Romans 7:25,26 – I thank GOD!

A wretched man am I! What will rescue me out of this body of death? Grace! I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Consequently then, I myself with the mind, indeed, am slaving for God’s law yet with the flesh for Sin’s law.

In the conflict that Paul describes from verses 13 to 26 everything revolves around “I” and “me”. He mentions these words more than thirty times (!). He describes how his “I” always resolved to take seriously the commandment “you shall not covet…”, but without success. Fighting sin is like fighting with the chimney sweep: by definition it makes you dirty. That is a law that the pious “I” does not change. Verse 26 is the concise summary of this conflict.

We must remember that when Paul describes this inner battle, he is doing it from the answer he gives in verse 25. An answer he will explain in detail in Chapter 8. The inability to fulfill the commandment oneself has not changed. “The flesh” hasn’t gotten any better either. The answer is, I don’t have to fulfill the law, because GOD does. If He promises (“you shall…”) then He will fulfill it. “Through Jesus Christ our Lord”!

Delen: