We are in Romans chapter 7 today, and Lord willing, we will finish Romans 7. So it's a little bit of a lengthy section, and it does require some focused attention. As you hear these verses read, and as you'll hear the sermon, you have to track along with me and with the Word today. Beginning now in Romans 7 14 The Apostle Paul says for we know that the law is spiritual But I am carnal sold under sin For what I am doing. I do not understand for what I will to do that I do not practice But what I hate That I do If then I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do, but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to 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. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of 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. This is the Lord's inerrant and holy and life giving word. May he write it on our hearts. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this passage. And we ask God for your help, for your Holy Spirit to be our teacher and interpreter. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Well, every Christian who is honest is aware of the ongoing conflict that we have with remaining corruption. The war within, it's a daily reality for those who are in Christ. Some people think And I don't know where they get this except from false teaching or just their own ideas, but they think if they become a Christian, then the battle with sin will be over. But truly, that's actually when it begins. And so before a person believes in Christ, there's no battle. Sin always has its way in our lives. Before conversion, we don't want to please God. We don't want to obey his commandments. We want to do our will and that's it. So there's no struggle. And so here's the thing. Before conversion, man in his fallen state, In the words of the larger catechism, is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually. You say, wait a minute, that's pretty strong language. It's straight out of scripture. Genesis says that God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, that every thought and intent of his heart was only evil continually. So you see the catechism is only repeating what scripture teaches. Now before a person comes to know Jesus Christ, they are convicted of sin. will grant that. They feel their guilt before God, but until the heart is changed, they have no real desire to turn from sin and to follow God's commandments. Until that heart is changed, there's no real desire to obey God, to glorify Him, to submit to Him. But when a person is born again, when he or she is regenerated by the Spirit of God, that's when the battle begins. That's when this inner conflict starts to be a reality, a daily reality. And it's helpful, this passage, there's so much we can say about this passage, so I won't be able to say everything, but one thing is that it's helpful for us to know that even an apostle struggled daily with sin, with this inward battle of sin. You are not alone. There's no temptation that's overtaken you except what is common to man. And you say, well, aren't there some people who are so holy that they don't have to struggle? No. If they say that they don't struggle with sin, as 1 John puts it, if we say we have no sin, we are lying and we're not speaking the truth. So, you're not the only one. It's a common Christian experience. All right, what do we do with it? Well, that's what this passage hopefully will help. to understand this battle. One question, of course, at the beginning we should ask, how do we know that Paul is really referring to himself in this passage as a regenerate Christian? Because some say that Paul couldn't be talking about himself as a Christian here. I say he must be talking about himself as a Christian here. But how could Paul say, oh wretched man that I am, if he was a man in Christ, if he was one who was dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ. How could he say I'm a wretch? Well, because who he is in Christ is one thing. Who you are in Christ is one thing. A wonderful thing. Romans 6 has taught us much about our identity in Christ. But our actual practice is another thing. Our actual practice falls short. Now, it's a mix. There are, we do things to please God, we do obey Him, we do have holy desires, but the sanctification is imperfect in this life. So every true believer falls short of what we are in Christ and what the law says we ought to be. That's why we read the Ten Commandments, we read scripture, and we are convicted of sin because we do sin. Our confession of faith says that we sin every day in thought, word, and deed, and I heartily concur with that. I don't love to hear that fact, but it's a true fact. We do sin every day in thought, word, and deed. So the closer we get to Christ, actually, the more we are aware of that. And that's that paradox, but it's a reality. Now reformed commentators, the good commentators, largely agree that in Romans 7, 14 to 25, Paul is speaking as one who was regenerate, as one who is a Christian, post-conversion. And in verses 7 to 13 of this chapter, Paul, you see, was speaking in the past tense. You can look at that. He was speaking of the past before he came to know Christ. But now he's speaking of himself in the present tense. And there are things that are said here. that could only be said of a Christian. They could not be said of an unbeliever, such as, I hate evil, or I delight in the law of God, or, and I serve that law with my mind. And so we see this distinction between flesh and spirit. And that distinction is describing the believer. That struggle, that inner struggle between flesh and spirit can only occur in one who has been born again. And then, of course, the thanksgiving at the end could only be uttered from a believer who is seeking deliverance from Jesus. In verse 14, Paul says, for we know that the law is spiritual. And he's talked a lot about the law. But what does he mean? The law is spiritual. That could be taken in a number of ways. The law is spiritual. It was given by the Holy Spirit, of course. And it's used by the Holy Spirit for his purposes to convict us, to guide us, to lead us. And the law sets forth spiritual standards for life and it reaches down to our spirits. It's not merely an external thing. The law requires spiritual service and heart obedience to it. Now, in contrast to that, to the spiritual nature of the law, the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold See, it's statements like that that make people want to say, there's no way that Paul's talking about himself as a Christian because he's already taught us a lot of things that seem to contradict that. I would stress, they seem to contradict it. Not every contradiction in the Bible is a real contradiction. There are no contradictions in the Bible. They are only apparent. and we have to study and compare scripture to scripture and be cautious when we look at these things. But this statement, I'm carnal soul under sin, it is one of the major objections to the view that Paul was referring to himself as a Christian in this section. So how can a Christian say I'm carnal and I'm sold under sin? That word carnal means fleshly and it's used also in 1 Corinthians 3 in verses 1 to 3. Christians were caught up, the Corinthian Christians were caught up in particular sins and they were acting, Paul said, as babes in Christ. You're carnal, he says. And so they were arguing over who was the greatest preacher and so forth. You know, we're of Paul, we're of Apollos and so on. No, they were not. totally carnal. There used to be, we don't hear as much about it, probably still is taught in places, this erroneous doctrine called the carnal Christian. That someone could receive Jesus as Savior and live completely carnally, live in sin, and not confess Jesus as their Lord, not follow Him at all, and still be a Christian somehow. That's not true. That's not biblical. So no one can be completely carnal. Now these Corinthians were acting carnally in this area, this particular case, but they were not completely carnal. They were still identified, and Paul was speaking to them in Corinthians, as believers. But they were acting carnally, so you're carnal. Right now, you are carnal. So no one is truly altogether carnal. If that's the case, you're not a Christian. But neither is a believer altogether spiritual. That's for when we get to heaven. We will only be made perfect. So these believers in Corinth, they were acting carnally according to the flesh. And Paul, I think he's reflecting on his actual life's practice. And he could say, I'm carnal, I've been acting carnally and fleshly. And Paul may have acted fleshly, but we know as he's taught earlier in this book of Romans, That he was no longer in the flesh. He was no longer dominated by the flesh As he was when he was an unbeliever So, Paul compares himself to the spiritual, perfect, holy law, and he says, I'm carnal. Do you not read the Ten Commandments and do you not think of their spiritual meaning, that it's not only, you know, the external, but the internal attitudes and so on? Do you not read those and say, I'm carnal? I don't keep God's laws onto. So, you know what? It's not inconsistent for me to say that I am carnal when I'm acting that way. That's just the reality, and I think that's what Paul is doing. He's not describing his position in Christ here, but his practice, which falls short of it. He said, I'm sold under sin. Now that's, again, difficult, because didn't he say in Romans 6 that we're no longer slaves to sin? And now he says, I'm sold as a slave to sin, so which are we to believe? Consider this, that whenever you give in to sin and temptation, at that moment you have allowed sin to take you captive. At that point. And sin is no longer your master, you know, if Christ has set you free, but in practice we are often taken captive by fleshly desires. John Murray, in his commentary, said that the captivity to sin of which Paul here speaks is alien to his most characteristic self and will. and it's abundantly attested to by the verses that follow. So this is not who Paul is, but it is what he's acting like in the moment. And so the Christian, at the core of our being, at the core of your being as a Christian, you are not a slave to sin, but the reality is often you're taken captive by sinful desires of your old master. I like what Horatius Bonar, the Scottish preacher and hymn writer, we sing a number of his hymns, he said that those who think it impossible for a saint to speak thus must know little of sin and less of themselves. And he says a right apprehension of sin would produce this oppressive sensation described here by the apostle, a sensation that 20 or 30 years progress would rather intensify than weaken. You think, well Paul, he's a mature Christian, he wouldn't be speaking like this. No, the more mature you get in Christ, the more you see the reality that he describes. Alright, so just think about that. Can you not, when you read Paul's description here, can you not identify with him? Do you not feel that at times you feel like a slave again? At times you feel carnal and not very spiritual? I do. I feel that way. In the previous chapters he's shown us that the believer is justified by grace alone through faith alone, dead to sin, risen with Christ, And we need to believe these truths. These are truths that refer to our position in Christ. It's an act of God's grace that we have these things. But if we are dead to sin, does that mean that sin has been eradicated from our lives inwardly or any other way? No, certainly not. The seventh chapter of Romans teaches us. that though sin no longer reigns over us, it's going to continue to fight for the mastery. Now, it cannot ultimately do that. It cannot ultimately regain the mastery and dominion over the Christian. But sin is going to try, is going to fight. That's why the continual battle exists. Now, knowing this, see, it's a very valuable lesson. Chapter 7 of Romans, these verses explain to us, they give us insight into the struggle that goes on within every believer. And the knowledge we have Helps us equips us to fight the ongoing battle now in verse 15 Paul says for what I'm doing. I do not understand What I will to do, I do not practice. What I hate, that I do. So he's indicating a little bit of bewilderment, a little bit of confusion. And I think this happens to many of us who are converted to Christ, and we understand what we were as sinners without Christ. And then we come to Christ, and then we are like, but I want to do God's will. Why am I sinning? Why am I continuing to sin? I thought the Lord saved me. Well, he did. And Paul's saying the same kind of thing, that he's bewildered about this, but, you know, his practice simply didn't line up with desires all the time. You know, if I desire to obey, I should obey, right? You should, but, you know, and if I hate that which is against God's law, I should avoid it, right? Paul says, No, I don't do what I want to do. And I do what I hate. How many of us find the same thing in our lives? And if you're a Christian, you know, you are you are born again, of the Spirit of God. God's Spirit dwells in you. You have been changed. And you don't want to sin, you want to please God. The last thing you want to do is displease the Lord, to sin against God. On the other hand, the very things that you hate, oops, you find yourself doing, And it is a head-scratcher, and yet it's not. It's simply the reality of the daily battle. So, why is that? Why do we do things that we really don't want to do? Are we mentally unstable? Yes. Yes, that's part of the problem. And when we renew our minds according to the Word of God, we become more mentally stable. That's a fact. But because the flesh still clings to us. See, the flesh is the remnants of the old man. And the flesh always wants what it wants when it wants it. The flesh still clings to us. The flesh is not eradicated. And the flesh is used to getting its way. And so these habits and patterns of the flesh, of the old man, do not automatically disappear the moment you are converted to Christ. See, The justification is once for all completion, there is no improvement, there is nothing you can do but believe it, accept it, and it's done from the moment you believe. But sanctification is this ongoing renewal. We have to re-habituate our lives with God's word and renew our minds. And unless we're vigilant in the battle against sin, I mean, Jesus said, watch and pray unless you enter into temptation. He's basically saying you're going to have to fight. You can't go to sleep when I say pray with me for an hour. You can't just fall asleep and expect that you're not going to enter into temptation. And certainly that's what the disciples did. We will fall back into old ways unless we fight as God tells us to fight. And yet, when you do fall back into sin, do you not regret that you sinned? Yes, you do. You wish you hadn't done it. See, you're talking just like Paul. You're thinking just like Paul. Paul is describing us. So a true believer desires to have his affections continually set on God alone. Who does not want to have their hearts set on God alone so that he is the one they live for and nothing else? A real Christian wants to serve Christ and live for eternity. Don't you want that? I do. One who's been born again wants to keep the whole law, not just part of it. We want to do the whole will of God. We want to live completely without sin. as the angels do in heaven, if it would be possible. Now, those kind of desires are normal Christian desires. They're never found in an unbeliever. That's why he's not talking about an unbeliever here. Well, Paul had these desires, and God places these desires in your heart. And that's why Paul was so grieved when he failed to carry out the desire, because his desires were there. Can you identify with Paul yet in this passage? Take heart The good news at the end is Thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He will deliver us from this body of death now going on in verse 16 if then I Do what I will not to do. I agree with the law that it is good. So the problem again. It's not with the law It's with me says Paul the law is good and he's agreeing that the law is good and But in verse 17, he says, but now it's no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. This is where Flip Wilson got his phrase, the devil made me do it. Well, he twisted the scriptures to get it. But here's the idea. It seems on the surface to say, well, I can't help it. It was just sin. Honey, I didn't mean to do that. I really didn't have anything to do with it. That was sin. It wasn't me. If we use this passage to avoid personal responsibility for our sins, we're wrong. So what's the point? Well, I think what he's saying is that as a person who is in Christ, He's saying it's not the new nature that is producing this sin. Rather, it is sin, this remaining sin, the remaining corruption in my heart that's carried over from the past. That sin comes from that and not from who I am in Christ, of course. And so I'm still responsible for my sin. I cannot, you know, remove myself from that remaining corruption. It is part of me. But it's not who I am ultimately. And it's certainly, you know, it's inconsistent with who I am in Christ. That doesn't mean that the believer has two distinct personalities. I believe that you are now, if you're a Christian, you're a new person in Christ. You are a new man, new woman. And though these sinful ways associated with the flesh still cling to you, it's not as if you are two separate people. No, you are a new creation in Christ who does, yes, still sin. Because sin still dwells in you. Now, verse 18 says, For I know that in me, then in my flesh, nothing good dwells. So that part of me that still clings to me, the flesh, There's nothing good in it. Nothing good can come out of the flesh. You cannot train the flesh to do right. Whatever good is in you, of course it's put there by God. It's by God's grace through Jesus Christ. And we can praise God and thank God for that. Paul goes on, to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. The good I will to do, I do not do, but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. So in and of himself, he says, I cannot overcome the flesh. He wanted to do good, but he lacked the strength to do so. Now that's one of the lessons we learn from this passage that we have to admit the reality of the struggle and we have to admit our natural weakness and need of God's ongoing strength. So God doesn't give you all the power to be perfect yet. One day you and I will be perfected in holiness. We will when we see Christ. but not yet, not yet. And so this ongoing struggle makes us realize how dependent we are moment by moment on the strength of God. In verse 20, he restates what he already said in verse 17. Now, if I do what I will not to do, it's no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Again, he's not saying this to excuse himself. He is repeating this statement to trace the sinful desires of his heart to the source, that is, the remaining sin and corruption in his flesh. And he wanted to explain that the proper cause of these sinful acts, it's not the law. Law stirs up sin, but it doesn't create it. And it was not the new man. It was sin that dwelt in him. So when you sin as a Christian, when you see your pastor sin, don't be shocked. Okay, sin still dwells in you, it still dwells in me, and you and I, together, we must continue to fight it. Verse 21, I find in a law, or a principle, this is what he's really meaning here, I find a principle that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. So let me ask you a question, do you desire to do good? Good inside of God. in obedience to the Lord. That's great. But do you not realize that every step of the way, every good deed that you would do, there's going to be opposition to it. It's never going to be easy. It's never easy to do good. It's never easy to do right. Because as soon as you seek to do right, sin is going to oppose those holy desires. Evil will always be present with you. You're going to take that evil with you wherever you go. You can't escape it. And many Christians, they're not content, of course, with the reality. And they want to find a way of escaping this ongoing battle with sin. Some Christians try to isolate themselves. That's what, you know, some of the monks, you know, the monastics, monasticism doesn't work because the monk carries his sin with him wherever he goes. Read Martin Luther's biography and you will see how, you know, Martin Luther thought if ever a monk could be saved by his monkery, it was me. But the harder he tried, the more he saw how sinful he was. So others look for an immediate release and this automatic experience. Some people talk about a second blessing, that even you reach that second tier, that second blessing, then you won't sin anymore. And they claim perfection. And I would just point you to the quote in the bulletin there. At the bottom of the last page there, I have quotes from the Westminster Confession, and at the very bottom of that section, in the announcement section, by A. A. Hodge, who was a Princeton professor, perfectionism is in conflict with the universal experience and observation of God's people. That's true. The personal profession of it is generally judged to be just, ground for serious suspicions as to the claimant's mental soundness or moral sincerity. So, in other words, if someone claims that they've reached a state of perfection, you may say they're either mentally unfit, unstable, or they're morally, somehow they have ignored the realities that Paul is confessing here. So, Why do you think it's so difficult to change? Again, because at every step you're going to find pushback. Why can't I change? Why can't I grow? Because it's never going to be easy. You're always going to have pushback from sin. Verse 22, he says, for I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. And Dr. Sproul says it's this verse that convinces him and the vast majority of theologians that Paul was speaking of his present state as a Christian and not his life prior to the conversion. of his soul. No unsaved person can delight in the law of God in their innermost being. No, in their innermost being, they delight in their own law and living for themselves. That's the reality. Verse 23, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. So Paul loves God's law as every Christian does. And yet there's another principle at work, warring against those godly desires, seeking to take him back into captivity. But here's a question that we can ask, and I think there are some answers for us. Why didn't God, why doesn't God eradicate sin the moment we believe? Why does he make us go through this until we get to heaven? Why do we have this long period of struggle and battle warring against sin in this life. I was reading Wilhelmus O'Brockle, the Dutch theologian, and he said this. He said, it is the wise will of God to allow the old nature to remain. And he gave several reasons why this might be so. And first, he said, God allows corruption to remain in the Christians so that the free grace of God would shine forth all the more. It's only by the grace of God that we are kept, that we persevere, and that we continue in His grace. Second, God left sin as an opposing force within us so that, quote, Christ's atonement always remains fresh and precious and the only foundation of our justification and joy. The Lord's table is before us and it represents His atoning. work of the cross, giving his body and his blood up for us. How precious is that blood to the soul who's leaned on Jesus, who looks to Jesus, especially after battling sin and sometimes losing that battle. How much do we need the cross? How much do we need his grace and forgiveness? How much more do we appreciate it? Do we appreciate it when we come forth from battle? Third, in this way, man remains small in himself and more dependent on God for strength to fight the continual battle. If I overcame every temptation that I faced, I might begin to think I was something when I really wasn't. And so God wants to keep us humble. I don't know what Paul's thought in the flesh was, but I know it was sent to humble him. And he must have needed to be humbled. I think remaining sin in us and corruption is there to humble us. And then fourth, he said, and I think this is maybe the most profound, that God allowing the old nature or the corruption to remain, that it engenders a longing for heaven and the state of perfection. Don't you long for that? You can't have it now, but you will one day. And that's good that you long for. And remember, as we close, the personal battles you fight are part of this large battle. We did this whole series on spiritual warfare. It's not just you and your sin. It's the world. It's the devil. It's the church against the forces of darkness. So when you trusted Christ, you changed sides, and the devil's not happy about that. And so not only do you have the flesh to battle with, you've got Satan as your enemy. And the world is your enemy, you're no longer one of them. And the battle with the flesh, you see, is in the context of this greater war. So we cannot just be slack about this. We can't just say, well, I'm gonna sin. The battle is too much for me. It doesn't really matter anyway. I'm forgiven. That's the wrong approach. That is the wrong approach. No, it matters. The kingdom matters. My own personal victory or fall matters. And so when Paul cries out at the end, O wretched man that I am, it's not a cry of despair because immediately he says, who will deliver me from this body of death? And he says, I thank God through Jesus Christ, my Lord, Jesus will deliver me. He is delivering me day by day. And one day he will deliver me totally from this body of death. Well, how does he do that? Well, that's where chapter 8 comes in. So you can look forward to chapter 8. And we'll talk more about that in the coming weeks, obviously. When Jesus returns, he's going to destroy sin completely, not only from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, but the very presence of sin. And we have that to look forward to. For now, we need strength each day. We need the Word of God. We need the sacrament, the Lord's Supper. We need the fellowship of the saints. We need to study the Bible. On and on we can go. We need the means of grace. So let's come to the Lord's table as that means of grace to strengthen us for this battle. And I will ask the elders now to come forward.