Romans 7:21-25 (NLT)
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Prior to these verse the apostle says, “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.” The Apostle wants to please God, but he knows sin is against him, dominating him and trying to hold him a slave. Thankfully he knows Jesus Christ is the answer to his struggle with sin. Jesus Christ provides the forgiveness, the mercy and the grace to move past the grip of sin and look to the love of God.
In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins passes on to Frodo a coveted ring. Gollum, one of the original owners of the ring, was twisted and monstrous, but he had not always been so. The longer he possessed the ring, however, the more the ring distorted his body, mind, and soul. He so loved the ring that he referred to it as "my precious." Bilbo Baggins steals the ring from Gollum. Bilbo does not fully appreciate the hold this ring has upon him until he attempts to turn it over to his cousin Frodo. Like Gollum, Bilbo has taken to referring to the ring as "my precious," and though he understands the danger and corrupting power of the ring, he is reluctant to let it go.
What happens is we are reluctant to let go of sin. Just like the ring, sin corrupts, ensnares, and even endangers the one that harbors it. Sin destroys and make our lives grotesque. Sin is hard to relinquish and that is why we need the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Allow Jesus Christ to work in your life to remove the dominance of sin.
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Prior to these verse the apostle says, “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.” The Apostle wants to please God, but he knows sin is against him, dominating him and trying to hold him a slave. Thankfully he knows Jesus Christ is the answer to his struggle with sin. Jesus Christ provides the forgiveness, the mercy and the grace to move past the grip of sin and look to the love of God.
In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins passes on to Frodo a coveted ring. Gollum, one of the original owners of the ring, was twisted and monstrous, but he had not always been so. The longer he possessed the ring, however, the more the ring distorted his body, mind, and soul. He so loved the ring that he referred to it as "my precious." Bilbo Baggins steals the ring from Gollum. Bilbo does not fully appreciate the hold this ring has upon him until he attempts to turn it over to his cousin Frodo. Like Gollum, Bilbo has taken to referring to the ring as "my precious," and though he understands the danger and corrupting power of the ring, he is reluctant to let it go.
What happens is we are reluctant to let go of sin. Just like the ring, sin corrupts, ensnares, and even endangers the one that harbors it. Sin destroys and make our lives grotesque. Sin is hard to relinquish and that is why we need the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Allow Jesus Christ to work in your life to remove the dominance of sin.
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