The War Within

Children’s Bible Page 1229

Good morning Christ Covenant Church.

I pray you had some nice and safe snow days.

If you are anything like me, you have experienced some seasons in your walk with Jesus where you felt disillusioned.

What I mean is, it is easy to believe when you first get saved and get baptized that these drastic changes are going to happen in your life.

And that is true, drastic changes do occur, you have been brought from death to life and made a new creation.

The old has gone, behold, the new has come.

You have been saved from your sin and into God’s family - the church.

All of that is true.

But, pretty soon, you come to find out that the fruits of the Spirit don’t just pop up out of your spiritual flower bed like a weed.

The good works God has prepared you to do don’t feel as much like floating on a cloud as they do a battle and a grind.

The closeness and intimacy you found in being baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit don’t always make you feel warm and fuzzy.

Maybe you’ve heard the great testimony of the alcoholic whom Jesus saved and he never desired another drink of alcohol,

Or the gossip who would spread everyone else’s private business all around town, but Jesus saved her, and she never was tempted to talk about anyone else again,

But for you, you know Jesus has saved you, but some of those old feelings, desires, and temptations feel as strong as ever!

What’s the deal?

As we have walked through the book of Romans and come to chapter 7, Paul has written that the gospel saves us out from under the law of God in order to belong to Christ and live under His grace.

Because we are sinners, we have fallen far short of God’s perfect law,

So, Jesus Christ took the punishment for law breaking in our place on the cross, and rose again defeating our sin and death,

So that we could now belong to him and live under the freedom of His grace.

Now, while this is incredibly good news, the Roman church had a lot of Jews in it who grew up learning God’s law and revering God’s law from their youngest years.

So, it would have been very difficult for them to receive and understand the message that we need to be saved out from under God’s law?

Are you saying God’s law is bad? That the law is sin?

And last week, we addressed Paul’s answer that in no way is the law sin!

God’s law is holy, righteous, and good.

But what God’s law does is put up a mirror in front of us in order to show us that we are sinners.

Most lost people don’t walk around super concerned about how sinful they are.

No, they think they are pretty good people, not sinners.

It is only when they are confronted with the mirror of God’s perfect law that they can come to realize that they are not alive and thriving, but that they are spiritually dead and in need of forgiveness and new spiritual life.

Now, Paul knows that his testimony of how God’s law works is going to lead to a second question, which he addresses in our passage today:

Romans 7:13–25 ESV

13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

1. Sin Used The Good Law To Bring About Death In Us

Now, Paul, how could something that is so holy, righteous, and good convince me that I am a dirty rotten spiritually dead sinner?

Are you not saying that this holy, righteous, and good law brought death to me?

Paul answers, once again, “By no means!”

Instead, it was sin producing death in me through what is good.

You know in a science class when you put something under the magnifying glass, and you can see the tiny germs moving around in there?

And when kids see it, what do they say, “Oh man, that magnifying glass is really gross!”

No. Of course not. It’s not the magnifying glass that is gross, it is the germs that the clean magnifying glass is simply revealing.

In the same way, when God’s law exposes our sin leading to death, we don’t say, “Oh, what a horrible law that exposed these things in me!”

No, we say, “What horrible sin and death that he good law has exposed in me.”

It took something so good, God’s law, in order to expose the sin that is producing death in me.

In order that sin might be shown to be sin.

Until you compare yourself to God’s law, you can feel pretty good about yourself.

If you compare yourself to other people, you can always find people much worse than you are.

You can arrange your own priorities of morality:

So if being real and authentic is what is most important to you, then you judge yourself better than all those fakes out there.

Or if you are really good at working hard and accomplishing things, you judge yourself better than all those lazy people out there.

Or if you are a loner and keep to yourself, you judge yourself better than all those other people who get into other people’s business.

Or if you stay away from movies and entertainment, and you still have a flip phone and no computer, you judge yourself better than all the people who engage in all the newest entertainment and technology.

See, if we get to choose morality for ourselves and we get to choose the standard of judgment based on our own standards, we will never identify ourselves as sinners.

So, we needed to see ourselves in light of God’s perfect standard in order that our sin might be truly shown as sin.

Because no matter what, none of us has perfectly loved the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and loved others more than ourselves.

End of verse 13, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

Well, what does that mean and why does that matter?

Well, remember back up in verse 7 where Paul mentioned that he would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet?”

You see, before Paul was saved, his whole life was centered around being the very best Jew he could be.

He boasted about all of his great credentials and religious achievements.

In other words, his whole life was centered around comparing himself to others and be better than everyone else.

His whole life was a form of coveting.

And when we see the true state of our hearts in the mirror of God’s law, we come to see that sin is not just something we do every once in a while, it is at the very center of who we are.

You can’t measure that.

You can’t judge others and say, “Well, at least I have less sin than you do!’

No, the law of commandments has shown sin to be sinful without measure.

Which is once again a good and right thing for the law to show us, because then we are ready to throw ourselves upon our only hope, Jesus Christ who has loved us beyond measure, who is holy beyond measure, who took the punishment for our sins that were beyond measure, whom God raised from the dead defeating our sin and death with His great power beyond measure.

Yes, God’s law truly is good to show us who we really are as sinners, in order to lead us to trust who Jesus truly is as our great Savior.

This is how God’s law works.

But, even after we have come to trust in Jesus, the law of God and the old flesh we still carry around creates a war within us.

And it we can be disillusioned when we continue to battle with our flesh daily, so let’s consider what Paul says next.

2. The Spirit And The Flesh Are At War Within Us

Now, Romans 7 verses 14-25 has been a hotly debated passage of Scripture all throughout church history, and that debate continues today.

And here is the focus of the debate: in verses 14-25, is Paul writing about his experience as a Christian follower of Jesus,

Or is Paul writing about his experience as a lost person before he came to know Jesus?

And listen, both sides of the debate have good and strong arguments.

For those who say Paul is writing about his experience as a Christian follower of Jesus, they point to:

Verse 18 where Paul says that I have the desire to do what’s right. Didn’t Romans 3 tell us no one who is lost desires what is right?

Verse 22 where Paul says for I delight in the law of God, in my inner being. A lost person certainly cannot delight in the law of God from their inner being.

Yet, for those who say Paul is writing about his experience as a lost person before he came to know Jesus, they point to:

Verse 14 where Paul says I am of the flesh, sold under sin. Can a Christian follower of Jesus say that they are still sold under sin?

Verse 18 where Paul says I do not have the ability to carry out what is right. Does a Christian follower of Jesus not have the ability to carry out what is right?

In other words, in this passage, Paul seems to be too extreme on the sold under sin side to be a true Christian, but he seems also to be too extreme on the delighting in God’s law in his inner being to be a lost person.

What are we to do when we come to a dilemma like this one?

Well, I am going walk through the rest of the passage and show you which way I lean and why, but I want to be clear that is it completely okay if you disagree with me.

I think a lot of the truth here applies which ever way you see it.

Remember, Paul already said some things back in last week’s passage that didn’t seem to fully add up.

In verse 9, I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

Now, other Scripture passages clearly teach that we were all born in sin leading to death.

So, how can Paul say that he was once alive and he only died once he came to know God’s law?

Does that mean we should hide God’s law away, because everyone is alive to God until they learn about God’s law and then they die spiritually.

Well, of course not.

Instead, remember, Paul is sharing his testimony and experience of how God’s law worked in his life.

Paul considered himself alive to God and a good person when he was lost. Surely God and I are good. Lots of lost people think that way.

It doesn’t mean they aren not dead in their sin, it just means they don’t come alive to that reality until they come face to face with God’s law, and see that because sin is alive in them, they are spiritually dead.

I believe a similar thing is still happening down in verses 14-25, Paul is sharing what the experience of being a Christian follower of Jesus in this world while still carrying around this old flesh feels like.

Verse 14 - For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.

You see, before we are saved, we are sinners be nature.

Once we are saved, we have two natures, the old man of flesh, and the new man of the Spirit.

In chapter 8, Paul is going to dive into living by the new man of the Spirit.

But, here, he is talking about the experience of the old man the flesh.

The law is spiritual, so the flesh, sold under sin, cannot obey the law.

Verse 15 - For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Now, that you have the Holy Spirit of God inside of you, you have a desire to obey and please God.

But, that does not mean that you always do it.

Sometimes we do the exact opposite of what our new desires given by the Holy Spirit want to do.

Verse 16 - Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.

Now that I’m a believer in Jesus and love God’s law, when I sin and break the law, I confess it as a sin and something I should not want to do.

That is evidence that God’s law is good and working in me for my good.

Verse 17 - So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

What Paul is saying is: the deepest part of who I am is now in Christ.

It’s the new man with new desires to love, obey, and please God.

It’s not that new man who disobeys God’s law, it is sin within me, the old man, the flesh.

Verse 18 - For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Notice, when he says nothing good dwells in him, he qualifies that nothing good dwells in the flesh part of him.

By the Spirit, he has the desires within him to now do good, but his flesh is unable to carry it out.

Romans 8 will begin by arguing that while we can do no good in the flesh, we can by the power of the Spirit of God within us.

So, in the flesh, verse 19 - I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Once again, once we have been saved and justified, we then have the nature of the Spirit of God and the nature of the old flesh.

And we are being sanctified throughout our Christian lives, which is the process of learning to say “no” to the flesh more and more, and say “yes” to the Spirit more and more,

As we grow more into the image of Christ.

But, do you feel the war within as Paul writes, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing!

Once again, because Paul keeps doing what he does not want to do, because he now has the Spirit of God within him, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Paul is not excusing himself of his sin.

He is not saying, “I sin, but it doesn’t matter, that’s not really me doing it anyway.” No, that’s not what he is saying.

He is saying the deepest soul part of me is now in Christ and wants to obey and please him, but my sin keeps flaring up and I give into sinful desires which is not my greatest desire which is to please and obey God.

You see, a lot of times we may be tempted to think that as we grow in our Christian walk, we will become less and less aware of our sinfulness, but actually, the exact opposite is true.

The longer you go in your Christian walk, and the closer you get to Jesus, the more aware of your sinfulness you become.

That’s why Paul was able to call himself the greatest of sinners, not because he sins more than everybody else, but he is much more aware of his own sinfulness than anybody else’s.

Here is what Paul has learn over time as He has followed Jesus:

Verse 21 - So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

While the new man born again by the Spirit of God always desires to do right, the old man of the flesh is always right there desiring evil.

Do you find that? No doubt, even when I have prayed and prepared to preach God’s word, I know my greatest desire is to honor God and rightly divide the word of truth, but honestly, a desire to be approved of by you listening, and a desire to have you think I’m a good and competent preacher always lies close at hand.

My greatest desire is to spend and be spent for God’s glory, his gospel, and his church, but I also really like a quiet house and my bed.

I desire to be healthy in my walk with Jesus, for my family, and my ministry, but I also really like cookies, cake, and ice cream.

One more, I desire to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost, but I also really like not having awkward and uncomfortable conversations.

Verse 22 and 23 - For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

That’s a great summary of the war within the life of the Christian right there.

You want to know why you sometimes feel confused and disillusioned in your walk with Jesus?

Because though you delight in the law of God in your most inward being, you see in your members another law waging war against the law of your mind and making you captive to the law of sin that dwells in your members.

Walking with Jesus is wonderful life, it is a glorious and honorable life, it is an abundant life, and yet, it is also a wretched life as long as we live between the already of our salvation and the not yet of our being glorified with Christ.

Verse 24 - Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Pastor Jason, how in the world could you say that walking with Jesus is a wretched life?

Because lost people don’t fight against any part of their own nature.

They live for sin and self, and they are good with it.

It is the follower of Jesus who fights this war within.

There are two extreme and opposite errors that I believe are being taught in many churches that I want to warn us of.

One extreme is the teaching that a person can reach a state of sinless perfection in this life.

Some call it a second work of grace by which they arrive at perfection and no longer sin in this life.

While we do grow more into the image of Christ throughout our lives of faith, sinless perfection is obtained by no one until we enter the eternal state of glorification.

The other extreme teaching that our passage today opposes is the teaching of what some call a “carnal Christian.”

This teaching says that some people receive the gospel and are saved, but they never grow in Christ.

Some use this kind of teaching to explain someone who makes a decision for Christ at some church or Christian event but then never has anything to do with the church, never shows any signs of spiritual fruit or maturity in any way.

Now, there are certainly those who do not grow spiritually as quickly as others.

Paul calls some spiritual infants in the way that they are acting in the flesh.

Hebrews says while some should have been mature by now, they still need the milk of the word and not solid food.

But, while a genuine Christian can be spiritually infantile and immature, a genuine Christian who bears absolutely no spiritual fruit is an oxymoron.

Someone who makes a one time decision to pray a prayer and receive Christ but never show any spiritual fruit is not a carnal Christian, they are an unbeliever.

John 15:5–8 ESV

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Paul ends the passage today in:

Verse 24 and 25 - Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Your deliverance is found not by reaching spiritual perfection in this life. None of us will.

Your deliverance is found not in walking an aisle or praying a prayer.

Your deliverance is found in God through Jesus Christ your Lord!

Your deliverance is found in the one who died for your sin and rose to make you right with God.

Your deliverance is found in He who began this good work in you being faithfulness to bring it to perfect completion.

So, don’t give up and don’t give in.

Fight sin. Cling to Jesus.

In this life, you serve God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

When you sin, confess, repent, and keep moving forward in grace.

Your body and flesh is weak, so daily offer your body to God and pursue righteousness.

Let’s pray.

(Elder at the couch)