"O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God; through
Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Rom. 7:24-25)
Some scholars think that Paul in the above verse was alluding to the barbaric practice of the
Romans, and others before them, who strapped a dead body to a prisoner who was captured in
battle. The dead body hindered the prisoner from escaping as he was marched off to captivity.
Verse 24 can literally be translated, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this
dead body?" Of course, Paul was making a spiritual application, and was asking, "Who will
deliver me from the bondage of sin which shackles and condemns?"
Paul answers his own question in verse 25. Deliverance from the wretched, miserable state of sin
comes through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the Redeemer, Savior, and Deliverer.
Let us thank God that we have deliverance and salvation through Christ.