Because I Follow Jesus

I am absolutely miserable! Is there anyone who will deliver me from this body where sin and death reign so supremely? I am thankful to God for the freedom that comes through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! (Romans 7:24-25, The Voice)

Belonging

The "wretched man" (ESV) that Paul expounds on in Romans 7 is his effort to identify with his "brothers and sisters well versed in the law" in verse 1. It reflects some of Paul's experience from his past and present in his struggle against self-justification.

Paul begins by explaining that a person may either belong to the law or belong to Christ (vv. 1-4).  A person who belongs to the law justifies his life by the law. The law is his reason for doing or not doing certain things in his life. When asked why he has certain habits or practices he will cite the law. His ability to explain the law will prove whether his action is for God or not.

A person who belongs to Jesus seeks to follow him, to remain as close to Jesus as possible. Following Jesus is the reason for her actions and his intentions. Jesus justifies her rather than her ability to explain the law. Her actions will be supported by her Lord or not. By his voice she stands or falls. She will probably also have reasons from the law, but these are supportive to her interactive relationship with Christ.

We cannot belong to both law and Christ. In the end we will seek our justification from one or the other. One is based in prayer and living with Jesus. The other is based on having the correct views about God and being able to defend a viewpoint. One of them is at the bottom of our hearts. That is our justification. When we belong to Jesus we not longer seek our justification through the law: "my brothers and sisters, in the same way, you have died when it comes to the law because of your connections with the body of the Anointed One. His death - and your death with Him - frees you to belong to the One who was raised from the dead so we can bear fruit for God." (v.4, The Voice)

Flesh and Spirit

A person who belongs to self-justification will find themselves "living in the flesh," that is, by their own wits and abilities. (vv.4-12) The law arouses self-defensiveness, which only increases worry and fear. Such motivations only lead to evil (Psalm 35, Matthew 6). Sin gets the upper hand and seems like the only way out, since it is so natural for us to do. We find in the face of law, we pretend or even lie about ourselves in order to escape what the law requires and yet seem like we are justified in our actions. This is the inevitable outcome of living in the flesh, by our own wits and abilities.

Jesus justifies and releases from the law anyone who belongs to him. The law's requirements are still before them, but instead of generating worry and fear, they bring hope and anticipation. The law no longer imprisons him because he knows he cannot obey it without Jesus, so he "dies" to such an obedience to the law. Instead he serves in a "new Spirit-empowered life." Jesus gives grace so that obedience is possible by asking him for help instead of trying to manage on our own.

The bad fruit generated through trying to obeying the law is pretense and disobedience to God. The good fruit grown for God is real obedience to him through following Jesus and depending on him every step of the way. The law becomes a promise of what God will do in those who follow Jesus rather than a punishment for those who cannot keep it. Those who follow Jesus can truly see "the law is holy; and its commandments are holy, right, and good" (v.12) instead of suspecting that the law is sin or that that God sent the law to destroy people. (v.7, 13)

The Role of Trials

The heart of this problem is that the law is spiritual, that is, from the Spirit and that we are on the flesh, which is enslaved to sin, that is, a life without God (vv.13-20) This is like oil and water. As long as the law is spiritual and I am not, the two will always come apart. So when I try to obey the law with my own wits and abilities, I will always find myself compelled to disobey it for some very good reason. It will just make sense to lie or pretend or just do it this one time. The natural abilities of humanity are not enough for the law. In the end they will separate just like oil and water. Good intentions are not enough. We need more powerful that comes from outside of us into our hearts.

Sin lives in us as long as we live by our own abilities. Sin is resistance to God. The flesh cannot be used to get to God. It cannot be removed. It must be sacrificed. Our natural abilities find their place when they are surrendered to God. They are put to death when we refuse to rely on them. We rely on Jesus instead. Our natural abilities are meant to serve, not rule.

The war inside each person is the war of temptation (vv.21-25). Temptations are the law of the flesh on its own. Inevitable as gravity. Mere human ability is enslaved to wrong-doing because it is powerless to resist. Temptation is the door for Jesus to enter our lives. In trials we realize our inability and can rest in his ability. This is the law of God. We serve God's law by being delivered from a body that cannot save itself by Jesus, who saves us from all trials and temptations.

In the face of trials and temptations, then, the law is spiritual. It points the way. We are unspiritual and of the flesh if we merely try to figure how to do what the law says on our own. Jesus died so we can become spiritual, born from above, immersed in the Spirit, saved by him, and then train to the law with Jesus as our Teacher, submit to the law with Jesus as our Lord, and delight in the law with Jesus as our dear Friend.

Justification

Self-justification comes from a person who belongs to a law or religion rather than a living Lord. It grows a disposition of resistance to God evidenced by hidden vices and contempt for other people as one struggles to obey by her own power. Self-justification fails in trials and temptations, ending up with a person doing what she does not really think is right. Justifying oneself is a temptation in itself, because it ignores the reality and presence of God.

Justification from Jesus comes to those who belong to him and have abandoned self-justification based on the law or religion. It grows a disposition of loving surrender to God. When one justifies his life by saying, "It's because I follow Jesus," usually the outcomes will not be disputable. The fruit of that person's life will indicate who or what they are following. A life of virtue and compassion flow from Jesus. Trials are the place of salvation for a person who belongs to Jesus, one sure place where he will discover a truly Spirit-empowered life, one of mercy and grace, one full of light - love, truth, and power from God.