Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!—Romans 7:25a (NIV)

It had been a day. Instead of being patient and charitable toward a loved one, I snapped with frustration and said things—unkind things—in anger. I know better. Giving voice to my angry thoughts never makes me feel better. It only makes everything worse. 

Unable to shake off my funk, I called a trusted friend. “You’re human,” she advised, “so allow yourself some grace.” 

“But I don’t want to be human,” I sighed, “I want to be like Jesus.” 

Isn’t this what we all want? And yet, no matter how hard we try, we find ourselves failing to do the right thing—the Jesus thing. When I fail to imitate Jesus, I turn to the following verses from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans:

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:21-24 NIV)

Scholars differ in their interpretation of these verses. Some believe Paul is referring to Israel and their struggle to obey the Torah (the Old Testament Law). Others maintain Paul is writing about Adam prior to his sin. Finally, some scholars conclude Paul is describing his own internal struggle against sin.

Whichever point of view we take, Paul perfectly describes the struggle we all face. We want to be like Jesus in every way, but invariably we fall short. And in those moments, we feel wretched—exactly as Paul describes. 

Paul concludes that we are human. And then he offers hope:

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25a NIV)

God’s grace, demonstrated through Jesus Christ, delivers us from our sin. Paul continues this thought with the next verse:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1 NIV)

The Greek word translated as condemnation is katakrima. In the Greco-Roman world, this word included the punishment which followed a guilty verdict. Paul reminds us of an essential truth. Although we may be found guilty of sin, we will not be condemned (punished) for it. 

My wise friend simply repeated these truths. When I fail to imitate Jesus, I want to punish myself. I need reminders of how God’s grace sets us free from condemnation. But we don’t have to stay in a state of wretchedness because of our sin. We can choose to be set free by the grace of God. Thanks be to Jesus Christ, our Lord!

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for delivering us from our sinful, wretched state. Help us shake off our temptation to punish ourselves. As we accept the gift of Your grace, we pray it inspires us to lead godly lives. We pray this in Your name. Amen.