Devotion #4: The Chicken or the Egg?

“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. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” Romans 7:22-25 

What came first, the chicken or the egg? This silly yet thought-provoking question has been a means of debate for a long time. Essentially, both answers are correct in a sense because one cannot exist without the other. There is a somewhat parallel connection between us as Christians and how we view ourselves. The Christian is both spirit and flesh. However, if we were only spirits, we would be in our glorified, heavenly state, but this will not be fulfilled completely until we reach Heaven. If we were only flesh, then we would have no desire for God or personal holiness, yet we do desire those things on Earth. This is the internal conflict that Paul addresses in our text. 

Verse 22 says, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being.” Paul begins by speaking of his intense passion for the Law of God. At a very young age, he studied the Law and tried to follow it perfectly. In fact, he was so zealous that he dedicated his life to the Law. Verse 23 adds, “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.” Paul contrasts his love and sincerity for the Law of God with his captivity to the law of sin. He is constantly fighting within his own mind as to how to process this battle. He comes to only one conclusion in verse 24, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Paul realizes that he is helpless to destroy his fleshly desires on his own! 

Paul’s mindset is certainly one we ought to be able to relate to. Some days, as we read our Bible and pray, we feel overjoyed and full of love for God and our salvation. On other days, we feel so sinful that we question how a holy God could save our souls from the just wrath we deserve. This is the battle within every Christian who has ever lived. Thankfully, we have the answer on how to win this battle. It is the same answer that Paul had. Verse 25 concludes, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” If it was not for Jesus, there would be no battle at all. It is through Jesus’ work that we can stand before a holy and just God. All praise and honor to Him!