Victory Over the Battle Within

Rom.7.22 - For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

Rom.7.23 - but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Rom.7.24 - Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Rom.7.25 - Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

I have struggled with this chapter for some years now. However, I conclude that in believers there is truly a battle within between the part of them that knows what is good and the part of them that sin dwells. The part of them that sin dwells is so powerful that it many times will render them paralysed in doing good. 

Paul is here clearly speaking about his walk. By now he has done a number of missions. Established a number of churches. Performed a number of "impossible" miracles. His depth in the word is beyond many of his time. The doctrines he teaches he claimed that he was taught by the Lord Jesus. He had a face to face encounter with the risen glorified Lord Jesus. His writings is holy scripture(the word of God). However, despite being this powerful man, he is still a man in whom sin dwells and has that battle within to do good but at times the sin within overcomes the good he knows he ought to do. So raging is this battle within and so clear to him is his sinfulness that he cries out in brokenness - O wretched man that I am!

One point worth noting is that if we as believers become oblivious of this battle within then we ought to be most wary of our spiritual state. When it seems as though we are good and have done no sin and the struggle within seems non-existent we ought to wake up and ask ourselves whether we are walking on the right path. It is quite evident that the sign of a growing Christian is the reality of this battle within them.

In his (Paul) cry and brokenness of his own wretchedness, he asks - who shall deliver him? He remembers Jesus Christ and praises him. It doesn't matter how raging the battle within is and how the fact of your failure in sin is even more than the times you have done the good. Christ has not and will not give up on you. He has settled your debt on the cross and by his power which is infinitely bigger than the sin within you he will perfect you and by the time he raises you from the dead he will raise you perfected as He is perfect. 

Therefore, losing heart in the battle is not an option!