A Slave to Sin

THE apostle Paul was willing to take a long, hard look at his deepest, darkest inner life. What he saw there was troubling, but true: he was a slave to sin (Romans 7:15). In fact, he realized that nothing good lived in his flesh (Romans 7:18)—a fact that caused him to cry out in wretchedness (Romans 7:24).

Paul was not just having a bad day when he wrote Romans 7. He was not merely suffering from a sense of inadequacy and low self-esteem. Paul’s realistic appraisal of his spiritual life came from measuring himself against the high and holy expectations that God has for all of us, what the Book of Romans calls the law (Romans 7:7). The more Paul became aware of what God wanted, the more aware he became of his inability, in his own strength, to live as God wanted.

The only answer to Paul’s wretched condition—and to our own—is Jesus Christ (Romans 7:25). Only Jesus makes it possible to fulfill the righteous requirements of a holy God (Romans 8:3-4). Thus, Paul’s honesty led to hope.

The same is true for us. In confession we can find God’s forgiveness. In admitting our weakness we can find His strength. If we deny our true condition, we deceive ourselves, and doom ourselves to lives enslaved to sin (1 John 1:8-10).

Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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