In chapter 7 of Romans, Paul talks about how the Christian is often in a battle between their spiritual self that wants to do God's will and their physical self that wants to sin. In fact he states in verse 25 he provides this hope, "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."
Thankfully, Chapter 8 begins with this promise, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." As a result, we aren't condemned any longer and if we abide in Christ, our old natures will be depart and the new will flourish.
AW Tozer has a lot to say about Romans 8, especially verse 5, "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."
He states, "In the Pauline epistles the gravitational pull of the heart in one direction or another is called the “mind.” In the eighth chapter of Romans, for instance, when Paul refers to the “mind” he is referring to the sum of our dominant desires. The mere intellect is not the mind: the mind is intellect plus an emotional tug strong enough to determine action.
When our dominant desires are bad the whole life is bad as a consequence; when the desires are good the life comes up to the level of our desires, provided that we have within us the enabling Spirit."
Join me in reading Romans 8 and be encouraged!
