Winning the War Over Self

Tongue Twisters

Likely every one of us has played with tongue-twisters in a vain effort to prove that we can say it even if no one else can.

• She sells seashells by the seashore.
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
• Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear.

The Battle

It’s not a tongue twister, but the tail end of Romans 7 comes close, particularly if you read it from the 1611 edition of the King James Version, or the 1901 American Standard Version. I’ll not torture you here with either of those renderings.

In Romans 7, the apostle Paul is discussing the Law, and arguing whether the Law is good, because it is God’s Law, or if the Law is bad because it is the Law which sets standards that we violate, causing us to be in sin. Toward the end of that debate, Paul says this:

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
– Romans 7:15-20, ESV

If you ponder at length what Paul is saying above, it will be a gut-wrenching experience for you. We want to do right. We want to honor God. We want to live pure and holy lives, but sin taunts us. Sin entices us and baits us…and we, too often, take that bait. And, with Paul, we cry out…

Wretched man that I am!
– Romans 7:24a, ESV

I can feel that with Paul. It is a cry of grief, of shame, of helplessness, perhaps even desperation. Even without hearing the vocal inflections from Paul, we can tell that he is in complete misery. He follows the cry with an excellent question, “Who will set me free from the body of this death?”¹ It is as though Paul has this running, inner monologue going. He is crying out, but no one is responding. He is asking questions but no one is answering them. He plays out the internal battle with one defeating blow after another as he fails to gain victory over his foe.

The Self Obsession

I didn’t quote the entire inner debate Paul laid out, because it is rather long, but if you pull out your Bible, look at that passage and count them, you will find Paul saying, “I”, “me,” or “my” thirty-five times in twelve verses. I rarely use the words “always” and “never” because the are just as rarely true but, in this case, it fits. An obsession with self will always end in defeat. It will result in the cry, “Wretched man that I am…” and “Wretched woman that I am…” As it was with Paul, so it is with us.

It is not until the very last verse of Romans chapter seven that Jesus enters the picture and sets everything right. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”²

Have you ever pondered at length the songs we sing as believers, and how self-focused so many of those songs and hymns are? Now, it is important to clarify that I am not speaking about songs and hymns that speak of who I am in Christ, but rather songs and hymns that are almost entirely about me and what I want out of this relationship. The next time you’re singing with a group of believers, ponder as you sing, “Is this about me, or about Jesus?”

Similarly, many sermons are also constructed to serve this self-interest, as such sermons tend to draw larger crowds. The same is true for books in the Christian genre. The concern for the writer, agent, and publisher is not “Is this book truthful,” but rather, “Will this book sell? Will this book appeal to a large audience? Will a self-focused audience drop fifteen to twenty dollars on this book?” Sunday morning gatherings have tapped into the reality of self-focused disciples by tailoring the experience to titillate the senses. Manipulative lighting and visuals are designed to evoke specific responses and emotions through an exercise that appears very much to be in competition with the world. All too often, I hear the phrase,”Well, I just don’t get much out of going to church.” Perhaps that is how it is supposed to be. Perhaps the gathering of the body of Christ is designed to provide us with an opportunity to give, and serve, and minister, rather than to get, be served, and be ministered to.

Having reached the climax of his internal debate, “Wretched man that I am,” Paul asks his question, “Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” He has established the reality, “I can’t do this. Nothing I try is working. This is a living death! Who can set me free from this?”

The Solution

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
– Romans 7:24a, ESV

When we are united with Christ³ we are alive in Christ. And if we will surrender to Christ, if we will allow ourselves to be vessels of service in his kingdom,⁴ it solves the problem of “wretched man/woman that I am.”

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
– Romans 8:1, ESV

Pastor, writer, and speaker, Warrren Wiersbe points out that “The verse does not say ‘no mistakes’ or ‘no failures,’ or even ‘no sins.'”^{5 No, what this verse says is that there is “no condemnation,” despite the fact that we do falter, we do fail, we do sin. You do not, and will not, stand condemned.}

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do…If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
– Galatians 5:16-17, 25, ESV

You, Christ follower, are living the most victorious life there is. You walk in the Spirit in absolute victory over death and condemnation. You are driven by the Spirit rather than the flesh. You have peace with God in Christ rather than war with God in your flesh. You have meaning in your life, the purpose of serving God rather than serving yourself.

Wretched man that I am? No. Not even close. Blessed man that I am, how can I ever doubt or deny my Lord, my Savior, and my King?

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
– Matthew 11:28-30, ESV

1. Romans 7:24b
2. Romans 7:25a
3. Romans 6:5
4. Philippians 2:13
5. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 538.