Aug 17, 2026 · 31 min · 10 segments
When God designed our redemption, he thought of everything: freedom from Death, Sin, and Law (Romans 5-7), and power to live a brand-new life (Romans 8). As we learned last week, this power comes from…
And so often when we are in that place, our tendency is to double down on the law and our willpower.
But Paul shows in chapter 7 that that approach backfires, right? It's not that God's law is bad.
We've said this last week.
It's actually good, but we are of the flesh.
That's the problem.
And the marriage of God's law, which is good, with our flesh, which is corrupt and fallen, does not produce holiness.
It produces acts of sin.
In fact, the law even exacerbates sin within us.
It can actually incite us to sin.
So Paul says there in verse 18 of Romans 7, "...I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh."
And in our passage in Romans 8, which we are going to get to eventually, Paul says those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
So there's no future to trying to overcome sin by doubling down on rule keeping or by relying on our own flesh, our own efforts and willpower and inner resources.
but thankfully there is a better way, and that's laid out for us in Romans 8.
Just think about it.
When will we be fully transformed? When will we be perfectly glorified like our Lord and every trace of sin removed from us? It's only going to happen when we see him as he is, 1 John 3, 2.
And that means that every single day up to then, every single day of our pilgrimage here on earth, we're going to be engaged in a battle against indwelling sin.
So that's the first encouragement there.
in our despair.
And so often when we are in that place, our tendency is to double down on the law and our willpower.
But Paul shows in chapter 7 that that approach backfires, right? It's not that God's law is bad.
We've said this last week.
It's actually good, but we are of the flesh.
That's the problem.
And the marriage of God's law, which is good, with our flesh, which is corrupt and fallen, does not produce holiness.
It produces acts of sin.
In fact, the law even exacerbates sin within us.
It can actually incite us to sin.
So Paul says there in verse 18 of Romans 7, "...I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh."
And in our passage in Romans 8, which we are going to get to eventually, Paul says those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
So there's no future to trying to overcome sin by doubling down on rule keeping or by relying on our own flesh, our own efforts and willpower and inner resources.
but thankfully there is a better way, and that's laid out for us in Romans 8.
Just think about it.
When will we be fully transformed? When will we be perfectly glorified like our Lord and every trace of sin removed from us? It's only going to happen when we see him as he is, 1 John 3, 2.
And that means that every single day up to then, every single day of our pilgrimage here on earth, we're going to be engaged in a battle against indwelling sin.
So that's the first encouragement there.
in our despair.
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