We ended our last study by stating that sanctification is the process of coming increasingly to see how sinful we are so that we will depend constantly on Jesus Christ. And that’s not easy! The Christian life is a warfare, a warfare within against our inherently sinful natures, as well as a warfare without against external forces. It is extremely important that we see this.

“Spiritual realism” is when we face the fact of the war within us. Realism has to do with our willingness or lack of willingness to face unpalatable truths about ourselves and to start making necessary changes.* We will look at four statements with which this spiritual realism should start.

1. When God called us to be Christian people He called us to lifetime struggles against sin. This should be evident from everything Paul says in verses 14-24. The starting place for achieving spiritual realism is to recognize that we are called to a constant spiritual warfare in this life and that this warfare is not easy, since it is against the sin that resides in us even as converted men and women. Realism calls for rigorous preparation, constant alertness, dogged determination, and moment-by-moment trust in Him who alone can give us victory.
2. Although we are called to a lifetime struggle against sin, we are nevertheless never going to achieve victory by ourselves. We are as a people very susceptible to simple, quick-fix solutions or avoidance, we are also very confident of our ability to handle even the most difficult challenges. In this we are perhaps more like the apostle Peter than anyone else in the Bible. Remember Peter’s boast in Luke 22:33? Although Peter was boastful and self-confident and was wrong on both, Jesus also told him that He prayed for him. In the great battles of life it is certain that we will fall away and be lost unless Jesus prays for us, which is what He has promised to do.
3. Even when we triumph over sin by the power of the Holy Spirit, which should be often, we are still unprofitable servants. Why is this so? It’s because our victories, even when we achieve them, are all nevertheless by the power and grace of God and are not of ourselves. If they were, we would be able to take some personal glory for our triumphs, and when we die we would bring our boasting into heaven. But our victories are not of ourselves. They are of God. And since they are not of ourselves, we will not boast either on earth or in heaven but will instead give God al the glory.
4. And yet, we are to go on fighting and struggling against sin, and we are to do so with the tools made available to us, chiefly prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, service to others, and the sacraments. We are never to quit in this great battle against sin. We are to fight it with every ounce of energy in our bodies and with our final breath. Only then, when we have finished the race, having kept the course, may we rest from warfare.

I close this study by suggesting that a gospel in which we must do everything possible to attain a victory over sin – but in which, in spite of all we do or can do, the victory when it comes is by God alone and not by us or for our glory – a gospel like that must be from God; it could never have been invented by man. The very nature of our gospel is proof of its divine origin.

The Christian life is not easy. No responsible person ever said it was. It is a battle all the way. But it is a battle that will be won. And when it is won, we who triumphed will cast our crowns at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ who worked in us to accomplish the victory, and we will praise Him forever.

Romans 7:21-24 Reflection Questions:

What dilemma does Paul highlight in the closing verses of the chapter (vv. 21-24)?

How is Jesus the solution to the problem for Israel?

What do God’s desire, plan and fulfillment through Jesus to rescue us from this dilemma reveal to you about God’s character and purposes?

Take some time to simply praise God for His act of mercy in His rescue of you and others you know. Praise Him for His attributes, His power and His compassion.

*J.I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1984), pp. 258-261