Who Will Deliver Me?

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of 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. 

Romans 7:24-25 

The Apostle Paul was no armchair theologian. He understood the law and the value of it. He understood its purpose in the larger scheme of things. He also understood himself. The passage he writes in the seventh chapter of Romans is excruciatingly honest. He declares the law to be good, just, and right. He also reveals himself to be utterly incapable of keeping the law. The seventh chapter describes for us the reality of the trench warfare of the life of the believer. It is critically important that this chapter falls where it does in Romans. If we were only to read chapters six and eight, without chapter seven, we would be at a loss to explain the spiritual struggles we ourselves endure as we seek to follow Christ. Paul sets forth a very personal, raw account of his daily spiritual struggles. His dismay at his natural inclinations and personal failures is evident. At the end of his confession, he asks the questions, ‘O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?’ His answer is Christ. Christ is the One Who delivers us from our spiritual failures. He is the answer to our daily struggles. He prevails where we fail. We may continue to struggle, but Christ will deliver us overall.  

Our Gracious Master and our God,
we rejoice that You know all we face day by day.
We praise You that You will continue to deliver us from all evil.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning