The Carnal Mind and Flesh

It is Enmity Against our God

Not A Good Choice!

Rom 8.6 “6 For the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace,”

1 cor 2.14 “14 But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

1 cor 15.33 “33 Do not be deceived! “Bad company corrupts good morals.””

1 jn 1.9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

2 cor 13.5 “5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unqualified?”

Rom 8.7 “7 because the mindset of the flesh is enmity toward God, for it is not subjected to the law of God, for it is not able to do so,”

2 tim 3.16 “16 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,”

1 tim 6.20 “20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Turn away from pointless empty talk and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge,”

1 cor 1.10 “10 Now I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all say the same thing and there not be divisions among you, and that you be made complete in the same mind and with the same purpose.”

eph 2.3 “3 among whom also we all formerly lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the mind, and we were children of wrath by nature, as also the rest of them were.”

Gal 5.19 “19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are sexual immorality, impurity, licentiousness,”

1 cor 3.1-4 “1 And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to fleshly people, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to eat it. But now you are still not able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For where there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and do you not live like unregenerate people? 4 For whenever anyone says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos,” are you not merely human?”

Act 17.16-34 “16 Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he observed the city was full of idols. 17 So he was discussing in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 And even some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him, and some were saying, “What does this babbler want to say?” But others said, “He appears to be a proclaimer of foreign deities,” because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we learn what is this new teaching being proclaimed by you? 20 For you are bringing some astonishing things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who stayed there used to spend their time in nothing else than telling something or listening to something new.) 22 So Paul stood there…”

Heb 9.14 “14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?”

Eph 2.2 “2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience,”

Titus 2.4 “4 in order that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children,”

1 cor 3.1 “1 And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to fleshly people, as to infants in Christ.”

rom 7.25 “25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself with my mind am enslaved to the law of God, but with my flesh I am enslaved to the law of sin.”

Rom 7.14 “14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into slavery to sin.”

Gal 5.17 “17 For the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that whatever you want, you may not do these things.”

1 jn 5.17 “17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.)”

1 jn 5.7 “7 For there are three that testify,”

Romans 2. The Spiritual Law Cannot Restrain a Carnal Man (14)

i. Carnal uses the ancient Greek word sarkikos, which means, “characterized by the flesh.” In this context it speaks of the person who can and should do differently but does not. Paul sees this carnality in himself, and knows that the law, though it is spiritual, has no answer for his carnal nature.

Romans 2. The Spiritual Law Cannot Restrain a Carnal Man (14)

b. Sold under sin: Paul is in bondage under sin and the law can’t help him out. He is like a man arrested for a crime and thrown in jail. The law will only help him if he is innocent, but Paul knows that he is guilty and that the law argues against him, not for him.

Romans 1. Paul Describes His Sense of Helplessness (15–19)

a. For what I am doing, I do not understand: Paul’s problem isn’t a lack of desire—he wants to do what is right (what I will to do, that I do not practice). His problem isn’t knowledge—he knows what the right thing is. His problem is a lack of power: how to perform what is good I do not find. He lacks power because the law gives no power.

Romans 1. Paul Describes His Sense of Helplessness (15–19)

b. It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me: Is Paul denying his responsibility as a sinner? No. He recognizes that as he sins, he acts against his nature as a new man in Jesus Christ. A Christian must own up to his sin, yet realize that the impulse to sin does not come from who we really are in Jesus Christ.

i. “To be saved from sin, a man must at the same time own it and disown it; it is this practical paradox which is reflected in this verse. A true saint may say it in a moment of passion, but a sinner had better not make it a principle.”

Romans 2. The Battle between Two Selves (20–23)

The battle between two selves (20–23)

a. I find then a law, that evil is present with me: Anyone who has tried to do good is aware of this struggle. We never know how hard it is to stop sinning until we try. “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good.” (C.S. Lewis)

b. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man: Paul knows that his real inward man has a delight in the law of God. He understands that the impulse towards sin comes from another law in my members. Paul knows that the “real self” is the one who does delight in the law of God.

Romans 2. The Battle between Two Selves (20–23)

i. The old man is not the real Paul; the old man is dead. The flesh is not the real Paul; the flesh is destined to pass away and be resurrected. The new man is the real Paul; now Paul’s challenge is to live like God has made him.

Romans 2. The Battle between Two Selves (20–23)

There is a debate among Christians as to if Paul was a Christian during the experience he describes. Some look at his struggle with sin and believe that it must have been before he was born again. Others believe that he is just a Christian struggling with sin. In a sense this is an irrelevant question, for this is the struggle of anyone who tries to obey God in their own strength. This experience of struggle and defeat is something that a Christian may experience, but something that a non-Christian can only experience.

Romans E. The Victory Found in Jesus Christ (7:24–25)

The victory found in Jesus Christ [7:24–25]

1. Paul’s desperation and perspective (24)

a. O wretched man that I am! The ancient Greek word wretched is more literally, “wretched through the exhaustion of hard labor.” Paul is completely worn out and wretched because of his unsuccessful effort to please God under the principle of Law.

i. “It is worth bearing in mind that the great saints through the ages do not commonly say, ‘How good I am!’ Rather, they are apt to bewail their sinfulness.” (Morris)

ii. Legalism always brings a person face to face with their own wretchedness, and if they continue in legalism, they will react in one of two ways. Either they will deny their wretchedness and become self-righteous Pharisees, or they will despair because of their wretchedness and give up following after God.

Romans 1. Paul’s Desperation and Perspective (24)

O wretched man that I am! The entire tone of the statement shows that Paul is desperate for deliverance. He is overwhelmed with a sense of his own powerlessness and sinfulness. We must come to the same place of desperation to find victory.

i. Your desire must go beyond a vague hope to be better. You must cry out against yourself and cry out unto God with the desperation Paul had.

Romans 1. Paul’s Desperation and Perspective (24)

Who will deliver me: Paul’s perspective finally turns to something (actually, someone) outside of himself. Paul has referred to himself some 40 times since Romans 7:13. In the pit of his unsuccessful struggle against sin, Paul became entirely self-focused and self-obsessed. This is the place of any believer living under law, who looks to self and personal performance rather than looking first to Jesus.

i. The words “Who will deliver me” show that Paul has given up on himself, and asks “Who will deliver me?” instead of “How will I deliver myself?”

ii. “It is not the voice of one desponding or doubting, but of one breathing and panting after deliverance

Romans 1. Paul’s Desperation and Perspective (24)

Who will deliver me from this body of death? When Paul describes this body of death, some commentators see a reference to ancient kings who tormented their prisoners by shackling them to decomposing corpses. Paul longed to be free from the wretched body of death clinging to him.

i. “It was the custom of ancient tyrants, when they wished to put men to the most fearful punishments, to tie a dead body to them, placing the two back to back; and there was the living man, with a dead body closely strapped to him, rotting, putrid, corrupting, and this he must drag with him wherever he went. Now, this is just what the Christian has to do. He has within him the new life; he has a living and undying principle, which the Holy Spirit has put within him, but he feels that everyday he has to drag about with him this dead body, this body of death, a thing as loathsome, as hideous, as abominable to his new life, as a dead stinking carcass would be to a living man.”

Romans 2. Paul Finally Looks outside of Himself to Jesus (25)

I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! Finally, Paul looks outside of himself and unto Jesus. As soon as he looks to Jesus, he has something to thank God for—and he thanks God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

i. Through means that Paul sees Jesus standing between himself and God, bridging the gap and providing the way to God. Lord means Paul has put Jesus in the right place—as Lord and master of his life.

b. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin: He acknowledges the state of struggle, but thanks God for the victory in Jesus. Paul doesn’t pretend that looking to Jesus takes away the struggle—Jesus works through us, not instead of us in the battle against sin.

i. The glorious truth remains: there is victory in Jesus! Jesus didn’t come and die just to give us more or better rules, but to live out His victory through those who believe. The message of the gospel is that there is victory over sin, hate, death, and all evil as we surrender our lives to Jesus and let Him live out victory through us.

Romans 2. Paul Finally Looks outside of Himself to Jesus (25)

Paul finally looks outside of himself to Jesus (25)

a. I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! Finally, Paul looks outside of himself and unto Jesus. As soon as he looks to Jesus, he has something to thank God for—and he thanks God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

i. Through means that Paul sees Jesus standing between himself and God, bridging the gap and providing the way to God. Lord means Paul has put Jesus in the right place—as Lord and master of his life.

b. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin: He acknowledges the state of struggle, but thanks God for the victory in Jesus. Paul doesn’t pretend that looking to Jesus takes away the struggle—Jesus works through us, not instead of us in the battle against sin.

i. The glorious truth remains: there is victory in Jesus! Jesus didn’t come and die just to give us more or better rules, but to live out His victory through those who believe. The message of the gospel is that there is victory over sin, hate, death, and all evil as we surrender our lives to Jesus and let Him live out victory through us.

Romans 2. Paul Finally Looks outside of Himself to Jesus (25)

Through Jesus Christ our Lord: Paul shows that even though the law is glorious and good, it can’t save us—and we need a Savior. Paul never found any peace, any praising God until he looked outside of himself and beyond the law to his Savior, Jesus Christ.

i. You thought the problem was that you didn’t know what to do to save yourself—but the law came as a teacher, taught you what to do and you still couldn’t do it. You don’t need a teacher, you need a Savior.

ii. You thought the problem was that you weren’t motivated enough, but the law came in like a coach to encourage you on to do what you need to do and you still didn’t do it. You don’t need a coach or a motivational speaker, you need a Savior.

iii. You thought the problem was that you didn’t know yourself well enough. But the law came in like a doctor and perfectly diagnosed your sin problem but the law couldn’t heal you. You don’t need a doctor, you need a Savior.