For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold as a slave under sin.
Romans 7:14
For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.
Romans 7:15
Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.
Romans 7:16-23
Every object in the Universe attracts every other object with a force directed along the line of centers for the two objects that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the separation between the two objects. - Shakespeare
“Sin remains in the spiritual man, in order that he may exercise himself in grace, put off his pride, and check his arrogance. He who confesses his sins should be believe that he can thereby shake off the burden of sin and quietly live on in sin. But he should know that when he puts off the burden of sin, he enters the warfare for God and takes up a new burden for God against the Devil and his own remaining faults.” - Martin Luther
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.
Romans 7:24-25
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Have you ever had a moment where you knew what you were doing was wrong, and yet you continued anyway, and the whole time you wondered, “what am I doing?”? What are some specific ways you experience the inevitable pull of sin in your own life?
What do you tend to do when you recognize the pull of sin in your life? Do you try harder to avoid sin? Do you give up and yield to sin? Based on Romans 7:14-25, what response is Paul advocating we choose in the face of our sin?
Read Romans 7:25. What are you thankful for? Share with your Life Group some specific things you’re grateful for.
What is the significance of the Lord’s Supper? Beyond the Lord’s Supper, what are some tangible ways you can daily remind yourselves of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross on your behalf?
