July 22

You’re Not Crazy, You’re at War

For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ~ Romans 7:19

Ever look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Why did I do that again?” Well, guess what? There’s a war going on in every believer, and it’s nasty. You want to do the right thing. You really, truly hate the sin you keep messing up in. But somehow, against your will and despite your best intentions, you’re in the same place you were yesterday, defeated, frustrated, and asking “What’s wrong with me?”

Romans 7: 14–25 says that’s the battleground in raw, unfiltered terms. This isn’t some heady theological doctrine, it’s your life.

“For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). Sound familiar? If you’re in Christ, then that’s not weakness. That’s spiritual warfare. You’ve got a part of you that rejoices in God’s law, that longs for righteousness. But you’ve also got another part, your flesh, that’s evil, stiff-necked, and bent on destruction. And no matter how hard you try, on your own steam you can’t defeat it. That’s what Paul’s saying in Romans 7:24: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” He’s got a bone to pick with sin, alright. But his answer isn’t self-help, behavior modification, or religious striving. His answer is a Person: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).

Romans 8 kicks off with the most freeing verse in all of Scripture: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). God didn’t save us because we discovered the magic key to victory over sin, He saved us because Jesus died in our place to overcome sin for us. The law couldn’t do that, because it was emasculated by the flesh (Romans 8:3). But God did what the law could not by sending His own Son to condemn sin in the flesh, so that we could be made righteous before Him, not by works, but by walking in the Spirit.

That’s not just forgiveness. That’s freedom. “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). That’s not religious hype-talk. That’s reality for every man and woman who stops living for the flesh and starts living by the Spirit. Mindset matters. “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

So, if you’re in Christ, don’t beat yourself up when you sense the battle raging within. The war is evidence that you have been made new. The Spirit of God is in you now, warring against the old man. You’re not a slave to sin anymore. You’ve been set free. Start living like it. “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

The battle is real, but so is the victory. And it’s been won by the One who has the victory: Jesus.

Read / Listen

2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10
Romans 7:14-8:8
Psalm 18:1-15
Proverbs 19:24-25