In the War Between Flesh and Spirit, 7 Reasons Romans 8 Changes Everything

War is a big part of the Christian life. We don’t fight against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces. The armor of God in Ephesians 6 protects us, and the sword of the Word of God is the offensive weapon we may wield. But what happens when the enemy we’re fighting isn’t “out there”? What are we supposed to do when our biggest, baddest opponent on a given day lives right inside of us? How can we ever fight against ourselves and win? Recently, a line in a children’s book caught my attention, and I just couldn’t get away from it. When you fight against yourself, you lose every time.

A Surprising Truth from Dr. Seuss

The line is from the book called Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. It may have been written for children, but it’s packed full of life lessons that are perfect for my 12th-grade English students. They fill my classes today, but in a few short months, they will be out on their own in the world and will benefit from the wisdom there.

The line goes, “I’m afraid that sometimes you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ’cause you’ll play against you.”

All through the day, the words just kept echoing in my mind. “Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.” When you play against yourself, you can’t win…you can’t win… I started thinking about the spiritual war that every Christian fights. Not the battles with principalities and powers fought with armor and a sword. But the ones between the flesh and the spirit. I imagined myself with the sword of the Word of God pointed toward the enemy in one hand. My other hand was up in the stop position, resisting the world’s values and influences. But while my hands were full with those two, another enemy was busy tearing me down from within. (I had a little fun with AI here.)

Flesh vs. Spirit.

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” 

Galatians 5:17

The verse describes the battle every born-again believer faces between the desires of the regenerated spirit to please God and follow His commandments and the desires of the “old man,” the sinful flesh that is still rolling around inside of us until we leave our earthly bodies and receive glorified ones. The spirit wants to live for Christ. The flesh wants to live for self.

I thought about my own battles of late. I feel like I’m doing my best to do everything “right,” and this other person inside me is HANGRY when I’m supposed to be fasting, ANNOYED when I’m supposed to be loving, and FRUSTRATED when I’m supposed to be patient. She TALKS TOO MUCH instead of listening, GRITS HER TEETH on the way to some Wednesday night church services instead of being glad, and WANTS ALL THE THINGS that God has asked me to put away when she knows good and well that she will never get them.

Sometimes, I fight that girl (the flesh), and I lose. Sometimes, I fight her and win – but I also lose. There is LITERALLY NO WAY TO WIN when you fight against yourself.

So Where Is the Victorious Christian Life?

Paul found it in Romans 8. Of course, it was after a big, painful discussion about it in Romans 7. Some say Romans 7:15-24 was Paul speaking when he was unconverted because he talks about being under slavery to sin, but I don’t think so. “Sin” isn’t just fornicating, murder, and greed. It’s also having a temper, using unkind words, having a bad attitude, and all kinds of other things that creep and pounce on Christians in low moments.

In Romans 7:18, Paul said, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” He was basically saying that he wanted to do the things that pleased God, but his flesh just couldn’t get it right. (Hello? Yes!)

His spirit was willing in Romans 7:22: “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” No unconverted person loves God’s laws but rather is hostile to them. Born-again children of God, on the other hand, surely do.

But his flesh was weak in Romans 7:23. “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” “Captivity” is a picture of the powerful pull of our sinful nature that can sometimes overpower us despite our best intentions.

From Romans 7:15-23, he agonizes about it. Finally, in Romans 7:24, he does the only thing he can do. He cries out for help. Romans 7:24 says, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Have you been there? I sure have. The more you read the Bible and get closer to God, the more you WANT to do the things written there. You want to be like Jesus, and you want to have the right reactions to things, but this OTHER PERSON inside you just keeps messing up your perfect little Christian life.

So Where Do We Turn?

The building despair in Romans 7:24 is finally shifted in Romans 7:25. The answer is simple and was there all along. Romans 7:25a says, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus was Paul’s only hope, and He’s ours too. In verse upon verse of Romans 7, Paul agonized over his dual nature and the helplessness he felt when trying to fight the powerful sin nature and win. It’s amazing to note that while Paul uses the words “I,” “me,” and “myself” over 40 times in Romans 7, he never once mentions the Holy Spirit. It’s just a great big picture of the pain we can cause ourselves when we try to fight ourselves in our own strength. Willpower, determination, and pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps may make a difference occasionally, but can just as easily wear us down to the fray.

Romans 7:25a gives thanks to God that through Jesus Christ we have our hope in Him. The real surprise, though, comes in Romans 7:25b. It says, “So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Wait, what? Is that permission to sin? (God forbid!) This isn’t license but realism. He acknowledges that the great power of the flesh and its ability to “mess things up” is a reality that will be with him until he dies. It’s like when Jesus says, “The poor you will have with you always.” Does it mean that we shouldn’t try to help and feed the poor when we can? No. But we can’t go around blaming and kicking ourselves for a condition that simply will not go away.

7 Ways Romans 8 Changes Everything

While Paul focused on himself in Romans 7, in Romans 8, the personal pronouns virtually vanish. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is mentioned some 20 times. In fact, Romans 8 shows us 7 ways that it is the Holy Spirit who changes everything.

1. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Feeling guilty all the time for what the “other person” feels, thinks, and does just takes our peace. It’s not about our human weakness but God’s divine grace and freedom.

2. Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Trying to fight the “law of sin” is like trying to fight the “law of gravity.” It’s a losing battle that takes a higher spiritual law (the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus) to break the cycle.

3. Romans 8:5-6 says, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Walking after the Spirit begins with what you choose to dwell on. Screaming at yourself to stop being an idiot just focuses on the flesh. Instead, intentionally redirecting your mind to Scripture, prayer, and thanksgiving shifts your energy to reliance on Jesus to fight for you.

4. Romans 8:9 says, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The Holy Spirit changes everything. The biblical solution is to stop fighting yourself and start allowing the Spirit of God to make the difference (and giving yourself grace while He works). 

5. Romans 8:13 says, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” “Through the Spirit” means that it isn’t us doing the heavy lifting here. When our flesh gives us trouble, we can’t manhandle it into submission. Instead, we step aside and ask Jesus to take over. I think of it like an “I’m telling Dad” moment. “Heavenly Father, I can’t do this on my own. I surrender to You. Please take control of me right now.”

6. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” With so much internal confusion, it’s a wonder that we know what to pray at all some days. The beauty of it is that the Lord has a plan for that. We don’t always have to have the perfect words to know exactly how or what to pray. He is well able to translate our pain into the perfect prayer.

7. Romans 8:37 says, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” The outcome of our struggle has already been decided. Jesus won the victory for us through His finished work on the cross. It is no longer our personal performance but the blood of Jesus that will allow us to stand on the Day of Judgment. For now, we can do our best (and repent when we sin), count on Him for the rest, and stop being so stressed!

You Will Never Win in Your Own Power

Paul was one of the greatest apostles of all time, and even he couldn’t fight himself by his own power and win. He showed us in Romans 7 that willpower and sheer grit are no match for the powerful pull of our fallen human nature. That battle only left him feeling frustrated and “wretched.” Instead, recognizing his own insufficiency was the first step to victory. He cried out to Jesus and spent the whole next chapter explaining how to focus on God and His power and to rest in His great grace and care. The good news for us today is that Romans 7 doesn’t have to be our story either. We can remember the great truths in Romans 8 and find victory in Jesus.

If you like to look closely at Scripture through analogies, try Sin is Like a Plague on Our House. Please sign up to receive my blog in your email inbox. You can find that at the upper right of your screen (or at the bottom on a phone). Also, check out my YouTube Channel, where I read the blogs out loud and have a playlist of hymns. For Scripture memorization through music, visit The KJV Rocks, featuring word-for-word KJV Scripture songs. Sing them until you know them by heart!