The Effect of the Law, Part 4

It is time. I’ve got an insert
there in your bulletin for you. We have. I’ve held off on burying
you with the details for many weeks. This is a very deep passage,
very involved passage, and I have just kind of given you the overview
for the last several weeks. We began to delve in a little
more deeply last Lord’s Day, but I still didn’t find it necessary
to give you the diagram. But today, I think that that
fits our purpose just nicely. So if you would have those handy.
There are enough new saints among us that I realize that I’m way
past due in explaining the strange form that the biblical text often
is presented in in our bulletin or in these inserts where it’s
all jumbled and moved around and I’ve even, you know, had
dear saints wonder, you know, why? Why am I messing with the
word of God? Well, why is it chopped up? Is it just some poorly done word
art? I’ve had that question. The bottom line with this provides
is that What the average Christian doesn’t have access to or really
doesn’t interact with is an understanding of the syntax of a passage. Syntax
is not the price that you pay for your misdeeds. Explain it to each other afterwards.
Syntax refers to the interrelationships between words, between the clauses
that are in the scriptures, between phrases. between entire paragraphs. There are syntax relationships. And you may recall, if you think
back to your seventh grade English class, remember line diagramming?
What line diagramming did, where we drew all those arrows and
put words off and away, that is essentially, that’s an attempt
to understand the syntax of a passage, how words relate to one another
within the context. Well, syntax, in my opinion,
shouldn’t be something that only those who are skilled in biblical
languages can enjoy. Words and their relationships
to one another are the basic tool, really, that should be
in every arsenal of every student of Scripture. It’s the basic
tool to know how words function in relationship to one another.
And given the view of the priesthood of all believers, where all of
us have the privilege and the responsibility to come to the
Scriptures as students, all of us should be in the process of
becoming more and more skilled in the understanding of biblical
syntax. After all, it’s called God’s
Word, right? Not God’s DVD, not God’s video
series, not God’s podcast, not, you know, God’s seminar. It’s God’s word, and it’s designed
by God himself for us to interact with him on the level of words. Let me say it strongly, but clearly,
if you haven’t diagrammed a passage of scripture, you really haven’t
studied it. I don’t mean to be harsh or unkind. You may have read it and re-read
it. You may have mulled over it and meditated upon it. And
I’m not saying that perhaps God didn’t give you something and
over and over again that it has proven to be profitable to you.
I’m not saying that. There’s no doubt it’s God’s word
after all, right? But once you’ve diagrammed a
passage, New thoughts begin to present themselves that never
before had crept in. In fact, I can remember a seminary
student saying. A seminary professor rather saying
studying scripture ruins more sermons, what he meant by that
was the more we delve into scripture, the more our preconceived notions
of a passage have to be set aside. They have to be mitigated. In
other words, most pastors, when they come to the text, they come
to the text with a preconceived idea, and then as they begin
to study the passage, the passage informs them, not they the text. Once you’ve diagrammed the passage,
the positions that you previously maintained are suddenly revealed
as being untenable. Scripture comes alive and becomes
that razor sharp, two edged sword that God tells us it is. I had
the same conversation on numerous occasions this past week regarding
the training in this very study, which I, you know, I’ve labeled,
you’ve seen it diligent Bible study. That’s what I mean by
this study of the scriptures, diligent Bible study, and it’s
available to all. Ultimately, it comes down to
this. What you see in the scriptures is block diagramming. But I’m
absolutely still committed, regardless of how many I train. And, you
know, they run off to all points unknown. They’re still out there
as long as they’re faithful and preaching Christ. I’m good with
that. But I’m absolutely still committed to training those who
are interested. And if the full institute is
on pause and you desire this training, come and see me and
I’m available to do it one-on-one or small group, what have you.
See, the purpose of block diagram is really to begin to give you
a graphic illustration of God’s outline of the passage. God had
a purpose for this passage. God had an intention here, one
intention. And God gives us through the
language and the vehicle of words. He gives us structure in this
passage. He gives us an outline. And so
this diagramming, these adjusting of the words. Where we subordinate
one portion to another, whether it’s a word or a phrase or an
entire paragraph, those have meaning, those are according
to the language of Scripture, according to its rules. That’s
what gives us that structure. From that, you basically stand
back and you can ascertain what are the main points, what are
the what are the primary features of this passage? What is God
trying to say through this particular passage? I want to do two things. I want to go through the passage,
I want to read it. in order to honor God’s word. And then I
want to go back through and I want to give you walk through this
funny looking outline, this block diagram. If you would, Romans
chapter 7, beginning in verse 13, where we have been studying
the effect of the law, what does the law do? Verse 13, therefore,
did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May
it never be. Rather, it was sin, in order
that I might be shown to be sin by affecting my death through
that which is good, that through the commandments sin might become
utterly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual,
that I am a flesh sold into bondage to sin. For that which I am doing,
I do not understand, for I am not practicing what I would like
to do, but I am doing the very thing that I hate. But if I do
the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the law confessing
that it is good. So now no longer am I the one
doing it, but sin, which in dwells me. For I know that nothing good
dwells in me that is in my flesh for the wishing is present in
me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish
I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not wish,
but if I am the But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish,
I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find, then, the principle that
evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I
joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but
I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war
against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law
of sin which is in my members. wretched man that I am, who will
set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then, on the one hand, I myself
with my mind and serving the law of God, but on the other
with my flesh, the law of sin. I want to take you back and I
want to show you how this lines out. You have it there graphically
in front of you, and essentially there are four blocks. You see
them with the brackets on the left-hand column. I’ll explain
those in a moment. But Paul, as we’ve already talked
about in weeks past, begins to, he moves to deal with the potential
of mischaracterization of his position on the law by posing
a question. He’s done this twice before.
Verse 13, therefore, did that which is good become a cause
of death for me? And he immediately answers that.
He answers that charge with the strongest possible denial, may
it never be. Further, though, Paul moves to
identify the true culprit in his death. Rather, it was sin. Paul then proceeds to state the
reason why sin should be identified. So that sin would be seen and
known for what it is, we’ll come back to that thought strongly
this morning. How? Did sin reveal itself as
such? Paul says, by affecting my death
through that which is good, that is through the law, as we’ve
seen in weeks past. And what was the effect of sin
using the law to bring about Paul’s death? At the end of verse
13, that through the commandment, sin might become utterly sinful. God not only wanted us to see
our sin, but he wanted us to see our sin is utterly detestable
in his sight. Gross, ugly, a horrible thing,
an unclean thing. God wanted us to know the sinfulness
of sin. Now, Paul proceeds to offer proof
of the contrasting qualities of the law and himself in verse
14. The law is spiritual. I am a
flesh. Paul moves then to explain the reason for that strong statement,
and that fits underneath verse 14. Verse 15 says, without which
I’m doing, I do not understand. Then he speaks to the reason
for this bewilderment, and that too slides underneath the first
portion of verse 15. Here in verse 16, Paul, with
the facts mounting, now begins to draw a conclusion. But if
I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the
law, confessing that it is good. And with this reasoning laid
out, Paul completes his conclusion. He’s a sinner. So now no longer
am I the one doing it, but sin, which indwells me. Then here
in verse 18, Paul begins to offer proof, and that, too, is subordinate
then to verse For I know that nothing good dwells in me that
is in my flesh.” He offers further proof for the idea that nothing
good dwells in the flesh. That, too, is subordinate. Finally,
he offers proof for the absence of doing good and essentially
an echo of verses 15 through 17. For this good that I wish
I do not do, verse 19, but I practice the very evil I do not wish.
That logical reasoning leads Paul to several obvious conclusions. Verse 20, If I’m doing the very
thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but
sin which dwells in me. In verse 21, he just simply offers
a restatement of his conclusion. He wants to do good, but the
evil within him prevents it. I find then the principle that
evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. And then
Paul finally begins to draw to a close in verse 22, and he gives
us a summary of the support that he’s already set forth. The law
is good, but there’s a war raging within. quite joyfully concur
verse 22 with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a
different law in the members of my body, waging war against
the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin,
which is in my members. And that leads Paul to the conclusive
depth of despair brought about by his reasoning. Verse 24, wretched
man that I am. Which is really the first glimmer
of hope. Who will set me free from this body of sin and death?
That is the place that every person who’s ever been saved
must get to. God must bring the sinner to
that point or he’ll never be saved. Thanks be to God through
our Lord Jesus Christ and Paul sees the light. I want you to
pause for a moment. If you don’t have them out, pull
out your diagrams. And I want you to look at the
structure of the passage. Paul starts with this theme,
this thesis statement, if you will, in verse 13. He’s wrestling
with the question, are you saying, then, Paul, that the law is sin,
that the law is to blame for your death? Paul says, may it
never be. It was sin. Sin is what caused
the death. And if you look at it, everything
else in the passage, according to the rules of language, everything
else in the passage hangs off of the following statement. Everything
else modifies that it’s dependent upon it, it’s traceable back
to that one thought. That it was sin that proved to
be Paul’s undoing, our undoing, it was sin, not the law. Nevertheless,
as Paul will immediately begin to show us, the law was the tool
that God used to reveal our sin and our utter sinfulness. As
I said, the structure of the passage shows that the main thought,
the argument, if you will, occurs in verse 13. Everything else
that follows is a defense of that thesis until you understand
the point of his thesis. It’s pointless to delve in and
grab out portions of this argument. And make of it what we will.
That’s the structure of the passage, and as I said, there are four
basic blocks there. Let’s go back to verse 13. And
consider again and grasp that Paul, as I said, moves to deal
with the potential mischaracterization of his position on the law. By
closing this question, it’s essential. It’s a pardon me. It’s essentially the third such
mischaracterization that Paul’s already dealt with. He dealt
with one in verse one and one through six. He dealt with the
second one in verses seven through twelve. This is the third. That
essentially, the law is good, and yet there was a death that
occurred. Does that mean that the that
which is good, the law was to blame for my death? And Paul
immediately answers that as we’ve seen, may it never be. And then
Paul begins to identify the true culprit, the true cause of his
death, and he says, rather, it was sin. On the contrary, Paul
said. It wasn’t the law that brought
about my death, it was sin. Everything else in this passage,
as I said, begins to explain and is dependent upon that statement. Everything else is traceable
back to that thought. Paul then proceeds, as I pointed
out a moment ago, to state what this reason is. Why sin should
be identified? What was it? Why was it so important
that sin be pointed out as the culprit? We often have this idea
in our society, you know, crime has occurred. Let’s let sleeping
dogs lie. Let’s not try to do any severe
detective work. Well, that’s not the case here. Paul said, I want you to know
God wants us to know exactly who the culprit was. It wasn’t
the law. It was sin. Rather, it was sin in order that
it might be shown to be sin. One faithful pastor did a noble
work in identifying a couple of key features. Look at this.
It says, first of all, that sin worked death through that which
is good, that is through the commandment. So again, the law
is essential. God uses the law for his own
purpose, and it said that he used the law to show the sinfulness
of sin and to identify particular sins. Remember, in Paul’s case
in verses 7 through 12, the issue there was covetousness, but it
doesn’t stop at covetousness. It’s any sin. The law is used
by God to identify that activities being sinful. Second of all,
he pointed out that the end promoted what was the purpose in doing
so. The end promoted is that sin might be shown to be sin.
I know that sounds simplistic, but God wanted us to know that
he hated the activity, that the activity, according to his holy
standard, was wrong. That its true character might
be exposed, its true character is exposed by the fact that it
works death through the thing which is good. Its perversity
is demonstrated because it turns that which is holy and just and
good, that which was ordained to life into an instrument of
death. Now, we’ve already pointed out
the law didn’t cause the death. We had a death wish. Remember?
The third thing he points out. Excellent point. Sin is, for the same reason,
aggravated in its intensity. Remember when Paul said all he
had to do was hear about covetousness and all of a sudden covetousness
erupted in every sphere of his life. The abuse of the commandment
aggravates beyond measure the gravity of sin itself with a
solemnly painful and tragic effect. As soon as Paul began to hear
about the law and began to see sin for what it was, it erupted
within him as it does in every sinner. How did it? How did this sin reveal itself
as such? Paul goes on, look down at the
text. He says it did so by affecting
my death. Remember, says sin came alive
and I died. Remember that? It affected my death through
that which is good, that is through the law. The great purpose of this whole
thing, the conclusion was not that the good thing was responsible
for Paul’s death, but that sin had made use of that good thing. That sin had made use of that
good thing, the law, to accomplish or bring about Paul’s death.
Look down again at the text. To what end or what purpose?
Why is it so important that we know this? What was the effect
of sin in using the law to bring about Paul’s death? through the commandment, sin
might become utterly sinful. It’s not just that God wanted
to take us by the chin and bring our chin down to our sin and
rub our nose in it, grabbing us by the back of the neck to
show us our sin. What God really wanted us to
know is how utterly sinful, how utterly detestable it was. That
sin might become utterly sinful. One pastor said the law exposes
sin and convicts of it. The law becomes the occasion
of the sin in that depravity residing in us and is thereby
aroused to activity. The law aggravates sin. It is
the instrument through which sin is aggravated. Sin, as it
were, surpasses when it takes occasion from the pure law to
awaken the soul’s resistance to the blessed law giver. Did
you hear what he says? Without the law, you never even
would have known you offended God, and you wouldn’t have known
how badly you offended God. That’s what Paul says is the
whole purpose of the law. And that’s why I’ve said from
the start, the first week I gave you nine options. The second
week I came back and I gave you one quirky pastor’s option, that
this whole thing, to me, harkens back to that moment of regeneration.
That’s that’s the point when this is most acutely felt. That’s
the point that really is an echo of verse 13. It was sin. That’s when we began
to recognize sin for what it was in order that it might be
shown to be sin by affecting my death through that which is
good. That’s when we stood there and said wretched man that I
am. It’s not the only time. It’s not that you won’t feel
those sentiments throughout your life. It’s not that the battle
is completely over. You will continue to wage it.
But it was never more acutely felt when you stood there and
for the first time, by God’s grace, realized not only your
sin, but how sinful your sin was, that it literally was killing
you. Essentially, you were already
dead in it. It doesn’t say that that our
sin might be simply revealed. Sin blossoms and flourishes and
grows and overtakes everything, and it begins. We begin to understand
that it has permeated every aspect of our being. It has ruined us. It has destroyed us. It’s ruined
every good thing. Charles Hodge said it this way.
God has so ordered. that the sinfulness of sin is
brought out by the operation of the law, such as the designation
of the law. So far as the salvation of sinners
is concerned, it does not prescribe the conditions of salvation.
The law doesn’t tell us how to get close to God. It does not. Pardon me, it does
not prescribe the conditions of salvation. We are not obliged
to be sinless. The most foolish thing ever said
was when Christ confronted the lawyer and said, go and do likewise.
He said, I all these things I’ve done. From my you, I’ve kept
the law. Ridiculous. We are not obliged
to be sinless to fulfill the demands of the law in order to
be saved, neither is the law the means of sanctification.
It cannot make us holy. On the contrary, its operation
is to excite and exasperate sin to render its power more dreadful
and destructive so that instead of being the source of life. It is the instrument of death.
And by it, we are slain every person ever saved has that moment. Where he is brought to see his
not only his sin, But how utterly devastating that sin is. And
it’s at that moment. As I mentioned several weeks
ago, that’s the pinprick in the dark night sky, that’s when the
grace of God burst forth, that’s when hope begins to flourish
is once we’ve seen our sin for what it is, we see Christ for
who he is and we immediately or drawn to life itself. Now, as I said, everything else
hangs on that everything else in this chapter hangs on that
statement, verse 13. And Paul proceeds to offer proof
for these things, and that’s why I say for me, I can’t get
around this. I’ve gone back to the text and
I’ve looked every which way, trying to find an occasion to
poke holes in it. I can’t find an argument within
here. to point to a reason to jump
out from underneath verse 13, which is an articulation of the
moment of regeneration, and to say that that is primarily what
Paul’s talking about here. What Paul’s talking about here
is the effect of the law, what the law accomplished in our lives. And first and foremost, it was
an absolute understanding and acknowledgement of our sinfulness and our desperate need of a savior. We considered some of this last
Lord’s Day, verse 14, where Paul begins to offer proof of these
contrasting qualities of the law and of himself. The law is
spiritual. The law is God’s. Obviously,
it’s spiritual. The law is good, noble, just
right. We saw that I am a flesh. I reside in a human body, and
that has some inherent occupational difficulties. all of those appetites,
those desires that we have. But to say that this is where
the Christian resides for the rest of his life, muttering and
puttering along through life. Oh, I’m in the flesh. I have
no hope that goes directly counter to what it says in Romans eight,
and I’ve already told you, I believe Romans seven is positioned where
it is for that very purpose, so that as we get to Romans eight,
the heavens open. And the glorious truths are unfolded
to us. They’re not the least of which
is this first five. For those who are according to
the flesh sets their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who are according to the spirit, the things of the spirit
for the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on
the spirit is life and peace because the mind set on the flesh
is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the
law of God, for it is not able to do so. When those who are
in the flesh cannot please God, however, you are not in the flesh,
but you are. But in the spirit, if indeed
the spirit of God dwells in you, Paul gives us the hope of hope.
We’re not locked in hopelessly into the flesh, as we talked
about last Lord’s Day, sold into bondage to sin. This is what
you came for. We ended right here last Lord’s
Day. sold into bondage to sin. Some
have almost marveled at this statement. One pastor said it
this way, that it’s literally having been sold to sin, and
so he characterizes that as still remaining under bondage to it
or under its power. And yet he admits, and I admire
him for this, He said, this expression is the most difficult one to
reconcile with the application of it to the regenerate. Now,
we’ve already said that these are words that are only able
to be uttered by the regenerate. Romans 7, 13 through 25 is only
for those who are regenerated by God’s grace, Christians, believers. Are we to use this as some kind
of an alibi, excuse, as we continue on through our Christian life,
constantly saying, I’m sold into bondage to sin. I can do whatever
I please then because it really doesn’t matter. After all, I
am in bondage. And so it was easy for some to
articulate the popular position. One said it this way, since the
flesh and sin still live in the apostle and the exercise of power
over him, it is the necessary reaction of his sanctified sensibility
to deplore the captivity to which he was subjected by reason of
his indwelling sin. He’s hopeless, really. Can’t
help it, even though he’s an apostle, he can’t help it. And some. I mean, very aggressively
apply this to the Christian in any at any realm of his life. They aggressively apply this
to the Christian. Dalish of Kylan Dalish fame,
for those of you who do Hebrew work. Colin Dalish, excellent
commentaries, but Dalish said this regarding this particular
passage, he said the spiritually minded man feels most acutely
and profoundly that he is still in himself a carnal nature and
cannot ransom himself entirely from the power of sin. That much
we agree with. We agree that we’re in the flesh, we agree
that that’s an occupational hazard, they’re going to continue to
be appetites and desires and things that are natural to us,
our fatigue alone often brings about all kinds of occasions
for sin, right? Just me. OK. But he goes on and he says, by
the very fact of his accusing himself in daily repentance as
fleshly, he shows himself to be as the fundamental tendency
of his personality spiritual. So, in other words, the most
spiritual thing you could do is identify your bondage to sin. Which seems to me personally
to be counterproductive, but. We’ll go with it. Another said
it, and when I say aggressive, they on a ascending scale. Here we go. I wonder how any
Christian you ready for this conversant with his own heart
can question the applicability to himself of the apostles description
of the remainders of the sinful principle of habit in our fleshly
natures. In other words, he says, if you don’t say this with regularity. You’re probably not a Christian. I grant, he goes on to say, that
the real I myself of the Christian cannot be said to serve the law
of sin, and so he begins to mitigate it against his own words. Cannot
be said to serve the law of sin, certainly not as a full description
of his heart and life. But the regenerate have not a
fleshly self, which does in measure at times serve the law of sin.
Of course, we know that. But to say that throughout our
Christian life we are in utter bondage to sin is an is a is
an overstatement. And that’s why I said that the
Christian is growing in the direction of grace. This, too. Has been restricted,
this passage has been balanced, if you will, some have restricted
it. One said that the metaphor sold
into bondage is from the slave market, a recurrence of the topic
of chapter six. The redeemed and regenerate man
is now in question. The slavery is therefore a far
more limited metaphor. Well, then the metaphor is no
good because slavery is slavery, and to say that I am sold into
bondage to sin is utter and abject slavery. It’s not slavery with
perks. It’s not slavery with a set of
keys. He is now only so far under the
mastership of sin as that he is, he still has sin in the body,
and this I agree with. Yeah, to the degree that you
yield yourself, which is exactly what Paul says in first Corinthians
611 to the degree that you yield yourself to sin. You place yourself
back under its bondage. I agreed with one who really
balanced it out when he said so long as Christians are in
the flesh. The old life of Adam rules beside
the new life in Christ, temptations from the world, assaults from
Satan disturb. Not infrequently, sin overcomes
and the believer feeling deeply and painfully his own helplessness
turns in repentance to Christ for grace. I agree with that.
We will always feel the pinch of our flesh. We will always,
but we don’t have to be sold into bondage to sin any longer. From there, Paul moves to explain
the reason for his strong statement in 14 B. And this, too, hangs
on verse 13. Everything, as I said, from verse
14 through 25, hangs on that one verse. For that which I am
doing, I do not understand. And then Paul essentially tries
to explain his bewilderment. Why am I so bewildered? Why do
I fail to understand what really is going on? This is where Paul begins to
wrestle with the willing and the doing, which every Christian
knows. Every Christian knows that we
desire to do things. We even come up with these great
ideas that we intend to do. Or we intend to do something
with excellence and we don’t. Or we intend to do something
at all and we don’t. Or we intend to get up and conquer
some sinful habit and we don’t. Every Christian knows that. One pastor said is a grateful,
warm-hearted believer. His ethical standard is nothing
short of spiritual perfection. All of us desire to please Christ.
We desire to walk with him and please him, honor him. God has done so, so much for
him. He has done so little in return.
Not only that, but the little he has accomplished is tainted
with sin. His aim is so much higher than
his reach. Do you not know that? We know
that it’s a sentiment that will continue to feel throughout our
Christian life. And Paul found himself doing the things that
he didn’t like, didn’t approve of. It wasn’t that he wasn’t
able to do good things, particularly good things. He just wasn’t able
to do them perfectly. Here, Paul begins in verse 16,
Paul begins to draw a conclusion to this whole thing, all of this
data. The very thing I do not wish
to do, if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree
with the law, confessing that it is good. That, remember, is
the touch point of regeneration. That’s where we first realized
the law is good. I am a sinner. And that, too,
will continue throughout our Christian life. We will continue
to learn. That’s why we continue to have quiet times, continue
to feed on God’s word so that we can continue to know what
God’s standard is. The Holy Spirit was dwelling
in Paul’s heart. And he could easily say that
the law is good, and yet even still, he would be challenged
with missteps and misdeeds. It is a struggle is the Christian
life. One commentator said every true
Christian has In his heart, a sense of the moral excellence of God’s
law and the more mature he becomes in Christ, the more fully he
perceives and lauds the law’s goodness and holiness and glory
and the deeper his sense of God’s holiness and majesty becomes,
the greater will be his longing to fulfill God’s law. So Paul’s
conclusion is begins to land the plane, as it were. Paul begins
to draw this conclusion that if I’m doing the very thing I
do not wish to do, If I’m struggling in this life, I’m agreeing with
the law. The law is good. And with his reasoning laid out.
Paul completes his conclusion in verse 17. He’s a sinner. And as I said, this is never
more true than in the moment of regeneration. So now no longer
am I the one doing it, but sin, which indwells me. Wasn’t using
this verse as an excuse, Paul wasn’t Intending to use it as
an excuse, it certainly is not an excuse for any of us. But merely he acknowledges the
extent to which sin, even still, even as his life as an apostle.
Sin was still present, the flesh was still there and he was still
dwelling in it. Verse 18, as I pointed out a
moment ago, He offers proof to the thought of this indwelling
sin, not that he really needs to prove it. We all know that.
Acutely, when we go to confession, I don’t know about you, but whenever
there’s a short little narrow window of time for confession,
I’m like, wait, wait. We need more time of confession,
not less. We know that sin is there. that sin is lurking at every
door. We know that we have these tendencies. We know that we have
these attitudes. We call them moods, right? We
kind of excuse it away or is my personality, right? And then the proof for the idea
that nothing good dwells in his flesh. That’s what he goes on
to say in 18. The wishing is present. The doing of the good
is not. One pastor said this verse intensifies
the statement that was just made. The intruder has occupied the
whole dwelling and every part of it is infected by vitiating
against the affections and the will. Sin has spoiled it all. Nothing that dwells in me is
unspoiled. However, good originally affections
right and wholesome in themselves are spoiled by the absence of
right affections toward God. But as the Christian draws nearer
to God, As a Christian walks and appropriates more of God’s
grace. He begins to be able to set aside
that statement, that indictment of verse 18, not that he’ll ever
set it aside completely. And then finally. The proof for the existence of
this absence of doing good, which is an echo. Verse 19 and verse
20 are essentially echoes of verses 15 and 17. He’s just reiterating
the points that he’s already made. For the sake of time in verse,
look there at the end of verse 20, if I’m doing the very thing
I do not wish I did, I am no longer the one doing it. That’s
in which dwells in me. Paul once said, since himself
didn’t want to act contrary to God’s will, he wanted to do what
was right. And so, the sins that were committed,
he ascribes not to himself, but to sin, to sinful nature, where
he calls, in other places, the flesh. Paul restates his conclusion,
as I’ve already pointed out in verse 21. He wanted to do good,
but the evil within him prevented it. He’s trying really hard. I find in the principle that
evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. He summarizes
that the support that he’s had the entire time. The law is good,
but the war rages within in verses 22 to 23, and then he comes to
the depth of despair. Verse 24, wretched man that I
am. See, Paul embraced that internal
strife. One said that he took it beyond
his actual experience. In other words, what he says,
what the commentator says is that Paul made a bigger deal
out of this than was really true. That’s not the case. It can’t
be the case. Paul is wrestling with himself
as a sinner before a holy God. His assessment of himself is
entirely accurate. He said that he did so into the
sympathetic realization of the common human state. He did it
for our sake. That’s an inaccurate thought. Paul was a sinner. Paul takes
us right up to that moment of regeneration for him, because
it’s true of every Christian wretched man that I am. One pastor in closing said this,
the poignant grief. here expressed is definitely
that of a believer. No unbeliever would ever be able
to be so filled with sorrow because of his sins. The author of the
cry is Paul speaking for every child of God. The cry that he
utters is one of utter distress, not of despair. Paul suffers agony brought about
by strenuous exertion, by trying hard, but never satisfactorily
succeeding. Which takes it now back out of
the realm of what it does to say that Paul merely made this
lament because he was trying really hard to fulfill God’s
law. And that’s not the point of the passage. The point of
the passage is that Paul stood face to face with his own sin
and with its utter sinfulness. And this is why, folks, I took
you back, took you back to Romans seven in the earlier chapter,
I would not have come to no sin if it weren’t for the law. I
would not have known about coveting if the law had not said thou
shalt not covet. I still believe this takes us
back to the very moment of regeneration for Paul, and from that moment,
these things that are said in Romans 7, 13 through 25 are never
more true. One pastor summarized this entire
section well when he said this. This section brings out the true
character of the effect of the law. As the revelation in positive
precepts of God’s will for man, its effect is to give the knowledge
of right and wrong, to awaken the moral consciousness. This
at once brings out the antagonism of the nature of man as living
in the flesh and his will and intelligence which have approved
the law. The antagonism arises with the
attempt to act. The good finds itself thwarted
by something in the nature which is realized as a power lodged
there called sin. In other words, what he says
is the very purpose of this entire section was to identify and point
back to the very moment when you and I, by God’s grace, came
to realize ourselves as being sinners in desperate need. of
God’s grace and of the Savior that only he provided. That’s
the purpose of the law. That’s the effect of the law
in the life of a Christian. It is to utterly humble us and
to lay us in the dust and to show us how ugly and how horrible
our sin is. Well, if Romans seven was a difficult
chapter these four weeks, I think you’ll agree Romans eight is
a ray, an overwhelming ray of hope. Next Lord’s Day, let’s bow before
him. Our merciful King, we thank you
and praise you regardless of the inherent difficulties of
Romans 7. We thank you for showing us our
sin. We thank you for showing us its
utter sinfulness. that it’s detestable in your
sight and that as sinners we were thoroughly and completely
desperate and in need of our Savior. Father, thank you so
much for showing us to our Savior, that perfect, sinless sacrifice,
our Lord Jesus Christ, who paid our penalty on the cross Lord,
we knew that we were hopeless without him, but with him we
could hardly even place our faith in him. We didn’t deserve it.
We hardly seemed worthy. We weren’t. Yet you moved our
hearts. You gave us the faith to exercise
in Christ. You drew us to yourself through
him. And it’s because of him and him alone that we Enjoy our
peaceable standing with you. Merciful God, we thank you and
praise you. We pray all of these things in
Jesus name.