Posted on 10/30/2021 7:09:05 AM PDT by metmom
“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).
Christians have been delivered from sin’s power and will one day be delivered from its presence.
The godly Puritan writer Thomas Watson once said that a sure sign of sanctification is a hatred and loathing of sin. It was his hatred of sin that caused Paul to cry out as he wrapped up his spiritual autobiography, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” That cry expresses the distress and frustration the apostle experienced in his spiritual battle. David expressed that same frustration in Psalm 13:1-2: “How long, O Lord? Wilt Thou forget me forever? How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?”
When he exclaimed, “Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Paul referred to his physical body that was subject to sin and death. It is there that the battle with sin is joined. The verb translated “set me free” was used to speak of a soldier rescuing a wounded comrade in the midst of battle. Paul longed to be rescued from his sinful, unredeemed flesh.
But the story doesn’t end there, with Paul frustrated and in despair. Certain of his eventual triumph over sin, the apostle says, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” As he goes on to explain in Romans 8:18-19, 22-23 (and in 1 Cor. 15:53, 57), believers will one day receive their glorified bodies and enter Christ’s presence, never to struggle again with sin. Paul elaborates on that glorious truth in Philippians 3:20-21: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
What a triumphant hope is ours!
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank God in advance for the glorified body that will one day be yours.
For Further Study
Read 1 John 3:2-3.
Are you fixing your hope on your glorification when Christ returns?
Is that hope having a purifying effect on your lifestyle now?
Studying God’s Word ping
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace.Romans 6:14.
Law strengthens sin and makes it worse.
the strength of sin is the law1 Corinthians 15:56.
Which is exactly why legalism, Law keeping, doesn’t work.
Which is also why mixing the law (which strengthens sin) with grace (which defeats sin) is “another gospel” that is twice cursed in scripture (Galatians 1:6-9).
Interesting link. Thanks for posting it.
The three “P’s” ... the penalty for sin, the power of sin and the presence of sin. A Christian has been freed from the penalty of the sin nature inherited from Adam, freeing the spirit of the born again from a pending penalty. The Word of God is so powerful it can separate the soul of sinful behavior and spirit. That separated spirit from the soul behavior mechanism -for the Christian- is alive by the abiding spirit (1 John 3). The life lived thereafter is the Holy Spirit directing away from the power of sin which appeals to the fallen nature soul inherited from Adam. Someday, soon I believe, God will separate us out of this dimensional realm to remove us from the presence of sin as the working, the deception of and lying wonders of the ‘man of sin’ antiChrist. That moment of separation is the receiving of a new body and soul greater than the current 4D realm of now, then sweeping us up to meet Him int he air and return with Him to the Father’s House. ... the three P’s, Penalty, Power, and Presence of sin.
So lies the cultist. Since you have no clue about how the Holy Spirit presence in the born again spirit of a man works, being still unregenerate, you float these lies from your cult as if you actually know something. You don’t and won’t so long as you remain unregenerate. Would like for me to post the scriptures which say this?
This is a devotional thread where debate is not allowed per RF guidelines.
If you wish to debate, start a thread of your own.
Isn’t one pulled post enough?
As the epistles in the latter part of the New Testament tend to do, James' epistle is about working out that which God by grace has worked in - exhortations, as Peter puts it, "to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". The Epistle of James talks about showing others (not God) your faith.
Yes, a man may say, You have faith, and I have works: shew me your faith without your works, and I will shew you my faith by my works.(James 2: 18).
James' epistle doesn't try to undo what God has done by grace. On the contrary, he exhorts that we through trials allow that perfection to be worked out in our lives (James 1:2-4). James exhorts that we need to learn to let that faith and righteousness given to us as gift be seen by others so we have an effective faith that saves others and glorifies God.
But resting and flowing in God's works are certainly NOT a requirement for salvation. It is bearing more fruit and simply a sign we have allowed ourselves to grow in grace .
And even then it is not done by self effort. Is is God's work in our lives, mainly, from James' perspective, through trials.
Amen. Well and truly stated.
See you in the clouds ...
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