Beginning with Romans 7:5 we will examine the message of the Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus relative to his spiritual journey from being the infamous murderer of Christians to the Apostle Paul who spent much time with the risen Lord learning how to serve him. Paul’s journey from sinner to saint was a difficult one, which makes his message invaluable to those who are just beginning their transitions from serving Satan to serving the risen Lord, from living in his darkness to living in God’s light.

We do not know the amount of time that elapsed between Saul’s confrontation with Jesus while on his way to hunt down Christians, until his true justification and cleansing, at which time he became Paul the righteous servant of God and His primary messenger to the New Testament Church. However, whether it was a matter of days, months or years, the process is the same for everyone who is truly justified and is striving toward true conversion, beyond which salvation awaits IF he maintains his righteous state unto the end (Mat. 10:22/24:3-13).

When writing to the Rome church Paul was walking in (by the power of) God’s Holy Spirit. But such had not always been the case, as 7:5 through 8:2 tells us. Paul, like all other true saints, had his struggles early on. Let us join him at the beginning of his journey from being a carnal believer to being a Very Elect saint and God’s premiere writer of the New Testament.

In 7:5 we are told a number of truths by the apostle. He notes that, early on in our Christian lives we will still be walking in the flesh, knowing the Law but still fighting sin using our own spiritual power–a losing battle. It is at this point that the vast majority of salvation seekers leave God’s path and begin walking Satan’s path in which sin is not a problem to be solved, but a natural part of life that either Jesus or Mary “takes care of.” I had a young Catholic male–a real ladies man according to his self-evaluation–tell me that he could sin all he wanted to because, he said through a smile while patting a tattoo of Mary on his forearm, “my Lady takes care of it.” According to church doctrine, Jesus Himself “takes care of” Protestent’s sins. And Satan smiles.

Because the reader can, and hopefully will, read about the struggle Paul had with sin and the flesh as referenced in part 2, we will now look into the flesh versus Spirit battle that ends only upon the death of the salvation seeker. Recall that Jesus sweated great globs of blood during his final battle with temptation just hours before His crucifixion. Read about this struggle using the key word–Blood.

We will pick up the narrative with 8:1 where Paul announces that because of Christ’s death, the gift of justification is available to the serious seeker of Truth. “NOW,” following true justification, there is no condemnation for one’s PAST sins IF he continues to walk in (under the power and direction of) the Holy Spirit and not in the power of the flesh. Though he has been freed from the power of sinful flesh, man always has the choice of whose bridle he will wear. The “Law of sin and death” mentioned in verse 2 is the Ten Commandment Law that makes him a walking dead man (spiritually dead) upon sinning–breaking that Law (1 Jn. 3:4). This is why Adam and Eve hid themselves from God after eating the forbidden fruit and suddenly realizing that they were spiritually dead. Because of the true seeker’s true justification and conversion his righteousness is maintained by “FULFILLING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LAW” while being led by God’s Holy Spirit (vs 4). Fulfilling those requirements means OBEYING THE TEN COMMANDMENT LAW, INCLUDING #4.

In verses 5 and 6 Paul writes that what is in the mind of the flesh-directed person dictates his “walk.” If one spends much time staring into screens, listening to the radio, reading worldly reports, etc. one’s mind will be filled with the things of the world which is what television, the internet, cell phones, movies, novels, newspapers, etc. present 24/7/365. God told me to stop watching, listening, reading, etc. what the world proclaimed about the world. I, and anyone else who wants to be with Him, are IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF THE WORLD. I obeyed Him and, following a short withdrawal period, have drawn closer to Him by spending that previously wasted time studying His Word. Jesus said that we would be judged by His Words, not by what we watched on television, etc. (Jn. 12:44-50).

Paul, writing from experience, declares that those who walk in the flesh (after the things of the world) are pursuing death while those who follow the leading of the Spirit are pursuing eternal life. As long as saints continue on that spiritual plane they have the HOPE of salvation. However, they can leave Christ’s path and join the multitudes walking Satan’s path any time they desire. Billions have done so, all the while “knowing” that they on the highway to heaven. Read Bait and Switch. Key word–Bait.

In verses 7 and 8 Paul notes that the carnally (flesh) minded are enmity (hostile) against God because they refuse to obey His Ten Commandment Law–usually #4–God’s Sabbath Commandment. Doing so makes it impossible for them to please God because they are separated from Him (Isa. 59:2) and therefore cannot walk with Him (Amos 3:3). We are either walking with God or with Satan (Lk. 11:23).

Satan has convinced the religious masses to follow him into the religions he has created to satisfy their individual desires. Christianity is no exception in that many of her beliefs and practices were borrowed from heathen religions of every sort. Reading the home page of this website one will find an extended list of church “truths” that have their origins in Babylonian Mystery Religions and various other pagan belief systems. Incredibly, those heathen “truths” form the foundation upon which the end-time (Laodicean) church is built. Jesus refers to those foundational beliefs as “grains of sand” that, when tribulation comes, will collapse, causing the believer’s “house” to fall, “… and great will be the fall of it” (Mat. 7:26,27).

Terrible and deadly times are coming soon just as Jesus warned. People will flock to “the church” in search of help. But help will not be available in the building with a cross on its roof because the Lord is not inside. Rather, He is standing at the door, calling out to those inside, telling them to “Come out of her, my people, touch not that unclean thing.” Read His command to leave Satan’s church system in Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1, then obey His Words. He warns that only then will He be the salvation seeker’s God and the seeker will be His true child. Read Who are God’s People? and “My People Who Are Called by My Name.” Key words–People and Called respectively.

Obey God’s command by handing to Him the “reins” of your life. The choice is ours to make. L.J.