ROMANS 8:5-11 - “THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE!”

 

Romans 7 is the picture of a person that has truly begun to understand themselves.  From Paul’s own experience in 7:13-25 we learn that all believers still struggle with sin. We take it for granted that godless people sin thoughtlessly.

Thinking of the latest high-profile case of Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew Mountbatten, and so many others – do you think that they have ever understood themselves? Do you think that they  have understood the far reaching consequences of their sin?  Did they ever think about what they have done? Epstein is dead now, and Andrew has consistently denied doing anything wrong, but the  facts are out and they are incriminating!

What helps Christians to understand themselves? It is the knowledge of God, and His holy law that ultimately helps them to understand themselves.  

You and I may not have gained notoriety as high profile sinners, and perhaps we may be morally relatively better in relation to another person, but when my life and your life is measured against the standard of God’s holiness, you and I fail the test miserably! “There is no one righteous, no nor one!” (3:10).

It is against that background that the apostle Paul cries out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (7:25).   

Paul, like Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-7 has seen the Lord, and he knows that he is undone! Knowing that you are undone begs us to ask the question, Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  

The answer is not slow in coming for Paul : “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

This is  Paul's great encouragement. This is our great encouragement.

This is the great answer to the question, “How will I stand one day before that great Judge of the Universe?” - Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Our acceptance by God can never be on the grounds of our personal merit. 

We have none!  

The only way to stand before God will be by Christ’s merit imputed to us: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…”(Eph. 1:7). There is the answer! There is the solution!   All you need to do is to believe in the Lord Jesus with your whole heart. 

And from this follows that great statement in Rom.8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  

Now someone will say, “That is all very good, but how do I know that this is true for me? With all that remaining sin that still plagues me, how can I have assurance that I am a Christian, and that I will not stand condemned on the great day of Judgement? 

Again, the answer to this question follows in our text! The answer in a nutshell is this: The Holy Spirit makes the difference! 

The work of the Holy Spirit is introduced in 8:2: “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” From this verse follows an ‘avalanche’ of verses that testify to the vital work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. I have counted 20 references to the Holy Spirit from 8:2-27. We now have a wonderful opportunity to consider the work of the Holy Spirit, following our understanding of the work of Christ.

The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to provide us with an inner witness, an assurance that we are the children of God.  8:16 is our key text in this regard: “The Spirit Himself bears witness (testifies) with our spirit that we are children of God”.  

The question now follows: How do I know that the Holy Spirit is working in me?  It is actually the same question as - how do I know that I am in Christ? It is the same question as:   How do I know that I am born again?  Romans 8:5-11 greatly helps us.   

In this text we consider 

     1.      The marks of one who lives according to the flesh

2.      The marks of a Christian who lives according to the Spirit

3.      A bonus point  in 8:10,11

We begin with  the fact that there  is  a contrast made between the person who has the Spirit, and a person who does not have the Spirit.

The terms that Paul uses are, “those that live according to the flesh” and “those that live according to the Spirit”. 

We discover that there is a real difference between these two in terms of character, desires, attitudes, and conduct.

There are fundamental observable differences between the two, and the difference does not lie in the fact that Christians do not sin, while non-Christians do! The Holy Spirit  makes the difference!

1.       The Marks of one who lives according to the flesh.

“According to the flesh…”. Paul uses this term to describe fallen human nature, corrupted through the fall, directed and controlled by sin.   All our sinful  actions start in our mind, our   thought life, commonly referred to as the heart.   

•      A mind-set  rooted in the realm of the flesh is characterized by a focus on material things (8:5a). ”Those, who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.  This worldview completely ignores the spiritual nature of things.  There is no God in that worldview - and since the human heart craves to worship, it worships created things, rather than the Creator (1:25), thereby exchanging the truth of God for a lie. This is what Paul means by living according to the flesh and having set the mind on the things of the flesh.
•       In 8:7 Paul goes one step further. "For the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. “Not only is a mind set on the flesh worshipping the material world (nature etc.), but such a person is actually hostile to God.  Such a person is deeply resentful of God.  Such a person rejects God and His rule. This hostility is not necessarily seen in strong emotional fits of anger against God.  Atheists like Richard Dawkins write angry worded books against God. However, most people express their hostility simply in terms of ignoring God and doing life ‘their way’, excluding God from their  thought processes.   This is what Paul observes in 8:7b, "The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not submit itself to the law of God." 
•       And then at the end of 8:7 Paul says, “… indeed it cannot (submit to God).”  Why is that? Here the serious consequences of the fall need to be considered: “They are dead in their sins and trespasses!”  (Eph 2:1). The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). This refers firstly to being spiritually dead to God, but secondly it means also that   our physical bodies die.   Dead men cannot respond.  The man of the flesh  is physically alive (for a while)  BUT he is spiritually dead.   
•      And so, we see in 8:8 that such a person cannot please God. These are indications of a person who is in the flesh, a person who is apart from the influences of the Holy Spirit.

          2.      The Mark of the Christian

Paul only gives one explicit contrast between the man in the flesh and the man in the Spirit.  You see this in 8:5. The man in the flesh is set on the flesh; the Christian’s mind is set on the things of the Spirit. He walks according to the Spirit (8:4).

• His mind, set on the Spirit is governed by life and peace (8:6). 
• By way of inference, this person is not hostile to God’s law (8:7b).  This person desires to do what is right (7:18b). This person delights in the law of God (7:22).  This is a mark of the spiritual man and woman. 
• This person, unlike the person who lives according to the flesh is able to please God (8:8 - deduction).
• We find then that the Christian who walks by the Spirit has a framework which is entirely different from the person who lives according to the flesh. All this is due to the fact that God has intervened in the life of the person who now lives according to the Spirit.  

The Holy Spirit makes the difference!   And just to drive the point home -  it is REALLY  the Spirit that makes the difference. 

Therefore we must affirm that the Christian is not inherently better than a non- Christian. There are many non- Christian people in this world who have a superior sense of charity or even moral virtue, when compared to a struggling Christian. But they are not Christians. A Christian is a redeemed sinner, saved by the blood of Jesus, forgiven by the Father, and being progressively renewed/sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Very often they have been saved from a very sinful background.  Such people who would trust in Him, Jesus came to save. And so, we say it again: The presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer makes the difference.  NO boasting is possible on our part. This is the work of God.

And so, in 8:9 Paul expresses his confidence in the spiritual state of these Roman Christians in 8: 9: “You Roman Christians are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God  dwells in you.”   

And so, to emphasize this point again, he adds, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ (NOTE - Spirit of Christ = Spirit of God) does not belong to him.  

To be a Christian means that you are in Christ AND you are Spirit filled. 

 A NOTE on the ‘inseparableness’ of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

·       A Christian by definition is in Christ.

·       A Christian is also indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

·      There have been those who have taught that one receives Christ first, and then at some later time you receive the Holy Spirit.  Paul strongly disagrees ! 

·       For Paul, to be in Christ is to be in the Spirit, and to be in the Spirit is to be in Christ.

·       If you are not in Christ, you are not in the Spirit.

·       If you are not in the Spirit, you are not in Christ.

·       Christ and the Holy Spirit are inseparable in the work of salvation.

·       You cannot be a Christian without the Holy Spirit.

[Incidentally – this is not discussed here, but worth noting: The observable marks of having the Holy Spirit are the new desires, and the new abilities to love God. Such desires and abilities are seen in fruit-bearing (see Galatians 5:22,23) ; In John 15:8 Jesus reminds us that we are appointed to bear much fruit. In that same chapter in John Jesus also speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit.

 3.      8:10,11 is a bonus point, a rich promise and a great encouragement:   The indwelling of the Spirit assures you of your resurrection.

“But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness”.  

At first glance this is a difficult verse. But it is not difficult.  What Paul is saying here is this:   If Christ is in you (even though your body is dead … or dying…  because of sin) - DON’T WORRY, because the Spirit of life is at work in you because you have been declared righteous by the shed blood of Jesus!

8:11 And this is what the Spirit of life will do (even though your body must die) … He who dwells in you NOW,  raised  Jesus from the dead, and therefore this Holy Spirit will also raise up/ resurrect (give life) to your mortal body.  

And I shall not only be raised from the dead, but now in this life He will continue to perfect in me that which God had first begun.  We shall pick up on that next time as we consider 8:12-17.

And so,  Paul reminds us again and again that the law in and of itself cannot supply the power to save us. It cannot supply the power to sanctify us. The law continues to be the standard of holiness, and as such we love the law and embrace it, but it has no power in itself to make us holy. It can only point out our many defects. 

The indwelling Holy Spirit alone that enables us to live the Christian life.  

The Holy Spirit makes the difference – and He does  this  on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus!

 

ROMANS 8:1-4 In Christ = No Condemnation!

 

From time to time this important question may arise in our minds: Can I be sure that I will not be condemned when I shall stand one day before the judgment seat of God?  

Atheists and Agnostics will say – that’s not a problem for me, since I don’t believe in God; I have no sense of accountability to God.

Universalists will say – Since God loves everyone and will allow no one to perish since Christ has died for the sins of the whole world (whether they know it or not), there’s no need to worry. 

But the person that reads the Bible cannot come to such a conclusion, since they can see from a plain reading that (i) God is holy (ii) man is sinful (iii) God, the Creator will hold man accountable for His sin (iv) God has provided a Redeemer (v) but only for those that confess their sin and turn to Him. 

We left Romans 7 with the apostle Paul, a mature believer in Christ seeing all this, and crying out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  He is struck by the holiness of God and the sinfulness of sin, and he finds himself begging for an answer to this dilemma: How can I, a wretched sinner stand before this holy God? Thankfully, the answer is not slow in coming. It comes in 7:25, “Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

In Romans 8 we come to one of the most thrilling chapters in the whole Bible.  The outcome of this chapter will be this thought: What a great salvation we have in Christ! 

Romans 8 begins with the statement of his theme in 8:1 - “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.  In the remaining 38 verses, he works out that statement

In 8:1-4  we learn three things that are greatly liberating   

1. 8: 1 - 2 THE PRESENCE OF SIN IN OUR LIVES IS NOT THE FINAL STORY

8:1,2 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

The first liberating reality  we learn is that the presence of sin in a believer’s life is not the final story.  The presence and reality of sin in a believer’s life is undeniable.  We have seen this in Romans 3:9-20 and we have seen how Paul wrestles with this experience of sin in Romans 7:13 -24. And if he had ended there, this would be a most depressing conclusion.  

But now Paul wants us to see that the presence and reality of sin in our lives (Paul calls it  ‘the law of sin’ ) is not the whole story.  It certainly is not the final story.    

He shows us that there is another, much greater law at work in the believer’s life. He calls it  ‘the law of the Spirit of life’.  When you become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you are born again through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-8). You have received the righteousness of God (Rom. 3:21). You are justified by grace through faith in Jesus (Rom 3:24,26,28; 5:1,9). Justification means being ‘right with God’.  The great Judge of the Universe has declared you ‘not guilty‘. And He does this on the basis of the life of His Divine Son, in whom you have believed, and trusted. He has paid the price of your sin and guilt. This is the law of life which has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

But in chapter 7 we have seen that the law of sin (and death) is still at work in the believer. So how can these two laws, “the law of the Spirit of life” and “the law of sin and death” be at work within us?   

(i)                  The Bible teaches us here that this is so

(ii)                Our experience teaches us that this is so. In your experience you find this constant conflict. If you have been a Christian for any length of time you will have said something like this, “I am a Christian. I want to be like Jesus, but I find that I struggle with sin - sometimes even with serious sin. What can I do? Am I still a Christian when sin overcomes me?” Worse still, some think at this point, “Have I lost my salvation”?

Here is Paul’s answer following his struggle in Chapter 7: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death."

You will now have to learn not to base your trust in your feelings, but in facts.  You will need to base your trust in the lifegiving work of the Spirit, who incidentally has just convicted you of your sin, and has made you feel despondent and sorrowful. This is not a normal pattern with an unconverted person.  So, you have sinned!  Will this sin then undo your salvation? No!  Why? Because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is greater than the law of sin and death.  A Christian is not someone who has become incapable of sinning. A Christian is someone whose sin has been completely dealt with by Christ.

The law of the Spirit > than the law of sin and death

2.  8:3 A POWERFUL SAVIOUR   DEALS  EFFECTIVELY  WITH SIN 

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh”,

The second liberating   reality   is best expressed in four propositions:

4  Realities  

a.      “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do for you:  Your freedom has come to you because of what God has done. Your sinful flesh weakens you considerably – so much so that you cannot overcome sin by yourself.   GOD TAKES INITIATIVE

b.      "God did this by sending His own Son". The great solution to your sin problem- that which stands between you and your holy Creator is Jesus!  How did God do this?  He sent His own Son.   He is Jesus, the eternal Son of God (John 1:1). He sent the eternal Jesus via a miraculous supernatural conception into Mary’s womb, born in the likeness of a man, a human baby, fully experiencing life in a fallen world, yet remaining without sin, dying as the sinless Lamb of God, bearing away the sin of those who will look to Him and trust Him for His work on their behalf.  This is simply stupendous: The God who created mankind in His image –first represented in Adam and Eve, who fell into a state of sin in Genesis 3, that Creator God sends another Adam – a perfect man into this world. GOD’S SOLUTION: HIS SON – JESUS CHRIST

c.       “By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh“:  Here are two important truths about Jesus: 

      (i) Jesus experienced all the sin and weaknesses common to human beings living in a fallen world, and 

     (ii) at the same time, He never sinned. His nature, His humanity was not fallen. The idea that Jesus became fallen human being is a heresy.  The phrase “in the likeness of sinful flesh” does not mean that He became involved in acts of sin.  True, He became sin for us, but the text in 2 Cor 5:21 reads, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” He became sin in the sense that He became our sin- bearer, but Jesus was never inherently sinful.  In the likeness of sinful flesh simply affirms that God brought His Son into the closest possible relation to us, yet without sin.  

Consider also this: “By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,  and for sin (or as a sin offering)."  JESUS CHRIST – OUR HUMAN SINLESS SIN-BEARER

And therefore…

d.      “he condemned sin in the flesh“…  Being sinless meant that He could kill sin! He is greater than sin. Therefore, He has condemned sin in the flesh. He has freed us from its enslaving power. That is amazing news.  JESUS’  DEATH  EFFECTIVELY DEALS WITH OUR SIN- PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

  Christ in whom we trust   >  is greater than all  our sin

Here are four compelling reasons proving that we must rest entirely in Christ’s finished work.

My greatest challenge is not to look at myself to closely. Too much  introspection without  looking to Christ   will end in becoming spiritually depressed.  Robert Murray MÇheyne (1813-1843), a Scottish pastor, wisely counselled,   "For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ" . We must  spend more time reflecting on Jesus  person  and work - resting in  Christ's grace and sufficiency. Say frequently  to yourself, Christ has done this for me and this is what I cling to. If you say, “but I don’t feel  as if I’m free from the power of sin”, then Paul says to you,  read these words again!  

3.  8:4    CHRIST IN US FULFILLS THE RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENT  OF THE LAW

“… in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. This text stands in relation to 8:3  and must be understood in that context.

The third liberating  reality rests in the fact  that   the law is completed in Christ. Therefore we do not rest in the law. We rest in Christ.  When we walk according to the Spirit  and in Christ, the  righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us.

The result? No more condemnation!  

Christ = the end  and fulfilment of the law 

Your Lord Jesus’ victory over sin – even your sin,  liberates you from the law of sin which constantly shouts, guilty, guilty, guilty … and that is true of course,  for the law is righteous in its requirements, and holy and true.

BUT, it  tells you MORE SO, that the law of sin has been completed and superseded in Christ Jesus. This is the law of the Spirit of life, and it has set you free from the law of sin and death- so called because the law in itself cannot save you. It can only accuse you. 

But the law of the Spirit drives you to Christ. He is the end of the law (Rom 10:4) and the fulfilment of the law. You must walk in that law.  He  is the living center  from which you must live.

This is the promise given to Jeremiah 31:33  and Ezekiel 11:19-20, 36:26,27, the anticipation of the new covenant where God undertakes  to give His people a new heart and a new spirit. That new heart is driven by love for your Saviour. All your future obedience flows from that relationship.

Have you received THAT heart? 

In the following verses from 8:5 onwards we will see how that new heart manifests itself in the way we live our lives in this world.    

For this we  will have to wait for next time we meet.

Romans 7:7-25 LAW, SIN, STRUGGLE, VICTORY

 

The letter to the Romans was written by Paul to explain how sinners can be made right with their Creator - a holy God.  

To be right with God! This is the most important matter anyone will ever have to consider in this life- more than a career choice, choice of a marriage partner or choice of a pension plan. 

From the letter to the Romans, we learn that being right with God does not happen through self - effort, but through an act of God’s free, sovereign Grace alone.  All that we must do is look to Christ. 

Look to Jesus and believe!  

Look to Jesus and live! This is the gospel!  When this happens, we are finally alive- dead to sin, now truly alive to God (Rom. 6).

We are now dealing with a weighty text. If you have been a Christian for a time, what you find here will correspond to your experience. 

In our text we find four important words: Law, sin, struggle, victory. You will recognize these concepts interwoven into this passage. Here Paul reflects on his personal struggle with the reality of his sinful nature. It is the reflection of a mature believer, and if you will accept this – this is a description of your and my struggle; your victory and my victory. 

1.      LAW 

In Romans 7 Paul addresses the matter of the law of God and our relationship to it.   What is the purpose of God’s law? Some reflection is needed.    

God has created human beings in His image. Therefore, they must reflect is His holy nature. Sin has made mankind unholy.  

Sin makes us drifters away from God. 

Our desires are inclined away from God and contrary to God’s nature.  

We lose our sense of purpose and finally it becomes ‘each to his own’. 

The final result is chaos and anarchy. Were it not for the common grace of God, there would be no telling what would have happened to us long ago. If God did not restrain sin in this world    who knows where we would have landed by now.  This common grace is found in Romans 2:15. There we learn that the law (of God) is written on their (gentile hearts while their conscience also bears witness.  

Under Moses God presented special revelation, special grace. He gave the people of Israel a written code, embodied in the 10 commandments. This law carries over into the New Testament. Jews and Christians are indeed a privileged people, because we are in possession of God’s thoughts.  

BUT sadly, we find that we rarely ever obey the law. 

We do not desire to be godly or holy. 

On the contrary, the saga of Genesis 3 continues:  forbidden fruit (the standard set by God in Genesis 2) are often seen by us as a challenge to test God. Our sinful nature rebels against prohibition and perversely it seems to be even stimulated by prohibition - hence 7:5 : our sinful passions, aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.  

Did you read that?  Here it is suggested that the law tempts me to sin. 

Question:  Is the law then evil? This is precisely the question that 7:7 asks:  "What then shall we say? That the   Law is sin?" And the answer is an emphatic No!  

What then is the purpose of the law? The purpose of law is to give definition to sin– hence 7:7b- "For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet”. How do I know that coveting someone else’s possessions is wrong?  The LAW tells me so!   

7:8 “But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment produced in me all kinds of covetousness.” The mere knowledge of the law is no barrier to sin. In fact, Paul says that knowledge of a particular sin actually makes it worse, because our sinful nature now not only knows that it is wrong to covet, BUT NOW it actually wants to taste that forbidden fruit of covetousness- i.e.  by letting our hearts roam freely to covet our neighbour’s possessions, and even our neighbour’s wife, as did David when he saw, coveted and took Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, his trusted soldier (2 Samuel 11).  Covetousness is dangerous, because it is a sin of the heart which precedes the next step – taking what is not yours.  The law gave definition to that sin – and so we read, apart from the law covetousness lies dead. If he had not known that covetousness was sin, it could not be sin (7:8b).

In 7:9 Paul reflects on a time when he was not aware of the implications of the law: “I once was alive apart from the law…”   meaning that he lived, but he had no convicting knowledge of the law. 

When he was a Pharisee, he gave the command to have Stephen killed (Acts 7:54ff). You shall not murder (Ex 20:13). In his blind zeal he did not only desire to kill Christians. He had them actually murdered.   

BUT WHEN the commandment (the law) came alive to him in Acts 9, he became another man! 

He died to the old Saul, and he became Paul. 

Sin now became a reality for Paul, so that he could truthfully speak of himself as chief of sinners (1 Tim 1:15).  And so, sin, the very thing that the law judges, has ironically become the means by which Paul has  learnt the terrible holiness of God and righteousness of the law.

When the holy law truly finds you, it kills you.  This shows the holiness, righteousness and goodness of the law (7:12).   

[ NB. 7: 7-12 is written in the past tense]

SIN

In 7:13-25 Paul now speaks in the present tense as he relates to the reality of his experience of sin. 

Some have held that Paul is speaking here as an unconverted man. 

Others think that he was thinking here of his conviction of sin, prior to his conversion.  

Others suggest that he is speaking here as an immature believer at the beginning of his Christian experience. 

People generally find it hard to believe that Paul could confess to having a struggle with sin. But we have every reason to believe that this refers to Paul’s experience as a mature believer.  The truth is this: the closer we get to Jesus the more we begin to understand the sinfulness of sin.    

Let’s see how he does this:

7:13 Is the law then bad? And does it really kill me? No, NEVER! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good (i.e. the law)  in order that sin might shown to be sin, and through the commandment (law) might become sinful beyond measure.  If anything, the knowledge of the law actually heightens the sense of sin. 

 7:14 “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold under sin. The law of God is spiritual, meaning that the law is of divine origin.  It is a reflection of God’s character.  By way of contrast, “I am of the flesh, sold under sin“.  

Paul is not speaking here out of his pre- converted state. 

He wasn’t talking as an immature believer. 

He was stating a fact about Christian experience.  Two things are true about Paul and every believer :  

(i) We have died to sin and we have been raised to newness in Christ (Rom 6:4). We are justified.  

(ii)  But  we  do still struggle with sin. This is a part of our reality. We still have a sinful nature,  which is being sanctified progressively. 

STRUGGLE

7:15:  "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I am doing the very things that I hate."  He struggles to understand himself. His actions are not always in accordance with his new nature  (6:4). And he hates it.

7:16  "Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good."  His conscience tells him that every time he sins, he agrees with the law. The law is good. It is always right.  

7:17 "So now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”   Paul is not making excuses.  He is not saying,” the devil made me do it."   What is he saying?  He is simply owning up to the fact that he is capable of sinning. Remember the position from which he speaks – he is a new creation in Jesus Christ - Rom 6.   His   sinful nature does not define him. It is not His identity.  But the fact that he still sins does exist.

7: 18,19 : "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that I, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do that which is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good that I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing."  Again, an affirmation of what he has said before.  

He knows what he is by nature- raised with Christ from the dead. 

He knows what he does not want to be. 

He hates sin! 

He is deeply sensitive to it.   

That is the difference between a Christian and a non- Christian.

7:20  is  a repetition of 7:17. "Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin  that dwells within me."  Sin for a Christian is a powerful reality  and  it is quite overwhelming at times, and while it may  overwhelm him at time, notice that  he  does not condone it. He does not say, “I am a victim”. He takes responsibility.  

And so he elaborates on this in 7: 21-23.   He delights in the law of God in his inner being; but he struggles with sin.  Here is a spiritual man wrestling. 

He has come face to face with the holiness of God in the face of the law. 

And he knows he has no human  answer  to his problem.

VICTORY

7:24.  All this leads him to an agonized cry, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

He wants to be free from the presence of sin. 

The fact is that while we live in this broken sinful  body and in this broken, fallen, sinful  world we will never be free from the presence of sin.  This will only happen when we finally get to glory! 

And so, Paul cries out, "Wretched man that I am… who is going to help me". 

Is the law going to help me?  

No! The law, which is holy, righteous and good has no power to save! 

The knowledge of the law actually makes it worse. 

Who then will  deliver me from this  dilemma?  

The FINAL  answer is found in 7:25: "Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord."  

The final answer to our salvation and our assurance is not found in law keeping and despairing ; it  is found  by resting completely  in  God’s grace through the finished  work of our Lord Jesus  on the cross.  

CONCLUSION

1.      Paul has been dealing with the subject of “freedom from the law” (7:1-6). 

2.      He has shown us that each believer has an ongoing struggle with remaining sin. Believers, including mature believers, still struggle with sin.

3.      If our freedom and our salvation and our assurance  depended upon the law, it would all end with “wretched man that I am”. The law is not the answer to the believer’s struggle with assurance.  Believers trapped in legalism always struggle with assurance, because they never know whether they are good enough!  A  believer needs  something  other than  the law in order to find assurance. 

Our text shows us VERY clearly that our only hope and assurance are found in Christ ALONE. 

We must rest on the work of Christ from first to last. 

When we rest in Him, there is true peace, true victory 

This text is so very valuable, because it helps us to understand   the nature of the gospel: It is free and it is  freeing! It is victorious !

The law cannot free us. Law, sin and struggle are a reality, but this is not where we end. We end  in victory when  we own  Christ's  merits  won  for us on the cross. 

Thank God for Christ in whose righteousness and merits I stand, and in whose perfect righteousness I shall be presented   before the Father in the day of His appearing.  This is the ultimate victory  I  need ! 

Amen