What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature Or in the flesh a slave to the law of sin.
Romans 7:24-25
Can we with our own strength free ourselves from sin and be perfect? Paul’s answer is no.
Having a carnal body and a spiritual mind creates an internal struggle. On the one hand we want to satisfy our primal desires. On the other hand, as images of God, we have a moral law within us.
The free will that God has given us allows us to choose whether to obey the moral law or the law of the flesh. Although we know that God’s law is the best choice for us, we end up obeying the law of material man. So we do things we don’t want to.
This is why we all need Jesus. He, thanks to his divine nature, managed to live a perfect life, according to the laws of God. No one but God can do it. Jesus, for this reason, was the only one able to pay the price for everyone’s sin, and grant us grace from our condemnation..
In fact, God’s moral standards are so high, that no one can stand in His presence even having committed a single sin. Thus, we need the gift of grace, in order not to be condemned to the lake of fire.
Judged according to our conduct by God, we are all guilty. But the price of our sin has already been paid by Jesus. So we can receive the gift of eternal life, putting our faith in him, and repenting of our sins.
Devotional
In life, sin leads us into situations in which we wish we weren’t. The first thought, and to get out of it with our own strength. But the more we try, the worse we end up. We can think of a person trapped in quicksand. The more he struggles to get out of it, the more he ends up in it.
But Jesus today wants to throw you a rope. He is the only one who can save us, and get us out of any situation. Trust Him!