Romans 7:1–25 is necessary for us to experience continually, so that we are continually humbled, and continually need our Saviour. I have an old, retired elder in my church, who served for many and many years. This mans struggled for years with this question: Why does God allow indwelling sin to remain in believers all their life? I had many a talk with him about that very question. We talked back and forth and back and forth. And we came, I think to a biblical conclusion, and an experiential one, which is this: What if God were not to allow indwelling sin to remain in us? What would I be like? Well, I would be a perfect Christian on earth and if I am a perfect Christian on earth, I would be very proud of it and I would be above everyone else and I would have indwelling sin’.” So, it is inescapable on this earth. God leaves indwelling sin in us, not because he participates in this whatsoever; he does not, he is not the author of sin; he cannot communicate with sin. But he allows it to remain in us, to humble us. To keep us dependent; to keep us needy.

John Calvin concludes his chapter in the Institutes on sanctification with these words: This man is exercised the most, who abases himself the deepest. The true Christian abhors his own best righteousnesses, as filthy rags compared to the treasures of the righteousness of his Lord and Saviour. That is what we learn in Romans 7:1–25. I hope that you can say with me today, I am so glad that Romans 7:1–25 is in the Bible. Because there is many a time, if it were not there, I would be prone to say, Oh Lord, am I a Christian at all? You want to say, don’t you, “Thank you, Paul, for opening up your heart and making yourself vulnerable. And showing us what goes on inside in the life of a Christian.”¹

Joel Beeke