The War Inside — TDW Kids

The law and life. Paul asks, “Do you not know… that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?” (7:1). Dominion means rule. A law has power over a person only while that person is alive. A marriage picture. A wife “is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives” (7:2). If he dies, she is free to marry again. Death ends that tie. We died with Christ. “You also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ” (7:4). When Jesus died on the cross, everyone who trusts Him died with Him to the old way of trying to be right with God by keeping rules. Belonging to Jesus. Now we belong “to Him who was raised from the dead” (7:4). A bride gives her whole life to her husband. In the same way, we now belong to the risen Jesus, and He gives His whole life to us. Fruit for God. Jesus joined us to Himself “that we should bear fruit to God” (7:4). Fruit means the good things that grow in a life that belongs to Jesus. Old way, new way. Before, sin was at work in us “to bear fruit to death” (7:5). Now we serve “in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter” (7:6). The letter means rules written down. The Spirit is God Himself living in us. What we learn. A Christian is not someone trying hard to keep a list. A Christian belongs to Jesus, and His Spirit helps us live for Him.

Dominion (7:1). Paul writes to people “who know the law,” the Law God gave through Moses. His first point is simple: a law rules a person only as long as that person lives. Death ends the law's claim. The marriage example (7:2-3). God's law bound a wife to her husband for life. If her husband died, she was “released from the law of her husband” and free to marry again. Paul uses this to show that a death changes who we belong to. Dead to the law (7:4). Believers “have become dead to the law through the body of Christ.” When Jesus died, those who trust Him died with Him. Paul says the same thing in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ.” The law cannot condemn someone who has already died with Christ. Joined to the risen Lord (7:4). We were set free from the law so that we could be joined “to Him who was raised from the dead.” Freedom in the Bible is never freedom to do whatever we want. It is freedom to belong to Jesus. Two kinds of fruit (7:4-5). Life “in the flesh” bore “fruit to death.” Life joined to Jesus bears “fruit to God.” Galatians 5:22-23 names that fruit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Spirit and letter (7:6). The letter is the law written on stone. It told Israel what to do but gave no power to do it. The Spirit writes God's ways on the heart, just as God promised: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). Why it matters. The Christian life is not a new list of rules. It is a new relationship with a living Person, and a new power inside us.

Paul used a picture to teach a big truth. God made marriage to last as long as both people live. In the same way, God's law was over us. But we could never keep all of God's rules. Jesus died on the cross for us. When we trust Jesus, our old self dies with Him. So the law is not our master anymore. We belong to Jesus, who rose from the dead! Belonging to Jesus changes us from the inside. Jesus grows good things in us, like kindness and love. The Holy Spirit lives in everyone who trusts Jesus. He helps us serve God with happy hearts.

Jesus died and rose again. When we trust Him, we belong to Jesus. His Spirit helps us grow good things for God.

A bad law? “Is the law sin? Certainly not!” (7:7). God's law is not the problem. The law shows sin. “I would not have known sin except through the law” (7:7). The law is like a mirror. It shows the dirt on your face, but it cannot wash it off. Do not covet. The tenth commandment says, “You shall not covet” (7:7; Exodus 20:17). To covet means to want what belongs to someone else so much that it takes over your heart. Nobody can see coveting from the outside. This command showed Paul that his heart was wrong, not just his actions. Sin uses the rule. “Sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire” (7:8). A sign telling you not to touch wet paint can make you want to touch it. The sign is good. The trouble is the heart that wants to disobey. Sin lies. “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me” (7:11). The serpent lied to Eve in the garden, and sin still lies today. It promises fun and freedom, but it brings death. Good law, bad sin. “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good” (7:12). The law shows how “exceedingly sinful” sin really is (7:13). What we learn. God gave His law to show us our need. When the law shows us our sin, it is pointing us to Jesus.

Certainly not (7:7). If believers have died to the law, is the law evil? Paul answers with his strongest “no.” The law comes from God, so it is good. The trouble is in us. The knowledge of sin. “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). The law works like an X-ray. It shows what is wrong inside, but it cannot heal it. Why coveting? Paul chooses the tenth commandment, “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17). Most of the commandments forbid actions. Coveting happens in the heart, where no one else can see it. Paul could keep the outward rules, but this one showed him a heart full of wrong desire. A base for attack (7:8, 11). Paul says sin took “opportunity” and “occasion” by the commandment. The Greek word is aphorme (say: af-or-MAY), a starting point or base for an army's attack. Sin used God's good command as its base. Telling a sinful heart no can make it want the thing more. Alive, then dead (7:9-10). Paul once felt fine with God. When the command came home to his heart, “sin revived and I died.” He saw that he was guilty and dead in sin. The commandment “which was to bring life” brought death, because “whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). Deceived (7:11). Sin lies, just as the serpent did. Eve said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:13). Sin still promises life and pays out death. Holy, just and good (7:12-13). The fault lies with sin, not with the law. Sin used something good to do its evil work. That showed sin to be “exceedingly sinful.” Seeing our sin clearly is the first step toward running to the Savior.

Is God's law bad? No! God's law is good. The law is like a mirror. A mirror shows you a dirty face. But a mirror cannot wash your face. God's law shows us our sin. But the law cannot take sin away. One rule says not to want other people's things. That rule showed Paul a wrong want in his heart. Sin even used the rule to make him want more. Sin is a liar and a trickster. God gave the law to help us see our need. Only Jesus can wash our hearts clean.

God's law is good. It shows us what is wrong. Sin is the problem, not God's law.

Good law, sinful me. “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin” (7:14). Carnal means ruled by the flesh, the old sinful self that wants its own way. I do what I hate. “For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (7:15). You plan to be patient with your little brother, and five minutes later you are yelling. Paul knew that feeling. Sin living inside. “It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (7:17). Paul is not making an excuse. He is saying sin is like an unwanted guest who has moved in. Wanting is not enough. “For to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find” (7:18). Paul wanted to do right. He did not have the power to do it. Two sides. “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man” (7:22). But Paul also saw “another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind” (7:23). It was a real war. A prisoner. Sin was “bringing me into captivity” (7:23). Captivity means being held as a prisoner. What we learn. Even Paul could not win this war by trying harder. Feeling this battle does not mean God has stopped loving you. It shows how much you need Jesus.

Carnal (7:14). Paul says, “I am carnal, sold under sin.” Carnal comes from the Latin word for flesh. In Paul's letters, flesh is the Greek word sarx (say: SARKS). It can mean the body, but here it means the old self that wants its own way instead of God's way. The split (7:15-19). Paul describes the same split again and again: he wants the good, and he does the evil. Anyone who has tried to break a bad habit by willpower alone knows this feeling. Not an excuse (7:17, 20). “It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” Paul still takes his sin seriously. He calls himself “wretched” in 7:24. He is describing a power that is stronger than his own will. In my flesh (7:18). “In me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” The desire to obey God did not come from the flesh. It came from God. The inward man (7:22). Deep inside, Paul delights in God's law. God had given him a mind that loves what is right, just as He promised: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). Another law (7:21-23). Here “law” means a rule that always works, like the law of gravity. Sin pulls downward every time a person tries to rise in his own strength. It takes the person captive like a prisoner of war. Why it matters. A Christian can love God and still feel the pull of sin. That pull is not proof that God has given up on you. The answer is not trying harder. It is trusting Christ and following His Spirit, which Paul explains next in 7:25 and 8:1-4.

Have you ever wanted to be kind, but you were mean instead? Paul felt that way too. He wanted to do good things. But he kept doing things he hated. Paul said sin was living inside him. It was like a war in his heart. Part of Paul loved God's law. Another part wanted its own way. The Bible calls that part the flesh. Trying harder did not win the war. Paul could not beat sin by himself. Nobody can beat sin alone. That is why we all need Jesus. Jesus loves us even when we struggle.

Paul wanted to do good. But he still did wrong things. Sin was fighting inside him. We feel that too.

A cry for help. “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (7:24). Wretched means miserable. Paul felt trapped, like a prisoner chained to something that was dying. Who, not what. Paul did not ask what would save him: a new rule, a better plan or more effort. He asked who. The answer is a Person. The answer. “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (7:25). Jesus does what we could never do. No condemnation. Paul goes straight on: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (8:1). Condemnation means being judged guilty. Jesus took our guilt on the cross. Set free. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (8:2). What the law could not do. “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son” (8:3). Power inside. The Holy Spirit lives in every believer (8:9). He gives us power to say no to sin and yes to God. What we learn. When you fail, run to Jesus instead of hiding. Confess your sin, thank Him for His forgiveness and ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

Wretched (7:24). The cry “O wretched man that I am!” does not come from someone who shrugs at sin. Those are the words of someone who hates sin and cannot beat it. Deliver (7:24). The Greek word is rhuomai (say: HROO-oh-my), to rescue someone by pulling them out of danger. It is a rescue word, not a self-help word. Jesus taught His disciples to pray for this kind of rescue from the evil one (Matthew 6:13). This body of death. Paul's body was not evil, but sin was at work in it, and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). He longed to be free from sin's grip. The turn (7:25). Paul's cry turns straight into thanks: “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Rescue comes from outside us, through a Person. Still a struggle (7:25). “With the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Until Jesus returns, believers still feel the pull of the flesh. But the battle is no longer hopeless. No condemnation (8:1). Paul goes straight on: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” The guilt is gone because Jesus carried it. The Spirit's power (8:3-4). God sent His Son “on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit gives the power the law never could. Jesus promised Him as “another Helper” (John 14:16). Living it. Victory does not come from gritting our teeth. We win by depending on Jesus every day, confessing sin quickly (1 John 1:9) and following the Spirit's lead (Romans 8:14).

Paul felt very sad about his sin. He cried, “What a miserable man I am!” Then he asked, “Who will save me?” Paul did not ask what would save him. He asked who would save him. The answer is a Person. Jesus is the One who saves us! He died for our sins and rose again. Paul thanked God for saving him through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus also gives us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in everyone who trusts Jesus. He gives us power to say no to sin. When you sin, you can tell Jesus right away.

Paul asked, “Who will save me?” God saves us through Jesus! The Holy Spirit gives us power to do good.