A Word from Romans 7

Have you ever been driving along on the highway—going a little faster than you probably should have been going—when you saw a police car at the side of the road, and you slowed down considerably? Well, I confess that I’ve done that. And naturally, that’s because I don’t want to get a ticket! I’m afraid of the consequences of breaking the law.

But imagine this: Suppose I was given an exemption that prevented me from getting any tickets. But instead of using that as an excuse to drive however I want, my heart was so grateful for this new freedom that I started driving in a safer way—not because I was afraid of what would happen if I didn’t—but because I wanted to live a life worthy of the gift I’d received.

Well, that’s basically the scenario we find in today’s word from Romans 7. Paul is trying to describe the change that happens in our lives because of “the grace in which we stand” (5:2). And he says that we “died to the power of the law when we died with Christ. And now, we’re united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result…now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.” (7:4-7)

Of course, this is what God was talking about when He told His people that He would “remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ez. 11:19). And if we’re honest, that “heart transplant” process often takes a lot more time than we’d like it to! And yet, we know that one day, “we shall be like Him, for we shall we see Him as He is.” (1 Jn. 3:2)

So…how’s your heart today? And are you living for the Lord—not because you have to—but because you can?

May God so work in us that His Spirit will guide us more and more. Amen.