The Struggle is Real

Week before last, Paul made one thing clear: the law isn't the problem. Sin is the problem. The law just turns the lights on.

But here's what happens when the lights come on. You see what's there. What Paul sees is a man who knows what's right, wants to do what's right, and then keeps doing what's wrong anyway.

If you've been a follower of Jesus for any length of time, you know exactly what he's talking about. You've been there. You are there. You make a commitment on Sunday, and by Tuesday, you've broken it. You know what you should do, and you can't seem to make yourself do it. You know what you shouldn't do, and you can't seem to stop.

And the question that we ask ourselves in those moments is this: What is wrong with me? Am I even a real Christian?

Here's the one big idea I want you to walk out of here with today:

The Christian life is a war. And the only way through it is trusting the One who has already won.

Paul walks us through three realities of that war in this passage. When you understand all three, you'll stop being surprised by the struggle and start looking in the right direction for the victory.

Let’s take a look starting in Romans 7:14-17

Romans 7:14–17 NKJV

14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, AND IT IS YOURS (Romans 7:14-17)

Romans 7:14 NKJV

14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

A. The contrast that starts everything (v. 14)

- Paul opens with a sharp contrast: "The law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin."

- The law is pneumatikos: belonging to the Spirit, reflecting the character of God Himself.

- Paul is sarkinos: made of flesh, material, earthly.

- Sarkinos: an adjective meaning composed of flesh. It describes what Paul's made of as a human being in his unredeemed body. He's identifying the battlefield, not making an excuse for losing.

- "Sold under sin" echoes the slave market. Paul's describing the condition of indwelling sin that still exerts its pull even in a believer's life.

- The perfect tense of "sold" (pepramenos) points to a past action with continuing effects. Before Christ, we were fully sold. Now, even as believers, sin still seeks to collect on what it once owned.

- The law is what it is. Paul is what he is. That gap is the problem.

Romans 7:15–16 NKJV

15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

B. The honest confession (vv. 15-16)

- Paul says: "What I am doing, I do not understand."

- The Greek word is ginosko again: he can't account for his own behavior. He knows what he's doing. He just can't explain why he keeps doing it.

- The pattern: what I want to do, I don't do. What I hate, I do.

- This is the language of someone who cares deeply and is losing the fight on his own.

- Paul's conclusion in verse 16: by hating what he does, he agrees with the law that the law is good.

- The struggle itself is evidence of regeneration. An unregenerate person doesn't delight in God's law or grieve over violating it. (1 Corinthians 2:14; Psalm 1:2)

Romans 7:17 NKJV

17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

C. The diagnosis (v. 17)

- Paul names what's happening: "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

- "Dwells" is oikousa, from oikeo: to inhabit, to take up residence. Sin's moved in and made itself at home.

- He's identifying the source, not dodging responsibility.

- Sin is an internal force. It lives in him, using his body, his appetites, and his habits as its instruments.

- The believer has 2 things dwelling in him simultaneously: the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9) and the indwelling principle of sin. The war between them is evidence of life, not failure.

ILLUSTRATION - Point 1

There's an old story about a Cherokee elder talking to his grandson about the struggle inside every person. He describes it as 2 wolves at war with each other, one representing good and one representing evil. The grandson asks which one wins. The elder says, "The one you feed." That's not a perfect theological analogy, but the observation is worth keeping. The war is real. Both natures are active. What you feed matters. Paul's saying the same thing. The struggle's a sign that something's gone right. The new nature is alive and refusing to yield without a fight

APPLICATION - Point 1

If you're in the struggle, you're in the war. The person who feels no conflict may not have a new nature fighting for anything.

Stop reading your inner conflict as proof that you're not a Christian. Paul was a mature apostle, and he describes this same war.

Be honest about sin. Paul didn't dress it up with softer words. He called it what it was. That honesty is where the right response begins.

Don't fight alone. The church exists in part because we're not meant to carry this struggle in isolation. (Galatians 6:1-2)

Romans 7:18–23 NKJV

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

THE LAW CANNOT WIN THE WAR FOR YOU (Romans 7:18-23)

Romans 7:18–19 NKJV

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

A. The deepest admission (vv. 18-19)

- Paul goes further in verse 18: "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells."

- He defines "in me" carefully: in my flesh, my sinful nature.

- The old nature has no capacity for genuine goodness. (John 6:63; Philippians 3:3)

- The result in verse 19: "The good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."

- Prasso (practice): carries the sense of ongoing, habitual action. The evil Paul doesn't want is something he keeps on practicing, a persistent pattern.

- This is the war he's been describing: the will aligned with the law, the flesh pulling against it.

The old nature can’t be educated into holiness or disciplined into righteousness. It must be crucified (Galatians 5:24) and replaced by the life of the Spirit.

Romans 7:20–21 NKJV

20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

B. The principle Paul discovers (vv. 20-21)

- Verse 20 repeats the diagnosis of verse 17: sin dwelling in him is producing the failure.

- Verse 21 names it as a principle: "When I want to do good, evil is present with me."

- The word "law" here is nomos used as a principle, a rule drawn from experience as reliable as a law of nature. (Romans 8:2)

- Every believer who's tried to do good in their own strength knows this principle firsthand.

Romans 7:22–23 NKJV

22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

C. The war within (vv. 22-23)

- Paul identifies 2 things active inside him at the same time.

- "The law of my mind": the new nature, regenerated, delighting in God's law. (Psalm 119:16, 47)

- Nous (mind): the capacity for moral reasoning and spiritual perception. The regenerated mind that sees and loves what is good.

- "The law of sin in my members": the old nature, still active, still waging war.

- Antistrateuomenon: a present active participle meaning to wage a military campaign against. Continuous, ongoing warfare. The old nature never calls a ceasefire.

- The result: Paul finds himself a prisoner (aichmalotizonta: taken captive as a prisoner of war). In his own strength, he can't break free.

- The law can show him what's right. It can't give him the power to do it. The law is a standard, not a source of power. (Galatians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:56)

ILLUSTRATION - Point 2

A physical therapist once described rehabilitation this way: knowing which muscle needs to work isn't the same as having the strength to work it. A patient can understand perfectly what needs to happen in their body and still be unable to make it happen. Information doesn't produce strength. Effort alone doesn't produce strength. Strength comes through a long process of allowing something outside yourself, in this case the therapy itself, to work in you what you can't produce on your own. The law is a perfect diagnosis. But a diagnosis has never healed anyone.

APPLICATION - Point 2

Stop trying to win a spiritual war with a legal weapon. The law tells you what to do. It can't make you do it.

Legalism, trying to live the Christian life through rules and willpower, produces either pride or exhaustion. The churches in Galatia tried it. Paul told them they were devouring one another. (Galatians 5:15)

Ask yourself honestly: Am I trying to manage my sin nature, or surrender it? There's a difference, and the difference matters.

Romans 7:24–25 NKJV

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

DELIVERANCE COMES THROUGH CHRIST ALONE (Romans 7:24-25)

Romans 7:24 NKJV

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

A. The cry of a desperate man (v. 24)

- Paul reaches his breaking point: "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

- "Wretched" is talaiporos: the Greek word for a soldier exhausted after battle. A man who's fought hard and is spent.

- "Body of death": Paul describes the mortal body that still houses the sin nature. As long as he's in this body, the war continues. (Romans 6:6; 8:10-11)

- This cry is the right question asked in the right direction. "Who will deliver me?" is better than "How can I try harder?"

Romans 7:25 NKJV

25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

B. The triumphant answer (v. 25a)

- Paul doesn't leave the question hanging: "I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

- The answer is a Person.

- Jesus Christ is the deliverer. A Person who's already won the war, Paul can't win on his own.

- This looks forward to Romans 8, where the Spirit does in the believer what the law couldn't.

- Romans 8:1-4: no condemnation, and the Spirit fulfills the law's righteous requirement in those who walk according to Him.

- Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."

- The deliverance is available now, through the indwelling Spirit, and will be completed at glorification.

Romans 7:25 NKJV

25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

C. The honest summary (v. 25b)

- Paul closes with a summary that's honest: with the mind he serves God's law; with the flesh he serves the law of sin.

- This is an accurate description of life in the overlap between this age and the age to come.

- The tension resolves by leaning harder into Christ, not by trying harder on your own.

- Romans 7 and 8 belong together. The wretchedness of chapter 7 is what drives us into the freedom of chapter 8. You can't appreciate the victory of the Spirit if you've never felt the exhaustion of trying to win on your own.

ILLUSTRATION - Point 3

During World War II, some Japanese soldiers continued fighting in remote jungles for years, even decades, after Japan surrendered in 1945. They hadn't received the news that the war was over. The most famous was Hiroo Onoda, who didn't lay down his arms until 1974. He was loyal. He was determined. He was completely unaware that the victory had already been secured. Some Christians live that way spiritually. They're fighting hard, taking casualties, wearing themselves out, unaware that Jesus Christ has already secured the victory. The war is real. The outcome isn't in doubt. The One who's already won lives inside you.

APPLICATION - Point 3

- The cry of verse 24 is that of understanding. When you reach the end of yourself, you're in exactly the right place to receive what only God can give.

- Come to Christ in the middle of the war. Don't wait until you have it all together.

- The answer to the struggle of Romans 7 is more of the Spirit. That's what Romans 8 is about. Don't miss next week.

- For those who've never trusted Christ: the war Paul describes is one you're losing right now. You're fighting without the only One who can win it. Today is the day to trust Him.

CONCLUSION

So here's where we land.

The Christian life is a war. Paul knew it. The worst thing you can do with that war is pretend it isn't happening, or keep fighting it the same way that keeps losing.

Here's what Paul learned. The law shows you where the battle is. It can't win the battle for you. Only Christ can do that.

And Christ has already won.

That means the war you're in today has a guaranteed outcome if you're in Him. Your job is to trust the One who already won it. Not perform. Not manage. Trust.

The Christian life is a war. And the only way through it is trusting the One who has already won.

Romans 8 is coming. It begins with these words: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." That's the ground you stand on. His finished work.

Stand on it.

CALL TO RESPONSE

- For believers in the middle of the struggle: you're not failing. You're fighting. Keep your eyes on Christ, not on your record.

- For believers who've been trying to live by rules and willpower: lay it down. That approach will wear you out every time. Surrender to the Spirit instead.

- For anyone who's never trusted Christ: the deliverance Paul describes is available to you today. Not tomorrow. Today.

TRANSITION TO ROMANS 8

Next week, we turn to one of the greatest chapters in all of Scripture. Romans 8 is Paul's answer to the wretched cry of Romans 7. The Spirit of God, conspicuously absent from Romans 7, steps to the center of the stage in Romans 8. Don't miss it.