Romans 7: Think of yourself as a seed.

Romans 6 commanded us to walk in newness of life instead of yielding to the old nature.  Romans 7 goes back to describe how the old nature is not going anywhere--it is condemned and going to die. 

I personally have always been confused by Romans 6 and 7.  Paul talks about the new life, but then talks about how the law shows our nature to be dead and how frustrated he is about wrestling between the two natures? 

 Ro 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?




What gets confusing about this is that Paul is talking about the dual nature of a Christian.  Let me illustrate using the idea of a seed because that helped me understand. It's not a perfect analogy but it may help. 

In a seed you have three basic parts--the outer shell, the inner mini plant that will grow, and enough food for the little plant to help it grow. As the tiny plant puts out a root and then a stem, it uses the food inside.  The outer shell falls off--it will not be part of the little plant at all once it is growing.

Now, lets look at the believer:  the believer has his human nature, the one he and everyone else is born with.  It is like the outer shell--it will die.  It is contaminated with sin because of Adam, and it will be cast off and destroyed.

The believer also has a renewed spirit--he is born again, a new creature.  This the the part of the believer that will live forever and will be like Christ.  This is like the little plant inside.

The believer also has the Holy Spirit living inside him.  The Holy Spirit (and to get technical, Jesus said, I and my Father will make our home in you. (Jn 14:23)  God is inside that person to help their new self grow and become like Him.  This is like the food that is in the seed.  Just as the food becomes part of the plant, the Spirit of God comes into our being to make us like Him.

Going back to Romans 6 and 7, we can see that Paul is basically saying, Hey my outside shell is condemned!  The Law points that out!  I have to choose to focus on the inward man --to focus on what God is developing in me through His Spirit, rather than trying to make my outward shell fancier, or richer, or prettier, or more popular.

Paul sums it up at the end of chapter 7:

  Ro 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
 Ro 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
 Ro 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
 Ro 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
 Ro 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

So I ask myself, as I ask you--is your focus on the shell? or is it on what God is doing inside?