Romans 7:15-25a (NRSV)
Read Romans 7:15-25a on biblegateway.com
Verse 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Verse 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. Verse 17But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. Verse 18For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. Verse 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Verse 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. Verse 21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. Verse 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, Verse 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Verse 24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Verse 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.
Devotion
Is the human condition really that bad? Can't we do anything right? Is there no goodness in the creatures of which God said, "it is good"? Some people believe that all that is required of the Christian faith is to be a good person. Paul questions our capacity to be good. Often, even when we try to do the right thing, the right thing doesn't seem as obvious as we thought. Martin Luther wrote that God does not save imaginary sinners. He wrote, "Sin boldly... but trust more boldly still that Christ is the victor over sin, death, and the world." When making tough choices, we seek the wisdom of fellow Christians, pray, and then humbly move forward, trusting boldly that whether right or wrong, we live and die in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. All the Christian faith requires is a sinner in the hands of a merciful God.
Prayer
Merciful God, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. Amen.