Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord… So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. — Romans 7:25; 8:1-2 (NLT)
In the midst of his railing against the frustration of being unable to stop sinning, Paul cries out “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?” (Romans 7:24, NLT). He immediately answers himself with gratitude to God for providing the way out through Jesus. Paul could not do this if he were still trapped in such a frustrating way of life. In his diatribe, Paul was merely expressing how frustrating it could be for the sake of those currently trapped — or perhaps showing how frustrated he was before Jesus found him and changed his life.
As I wrote previously, this passage is confusing because Paul seems to change directions suddenly. Each person must make up his or her mind which of the two possibilities he or she believes. Either you believe that Paul was voicing the frustration of those trying to satisfy the Law while he himself had already found the way of freedom and peace; or, that Paul was trapped in a life of failure and defeat by sin, and he was merely voicing a contradiction that on the one hand he believed Jesus set us free from sin, but on the other he was still wrestling (and failing) with sin.
After considering how implausible the latter option sounds, I can only conclude that the former is correct. And if it is, we can now be walking a significantly victorious life over sin. I do not want to minimize the frustration that many of you reading this may be feeling as you feel trapped in some kind of habitual sin. I will address that in a future note, because having been trapped myself, I understand how awful this can make you feel, and how implausible it seems that one can be totally free. It is possible to feel renewed and clean. And it may not be as far away as you might think.
For now, let us return to examining the verses that we began with. First, we see that we are not condemned when we do sin (verse 1 of chapter 8). That is really marvelous news! This means that there is no eternal condemnation for those who belong to Jesus, and it also means that there is no current condemnation. I remember when I was younger in faith I used to think that God would act angry at me (or disappointed with me) every time I sinned. I know now that this was just me projecting what I would expect God to do on the situation. I now understand that God understands when I fall short, and He desires to pick me up and get me back on my feet so that I can once again walk with Him — rather than let Satan get the better of me.
This condemnation thing is a key tactic Satan uses against us. He first tempts us, telling us that if we sin it won’t be so bad. Then once we sin, he heaps condemnation on us, telling us we are so bad that we cannot be accepted by God. It is good to be aware of the tricks the enemy uses, as well as the truth that is in Jesus. There is no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. We are reconciled, and sin is no longer able to separate us from God.
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The other thing the Spirit does for us is that He lets us walk out a different Law. The Law of sin and death had us trapped in a performance nightmare that we could never win. The Law of sin and death is a one size fits all law that really never fit anyone. It is a brutal taskmaster. But the Law of the Spirit of Life set us free from the other oppressive Law by allowing us to walk in a joyous relationship where we respond to the leading of an intimate friend who molds the things He asks of us to meet our unique situations and personalities.
The end result is that our outward performance — a visible holiness — far exceeds what we could have ever hoped to achieve under the old way of doing things. The challenge is to learn to live in this new way of life of seeking God daily — even moment by moment — and to allow ourselves to live in the freedom of the Spirit rather than the confinement of the Law.
You can see how this is not just a matter of theology that has no bearing on how you live your life. How you interpret these verses determines whether on a practical level God wins in your life, or Satan wins. You must choose.
Originally posted on May 3, 2010