The Final Lament and the Hope to Come

Introduction

You can observe that the latter part of the chapter is broken into 3 Laments, containing three points, Symptoms, Substantiation, Source. The theme of the chapter can be summarized and condensed into one statement, the thesis statement of the chapter if you will, that being Rom 7:22-23 “22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

The Christian their whole life lives a life of constant battle with sin. Sure, the battle will be won at times and at other it will be lost. The location will never be the same and will virtually change as the enemy attempts to attack weakly fortified areas. You may win the war on the western front only to find yourself feeling overwhelmed on eastern. So it is with “Indwelling Sin”. The believer has been freed from dominion sin had over us and its power has been crippled. Our spirit has been spiritually born again, and our inner man is good. However, our flesh, our bodies still contain residual sin and thus war against the inner man so long as the two natures are in proximity. When the believer wishes to pray, the body wishes to sleep. When the believer wishes to worship, the body wishes to binge. As Paul said, “When I would do good, evil is present there with me”.

If you find yourself at war with sin, then take comfort in knowing, that is not a bad thing, but a testimony to the dramatic change that God has done in you. For whenever you find yourself warring, just know that, that is you the new nature in you warring, because before your conversion you were a slave and at peace with Sin. I believe that is the main point of chapter 7. To address the reality that Christians found themselves in and being confused in understanding their deliverance from sin and yet constant daily struggle against it. Paul is sharing with them his own struggles with sin, and how the new man in him wishes to be pleasing to God and wishes to conform to his righteous standards and yet isnt able to perfectly fulfill those longings because of the internal battle that goes on. Every day, from the very moment you wake up, to the very moment you close your eyes and even in your very dreams this war is waged. Is there any hope? Is this the life that are bound to live forever in? Where is the Calvary? A wonderful hymn records a chorus that follows “Hold the Fort for I am coming, Jesus signals still. — Waive the answer back to Heaven by thy grace we will” That is how it feels sometimes doesn't it? Is this life an Alamo? or do we have an actual hope in winning? Paul addresses these questions in our final verses of chapter 7 in Rom 7:24-25.

Lets Read our text Rom 7:22-25

Romans 7:22–25 KJV 1900

22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

The Languish

Paul’s last and final Lament of the chapter is one of deep frustration and emotion. From the moment of conversion until now, Paul had been battling residual sin. Whenever he desired to good, he was met with a mutiny of the body in its sinful resistance. He cries out O wretched, O Miserable man that I am! As mentioned previously many moons ago, some commentators do not believe this passage is about Paul, let alone Paul after his conversion. They would say, you see, he declares himself to be a Wretched man, how can this be after his conversion when after conversion we become Saints. I would argue that the closer one becomes with God, the more one becomes aware of their own sinfulness and shortcomings. The more we read God’s word, we learn of the things that please him and displease him. A great illustration of this is in Ray Comforts Method of evangelism. Truly all evangelism requires a proclamation of the law, so when I call it his method I just simply mean his iconic style of doing it.

Most Witness encounters he begins by asking them if they think they are a good person, to which they usually respond yes, which the bible also predicts Prov 20:6 “6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: But a faithful man who can find?” He begins by introducing the Ten commandments starting with Lying. By the time he goes through them, they admit that they are Lying, Thieving , Blasphemous, Adulterous, Murderous, dishonorable children, a far cry from good people. This reality is also true of Christians, as we grow closer to God, as he continually sanctifies us and prudes our metaphorical lives, we become more and more aware of sin, not because were sinning more, but because God is showing us the pervasiveness of sin in us. Paul saw just how pervasive sin was in him and his cry was O Wretched Man. This cry is not unique to Paul. Would someone read Ps 38:1-4, and then someone else Ps 130:3.

The Question

We’ve established thus far the cause of Pauls Languish. He recognizes his inadequacy and inability to fulfill all that his inner man desires too, and laments his own wretchedness. The question posed previously and the one Paul now addresses is the next logical conclusion. Who shall deliver me from this body of death? Is there! any deliverance from this body of death, if I could expound on the question. What is he saying? What does he mean and what is he asking for? Firstly, he is Readdressing what is the source of the problem here, that sin remains in his body. That even though God has regenerated his spirit, it remains incarcerated by a rebellious sinful flesh. So the source of the problem is “the body of this death, or this Body of death” because the real Paul, isnt the originator of sin in him, but rather indwelling sin in his body. So in other words, who shall deliver me or rescue me from this sinful rebellious body that I am bound too. Here’s something you may find interesting that I learned from Macarthur’s commentary Ill read it and quote “It is reported that near Tarsus, where Paul was born, a certain ancient tribe sentenced convicted murderers to an especially gruesome execution. The corpse of the slain person was lashed tightly to the body of the murderer and remained there until the murderer himself died. In a few days, which doubtless seemed an eternity to the convicted man, the decay of the person he had slain infected and killed him. Perhaps Paul had such torture in mind when he expressed his yearning to be freed from the body of this death.”

The Answer

So now, we’ve seen The Languish, We’ve digested the question, and lastly we look at the Answer. Paul’s answer to what feels like an unending, unwinnable, last stand against sin, is in his declaration of the Hope of Christians, The Lord Jesus Christ. The answer to every question in children Sunday School, JE-SUS! For the Christian, in a very real way it feels like we are tied and bound to that decaying body in our previous illustration, and at times it can feel like we have no hope, we have no chance of victory, sin will always pester us, and yet we have a victorious Saviour who will one day deliver us from our bondage to the decaying body. Suffering with no end in sight is harder to endure than a greater suffering with a known time of finality. In the military, we’d run. I hate running, but I hate running even more when I didnt know how far we were running lol. Imagine punching in, and your boss tells you that you will work until he tells you to stop lol. Well, your battle with sin will one day cease. Your struggle with sin will one day never ever trouble you again. And in the same way, you can look at the clock and tell yourself, only 7 and half more hours to go, the answer to the lament is to remind ourselves of the unchanging, inadvertable, steadfast, sovereign will of God to save us and deliver us one day from the body of this death. With Passages such as (SOMEONE READ) Rom 8:18

Romans 8:18 KJV 1900

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:23 KJV 1900

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

2 Corinthians 5:4 KJV 1900

4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

1 Corinthians 15:52–58 KJV 1900

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

That is the hope of the believer. We have been born again, our spirit made new, and the Holy Spirit now dwells in us, which is the earnest of our inheritance, the deposit if you will, which God who cannot lie will one day fulfill. That is our hope, which we all must remind ourselves in our daily battle with sin. The believers stedfast hope of deliverance however, isnt how Paul ends the verse, but instead a re summarizing of the conflict and struggle with sin, so as to remind us once more of this important truth, which is what. He says in Rom 7:25 “25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” He doesn’t just say my mind serves the law of God, but I Myself to highlight that the real you is serving and longing to do the will and law god God, and your flesh which has not yet been redeemed is the real one that serves and longs to do the will and law of sin. Whats the takeaway from that? Hone in on that feeling which Paul has been describing, that which I don't want to do, that I do, and the things that I long to do, that I don't do, that very same feeling of resistance will one day become unbridled surrender and joy as your body for once is harmoniously in align with your spirit. The fact that there's a war only demonstrates to you that there is victory soon to come, and that should give us hope and joy.