Bible Discussion Thread

Joan, Romans 7 is one of those very personal, intimate revelations Paul gave of his life: his battle between the spirit & the flesh. He could have easily avoided mentioning his struggle & given his readers the impression that he was a great follower of Christ, enjoying daily victory over every sin. But, being led of the Spirit, he had to confess that his apostleship, his meeting with Christ & even his vision of the glory of Heaven, were not enough to raise him to any greater position than we are at today. In fact, he said that he was "given a thorn in the flesh" ( 2 Cor 12:7) to keep him humble so those privileges wouldn't 'go to his head'.

So in Romans 7, Paul speaks of his battle in the spirit. He longed to please God in every area of his life, but evil (i.e. the working of the body of sin) was always present with him. And so he struggled, but he found that through all this, that only Jesus Christ could help & deliver him. How so? Two ways: by virtue of Christ's death, Paul & all who believe on Jesus, have their sins dealt with at the Cross. In other words, Satan can no more accuse us before God. And secondly, through Jesus alone, could Paul & us find victory over the flesh. Even though Satan will always niggle at us to make us sin, Christ gives us the power to withstand Satan & the appeals of the flesh. In fact, Paul speaks in Gal 2:20 that he is now crucified with Christ & in Rom 6:6, he tells us that our 'old man' (our old nature) was crucified at the Cross. And if that is the case, we are to reckon ourselves dead to sin & now alive to God through Jesus ( Rom 6:11). (onto Page 2).