Romans 7: 7- 25
My life has become chaos and unmanageable and I surrender my problem and life to Christ, His Lordship for my recovery.
Paul is excited and is agonizing with the conflict of our sinful nature and what we are saved to do. In the English, we feel he is sounding more like Dr. Seuss than the Apostle of God. But in fact, Paul's argument is logical and sound, that we can "delight in the Law of God," even though we cannot keep it. Even though we will have conflicts between our sinful nature and His Holiness, and between our faith and the ways of the world, nevertheless verse 25 lays to rest that conflict in the ultimate and final sense. We will prevail through our Lord Jesus Christ. We can take our comfort in this, and that through Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit will give us the means to persevere and overcome all things. If not in this temporary life, then in the life to come. So our hope and trust is purely through our deliverance by Christ.
- It is human sinful nature and our depraved hearts that cause the problems we face. It is Christ who is the healer who can help us and carry us to recovery!
- We cannot live with just common sense and our religion. Our struggle is complex; we are new creatures, yet we still have our fallen nature. Thus the struggle is between the dominance of the two, our struggle and His help. God's purpose and our growth and maturity are found here (I Cor. 4:4; Gal 2:20; Phil. 2:12-18; 3:20).
- One aspect of our being is agony with our sin or struggle, as Christ bore it; the other is triumph, as Christ did after the cross. We are in total identification from suffering to freedom in Christ. We are then to loath sin and embrace Christ.
- One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to bring us to do what the Lord desires us to do, away from our desires (Gal. 5:22-23).
- The Holy Spirit keeps our love relationship with Christ alive and exciting, causing us to desire Him and not our ambitions and sin. His Spirit will continue to reveal our nature and His Holiness; we are to work it out (Phil. 2:1-18).
- We are not to live a separated life (Rom. 6:15-23). We are to be true and surrendered to Christ, as in a good marriage where the spouses are in love and supportive and not there as an arrangement of convenience. Our role is being a fighter of sin and any addiction or dependency we may face. Remember, you are not alone! Be the one who embraces Christ.
- When we are "ourselves," we are just planning our own funeral. Thus, we need to carry it to the end so we are dead to ourselves, then we can let God be God!
Jesus knows us intimately. He knows our situation, our struggles, and our opportunities. He wants us to take hold of His grace and love so we can focus upon Him and lean on Him, both in our jubilations and in our struggles. The key in this passage is to stay faithful in our Christian identity and our leadership of others, and to remain loyal to Christ. We are not to allow our doubts, fears, or state of affairs to occupy His place in our hearts and minds.
The bottom line is this: If you want help over your addiction and dependency, no matter how hard or much or long you have had it, you must surrender to God. He is the only way you can be helped effectively and completely. And please see a qualified therapist or licensed counselor if you have any chemical addictions. You also need their help and intervention too.
