Who Will Deliver Me? The Struggle Every Christian Faces
The Desperate Cry That Echoes in Our Souls
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." - Romans 7:15
I remember a specific night, sitting on the edge of my bed, hands on my face. I had promised myself — and God — that this time would be different. That I would succeed. But there I was again, defeated by the same temptation, feeling the crushing weight of guilt. It was then that Paul's words in Romans 7:24 came to life: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?"
Perhaps you know this feeling. That deep frustration of wanting to follow Christ with all your heart, but realizing that a part of you seems to sabotage it constantly. We are not alone in this struggle — and there is real hope to overcome it.
The Battle Within Paul's Heart
When Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Rome, he was not giving theoretical lectures on theology. He was sharing something deeply personal and universal. Rome was a cosmopolitan city, where Jews and Gentiles tried to live together as brothers in Christ, each group bringing its own spiritual baggage.
Romans chapter 7 takes us to the heart of a battle that every follower of Jesus knows well: the struggle between who we are in Christ and the remnants of the old self that insist on remaining. Paul uses the expression "body of death" to describe something very specific — not our physical body, but that sinful nature that drags us away from God, like a dead weight tied to our ankles.
Think about it: Paul, the great apostle, the author of much of the New Testament, the man who had heavenly visions, publicly admits his own internal struggle. He was not pretending to have overcome everything. What freedom there is in knowing that even the giants of faith fought these same battles!
The Duality That Defines Us
The central message of this verse reveals an uncomfortable yet liberating truth: we are beings in conflict. Within every Christian lies a battlefield where two natures confront each other daily.
On one side, there is the new man in Christ — the one who loves God, desires to do good, longs for holiness. On the other, the flesh persists — those patterns of thought, habits, and inclinations that pull us toward sin. It’s like having two dogs inside you, constantly fighting. Which one wins? The one you feed.
But here’s the crucial point that many miss: this cry from Paul is not a cry of final despair, but of necessary recognition. He is saying, "I cannot do this alone. I need a deliverer!"
Have you ever felt this way? Like you are trapped in a cycle of broken promises, good intentions that never materialize, repeated defeats in the same areas?
The Hope That Changes Everything
The beauty of this passage lies in what comes right after. Paul poses a rhetorical question: "Who will rescue me?" — and immediately answers in verse 25: "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Deliverance does not come from willpower, religious discipline, or self-improvement. It comes from a Person. Jesus Christ not only forgives us when we fall; He empowers us to live differently. As Romans 8:1 states: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Imagine a bird trapped in a cage. It can flap its wings desperately, but it will never fly as long as the bars are closed. Christ does not just come to encourage it to flap its wings harder — He opens the door of the cage.
Living Out Liberation Day by Day
All of this is beautiful in theory, but how does it translate on a Monday morning when you are late, stressed, and that old irritation starts to rise? How do we live out this liberation practically?
1. Acknowledge Your Fragility Without Shame
The first step to liberation is brutal honesty. Paul did not try to hide his struggle; he declared it publicly. Stop pretending everything is fine when it’s not. God already knows everything anyway. Your honesty does not surprise Him — it invites Him to act.
Try this: take ten minutes today to list three specific areas where you feel you are losing the battle. Not in vague terms ("I need to be better"), but concrete ones ("I lose my patience with my kids every morning" or "I can’t control my thoughts when I’m alone browsing the internet"). Specificity is important because it pulls us out of denial.
2. Find Your Battalion
No one was designed to fight alone. Galatians 6:2 instructs us to "carry each other’s burdens." This means your struggles should not be your best-kept secrets. Sins kept in the dark grow; exposed to the light of authentic fellowship, they lose power.
I know a man who struggled with pornography for years. Alone, he failed repeatedly. When he finally mustered the courage to share with two trusted friends and asked them to check in on him weekly, everything changed. Not because they judged him — but because he was no longer alone in the trenches.
Who in your life knows your real struggles? If the answer is "no one," you are in danger.
3. Practice Confession as a Lifestyle
1 John 1:9 contains one of the most powerful promises in the Bible: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Notice: "if we confess" — not "if we feel bad enough" or "if we try to make up for it." Confession is simply agreeing with God about the truth. It’s saying: "Lord, You said this is sin. I’ve tried to justify, minimize, hide — but I agree with You. It is sin. And I need Your forgiveness."
Confession is not an annual event; it is a spiritual breath. When you realize you have sinned, confess immediately. Don’t accumulate. Don’t wait until you feel "worthy" to approach God. You will never be worthy — but you will always be welcome.
4. Live by Grace, Not Condemnation
This is perhaps the most difficult application for many sincere Christians. We tend to think that if we don’t feel sufficiently guilty, we won’t take sin seriously. But constant condemnation is not the voice of God — it is the voice of the accuser.
Grace does not mean that sin doesn’t matter. It means that Christ has already paid for it completely. When you fail, learn to approach the throne of grace quickly, not to flee from it in shame.
Start each day by remembering who you are in Christ before thinking about what you need to do for Christ. Your identity comes first; your activity flows from it. You are loved, forgiven, justified, adopted — even before you get out of bed.
Biblical Voices That Strengthen Us
Scripture is filled with echoes that reinforce this truth:
Galatians 5:17 reminds us that this battle is normal: "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh; they are in conflict with each other..." You are not crazy for feeling this conflict — you are exactly where every genuine Christian finds themselves.
Psalm 51:10 gives us the words to pray: "Create in me, O God, a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me." David, a man after God’s own heart, knew he needed divine transformation, not self-improvement.
Romans 8:1 anchors us in the liberating truth: no condemnation. This does not mean no conviction — the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin to free us from it. But He never condemns us. The difference? Conviction points to Christ; condemnation points to despair.
Questions That Deserve Your Honest Reflection
Before we continue, take a moment. Where are you avoiding looking closely? What area of your life are you afraid to fully surrender to Christ because you fear what He might ask of you?
And an even more important question: Are you seeking liberation from sin or just relief from guilt? The difference is crucial. Relief from guilt can come from a thousand sources — rationalization, comparison with others, superficial religiosity. But genuine liberation only comes through complete surrender to Christ.
From Misery to Victory
The journey from Romans 7 to Romans 8 is the journey every Christian is making. We start by recognizing our total inability ("What a wretched man I am!"), but we do not end there. We end in Christ, where there is no condemnation and where the Spirit of life sets us free from the law of sin and death.
You will still struggle. There will be days when you feel like you’ve regressed. Moments when verse 24 will resonate in your soul with painful intensity. But now you know the secret: the struggle is not a sign that you have failed as a Christian; it is evidence that you are one. Spiritually dead people do not struggle against sin — they simply yield to it without conflict.
Your internal struggle is proof that the Holy Spirit is alive in you, creating a holy discomfort with sin, awakening a hunger for holiness. This tension is not your enemy; it is your ally, constantly pointing to your need for Jesus.
A Prayer of Surrender
Heavenly Father,
I acknowledge today that, on my own, I am wretched. I have tried to overcome in my own strength and have failed repeatedly. Thank you for Paul being honest enough to show that even he faced this.
Jesus, You are my deliverer. There is no other. I surrender again to You — my struggles, my defeats, my secret areas of shame. I will hide them no more. I bring everything to the light of Your grace.
Holy Spirit, strengthen me today to choose life, not death. And when I fail — because I know I will fail — remind me to run to You, not from You.
May I live not under condemnation, but under grace. Not in the slavery of sin, but in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
In Jesus' name, my deliverer. Amen.
Victory does not mean never falling — it means knowing to whom to run when you fall. And He is with open arms, waiting to lift you up again. Always.