Biblical teaching - T116

The Power of the Preaching of the Cross

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Let us not, as Christians, repeat the same mistake as the Jews, placing ourselves under the Law, under a yoke of man-made requirements, or even of divine requirements ; in Romans 7, Paul shows that even children of God sometimes do that for a while. However, the full revelation of the Cross puts an end to that. We may be well-meaning, honest children of God who, failing to grasp that they have died in Christ, have open-heartedly received part of God’s Word, and are trying to practise it, without success. As Paul says : "For what I do is not the good I want to do ; but the evil I do not want to do, I keep on doing." (Romans 7:19). "O wretched man that I am ! Who will deliver me from this body of death ?" (Romans 7:24).

A sincere Christian will say : "Lord, I fully realise that your Word is righteous. You say : "Love your neighbour as yourself. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn your left cheek. Love your enemies… I know that is righteous and good. From the bottom of my heart, I want to do it, and I manage once or twice, but the third time, I simply can’t ! I’m always having ups and downs, stumbling and trying again, … Lord, I’m exhausted, I’m a wretch, come and rescue me !"

Because Paul says in verse 14 : "For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold to sin," some use this verse as an excuse for all their failures. Since Paul acknowledges that he didn’t manage, however could they ? But they overlook the context and the following verse. When Paul mentions that "self", that "old man", he means his flesh, his former nature, which was every bit as carnal and sold to sin as ours is. "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practise ; but what I hate, that I do. If then I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good." (Romans 7:15-16). God’s commandments are good. I want to do the right thing, but I can’t. When I try to obey God’s law, I realise that in my members another law is at work opposing the law of God. Because of that other law, I keep stumbling. "But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells." (Romans 7 17-18).

From chapter 5 to chapter 6, remember that Paul went from "Christ died for our sins" to: "We have died in Christ". In chapter 7 he goes back on the struggle that is ours when we want to obey the Lord wholeheartedly, but in our own strength, before we fully grasp the message of the Cross : resurrection Life cannot fill us completely, for the flesh is there like a screen or a veil that stops it. Resurrection life is received through the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, many Christians spend the whole of their lives in the flesh, in defeat. They know that God’s Word is righteous, and that Jesus’ commandments are good. They do their utmost to obey as best they can, but keep falling short of God’s absolute demands. They never manage to reach perfection. Paul is not referring, here, to shallow, lukewarm Christians, who are not interested in God’s Word and only want to gratify their own desires. He is referring to sincere Christians, who truly want to satisfy their Lord, yet keep on stumbling.

The good news of the Gospel is that they can be overcomers ! Further on, Paul exclaims : "Wretched man that I am !" (Romans 7:24). Yes, "wretched man that I am" if I keep on walking in defeat ! But we are not to use that exclamation to say : "You see, finally, Paul was just like us ; even he couldn’t manage". Paul is not saying that he remained in such a condition of wretchedness. It was a stage he went through, before breaking through to victory. The whole of chapter 8 witnesses to that. So Paul did not stop at Romans 7 ! Why should we ?

Paul knows that it was the Cross that freed him from the Law. He understands that he cannot obey in his own strength, through his own willpower, but through faith in what Jesus accomplished on the Cross. When he exclaims : "Who will deliver me from this body of death ?" he has already made the statement : "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.".(Romans 6:6). He was freed from that "body of death" when his spiritual understanding opened up and the Holy Spirit said : "Stop, Paul, that is the wrong way to deal with your problems. You’ll never make it that way, you’re not standing on the ground of faith !"

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