Romans 7:7-25

As a child Paul, like all children was alive.  Children are a delight to watch because of how alive and free they live.  At the age of 13, Paul had his bar mitzvah and became a ‘son of commandment.’ He went on to study the law and become a Pharisee.  According to what he wrote in Philippines 3:6 Paul was able to keep the outward standards of the law without failure.  It was the laws pertaining to his attitudes that revealed his sinfulness.  The law said, “You shall not covet.” Sin seized the opportunity presented by the law to cause Paul to covet many things.  Paul recognized his coveting was resulting in his spiritual death.  Before the law, as a child he was alive and free.  Now he was dead in his trespasses.

Paul’s true desire was to live pleasing to God; this made his sins even worse.  In his mind, he wanted to do what was right, but his human nature caused him to continually sin.  He found himself full of self-hatred because of his sinfulness.  He was a slave to sin and evil.  He found himself in the depths of despair and wretchedness.  The law, which God intended for good, resulted in death.  Yet it was also resulted in good; it revealed to Paul his great need for a savior.  The law had convinced him that he could not save himself. He needed, and wanted God to rescue him from his sinfulness.

Paul thought he was doing God’s work as he persecuted Christians.  Then he met Christ, and Christ turned Paul’s world upside down.  Christ told Paul that salvation was a gift; Paul could never earn it.  Paul believed in Christ, and God delivered him through Christ.  By himself, Paul was a divided man.  His mind was a slave to the law and his body a slave to sin.  Reconciled to God in Christ, Paul was no longer by himself.  No longer a divided man; Paul was united with and in Christ.