Sin, Law, Grace and Living In The Spirit A Follower of Jesus Christ
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to Sin.15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is Sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is Sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of Sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of Sin.
The Chains of Guilt and Shame
The chaos swirling in each because of Sin can become debilitating. It is easy to become so overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and shame that we can’t shake the feeling of unworthiness. Unworthiness and shame are the chief symptoms of the disease, Sin. Our guilt and shame lead to fear, and fear renders us incapable of moving past our failed pasts and failures today, so we can live an empowered life.
“17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
The War Within and the Victory Without
Through the Apostle Paul, the writer of the Roman letter, God teaches us that we are prone to wander, failure, and selfishness. If we rely upon ourselves and our willpower to overcome steady streams of temptation, we will fail often and spectacularly. Here Paul wrestles with the reality of human brokenness that results from our failure to trust The God who loves us.
Remember, Condemnation, like Salvation is a statement of relationship. One is born of unwillingness to trust God and the other rests in our trust in the Lord. Also, remember, Salvation, once applied to the life of the believer, changes our relationship with Sin and, therefore, our relationship with God. Let me take you back a couple of chapters in Romans to chapter 5:1& 2, it says;
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace[a] with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
Salvation Is A Trust Relationship
Romans 5 clearly states that we are the beneficiaries of the work we could not do for ourselves. We are privileged because of what Jesus did for us. Sin is part of our makeup, but as renewed creatures, we are being “conformed” to the image of God’s Son. (Romans 8:29) Now we see the power and pain of Sin as we should see it. It is dangerous for us and deadly for the unsaved.
Knowing what Sin is and how it impacts believers makes our growth into women and men who live, talk, and act like Jesus all the more critical. Growth as a follower of Jesus Christ depends upon our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Plainly speaking, Salvation comes through Jesus Christ, while Christlikeness or discipleship comes through following and learning from the Holy Spirit. “Trust in the Lord…He shall direct thy path” mirrors Galatians 5:22&23 where God says through the Apostle Paul: 22 “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce fruit…” Sin is not our focus; Salvation and Discipleship are. Salvation cancels the wages of Sin and gives us life; discipleship requires our deliberate and purposeful submission to the Cause of Jesus Christ for our lives and others. We must rest in the fact that though Sin is Real, we are Safe in Jesus Christ. Read what Romans 8:1 tells us, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”