Our body has a voice and it wants what it wants and this leads us to excess. It is described this way in Romans 7:18 “For I know that good does not live in me, that is, in my flesh. For the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not”. But in Christ, there is another voice, the voice of the spirit of God and in 8:2 “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death”. There is a new mindset, a new way of living, peace instead of fear and worry. We are now the ones the Lord is using in Romans 9:23 that he could make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory.
I With My Mind Am Enslaved to the Law of God
Romans 7:13–25
These verses describe the challenge faced by every Christian, in
Romans 7:15 For what I am doing I do not understand, because what I want to do, this I do not practice, but what I hate, this I do.
We know we are dead in baptism to sin, that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin and we are now free to live for him. Yet, as it says in
Romans 7:18 “For I know that good does not live in me, that is, in my flesh. For the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not”.
Our body has a voice, it is our connection to this world and this world is fallen in sin so that we also may cry out as in
Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
It is only through Jesus Christ in
Romans 7:25 “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself with my mind am enslaved to the law of God, but with my flesh I am enslaved to the law of sin”.
The Mindset of the Spirit is Life and Peace
Romans 8:1–8
When you talk to people, what do you hear? Worry, fear, guilt, shame, anger, frustration, and the list could go on. People are offended or offensive, judgmental or feeling condemnation through the judgment of others. But God in
Romans 8:3 “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh”
so that, in
Romans 8:1–2 “Consequently, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death”.
Now, in Christ, we can live a different kind of life, without worry, fear and despair. We can live with a different mindset in
Romans 8:6 “For the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace”.
The Spirit is Life Because of Righteousness
Romans 8:9–17
Creation Awaits Eagerly the Revelation of the Sons of God
Romans 8:18–30
In All These Things We Prevail Completely
Romans 8:31–39
The Children of the Promise Are Counted as Descendants
That He Could Make Known the Riches of His Glory
Romans 9:14–24
God is a righteous judge, but that does not mean that all are created the same. God is the creator of all and as he says in
Romans 9:15 For to Moses he says, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion.”
and what right do we have to question how God made us as it says in
Romans 9:20 On the contrary, O man, who are you who answers back to God? Will what is molded say to the one who molded it, “Why did you make me like this”?
God is using the hardest of the hard to “demonstrate his wrath” in Romans 9:22 and he is also using us, those who believe, in
Romans 9:23 And he did so in order that he could make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory
Though we have no right to question, the Lord has said in
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us argue,” says Yahweh.“Even though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white like snow; even though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Our willingness and obedience or our refusal and rebellion are the constraints he has put on himself.
Study Verses
- Romans 7:13–25 I With My Mind Am Enslaved to the Law of God
- Romans 8:1–8 The Mindset of the Spirit is Life and Peace
- Romans 9:14–24 That He Could Make Known the Riches of His Glory
Today’s Reading
- Romans 7:13-25
- Romans 8:1-39
- Romans 9:1-24