Day 6: A mind of life and peace
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25).
Our Father in heaven, we have received from You abundance of grace and... the gift of righteousness... through the One, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17 - NKJV).
Although Your perfect law exposes our numerous offenses, Your grace covers them all; for where sin abounded, grace abounded much more (Romans 5:20 - NKJV). And grace called us to walk in newness of life. But we can only do so through Christ's burial and resurrection (Romans 6:4 - NKJV); because we cannot achieve a righteousness of our own by following the law and commandments.
We know that "no one is good—except God alone"—the Lord Jesus made that clear to a rich young ruler who thought he could "inherit eternal life" by "doing". And even as the young man professed to have followed all the commandments his entire life, the Lord lovingly revealed to him his inability to follow even the very first commandment (Luke 18:18-23).
The apostle Paul describes the wretchedness created by the human struggle to keep the law—the constant tension, the intense internal conflict, and the inevitable failure:
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual...I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do...For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! (Romans 7:14-15, 18-19, 21-24).
Yet Paul is able to end this grim, doleful analysis on a note of hope and triumph—Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25). We have the assurance that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).
Jesus, our strong Deliverer, accomplished what the law was powerless to do (Romans 8:3). Through Him there is deliverance from a mind governed by the flesh—a mind that is death, hostile to God—a mind that cannot please God (Romans 8:5-6).
O Father, how we thank You for Your abounding grace that sets us free, and transforms us from wretchedness and inner turmoil to a mind governed by the Spirit—a mind of life and peace (Romans 8:6). Thank You for the gift of Your Spirit. Thank You for the assurance that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God (Romans 8:14). Thank You that The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16).
