When we read stories, books or biographies of Martin Luther, John Owen, John Bunyan, C. S. Lewis, Augustine, John Edwards and more – we notice something common about them all; that is, all of them have battled against sin and all of them had lost the battle, big time!
And the conclusion they arrived, all of them without any exception, is the same with the conclusion St. Paul had arrived, that is: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Romans 7:24)
If you want to see and understand the depth of this verse, try to be good! Just say to yourself, “Okay, from today onward, I will stop – – – ” (fill in the blank with whatever you’re struggling to break free from, things such as viewing porn, masturbation, fornication, swearing, anger, malice, unforgiveness, etc.)
Then, to your bewilderment, you will discover that you are unable to stop and you arrive to the same conclusion, saying, “What a wretched man/woman I am!” Or worse, “I don’t think I am a born-again Christian. I may as well go back to the world and identify myself with it.”
Yeah, as C. S. Lewis said, “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.”
And when you realize you’re that bad, you can see the glimpse of the cross of Christ, the price Jesus Christ has paid to present you and I to God as holy as He is. Then you start saying with Paul and with all our forefathers, “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.” (Romans 7:25)
So, what is expected of us? Only one!
Total reliance and dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ, on the power of the blood of Jesus, on the power of the Cross/the Gospel, which is the power of God, to help us be who we are called to be in Christ Jesus: “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7)
Then, only then can we taste the truth of God that says, “- – – we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
Really?
Yes really! We’re victorious!
But notice, it doesn’t say, “We’re conquerors,” rather it says, “We are MORE THAN conquerors!”
These “conquerors” are conquering everyone. Yes, once these conquerors put someone into their clutches, they don’t let go. They are conquerors. No one conquerors them.
Yes, they are conquerors but we are more than those “conquerors.”
But don’t forget here something very important: We become more than conquerors ONLY through Christ Jesus who loved us enough to die for us on the cross!
Wow! What can we say? What can we give Jesus in return?
Nothing but our lives, devotion, worship and praise! May the name of Jesus Christ be praised forever! ///