Who will set me free from the body of this death?

The apostle Paul sees a war going on within himself. His spirit wants to do the right things but his body doesn't do them and the things his spirit hates, his body loves (Rom 7:24). He's talking about the sin problem. 

We all sin. There are no perfect people no matter how much we long to be perfect and there is absolutely nothing we can do ourselves that will undo the sin we have already committed. Words once said cannot be unsaid. Things once done cannot be undone. Once we become imperfect, we can never be perfect again by our own efforts. But imperfect people will not live eternally. They will die physically and spiritually. How can we escape this dilemma? 

Frankly, there is no solution to the sin problem other than the one offered by God himself. No one else can solve the sin problem. Humans sin and sin must be punished. It is punished with separation from God because God is perfect and everything in His heaven is perfect or will be eventually. There is no room there for sinful men. 

God's answer to the sin problem is God himself. God himself became a human, a perfect human, a sinless human, and offered himself as a sacrifice for all humans who will believe in him. The perfect died for the imperfect. He who did not deserve to die physically or spiritually, died. He didn't die for his own sins -- he had none. Therefore his death has merit for those who accept God's offer of eternal life. 

So, how do we accept God's offer? We accept this offer of grace (something we receive without deserving it) by faith -- believing that Jesus is God's answer to the sin problem. Our faith leads us live as God wants us to live and to do what God wants us to do. Faith leads us to change our way of life -- to stop doing the things God hates and to start doing the things God loves. Faith also leads us to unite with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection -- by going through the motions of his death, burial and resurrection (baptism) we are united with perfection. 

In his death, the perfect Jesus was punished for my imperfection -- personal sins.  By uniting with his death, I have been pardoned and have regained my original state of perfection. God changes my status. He no longer sees me as imperfect. When he sees me, he sees Jesus — he sees perfection. I still struggle with sin on the physical level but the Holy Spirit given to me at baptism, helps me to hold on to my faith and struggle to overcome sin in my present life, the blood of Jesus constantly washes me clean and I keep my status of perfection.  And because of that I will not experience the 2nd death — eternal separation from God.

Faith in Jesus, then, is God's answer to the sin problem. His gracious offer is open to everyone, even you. If you haven't yet accepted his gracious offer, why not? God has set before you 2 choices: Life and Death. Choose Life...! 

Eph 2: 8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.