Romans 7:22-25
“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Excluding Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul was one of the most spiritually mature Christians who ever physically walked the Christian Way of life. But he saw within himself a conflict of interest—the flesh wanting things against the spirit (Romans 8:7-9), and the spirit warring against the desires of his flesh. While being conflicted the apostle Paul had to make daily choices. If he were not spiritually mature, he would never have seen the conflict. His fleshly desires of his mind would have over ruled the direction of the spirit. Thus, on the one hand, Paul said that he “delighted” in his understanding of the purpose and perfection of God’s law, but his spiritual maturity provided an insight that created concern within him, as he could see how far short he fell, from time to time, from the intent of the law of God.
The existence of this internal conflict is not a sign that God has not sanctified the person for the purpose of moving them to justification and salvation through Jesus Christ. As long as we are in the physical life, we will never be completely free of our struggles. Human nature must be overcome. The process of overcoming human nature is a series of battles, we must fight, each day. Some have theorized that the evil aspects of human nature that within us, becomes part of the means of our perfection.
Overcoming is a physical lifetime process that requires diligent and the power of God, through His Holy Spirit, to subdue our human nature. Our most righteous actions (as God defines righteousness) are still full of imperfections and defects, as some of those most righteous actions are done with the wrong motive and attitude. While we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), God requires that we make an effort to do what we can on our part.
