Once Bound by Death, Now Bound by the Spirit

Romans 7:5-6 (ESV) ⁵ For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. ⁶ But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Have you ever asked God for patience and found out that he didn't give it to you immediately?  As the phrase goes: If you ask for patience God won't give you patience.  He gives you opportunities to be patient.  This mindset applies to much more than patience.

Before Christ brought us into him we were bound by death and our sinful passions flooded the members of our body.  Our lives were controlled by death and we worshipped at its altar.  But Romans 7 clearly states that we are no longer held captive by death.  Death no longer holds sway over us.  This change in control over our lives is not because of anything we did to control our sinful passions.  Only the work of the Holy Spirit can make such a change. 

But the question still remains: Why then do I continue to sin?  Perhaps it is a sin that is new.  Perhaps it is a sin that is chronic within my members.  But why do I continue to sin despite the fact that I am no longer held captive by death?  I am held captive by the Spirit.  Shouldn't my life reflect that captivity?

The answer lies within the process of sanctification.  Yes, death no longer holds me captive, but the process of sanctification is very seldom easy or quick.  It may take time.  Years, perhaps.  But God will make us who he desires us to be in the time that is needed. 

Maybe, just maybe, when we ask for God to remove our passion for the sin within our members he won't take the sin away.  He may only give us the opportunity to deny the passions of the flesh and choose to live for him.