A Study Of The Book Of Romans Lesson #17 Series

Book of Romans

Lesson # 17

By Rev. James May

Romans Chapter 7:24 – 8:8

Romans 7:24,25 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Paul’s final conclusion is that the war within his own mind, body and spirit, was a war that must be won, but that he alone is powerless to stop the battle or to win the victory. All men are trapped in this never ending struggle between the flesh and the spirit. Men have little hope of defeating the power of the flesh to drag them down and to compel them to desire the things of this world that satisfy the flesh. Within ourselves, we have no power to overcome.

But thank God, we can have the victory, through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ! Christ is us is our hope! Christ in us gives us the power to win over the flesh. Christ in us destroys the power of sin to condemn us. We are made holy and justified by his shed blood. And though this flesh may still cause me to sin, I have an Advocate with my Father in Heaven and I can go to him and receive forgiveness.

My mind is the battleground! If I remain focused in my thinking to think upon the eternal things of God and upon the power of the blood of Jesus, then my mind will be stayed upon him and I will have that “sound mind” that he promises. But if I focus on the things of this world, then my mind will become enslaved unto sin, confused and filled with every evil work.

It’s often been said, “To think it is to do it”! The Bible says that as a man thinks, he is. Let us therefore be very careful of what occupies our thought life. What do you focus on every day? Where you are looking is where you’re going! Are you looking toward God and things eternal?

With my mind I will choose to serve the Lord. Though this flesh may drag me down, with the power of my mind I bring this flesh under subjection and force myself to submit to God’s will. The more I exercise my will and force myself to think about Jesus, the stronger the Spirit of God within me will become.

I let the Holy Spirit lead me; the Word of God teach me; and the Lord live within me so that I may do his will. I choose not to sin; but if I do, then I also choose to repent and be forgiven. With my mind I serve the Lord; even though at times, in my flesh I still sin. I can’t seem to fully stop this process and I am often in trouble because of my own flesh. But Thank God that there is deliverance in the name of Jesus!

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

What is Paul saying here? If we walk in the Spirit, and don’t allow the flesh to prevail and cause us to sin, then there is no condemnation for there is no sin. If we are in Christ, then we are dead to sin, and there is no condemnation because sin has no power over us.

Because we live according to the Word of God, and because Jesus has paid the price for our sin, then the power of sin over us is broken. Faith in Jesus’ blood now makes us justified and righteous in the eyes of the Lord.

When the Father in Heaven looks down upon a born again Child of God, what does he see? Does he see a child that is covered in the dirt of this world? Does he see a son or daughter who carries sin in their hearts like a child would carry a little red wagon full of junk? NO! The Father sees only the righteousness and holiness of Jesus Christ, because the blood of Jesus forgives us and cleanses us from sin, and it is no more!

The law has the power to condemn, but no power to deliver. Jesus said, neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. “ The reason for the shed blood of Christ is not to condemn; but to give grace for the deliverance from sin. We are not under the law, because it is fulfilled in Jesus. He observed every part of the law, never once having been guilty of offending that law in disobedience, and because he was perfect, we are made perfect as well.