Devotion #3: Choose Your Law
Throughout Romans chapter 7, Paul talks about this relationship between the Law of the Old Testament and sin. Starting in verse 7, he dives deep into how our sin nature works in that relationship. There are so many verses in this chapter that I am sure you will find relatable and convicting, as well as helpful in understanding our natural thought processes and how they can be deceiving. However, something that this chapter also points out is an idea that pushes against our current culture: the idea that without God or religion, we are “free.”
Romans 7:22-23 says, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” In these two verses, we see Paul say that he delights in “the law of God,” which means he delights in God’s Word, as we all should as Christians. However, he contrasts it with our sin nature, calling it several things: “another law,” “the law of my mind,” and “the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
In Western culture, religion is often related to this idea of putting on shackles or binding yourself to certain “rules.” If someone outside of the church were to read that we are under “the law of God,” they would most likely understand that you are referring to God’s commands and that you desire to follow them. However, if you were to then tell them that they are under “the law of sin,” it is highly likely that they will disagree and push back on that idea. They are not under any law! They are “free!”
When we come to Christ, we see sin as the destructive force that it is, which ultimately leads to death (Romans 6:23). Christians are able to look back on their life and see the destruction that sin has caused. We can see how our thought process was skewed, and incorrect. We can see how we were under “the law of my mind.”
This idea that if you follow Christ, you are under His law, but if you do not conform to any particular religion you are somehow “free” is not accurate, nor biblical. In 2 Corinthians 3:16 we read, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” John 9:25 adds, “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
Our eyes have been opened to see that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Spend some time today reflecting on your past sins. Praise God for loving you despite them, and paying the price to deliver you from them.
“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17