2. I find then the principle that evil is present in
me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I
joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner
man, 23 but I see a different law in the
members of my body, waging war against the
law of my mind and making me a prisoner of
the law of sin which is in my members. 24
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free
from the body of this death?
3. • The Power of the Flesh
1. Derived from Adam
2. Dead towards God
3. Tendency to Decay
Romans 8 begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation.
A common science fiction theme illustrates the problem of sin dwelling in us. Sin is like an evil alien being that has taken up residence in a human body, working evil and destruction through it. Once the alien enters the person's body, no power can remove it. The alien and the human become one entity whose works are evil. The only remedy is death. Kill the host organism and thus render the invader harmless by removing the body through which it operates.Because we deserve death anyhow, God's easiest solution to the problem of sin dwelling in us would be to simply kill off each of us as soon as we first commit sin. This would accomplish two things: (1) justice would be served; (2) the alien principle of sin would be rendered powerless, at least in regards to the potential destruction it would have worked through the now dead individual if he had continued living.But, God be praised!, this was not the solution He chose. Rather, In His wisdom, according to His purposes, and because of His love, He instead sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place. At the cross, God caused the full penalty and judgement for all sin for all time to fall on His Son. The gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims this wonderful truth, that if we turn in repentance to the God against whom we rebelled, and if we put our faith in His Son and in what He accomplished at the cross, God forgives our sin and pronounces us not guilty of death. He imputes the righteousness of His Son to our account and gives us life eternal. Thus we are justified in God's sight through the blood of His Son, and we escape death and enter into the life of God as those who have been born again.But the alien doesn't go away; it still lives in us. Sin still dwells in our bodies. After being born again, we still have the same full capacity for working deeds of death in our bodies that we did before we were justified. Remember, the alien can only be rendered powerless by killing the body it works through. We will not be rid of the principle of sin dwelling in our members until either our earthly body dies and goes into the grave, or Jesus returns and changes our mortal body "into conformity with the body of His glory" (Philippians 3:20-21).(from http://www.wordbasedcounseling.org/Articles/Sin_In_Us.htm)
