WHO WILL RESCUE ME?

Devotional

Day 1: The law is a mirror, not a savior

Many believers carry heavy shame because they try to use God’s law to fix themselves. The law is a mirror; it can reveal the dirt but it cannot wash a face. Its commands expose sin and even stir up the rebel within, not because the law is bad, but because sin seizes the moment. Let the law do its job—show your need—and then run to Jesus to rescue, cleanse, and make you fruitful. You belong to the One raised from the dead; you are released from the old letter to serve in the new way of the Spirit. Today, stop treating rules like a ladder to climb, and treat them like a signpost pointing you to Christ’s arms of grace [09:23].

Romans 7:7-13: God’s command uncovered what was hiding in the heart; when the command said “don’t covet,” sin used it as a launchpad to stir up all kinds of coveting. The command, meant to guide toward life, exposed the deathliness of sin. So the law is holy and good, but sin twists what is good to show just how deeply wrong it is.

Reflection: Where have you been using a rule to manage guilt this week, and what would it look like to bring that exact place to Jesus in honest prayer today?

Day 2: The inner battle is real—and a sign of life

The tension you feel between loving God and stumbling in weakness is not proof you’re hopeless. Even a faithful apostle admitted he often did what he didn’t want and failed to do the good he desired. Your flesh has old patterns, but your inner self now delights in God’s ways. Don’t panic when the war surfaces; let it drive you away from self-reliance and into dependence. The struggle can be a sign of life, not a verdict of failure; keep turning toward Christ in the middle of it [20:13].

Romans 7:15-23: The believer wants to do good, yet finds another power tugging toward what is wrong. Inside, the mind agrees with God’s law, but another law operates in the body, waging war and taking prisoners. This reveals the divided pull of the flesh and the new desires planted by God.

Reflection: Name one recurring moment today when you feel the tug-of-war most; how will you pre-plan a simple turning prayer to depend on Jesus right then?

Day 3: Stop striving; start abiding in Christ

There’s a world of difference between effort fueled by self-reliance and effort powered by the Spirit. Striving in the flesh is like a treadmill—lots of sweat with no real movement. Walking by the Spirit is like a moving walkway—you still take steps, but a power beyond you carries you forward. The better question isn’t “How do I stop sinning?” but “How do I stay connected to Christ right now?” Give Him your attention before you act, and let obedience grow as fruit rather than force [26:52].

John 15:5: Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches; staying connected to Him is the only way to produce any real fruit. Cut off from Him, our efforts accomplish nothing, but remaining in Him brings a harvest.

Reflection: Choose one daily trigger (commute, lunch break, scrolling); what brief abiding practice—a whispered dependence prayer, a verse, or a 60-second pause—will you insert there this week?

Day 4: When you fail, confess and re-anchor in grace

When you stumble, the flesh urges you to hide, make promises, and try harder. The Spirit invites you to confess quickly, receive grace immediately, re-anchor your identity in Christ, and ask, “What does walking by the Spirit look like right now?” Your failure becomes a signal to depend, not a reason to despair. Let mercy lift your head and set your steps again, because in Christ the guilty sentence has been lifted and a new power is at work [28:54].

Romans 8:1-4: Now there is no guilty sentence for those united to Christ, because the Spirit’s law of life has set us free from sin and death. God did what the law couldn’t do—He dealt with sin in His Son—so that the law’s true righteousness could be lived out in us as we walk by the Spirit.

Reflection: After your next misstep, whom will you text or tell to bring your struggle into the light as you receive grace and take one Spirit-led step?

Day 5: Who will rescue me? Jesus our deliverer

The right response to our mess is a cry, not a checklist. “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” is answered with gratitude: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Deliverance is not in a method but in a Man; surrender is the beginning of freedom. Let your frustration press you into deeper dependence, and lean on the family of faith to lift you when you sink. Stop striving and start abiding—the law makes us say, “I can’t,” while grace teaches us to say, “Jesus can” [33:58].

Romans 7:24-25: Faced with the misery of sin’s pull, the cry goes up for rescue—and God provides it through Jesus Christ our Lord. With the mind, there’s agreement with God’s law; in the flesh, there’s the old pull toward sin. Thanks to God, deliverance has a name: Jesus.

Reflection: Where do you feel most like quicksand right now, and what simple “Jesus, help me” prayer will you keep on your lips today—inviting one trusted believer to check in with you?

Sermon Summary

I began by asking whether we feel victorious at day’s end or just exhausted and ashamed. Romans 7 is God’s gift to honest Christians who love Him yet still feel like they fall short. After tracing Paul’s flow in Romans 1–6—universal guilt, righteousness by faith, peace with God, and freedom from sin’s mastery—I showed that Romans 7 answers the next set of questions: What is the law for? Why do I still struggle? And how do I actually live holy?

The law is a mirror, not a sink. It exposes dirt but cannot wash it off. In fact, sin uses the commandment to provoke rebellion, making sin “sinful beyond measure.” That’s not because the law is bad; it’s because sin is that deep. So don’t run to the law to fix yourself—let it show your need and drive you to Jesus.

Then we walked through Paul’s inner conflict: “I do not do the good I want.” That battle is real, and it doesn’t mean failure. It’s a sign of life—evidence that the Spirit has given you new desires that now clash with the flesh. The flesh can desire good but cannot produce it. Willpower is not the engine that gets us home.

So what do we do? The issue isn’t effort versus no effort; it’s dependence versus self-reliance. We’re not told to stop fighting sin; we’re told to stop fighting it in the flesh. The practical shift is this: Instead of asking, “How do I stop sinning?” ask, “How do I stay connected to Christ right now?” Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” Attention fuels affection; abiding fuels obedience. Think less treadmill—sweat without progress—and more moving walkway—still stepping, but carried by power beyond you.

When we fail, we don’t hide or make new promises. We confess quickly, receive grace immediately, re-anchor in no condemnation, and ask, “What does walking by the Spirit look like right now?” The cry of Romans 7—“Who will rescue me?”—meets its answer: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Deliverance isn’t in a method; it’s in a Man. Romans 7 brings us to the end of ourselves so Romans 8 can begin in the power of the Spirit. Stop striving and start abiding. The law shows the problem; only Jesus sets us free.

Key Takeaways

1. The law exposes; it cannot rescue. The law functions like a mirror—holy, just, and good—but powerless to cleanse. Its purpose is to reveal our guilt and intensify our awareness of sin’s depth, not to rehabilitate us. When we use the law to self-fix, we end up more condemned or more self-righteous. Let the law do its job: send you to Jesus. [08:47]
2. Your struggle signals spiritual life. Feeling the tug-of-war is not proof that you’re a fraud; it’s evidence the Spirit has given you a new heart that resists sin. Before Christ, sin came easily; after Christ, resistance is born. Grief over sin and ongoing warfare reveal you’re awake to God, not abandoned by Him. [19:26]
3. Depend before you act each time. The difference isn’t effort vs. no effort—it’s dependence vs. self-reliance. Abiding in Christ reorders our attention, and sin loses leverage when Jesus holds our gaze. In temptation, shift from “Don’t do it” to “Jesus, I belong to You—help me walk in what’s true.” [25:09]
4. Deliverance is a Person, not method. White-knuckled vows and stricter rules can’t transform the heart; the Spirit can. We cry out, not “give me steps,” but “give me Yourself,” and He meets us with power and presence. Grace doesn’t lower the bar; it supplies the strength to clear it. [31:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:19] - Do you feel victorious?
[03:11] - Romans 1–6 in brief
[05:31] - Main point: self-reliance fails
[06:39] - Romans 7:1–13 read
[08:47] - Law exposes, cannot save
[10:32] - Why prohibition provokes sin
[14:11] - Romans 7:14–25 read
[18:51] - Struggle as sign of life
[22:12] - Stop fighting sin in flesh
[26:52] - From treadmill to walkway
[28:31] - Confess quickly; no condemnation
[30:31] - Who will rescue me? Jesus
[33:58] - Stop striving; start abiding
[36:27] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Romans 7:1–25

Observation questions

In Romans 7:7–13, what roles do the law and sin each play? List one phrase Paul uses to describe what sin does through the commandment.
In Romans 7:18–23, what two realities are at war inside Paul, and how does he describe their effects on his choices?
What everyday picture was used to show how a rule can stir up desire, and what does that reveal about the human heart? [10:32]
Two images were used to contrast self-reliance with Spirit-dependence. What are they, and what does each one highlight about movement and power? [26:52]

Interpretation questions

If the law is “holy and just and good” (Rom 7:12), why does relying on it to fix oneself lead to either more condemnation or more self-righteousness? Where might that show up in real routines? [13:07]
Paul says, “I do not do the good I want” (Rom 7:19). How can ongoing grief over sin function as a sign of spiritual life rather than failure? What does that say about new desires in a believer? [19:26]
In Romans 7:24–25 Paul cries, “Who will rescue me?” and then says, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” What does this pairing teach about where deliverance is found and how to respond in the moment of defeat? [30:31]
If the real issue is dependence versus self-reliance, what practical shift of attention helps a believer abide rather than strive—especially in the heat of temptation? [25:36]

Application questions

Where have you been using the law like a sink instead of a mirror—tightening rules, making vows, trying to self-fix? What would it look like this week to let the law send you to Jesus instead? [09:23]
Think of a recent time when you felt, “I do not do the good I want.” Did you take that struggle as proof you’re a fraud or as evidence of spiritual life? How could you respond differently next time? [19:26]
Name one recurring temptation. Instead of saying, “Don’t do it, don’t do it,” how will you shift attention and pray, “Jesus, I belong to You—help me walk in what’s true,” in the next real moment of pressure? [28:06]
After a fall, what’s your default—hide, beat yourself up, make new promises? What would it look like to confess quickly, receive grace, re-anchor in “no condemnation,” and then ask, “What does walking by the Spirit look like right now?” [28:54]
What area of life feels like a treadmill—lots of sweat, no progress? What simple practice this week could be your “moving walkway” of dependence (a set prayer, a Scripture on your desk, a check-in with a friend)? [26:52]
In one specific place you’ve been white-knuckling change, what would surrender look like today? How will you cry out, “Who will rescue me?” and also say, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord,” in a practical way this week? [30:31]
Who will you invite into this so you don’t isolate? Name one person you can text or meet when you stumble so they can help you turn from shame to Jesus and walk by the Spirit together. [29:52]

Sermon Clips

First of all, I want you to understand that the struggle doesn't mean failure. If you are struggling like Paul is, and you're warring in your mind, there's a law of God, but there's a law of sin in me, and I struggle with it daily. I want to do what's right, but I often end up doing what's wrong. Please understand that the struggle does not mean failure. The fact that you struggle is often a sign of spiritual life. [00:19:07] (25 seconds) #StruggleIsNotFailure

Feeling the struggle against sin is not a sign that you're failing as a Christian. It's often a sign that you're truly alive in Christ. Before salvation, people sin without much inner conflict. But when you're born again, the Holy Spirit gives you new desires. And now there's tension between the spirit and the flesh. That internal battle is actually evidence that your heart has changed and that you care about obeying God. [00:20:13] (27 seconds) #StruggleIsSignOfLife

We're not called to stop fighting sin. We're called to stop fighting sin in our flesh. And that single distinction changes everything. So in Romans chapter 7, it shows us that self-effort is the wrong engine. It's the wrong drive. Not that obedience is the wrong destination. In Christ, we should be obedient Christians. But not in the power of the flesh. It won't work. We will fail every time. [00:22:39] (28 seconds) #StopFightingInFlesh

``The difference isn't effort versus no effort. It's dependence versus self-reliance. We still make an effort after we put our dependence on Jesus and in the Spirit, not in ourself. So instead of asking, how do I stop sinning? Ask, how do I stay connected with Christ right now? I have a struggle. I have a temptation. How do I not do this thing that I'm struggling with? Stop asking that question and ask, how do I stay connected to Christ right now? Because sin loses power when Christ has our attention. Obedience is fruit of that attention being with Christ. It's not force. [00:25:15] (54 seconds) #DependOnChrist

Here's an illustration of trying in the flesh versus walking by the Spirit. Trying in the flesh is like running on a treadmill. You're running. You're sweating. You're exhausted. You're working hard. But you're not actually moving forward. Walking by the Spirit still involves effort. It's stepping out onto a moving walkway where you still walk and you still move. But now power outside of you is carrying you forward. Many of us are trying to live a victorious Christian life on a treadmill on our own. And we can't go anywhere. [00:26:43] (39 seconds) #WalkByTheSpirit

So stop living in all that sin and the shame and so forth and just repent and confess quickly. Receive the grace. Remember your identity. And then ask, what does it look like to walk by the Spirit right now? Failure in our lives becomes a signal to depend, not a reason to despair. Because the Christian life is not about gritting our teeth and trying harder not to sin. It is about fixing our eyes on Jesus and learning to walk in step with the Spirit. [00:28:54] (34 seconds) #RepentAndWalk

A man drowning in quicksand, his struggling only sinks him deeper. Rescue comes when he cries out for help. And that is us in our spiritual lives. We cannot overcome sin in and of ourselves even though we are no longer in bondage. We have to cry out to Jesus. So let your frustration push you into deeper dependence on Jesus. And when you feel defeated, don't isolate yourself. But rest in the truth that Jesus has already rescued us. And now we can walk in the strength that He provides. Surrender is the beginning of freedom. [00:32:45] (44 seconds) #CryOutToJesus

We are no longer under sin. It is no longer our master. But we can willingly give ourselves to it as we try to fight in the flesh. How about we surrender to Jesus Christ and depend on Him and live the victorious Christian life as we look to Him, as we worship Him, as we think about Him daily and constantly and revere Him and show gratitude and worship in our daily lives. Stop striving and start abiding. The law can show you the problem, but only Jesus can set us free. The flesh can want righteousness, but only the Spirit can produce it. [00:33:29] (44 seconds) #SurrenderAndAbide

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WHO WILL RESCUE ME?

Devotional

Day 1: The law is a mirror, not a savior

Day 2: The inner battle is real—and a sign of life

Day 3: Stop striving; start abiding in Christ

Day 4: When you fail, confess and re-anchor in grace

Day 5: Who will rescue me? Jesus our deliverer

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

WHO WILL RESCUE ME?

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