new spiritual principle of life “in” Christ lifts me out of the old vicious circle of sin and death.” (J.B. Phillips, emphasis added). In other words, in Christ, you have a banner that reads, ‘under new management, under a new government’.

Romans 7:²⁴ “…Who will deliver me from this body of death?…” (KJV, emphasis added). When we read this scripture, the phrase ‘body of death’ does not mean much to us. But for the Semite who lived in the day of Jesus and Paul, the body of death means a lot. Back in that day, when someone commits murder, the dead person is chained to the person that committed the murder. And everywhere the person goes, he is carrying the person that he or she killed. That dead body will rot and begin to smell still chained to the murderer. Even when the person is sleeping, he or she is yoked with the stench. Imagine carrying the weight of a dead person around.

Nobody wants to associate with such a person. That is the picture Paul is painting in Romans 7:24 because that was how Paul saw himself. And that is what sin does to us, that is actually how we are outside of Christ. Without Christ, we are carrying the body of death. It is heavy, stinking, and repulsive. But the person is sleeping, eating, drinking, bathing, and doing everything with the body of death. Now we have a better understanding of the phrase, body of death. Note also that Paul did not say, ‘What but Who will deliver me’. The answer to the battle in you is not a principle, program, or pill. It is a Person; His Name is Jesus.

Prayer (song): I want more of You. I want more of You Jesus. The more I know You, the more I want to know You. Jesus, more of You. Amen!