Well, dear church family, this evening, let us begin where we left off last time in Romans 7. And particularly, we're looking at verses 7 through to the end, where we spent the whole of the last study looking at the context in which these verses were written in. What is the context of Romans 7? Is the Apostle Paul describing a Christian's experience, a regenerate man or woman's experience Or is he describing someone who is yet to become a Christian? Someone who is yet to become a recipient of God's saving grace? Well, like I mentioned last time in that study which is taken up purely upon the context, I believe very firmly he is describing a Christian's experience. Now, that being said, let us look at the Apostle Paul's description of a Christian's spiritual warfare against sin and the flesh, which is nicely summed up in verses 22 through to the end of Romans 7. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, 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. Verse 24, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Now the Apostle here is saying these words, of course, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit as one who is now justified by faith in Christ, who is now, as we thought earlier in Romans 7, who has union with the Lord God. He's in union, he's married to Christ, he's been delivered from the law, he is justified by faith, he has the sweet and blessed union now with God. And so it would make no exegetical sense whatsoever for him then to flip-flop to an unregenerate state. He is speaking here as someone who is justified by faith as union with the Lord God and it would make no sense at all to flip-flop back around. And so Spurgeon says of this, and I quote, Now humble Christians are often the dupes of a very foolish error. They look up to certain advanced saints and able ministers and they say, surely such men as these do not suffer as I do. They do not contend with the same evil passions as those which vex and trouble me. Ah, if you knew the heart of those men, if they could read their inward conflicts, they would soon discover that the nearer a man lives to God, the more intensely has he to mourn over his own evil heart, and the more his master honors him in his service. the more also doth the evil of the flesh vex and tease him day by day. There's a lot of truth in that, isn't there? A lot of biblical truth and a lot of experience of the Christian. I think recent events of the fall of a leading evangelical in Christian circles really serves to us the real dangers and warning in putting, and in warning, in elevating men as it were to a position of almost potpourri and it seems so much of that now in evangelical service where you have these men even in conservative circles which are elevated to an element of perfectionism or even deity sometimes where people just go to them for everything these big names and we see how often sadly how some of these men fall And sometimes it ruins the faith of perhaps those who are younger in the faith. And we must understand that these are fallible men, all men are fallible men. And I think I always say it and I'll continue to say it, be careful of putting your trust in the big names in the evangelical world, especially amongst the new evangelicals. I think Pastor Jeff Riddle from the conference on Saturday said, on Friday evening, said something which really struck with me. He says, it is wise, it is wise to perhaps follow those who have gone before us, who have not made shipwreck of the faith, as it were, and have proven over time, they're now in glory as it were, but they've proven through not only the words but their life that they have been faithful. And I think there's wisdom in that, isn't there? And that's why I always prefer the old commentators. There is safety in that. Well, we must realize that they are all saints, really, whom God has called by his grace and sanctified by his spirit. They're all saints. And the Apostle and earlier Saints as we know from Scripture, Acts 14, 15, were men of like passions just as we are. And they were godly. Yes, they were godly men and much used of the Lord, but they were also fallible men. We know, don't we? And the Lord Jesus we are told in Hebrews 4 was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Think about that. The Lord Jesus Christ was in all points tempted as we are, and yet we imagine that the apostles who were far inferior to the Lord Jesus Christ somehow escaped these temptations, this proving, this inner conflict, and this inner battle. It's absurd, isn't it? And so with this in mind, to help aid today's study, I just quite simply would like for us to consider, in terms of the Christians' inner conflict with sin and the old nature, really, I would just like us to consider three simple points from Romans 7, 22 to the end. Firstly, the delight of every justified believer. The delight of every justified believer. The blight of every sanctified believer. The blight of every sanctified believer. And thirdly, the might of every triumphant believer. The might of every triumphant believer. The delight the blight and the might of a believer. Well, to begin with, we see, firstly, the delight of every justified believer who is justified by faith in Christ. Verse 22 says, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. The apostle Paul here, of course, is speaking as a regenerate person, a Christian, someone who has saving faith in Christ 2 Corinthians 14.13 says, calls it, having the same spirit of faith. That's what 2 Corinthians 4.13, having the same spirit of faith. And just a few verses on, in 2 Corinthians 4.16 it says, for which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, Yet the inward man is renewed day by day. The inward man, the new nature, as it were, within every Christian is renewed day by day, is strengthened in Christ, is given grace in Christ. And this wasn't only evident in the New Testament. David, the psalmist, knew this as well. In Psalm 1 he wrote, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. You see, David was justified by faith in Christ as well. He believed in the Savior, wasn't he? And Christ was in his heart. He was saved. He was living for the Lord. The Lord was the most in his life and he delighted in the law of God. Romans 2.29 says, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart. in the Spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God. He is a Jew which is one inwardly, you see, a Jew indeed, an Israelite indeed, someone who is trusting in the Saviour. 1 Peter 3, 2-4 says concerning a Christian wife's godly character. Verse 2 through 4 says, while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear, whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of the plaiting of the hair and of the wearing of gold, or the putting on of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God, of great of great price. He says, and concerns to the character of a godly Christian wife, that let it be of the hidden man of the heart. You see, a godly woman, if she's got Christ in her heart, she doesn't need to show off to the world, as it were. She doesn't have to, like worldly women, she doesn't have to show off to the world. And she's got the Lord in her heart, you see. She doesn't need to stand out in a crowd. She's content in the Lord, in serving the Lord. She delights in the law of the Lord. The Lord is first in her heart. Clearly Romans 7.22 is referring to a regenerate man, a Christian, one in whom the Holy Spirit has entered into and imparts within him a new nature and a new life and a new principle of life. Verse 22, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. And so is this, dear beloved of the Lord, is this true of us, friends? Is there a delight in the law of God? Can we say that? Do I love and rejoice and joy what the Lord loves? And I hate what he hates. I love serving the Lord. I love his commandments. I see the righteous character of the Lord in his commandments. I see that not only he did not steal, but he gave. He gave himself utterly. I see that he was not only covetous, he wasn't covetous, but he was content, wasn't he? I see all these things in the Lord. So I see the righteous character of the Lord in these things. It's no longer a list of not, Do nots, but it becomes, I want to do these things, I've got a desire to do these things. The law is made honorable to me now because I have Christ and I can never lose my salvation. You see, as Romans 7, one says that those who know the law, that was the context, remember, whether they be unconverted Jews or whether by application religious people who have not saving faith in Christ, They cannot say that they delight in the law of God, can they? After the inward man, they cannot say that. The Pharisees were covetous men, weren't they? In Luke 16, 14, they were covetous. They did not delight in the law of God. They did not delight in the tenth commandment. They were not good stewards, were they, of what God had given them. They did not delight in the Sabbath day as our brother Rod preached. They did not love the Sabbath day. They became extra biblical, didn't they? They minimized the law. The Pharisees did not delight in honoring their father and mother, the fifth commandment. They were greedy men, weren't they? We know that from scripture. And the Pharisees did not delight in the sixth commandment, not to kill. They were supposed to give life and point people to the Savior. They did not delight in those things, did they? And hence the Lord's words in Luke 16, 15. Ye are they which justify yourselves before men. But God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight. of God. That's what the Lord had to say about them. There was no delight, you see, in the Lord. There was no joy and rejoicing in service and in the Lord. And so it's fair to say that every justified believer in Christ delights in the law of God after the inward man of the heart. They've received the new nature of God. And friends, if there is no joy and delight and love for the law, There is a problem there, isn't there? There's a problem. If you do not delight and love the law, there is a real problem there. And so we must examine ourselves. If we truly love the law, well, we thought firstly that every justified believer by way of experience delights in the law of God after the inward man. Secondly, we see What is the blight of every sanctified believer? Look at verses 23 and 24. 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. Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Before conversion, the natural man has but one nature, doesn't he? And it's obvious that it's not talking about the natural man. Because the natural man only has one nature and that's a carnal nature, isn't it? That they've inherited from their parents. The natural man can be honest, The natural man can be kind and polite and generous and even very meek. You have people in the world that can sometimes act a lot nicer than Christians can act. They can be far more polite, far more courteous and I've met many of them. But when it comes to the matters of walking by faith in Christ and in his words and the matters of eternity, they are completely in the dark, aren't they, in this regard. C.H. Spurden once again says concerning this, thus you see the Christian becomes a double man, two in one. Some have imagined that the old nature is turned out of the Christian, not so. For the word of God and experience teach the contrary. The old nature is in the Christian unchanged, unaltered, just the same, as bad as it ever was, while the new nature in him is holy and pure and heavenly, and hence, as we shall see, there arises a conflict between the two. You see, if you're born again of the Spirit of God and you've received the Holy Spirit into your heart and into your soul, into your life, the Holy Spirit of God cannot sin. The Holy Spirit, the Holy Nature, it's impossible for the Holy Nature to sin. Think about that. You cannot, the Holy Nature cannot sin. The Holy Spirit cannot sin. It's only the old nature The old man that sins. The Holy Nature cannot sin, the Holy Spirit cannot sin. It's the old nature, you see, that through its influence and through distraction causes us to sin. And we would be wise if we would entreat the new nature. Be very careful of these things. This conflict and struggle against sin is clearly what we see in Romans 7, and in particular verses 23 and 24. The Apostle describes these two natures within a Christian as laws. They're described as laws, aren't they? Look at verse 23 again. But I see another law in my members. That's the old nature, isn't it? And what does the old nature do? Warring against the law of my mind. That's the new nature. Wars against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. The law a Christian evidently notices, and the Apostle Paul is saying, I notice it. It's tangible. I hate it. I notice this old nature, this law as it were. He notices it in his members, the old nature, the old man that wars against the law of his mind. The new nature, the holy nature, the nature that delights in the law of God, that loves the law of God. You see, James, one of the other great apostles, says of the old nature. Within a Christian, he says, from whence cometh wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence even of your lusts, that war in your members? James 4.1. Peter, another great apostle, says of the old nature within a Christian or Christians. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Now praise be to God, beloved, that the old corrupt nature, the old man has been dethroned. The old man and the old nature has been regulated, relegated and dethroned in the heart and in the mind of every believer. It has been crushed under the foot of grace now and has been nailed to the cross, as it were, so it no longer has its dictating and controlling and governing power over us as it used to anymore, has it? But friends, it is still there, isn't it? The old nature is still there in its entirety. It's called, in this passage, a body of death. It's not a remnant, as some think. It's not a relic. It's not a shred of remaining sin. It's a whole body still there. It's a whole body of death, which is there. It's there in its entirety. Yes, the old nature is the lesser law now within a Christian. It no longer governs and no longer dictates and no longer controls how a Christian ought to live their life because we've become men and women after God's own heart now, haven't we? We have the mind of Christ within us, 1 Corinthians 2, 16. That is the new nature and the great holy law of love that governs our hearts. Our minds are renewed, aren't they? Remember our passage earlier, day by day, aren't they? However, the old nature, the old man, the law can still distract us and still influence If we're not spiritually and heartily careful, if we're not, if we could be distracted, you see, and we could also be influenced by the old nature, if we're not on guard and spiritually discerning and careful, it is still, it is still there, the old nature in its entirety, hence the Apostle Paul refers to the old nature in verse 24 as the body of this death. the body of this death. And he is not referring to his body, by the way, here. Some make that mistake. He is referring to the old nature here. He feels it like a body. It's tangible to him. He doesn't think that's some of those things. He understands that it's ever present with him, this old nature, this law. Spurgeon gives us a wonderful example of how he gives an example how the old nature is what tyrants used to use for punishment. Tyrants used to use for punishment, they used to take a dead corpse and they used to tie it to a living man. And so this living, as a form of punishment, these tyrants used to take a dead corpse, tie it to a living man, and this living man, wherever he went, had to take around this dead, rotting, loathsome, stinking corpse, as it were. And he kind of likens the Christian. He's taking, he's got this old nature, this old law, and it's loathsome to him. He hates it. He says, like Job, I'm vile. He cannot stand this old nature. He wishes he could get rid of it once and for all. As Calvin puts it, it is a mass of corruption. It is not simply a shred or a remnant. The old nature within a Christian is a body of death and not simply a shred or a remnant of remaining sin. Such men who advocate such a theory do not know much about themselves yet, do they? They do not actually understand really this. And like I said, Spurgeon describes the old nature within a Christian as a body of death, as it were, as that picture I've described of the dead corpse being tied to the living body. Spurgeon once again says of this, and I'm quoting Spurgeon a lot here this evening because He has written the best sermon on this particular subject. You can find it online. It's called The Fainting Warrior. And I would encourage us all to read that. It's a brilliant sermon, far better than what I'm doing here this evening. But he says concerning this, now this is just what the Christian has to do. He has within him the new life. He has a living and undying principle which the Holy Spirit has put within him. But he feels that every day he has to drag about with him this dead body, this body of death, a thing as loathsome and as hideous, as abominable to his new life as a dead stinking carcass would be to a living man. He sure had a way with words, didn't he, Spurgeon? He also gave an illustration of a man being a narrow thin house, as it were, and is governed by the living man, the new man, but it's also got the old nature, and they hate each other in this tall house called man. Galatians 5.17 says, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary, the one to the other. These two laws described in our text today are in all regenerate persons. Remember what I said to begin with, the natural man only has one law, one nature. The Christian has, in effect, two natures. And they are contrary to one another. So if you're, you know, in effect, it's actually a marker of grace. It's a marker of grace if you are fighting against sin and you hate it, and you love the Lord, you aim for the bullseye of Christ, you love the Lord, and you delight in the commandments. But all of us, we fail the Lord, don't we? We fail the righteousness of the law, the spirit of the law, because the law has become so wonderful, hasn't it? And we miss that righteousness of it, don't we? And so there is a continual warring and combating between them. Remember the law within every Christian upon conversion has been elevated now. I think our brother Rod mentioned that on the Lord's Day, that the Pharisees minimized, didn't they, the Sabbath day. But the Christian has a wonderful elevated view of the law now. They see the righteousness, the spirit of the law, don't they? It's beautiful, it's wonderful. We no longer see the law as a list of do nots and do's. You see, that's the difference, I think, between a Christian. I do not see it, do not do this, do not do that. For the Christian, I want to do this. I love to keep the Lord's day holy. I want to spend time worshipping the Lord. I want to do this. I want to give my heart and my life and my substance to the Lord. There is this desire to want to do that. But yes, we can be distracted from that, can't we? We can be influenced from that, from the old nature. Rather we see the law as righteous, perfect, a guide for life because we've received it from the hands of our saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who perfectly kept it on our behalf. Well that's why James 4.17 says, Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Think about that. That's the view now of the Christian. I know now what is good now. And to me it's not simply the do nots in life, it's the things I do now, isn't it? You see, the true Christian through the new nature of God within him always wants to honour the Lord and to do that which is right and pleasing in God's sight, not in a condemning way, but because he loved me, because I'm never going to be lost. He's loved me with an everlasting love. And so he aims at the righteousness of the law through love of his saviour. I don't want to let the Lord down, the one who's loved me. He's such a loving father, I don't want to let him down. But how often does he notice, like the Apostle Paul, his shortcomings because of the other law, this body of death, the old nature. And so let me just give you an example. of this. When is the last time, I just want to give you an example of this. When is the last time you prayed, like David, Lord keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. When is the last time you and I prayed, keep me back Lord from being presumptuous, presumptuous over my judgment over things, from presumptuous sins. When's the last time we prayed that? Because if you have not prayed this, why not? Do we presume to know everything? Do we presume to know everything there is to a Christian life? There are some people, sadly, who think that. We don't, do we? So we need to pray for these things. Do we pray, Lord, help me to walk more by faith and less by sight? Do we pray to walk more by faith and less by sight by what we see? Do we pray, Lord, help me with my speech to be seasoned with grace? Or do we think that all my words are right? Everything that I say is right all the time. Do I pray, Lord, help me as a father, or a mother, or as a child, or as a minister, or as a member, or as an employee? Do I pray for my God-given responsibilities? Do I pray for strengthening them, for enabling them, for unction for those things? Am I praying? If I'm not praying, why not? Why aren't I praying for those things? See, this is what I'm talking about with the righteousness of the law. You see, it's all in the heart and in the mind. It's not just about the do nots. Lord, help me to be used more in thy service, to be more faithful in my witness. Lord, grant thy servant wholesome thoughts, God-honouring thoughts. We pray for wholesome thoughts, good thoughts. This is the whole part of it, you see. Am I one that always has good thoughts? Are you one that always has... No, you can't say that, can you? But you see, when we're asking for these things, we're asking in faith. We desire these things. I want these things. I want to delight. I'm meditating day and night in the law. I want wholesome thoughts. I want to be used of the Lord. I want to be God-honoring. I want to be found faithful. I don't want to be presumptuous. And like Solomon prayed that wonderful prayer, give therefore thy servant an understanding heart that I may judge this so greater people and discern from good and bad as it were. He prayed that, didn't he? Young, give, I need, I need, I need that, I need you to give that to me. And often we're reminded in the scriptures, aren't we, the reason why we do not receive is because we don't ask, do we? We don't ask. You see, and so the blight that I'm talking about is the old man, the old nature, you see, seeks to distract us from that, doesn't it? Seeks to influence us, as it were, from the righteousness, from these wonderful desires, these wants, I want to do these things. Remember, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James 4, 17. The new life which God has given us in Christ cannot sin. The Holy Spirit within us cannot sin. I hope that's a comfort to you and I. The Holy Spirit that you've received and these desires that you now have within you, these new principles and desires in Christ, The Holy Spirit cannot sin. The new nature cannot sin. It is only the old man, the old nature, the law that as it were that wars on our members against the new nature that sins. It's the old nature that commits the war, that attacks the new nature. It is embittered as it were. Therefore, we like the Apostle Paul at times can feel like a fainting Christian warrior, like a fainting Christian soldier in this spiritual battle. We can cry out, oh wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this body of death? We could be like Job, I am vile. We could see here, the Apostle Paul understands this, doesn't he? And thus far we've really looked at the delight of every justified believer. We've looked at the blight of every sanctified believer. And thirdly, and very briefly, we're going to look at the might of every triumphant believer. The might of every triumphant believer. The Apostle Paul says, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? And verse 25, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. He says, I thank God who has delivered me through Jesus Christ my Lord. You see, he is my Lord now. I thank God who has delivered me through Jesus Christ from the governing and controlling power of sin. That's what he's saying. I was once governed and controlled by my sin, but I'm no longer controlled and governed by my sin, because I'm a man after God's own heart. Not just David, I'm a man after God's own heart. I'm a man, I have a mind renewed in Christ, and that's true of you. If you've got the Holy Spirit, if you're born again, you're a man after God's own heart. You love the Lord. You delight in his law. And so you can say, I thank God. Although I'm not what I want to be, although I'm not what I ought to be, I am not what I once was. I love, I do love the Lord. I do believe in the gospel. I have been born again. I do have these new desires and principles within me. I want to truly serve the Lord exclusively in my heart as the first in my heart. That is true within me. And so take great comfort. You know, if you've got that, You take great comfort. If you don't have that, then that is a fearful thing, of course. But if you have that, if you have that delight, you will be so comforted from this, that sin no longer has that governing and controlling power over you. Christ governs you through the Spirit. And yes, though, It's still wars against us, it can no longer control and dictate my life, because Christ strengthens me in the Spirit, because I'm given the grace of mind and heart to live for Him. I can do all things through Him. That strengtheneth me, can't we? I can do all things through Him. And yea, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15, 57. And yea, the Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. Psalm 138, eight. And in conclusion, Philippians 1, six. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com That's grace2seekers at gmail.com Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk