Read: Romans 7:24-25, Philippians 3:12-14
You can hear the agony and pain in Paul’s words in verse 24. In the preceding verses Paul has been agonising over his struggle with sin. Confronted at his own sinfulness and how wretched he is before God he exclaims in desperation: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death.” We cannot simply read and study this without seeing the depth of Paul’s grief over his sin. You can imagine him on his knees, despairing of his sin and crying out to God for rescue. He imagines sin like a dead body attached to him that he is carrying around as it decays. “Who will rescue me, he cries.
This is a healthy response to our own sinfulness. It is right for us to be upset, even distraught as we realise the true horror of our depravity before God. If we truly see the depth of our sin we should be horrified by it. Our only proper response then is to cry out to God for mercy.
But this passage does not only demonstrate a proper response as we realise our battle with sin. It also gives us incredible hope for our struggle. Paul cries out: “Who will rescue me from this body of death!” but he doesn’t leave us without an answer. Notice his immediate response in the next verse: “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Although Paul is confronted with His own sinfulness and cries out to God for mercy, he knows that Christ has already won the victory and the final outcome of his struggle, which God is working out in Him, being perfect and reunited with Him forever. Because Paul knows these things He can praise God and thank Him for rescuing him from sin, even though that rescue is still being worked out in his life.
In Philippians 3 we see how this future hope drives Paul to live now. He admits that he is not already perfect, that he still battles against sin, but in knowledge of the outcome he presses on, he strains to take hold of that which Christ has
In this same way we can have great hope in our struggle against sin in our lives. We know that the victory has already been won by Christ, God has rescued us from this body of death! As the effects of this rescue are being worked out in our lives we strive and strain with the help of the Holy Spirit towards holiness in our lives. We don’t have to brood and dwell on our past sins, when we confess them to God we have absolute certainty of his forgiveness (1 John 1:9) which enables us to forget what lies behind and press on towards holiness and heaven.
Prayer:
Use the Bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¥ Praise God for His forgiveness for us through Christ. Pray that He would help you to forget what lies behind and press on towards the goal.
¥ Pray for the gathering of your church tomorrow. Pray that the word would be faithfully preached, that God’s people would worship with sincere hearts and that many lives would be changed by the work of the Holy Spirit.
It is so easy for us to get caught up in the guilt and shame of past sins. Paul was a murderer and a violent man who killed Christians and yet because of God’s forgiveness he was able to ‘forget what lies behind’ so that he might strain for holiness. Let us surrender our guilt and shame to God and cast ourselves on His forgiveness.
1. What do you think it looks like to ‘forget what is behind and straining for what is ahead’?
2. Should we think about our sin and try to learn from it or just forget it?
Intro: Have you ever read the last page of a book before you read the rest? How did it change the way that you read the story?
Share: What difference does it make to know the ending of a story before we hear the rest?
Read: Romans 7:24-25. Paul knows the ending already, that God is going to totally rescue Him from sin. How do you think that would change Paul’s life? God will totally rescue you from sin too. How does it make you feel to know the ending already? How could that change what you do when you sin?
Pray Together: Thank God that He is working on you and that His will totally rescue you from sin?
Intro: Have you ever read the last page of a book before you read the rest? How did it change the way that you read the story?
Share: What difference does it make to know the ending of a story before we hear the rest?
Read: Romans 7:24-25. Paul knows the ending already, that God is going to totally rescue Him from sin. How do you think that would change Paul’s life? God will totally rescue you from sin too. How does it make you feel to know the ending already? How could that change what you do when you sin?
Pray Together: Thank God that He is working on you and that His will totally rescue you from sin?
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