A Need for Grace
6/19/25 Bible Thought (Romans 7)
The Christian life is often characterized as a journey, and I find this to be a helpful metaphor.
We’re on our way to glory, with a hope of final resurrection, and yet we’re here on earth in a world fraught with sin and problems. There is a sure hope that God will finish the work He has begun in us (Phil. 1:6) and yet, if we’re honest, we are likewise very certain that this work is presently unfinished. As a result, I’m sure all of us at times look in the mirror and are frustrated with what we see.
We see such a helpful picture of this in Romans 7.
In Romans 5, Paul eloquently outlined how the reign of death instituted by the first Adam was overthrown and how grace has come that is greater than all our sin. Then, in chapter 6, Paul ensures we don’t abuse that grace as a license for sinful behavior, even though it is most certainly sufficient for all our sins past, present, and future.
While theologically these chapters should encourage us greatly, they might discourage us at times with our present experience. For while the genuine Christian doesn’t abuse God’s grace as a license for their sin, they nevertheless still wrestle with sin.
So, we come to Romans 7, where the apostle Paul outlines this struggle.
Now, interpreters are divided as to whether Paul is talking about former struggles that nonbelievers have, or his present struggle with sin, I lean towards the latter view.
Paul explains that the law itself is good, but unfortunately it awakens sin within us. For some reason, the forbidden fruit always seems the sweetest. This is the struggle with the Mosaic law. Inherently, it’s good, yet in its application it awakens the sin-nature that people have.
With this in mind, although the believer in Jesus Christ has died to the law, namely that we are no longer under the law, but under grace, there is still this sense that sin is at work in us.
The apostle outlines his own struggles,
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Rom. 7:15,19-20).
Sin is an evil that lies close at hand (Rom. 7:21) that must be taken seriously.
As the Lord once warned Cain, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). All of us battle between the desires of the flesh and of the Spirit (see Gal. 5:16-17). Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.
Paul concludes with a heart-rending cry,
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24).
Who will deliver? The answer is Jesus (Rom. 7:25). Jesus will deliver us.
He has delivered us from sin’s penalty, we’re presently being saved from sin’s power in our ongoing growth as believers, and likewise one day we’ll be saved from sin’s presence.
Our perfection might await that final day, but we can be encouraged that He is both with us in the journey and He is presently at work in us.
We deal with sin and temptation along the way, and it will be messy at times. We don’t use this knowledge to justify our sin and live lawlessly, but we should be encouraged today that the only Christians that exist on earth are imperfect ones who still need grace.