Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

Romans 5 and 6

²⁰ The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? ² May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; ⁷ for he who has died is freed from sin.

⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ¹³ and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! ¹⁶ Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

In this portion of scripture, again taken from the chronological readings in the One Year Bible(link available on this site), Paul writes of the ongoing struggle that exist in each of us. We struggle both with the weaknesses and desires of the flesh and also in our minds trying to rationalize our behavior.

It is true that Christ died once for all. The work of the cross is complete for all the sin of all people. As Ephesians 2:8-9 says ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. We can never do enough good works to justify our salvation. We don't work to earn God's love or acceptance. Paul's writing earlier in Romans 5 included this ackowledgement,

 God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

There is a key for us. We are reconciled to God through the death of His Son, Jesus finished work of the cross, but we are saved by His life. It is not the life that Jesus lived for 33 years here on earth which saves us. It is the resurrected life that He lives which gives us life. Had Jesus died on the cross and remained in the grave sin would have been forgiven but the power to live is the power of the resurrection.  This is the truth that Paul is writing to us about. The power of the resurrected, new life that we have in Christ. Jesus says in John 10:9-10

I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

There is a struggle we all face day by day. The struggle to continue to live in Christ, in the new life we have through His resurrection. Paul confirms this ongoing struggle in his own life as he writes in Romans 7:

¹⁹ For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. ²⁰ But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.²¹ I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. ²² For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, ²³ but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Our bodies and our minds, these are the two battle grounds between sin and righteousness inour lives. We need to know and understand this the actual act of sin that we may live out in our body, whatever our struggle or weakness, the action is really only a symptom or consequence of the true battle in our mind. When we fail or fall we know according to 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is in the battleground of our mind that we need to rise above and walk in the fullness of our new life.

Here's the key. Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

If the battle is in our minds, what better battle plan than a mind "stayed" on God. As Paul writes in Philippians 4:

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. ⁹ The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

We can struggle and try to overcome our evil desires. Good luck with that. Instead we keep our minds fixed on God and whatever is good ... our bodies will follow.