Reflection on Romans 7:16-19
The Apostle Paul shows by his own example the reality of the law of sin. It’s a kind of mental pressure which forces him as well as every one of us to practise evil which we will not to do. The Apostle points out that the cause is sin that dwells in me, but the good that I will to do does not dwell in me. This is, as it were, a little unfair.
What to do to paralyze sin and to make the good dwell and take root in me?
The question of good and evil is associated with God’s justice, God’s judgment and ultimately eternal glory in heaven or eternal damnation in hell. We can not do good in our own strength and hence ensure eternal life for ourselves. The question of the tragic legacy of the first parents is associated with manifestation of God’s love in the person of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He assumed our human nature without sin. On the cross He paid the debt of justice for all sins of mankind. Partakers of the forgiveness of sins are only those who repent and receive God’s love incarnate. This love incarnate is Jesus Christ and eternal life in Him. He assumed human nature but, being God, He rose from the dead. Then He promised and gave us the Holy Spirit. All that Jesus has done for us must be accepted by faith and put into practice. How? Not by our strength but by faith which unites us to Jesus through true conversion, repentance and following of Christ. In Christ, sin is overcome. Through faith we accept the righteousness of God in Christ. For us who have received Christ the righteousness of God is mercy. To accept God’s righteousness means to receive forgiveness of all sins through Christ. This is the fundamental truth of the saving faith. The truth related to our deliverance from the slavery of sin is also connected with Christ and God’s grace given to us by the Holy Spirit. Verses 1-2 in Rom 8 say to us: “There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Gal 5:1: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” The mystery of true deliverance and perseverance on the path of freedom in the process of life struggle is associated with the death to one’s self, or renunciation of one’s own will and obedience to the will of God in particular situations. This is impossible without interior prayer. The Christian experience: “A good prayer, a good life.”
