What do you understand the normal Christian life to be like?
Who is the passage referring to?
… Paul’s personal story before he was converted,
… the position of people caught up in the OT,
… Paul after he was converted
… the normal Christian life
Firstly, the present tense is used.
Secondly, the person is a Christian.
Thirdly, reflects the struggle we see in the rest of scripture
What is the passage saying?
It is an ongoing battle against sin
v 15. “I do what I do not want to do and I do not do what I do want to do. But what I hate, I do…”
Romans 6:17-19
Romans 8:22, creation groans
Romans 7: 21-22. “When I want to do good… evil is right there with me.”
It is a wearing battle
Verse 24, “what a wretched man I am who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through the Lord Jesus Christ”.
For us today
The normal Christian life is one of civil war.
‘defeated Christian life’ vs ‘spirit filled life’ thinking is WRONG
no expectation of instant sanctification (Rom 8:23)
So where to from here?
Keep up the struggle against sin.
Gather together
We are not alone
Romans 7:25, we have been rescued