31. Romans Chapter 7 Verses 15-25 - Messages In Romans – GENTILES ARE NOT PART OF CHAPTER 7 – NOT THE BATTLE OF THE TWO NATURES - Message 31 Part 3 of 3
ROMANS CHAPTER 7 EXPOSITION – PART 3
It is most unfortunate that these three messages had to be broken into three Parts because it disrupts the flow, but not to do that would give one message of over 8 000 words. Let us continue straight on from last message -
(c). FOLLOWING THE PATH OF SIN
{{Romans 7:15 “That which I am doing, I do not understand, for I AM NOT PRACTISING WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO, BUT I AM DOING THE VERY THING I HATE,”}}
What sort of Christian witness is this for those who hold to the Christian being in this section? No Christian living for the Lord could ever say that. It is foreign to Christian doctrine.
The man here wants to do what is right, what is outlined in the Law, but he does not understand why he is doing wrong things. He wants to do what is right, but is not able. He wants to practise the Law’s commands, BUT keeps doing the things he hates. He can’t help it. It is out of his control.
Wake up those who want to insert the Christian’s fight against sin into this verse. Consider the context – that is about the Law!
That is the position of one who wants to reach the perfection of righteousness but can’t get there because inherent sin in his person destroys any attempt, and brings him into defeat. No one could ever keep the Law in its perfection except the Lord Jesus Christ, and in doing so, He established the Law in righteousness.
(d). THE LAW IS ACKNOWLEDGED AS GOOD
{{Romans 7:16 “but if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing THAT IT IS GOOD,”}}
What this man wants to do, those things he knows are right and spiritual, he just can not do. He is practising the opposite. He is determined to do the right things but keeps doing the wrong things. This is showing a person who does not have the power of God in his life as a Christian does. There is no way a Christian would ever be saying these things. It amazes me that for all these centuries the wrong interpretation has become the norm.
In the end the man must confess that the Law is good but he is bad. He has to agree with the Law. REMEMBER, that is a Jewish man under the Law, because the Law was never applicable to Gentiles. The problem is not in the Law he is trying to keep, but in himself. A man who is fully dominated by his sinful nature (not having the new Christ nature in the case of a Christian) will never rise above his sin. That is what this passage is portraying.
(e). I CAN ONLY RESIGN IN DEFEAT TO THE SIN IN ME
{{Romans 7:17 “so now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.”}}
This is a hopeless situation to be in, and yet again, proof that this CAN NOT be a Christian. He gives way to the mastery of sin because he has no resources to assist him as we have the Holy Spirit. In the end he acknowledges that it is sin that rules his life. It is the sin nature that has control. The man trying to keep the Law as a Jew did, had no other nature than the sinful one. He keeps giving way to sin.
Of course we look at the prophets and leaders of Israel, and David in the Psalms, we see great victory and joy even under the Law. That is because their sins were covered by the sacrifices and they knew they were right with God. Without God’s provision though, they would have been sold into sin and defeat.
This man in our verses did not know victory until verse 25, which is a CONVERSION verse.
(f). THE BOTTOM LINE – WHAT I TRULY AM!
{{Romans 7:18 “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,”}}
The conclusion is – [(1)]. There is nothing good in me. [(2)]. I wish to do the right things. [(3)]. I can not do what is good. That is a defeat, defeated by the old nature.
The statement, “I know that nothing good dwells in me,” can not be Christian in any shape or form, because dwelling in every believer is the Holy Spirit and the Lord’s presence also. Additionally, we have the new nature because Christians are new creations in Christ Jesus.
The man under investigation here possesses only the old nature because that is how it was until Christ came. There were times when the Holy Spirit came upon a man for a specific task but He did not stay. In the Old Testament times the Spirit only did that to empower a man for a reason. No one was possessed by the Spirit permanently before Pentecost, when the Spirit was given to the Church.
(g). INVERTED, DEFEATED, AND CONFUSED
{{Romans 7:19 “for the good that I wish, I do not do, but I PRACTISE THE VERY EVIL THAT I DO NOT WISH,”}}
What a terrible state to be in. He can not do any good, but can only do evil, but he does not want to do evil. The reason for this is the dominance and insidiousness of sin. It is natural for man to sin and not to do good. Human society has programmed laws and regulations, even in primitive societies, to try to maintain order so there is not sinful chaos, and adherence to certain rules and expectations is what keeps society afloat.
However, in the individual it is the sin nature that corrupts him and leads him always into following its way and that is a wicked way.
When a man is led by the Spirit of God, that should be the norm in the Christian life. He does good, for he is led by the Spirit even though there is this battle with the old nature. That certainly is not the case in our account because there is no new nature present in that man. It is a man operating under the Law of Moses as I have been saying often. UNDER THE LAW OF MOSES.
(h). IT IS SIN THAT CONTROLS ME
{{Romans 7:20 “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.”}}
For those who wrongly teach this is a Christian having a battle of the two natures, surely you must see this person is under the control of sin. It is not even a carnal Christian. This person is not saved at all but operates under the Law. The desire to do good is present which is why I have called this section, “A Good Man Under the Law”. It is not a reprobate person, but the one wishing to follow God has a reprobate nature. He must follow the ways and means the Law contains to be right before the LORD.
Of course none of this becomes relevant since the cross, as the Law has been fulfilled in Christ. This is the experience of one under Law and could very well have been Paul before conversion. For the sake of argument, I think it was Paul outlining his experience as a typical case of a devout man trying to go good under the Mosaic Law. The person here realises his failure and is honest about it. The worst person is one who could not care less. “It’s because of what I am. I don’t care. I will do all I want regardless.”
(i). THE PRESENCE OF EVIL
{{Romans 7:21 “I find then THE PRINCIPLE that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good,”}}
The desire might be correct but the action is not. A desire to do good, and not have the means to do it, will account for nothing. The desire to do good because it comes from God, and having the means to do that, is what is required. The natural man may have a desire for good, but without Christ will not accomplish that.
Paul used the word “principle” in the NASB, and so do a number of translations; others use “law” (small “l”) with the word meaning, “that which is operating”. This verse simply reinforces what is being said throughout, that a man wanting to do good under the Law, is dragged down by his sin that overcomes him.
(j). LINING UP WITH GOD ON THIS
{{Romans 7:22 “for I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,”}}
His own self-awareness, or inner person, or “inner man” agrees with God’s law (small “l”) about all these things. Everything God does is correct so what the Law sets out is correct; the way it makes guilty the sinful soul is correct; the way it condemns the sinner is correct; the way it leads to remedy in sacrifices is correct.
It is an honest man and woman that lines up with what God says, without reverting to justifying argumentation. People just don’t want to accept what they are. That is the first step - to be honest with God’s assessment. However it is not the world’s way; it is not proud man’s way. Just a few words from one of my poems -
Can we understand His goodness?
Can we understand His love?
Can we understand compassion,
That brought Jesus from above?
Human minds can’t comprehend it;
They don’t know the reason why.
They don’t want to understand it.
They don’t even want to try.
(k). TAKEN CAPTIVE BY SIN.
{{Romans 7:23 “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.”}}
What a dreadful position! This is a defeated man weighed down by sinful practice he does not want to do. The members of his body that are waging war are all those parts of him that oppose what is good and righteous. They include for sure all that is contained in this from John – {{1 John 2:16 “All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world,”}}
His eyes, hands, feet, and the lust stirred up in his mind, all belong to the members that wage war with what his mind knows is right. It is that “right” he wants to do, but it taken prisoner by the evil within him. The sin principle overcomes any desire to do good. The sinful members of his body negate any desire to live as a righteous man under the Law.
Yes, it is under the Law. That fact is ALL THE WAY THROUGH THIS SECTION. Just for one moment, let us take this experience away from the Law and apply it to an unsaved person in the world. He and she would be saying very similar things to this as well. The expressions would fit all who have not had the salvation and forgiveness of God in their lives. With conversion comes a great relief.
(l). THE SINCERE CRY FOR HELP
{{Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”}}
There is such pathos here as this troubled soul cries out for help. In one of the stories about Elisha, there was a poisonous pot of stew and the cry went out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” and they were unable to eat. However God provided Elisha with the remedy. In the next verse here God likewise provides the remedy.
What this man says in verse 24 is so parallel to what a sinful man cries out when under great conviction of sin as he turns to the Lord to be saved. “I WANT TO BE FREE FROM THIS GREAT BURDEN OF SIN.” The Lord has the answer – {{Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you shall find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My load is light.”}}
There can be no unburdening of a sinful soul unless there is honesty about your/my sinful life. When we realise we are lost and separated from God, then we can turn to the Lord to be saved. The man in verse 24 wants exactly that. He wants the answer; the solution. Under the Jewish economy, provision was made in the Law for that to happen, but since the cross, it is all found in the Lord Jesus Christ, the sin offering, the Lamb of God. Jesus is the ONLY ONE.
(m). SUMMING UP BEFORE MOVING ON
{{Romans 7:25 “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord so then, on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh, the law of sin.”}}
THIS VERSE IS A PROBLEM VERSE FOR SOME BUT IT IS TO BE SEEN AS A CONCLUSION. IT CATERS FOR THE MAN UNDER THE LAW WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT, AND ACTS AS THE BRIDGE FOR COMPLETE DELIVERANCE IN JESUS CHRIST IN THE NEXT VERSE (8:1) which really is part of this account. Unfortunately, this is another example of misleading chapter divisions.
In {{Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”}} This person is crying out for release. Paul can’t refrain from the solution and that is Romans 7:25.
I believe the first part of the verse to be A PARENTHESIS OF VICTORY before returning to this subject who was under the Law. The conclusion of 25 is still the man under the Law. Paul interjected with the victory statement BUT now he expands on that in 8:1 and that must be part of this account. A new chapter break should never have been used. It is so misleading. Chapters 6 and 7 and 8 all belong seamlessly together.
THE REALITY AND WRAPPING UP CHAPTER 7
We will only touch on this briefly because it will be dealt with more fully in the Chapter 8 exposition. However here are a couple of pointers.
{{Romans 8:1 “THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus
Romans 8:2 for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death,
Romans 8:3 for what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”}}
VERSE 1 – NO LONGER CONDEMNED BY SIN AND FAILURE
In verse 1 there is no condemnation for those in Jesus Christ but there was condemnation right through Chapter 7. That is because we were looking at experience under the Law, not the spiritual walk of a new creation in Christ. A Christian could NEVER express the thoughts of Chapter 7. We live in the victory of the cross, not in resignation to sinful defeat.
VERSE 2 – Christ HAS SET US CHRISTIANS FREE FROM THE OPERATION OF SIN
In this verse (2), the words “from the law of sin and death” can equally be “from the LAW of sin and death” (Moses) and should probably be the proper translation because we saw in Chapter 7 that the Law brought and death. You can make correct applications from both aspects. In Christ there is full liberty and that is granted to us at conversion. We do not live in total defeat with the old nature overcoming the new nature all the time. When the correct teaching is applied to Chapter 7, it becomes so clear. Why is it not the case, and how do these wrong ideas get entrenched?
There is a conflict between our old nature and the Christ nature in is. We do fail, some of us often. However we do NOT live in defeat because The Holy Spirit has set us free from the sinful domination of the flesh so that we may live in victory. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and don’t walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ONCE IN CHRIST WE DO NOT CRY OUT – {{“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”}} Romans 7:24.
I hope this might be helpful for those who struggle with the wrong teaching creating confusion in their lives.
