Untitled Sermon

Introduction

Hey good morning everyone! I hope everybody had a good thanksgiving. Annie and I went down to Owasso to be with my Oklahoma family and it was all very good. My grandpa is now cancer free and we have a whole lot to be thankful for. Before we get into the message, let's just pray together. A prayer of thanks. (PRAY)

I... I didn't want to do it. My heart was beating faster, and I could feel it down in my gut. I knew that I would be found out. I knew that my choice would directly impact those I love and those who love me... my family... my wife... what would my brother think of me when he realized what was going on? I didn't want to do it.... but... regrettably... I did it. And I feel I need to confess that to you, as my church family, this morning. For what I want to do I don't do, but what I hate, I do! So this morning... Annie... I knew it was wrong but... no. no buts. I'm sorry you had to deal with the consequences of my actions... I'm sorry I did it not once or twice but three times! It had to have made it even worse for you especially... And you scotland... You can probably still smell the sin on me... So this morning... Annie... I'm sorry I got the third helping of beans and broccoli at our thanksgiving meal! Oh the gaseous wrath that ensued! And I'm sorry I ate a few too many deviled eggs! They don't call them deviled eggs for nothing! Oh they look innocent going in, but after a few hours of transfiguration, their fumes reek of the very pits of hell I should belong in! And... and ALL THAT CHEESE!!! Dear Lord, forgive me for the obscenities that crossed my mind as my weak fleshly body tried to process it... Oh the sheer gluttony of it all. Babe, I know, I know... the scent was horrible for you but don't think I was not punished... No... I was appropriately dealt with... it was a long... long ride home. But in my defense... this is only once a year.

I wrestled for awhile with whether or not I should make a fart joke as an illustration to open the sermon, but you guys have known me long enough now so... what'd you expect?

I shouldn't have kept eating... but oh friends, I did. But sometimes... Do you find yourself in a more serious situation? Perhaps the consequence is not gas but separation from your friends and family. Maybe its not an upset stomach but a broken relationship. Maybe instead of regretting your choices for the next few hours you regret them for the rest of your life and hate yourself in the process. Do you feel like this? Have you ever been there? If so... then this text may be for you. Let me express, that this is not going to be a sermon on guilt and the loyalty of God to keep his promises... you've heard me preach that sermon in many forms before. Rather, I want to explore and answer a few questions. Let's read the text. 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.

7.14-20 - Who is the Man?

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.

Firstly, what kind of person is Paul referring to? This is a section of the letter in which Paul is speaking of himself, describing a fierce internal struggle with sin. And the question is: Of what stage in his life is he speaking? Is he speaking of the present, that is, of the time of his writing the letter—when he was a mature Christian? Or is he speaking of himself as he was in the past, before his conversion? Or is the true answer somewhere in between?

The first view is that the “man” of is the apostle Paul as he was while unregenerate, that is, when he was not yet a Christian. This seems to have been the dominant view in the early church. In fact, the great Saint Augustine held it at first, though later, as a result of his maturing study of the Bible, he came to believe that what is said here is true of the regenerate person, too. According to this view, Paul could not say the things he says here if he were truly a Christian.

The first view is that the “man” of is the apostle Paul when he was not yet a Christian. This seems to have been the dominant view in the early church. In fact, the great Saint Augustine held it at first, though later, as a result of his maturing study of the Bible, he came to believe that what is said here is true of the regenerate person, too. According to this view, Paul could not say the things he says here if he were truly a Christian.

What things?

Well, that he is “a slave to sin,” for example (v. 14). This claim is particularly troublesome because Paul has previously said, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (). If Paul is speaking as a Christian, how can he say that Christians have been freed from sin’s slavery in chapter 6 and then say that he is himself “a slave to sin” in chapter 7?

Well, that he is “a slave to sin,” for example (v. 14). Could Paul, as a Christian, make this claim having previously said, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (). If Paul is speaking as a Christian, how can he say that Christians have been freed from sin’s slavery in chapter 6 and then say that he is himself “a slave to sin” in chapter 7?

Paul also says, “Nothing good lives in me” (v. 18). True, he qualifies that at once by adding, “that is, in my sinful nature.” But even so, can a believer really speak in these terms, knowing that God dwells within him and is working “to will and to act according to his good purpose” ()?

A bit further on Paul cries, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (v. 24). Doesn’t he know that he has been rescued by Christ? How can any true Christian make that statement?

In spite of the appeal of this interpretation, which is considerable, the view has several major flaws which in our day have caused most commentators to abandon it. Let me suggest a few.

It sure looks like Paul is speaking of himself when he wasn't a Christian... but if that's the case... than what's the use of this passage for Christians? this view has several major flaws, but here is just one of them.

1. What Paul says of himself in is not what Paul says of his pre-Christian state in other passages. Paul is distressed over his inability to fulfill the law’s just demands. He is wretched as a result of his failure. He is calling out for deliverance by someone outside himself. But what unbeliever ever thinks like that? What Paul thought of himself before his conversion is summarized in , where he claims to have been “faultless” as far as “legalistic righteousness” is concerned (v. 6). The unbeliever is not distressed by his failure to keep God’s law. On the contrary, he is satisfied with his performance. He is self-righteous and self-confident. He does not even know he needs to be saved.

Here is the problem in a nutshell: In , Paul says, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” But when he was an unbeliever he would have said, “I have the desire to do what is good, and I am doing it.”

Here is the problem in a nutshell: In , Paul says, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” But when he was an unbeliever he would have said, “I have the desire to do what is good, and I am doing it.” Friends... as you spend time on social media and in conversations with family and friends this holiday season... be careful... we can't expect non-Christians to act like Christians. don't hold them to that standard, a standard that you and I struggle to uphold. Furthermore, we can't expect non-Christians to realize their depravity. Instead... be a light. Show them the love of Christ. Don't scoff or roll your eyes when they drop the f-bomb or make an obscene comment. Rather, muster up your resolve to love them even more deeply. This does not mean sinning with them. On the contrary, it means living a sanctified life. Sanctification, friends, is not an awareness of how good you are becoming, or how much like Jesus you are. Sanctification is a growing sense of how sinful we really are, SO THAT, we will CONSTANTLY turn and depend upon Jesus Christ.

The “Man” of is a “Carnal Christian”

2. Paul’s delight in God’s law, expressed in this passage, cannot be found in unbelievers. What he says in is that “the law is good” and that “in my inner being I delight in God’s law” (vv. 16, 22). Is that the attitude of the unbeliever? Not according to Paul’s teaching elsewhere in Romans. Just before these verses, Paul has spoken of the effects of the law on sinners, saying that it exposes sin and provokes all kinds of evil desires, that is, rebellion against its demands. In the following section, in , Paul argues that “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (v. 7).

The “man” of is one who has moved beyond the hostility to God’s law exercised by the unregenerate person.

So if 7.14-20 is not about Paul as an unbeliever... than perhaps it is about Paul as a "baby Christian" or a "carnal Christian." This view holds that Paul is indeed speaking of himself as a Christian but that he is speaking of himself as being in an immature state. It appears that the “man” of is defeated and that this should not be true of the mature Christian. Observe how strongly the focus is on the self—the word “I” occurs twenty-six times in verses 14–24, and the words “me,” “my” or “myself” twelve times more. The Holy Spirit, the secret to victory in the Christian life, is not mentioned in this chapter at all.

3. The present tense is used throughout the second half of , and this is an apparently meaningful contrast with the past tense employed earlier. In verses 7–13, the verbs are in the aorist tense: “Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died” (v. 9); “sin … put me to death” (v. 11); “sin … produced death in me through what was good” (v. 13). Those sentences (to which I have added italics) are written of a past experience. In verses 14–24, the present tense is used: “I am unspiritual” (v. 14); “I do not understand what I do” (v. 15); “I agree that the law is good” (v. 16), and so on. It is hard to deny that this is speaking of Paul’s present, and therefore a truly Christian, experience.

This view sees an enormous contrast between , which is thought of as a chapter of defeat, and , which is thought of as a chapter of victory through the Holy Spirit’s power. Sometimes a Christian is told that the secret to victory is to get “self” off the throne of one’s life and allow the Spirit to take control—to stop living in and get on to .

Is this view valid? Is this what these verses are all about?

As J. I. Packer says, “Paul’s shift from the past tense to the present in verse 14 has no natural explanation save that he now moves on from talking about his experience with God’s law in his pre-Christian days to talking about his experience as it was at the time of writing.”

Honestly, I'm not so sure. But let me begin by saying something positive. The truths in “the carnal Christian” theology are that Christians do indeed have a sinful nature and that they are not able to have victory in their lives apart from the Holy Spirit. This is the evident movement from chapter 7 to chapter 8. The victory that we are to have is not our doing. It is “through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 25) and by the Holy Spirit ().

The “Man” of is a “Carnal Christian”

The second view is a very popular one today. It is best known by the phrase “the carnal Christian.” It holds that Paul is indeed speaking of himself as a Christian (for some of the reasons outlined above) but that he is speaking of himself (or of himself theoretically) as being in an immature or unsurrendered state. Defenders of this view observe that the “man” of is defeated and that this should not be true of the mature Christian. They observe how strongly the focus is on the self—the word “I” occurs twenty-six times in verses 14–24, and the words “me,” “my” or “myself” twelve times more. The Holy Spirit, the secret to victory in the Christian life, is not mentioned in this chapter at all.

Nevertheless, the chief weakness of this view is the doctrine of “the carnal Christian” itself. This view suggests a two-stage Christian experience in which, in stage one, a person accepts Jesus as Savior only, without accepting him as Lord of his or her life, and then later, in stage two, goes on to receive him as Lord. This is just not biblical. Above all, it is not what Paul is saying or has been saying in Romans... YOU ACCEPT Jesus as both Savior and Lord.

This view sees an enormous contrast between , which is thought of as a chapter of defeat, and , which is thought of as a chapter of victory through the Holy Spirit’s power. Sometimes a Christian is told that the secret to victory is to get “self” off the throne of one’s life and allow the Spirit to take control—to stop living in and get on to .

So if Paul is not contrasting two stages of Christianity, a baby chrisitan and an adult mature Christian... than what does it mean? It means that the struggle Paul is describing is between himself as a new creature in Christ, the new man, and that old, sinful, un-Christian nature that he nevertheless retains in some measure because the Father has not yet restored all things (see !). The struggle is part of what it means to be a Christian in an as-yet unperfected state. It does not mean that there is a first or early stage in the Christian life that may be described as “carnal.” Hear me... there is a such thing as an immature Christian... but there is no such thing as a Christian who is saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, who does not pledge allegiance to Jesus as his Lord and Savior and Master. There is no such thing as a Christian who is not enslaved to righteousness. There is no such thing as a Christian who has not yet surrendered his or her life to Jesus as Master and Lord. There are only Christians obedient to their master and those who are disobedient. So these holidays... when you encounter the Christian who is distant and disobedient... Perhaps that is you... guide them gently into obedience, as you recognize their internal struggle with sin. Carry their burdens with them. Get underneath them and help them up. Because, as you can see... the way is narrow... and few find it. Help your brothers and sisters to stay on the way.

Is this view valid? Is this what these verses are all about?

The “Man” of is a Mature Christian

So if Paul is not speaking of himself as a non-believer or as a baby Christian, than the only logical answer left is that Paul is referring to himself as a mature Christian describing the Christian’s continuing conflict with sin, which we all experience, and teaching that there is no victory in such struggles apart from the Holy Spirit. To put it in other words, since is discussing the function and limits of the law, Paul is saying that just as the law of God is unable to justify a person (justification is made possible by the work of Christ), so also is the law unable to sanctify a person. Sanctification must be accomplished in us by the Holy Spirit. And how is this accomplished?....

This is not my understanding, as I pointed out in a previous study. But let me begin by saying something positive. The truths in “the carnal Christian” theology are that Christians do indeed have a sinful nature and that they are not able to have victory in their lives apart from the Holy Spirit. This is the evident movement from chapter 7 to chapter 8. The victory that we are to have is not our doing. It is “through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 25) and by the Holy Spirit ().

War. It is accomplished by war. 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?

Nevertheless, the weaknesses of this view (and I must add also the errors and dangers) far outweigh the truths. The chief weakness is the doctrine of “the carnal Christian” itself. This view postulates a two-stage Christian experience in which, in stage one, a person accepts Jesus as Savior only, without accepting him as Lord of his or her life, and then later, in stage two, goes on to receive him as Lord. This is just not biblical. Above all, it is not what Paul is saying or has been saying in Romans.

One rule of interpretation is that the meaning of any word or phrase must be determined by its context, and if this is applied to Paul’s use of the word carnal, or fleshly (niv translates “sinful nature”), in these chapters, the result is something quite different from “the carnal Christian” theology. If we look at , we see that these verses contrast an individual controlled by the carnal, or sinful, nature with one controlled by the Spirit. But the contrast is not between worldly Christians and those who have “progressed” to the point of taking Jesus Christ as Lord. The contrast is between those who are Christians and those who are not Christians at all. Paul declares that “the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (vv. 6–7).

If you are anything like me... than you do not like this. You do not want a war waging inside you. You don't want conflict! It was just black friday... and man the stupid stuff people will fight over! Sometimes it feels like black friday going on inside me and I hate that! In our Christian lives we try to avoid struggle in a few different ways.

First we try to avoid it by a formula. Some easy incantation or 3 step process to certain victory, the next Tim Keller book that'll finally teach me how to pray or you know what I mean. Let go and let God, Get out of and into , Jesus take the wheel! Friends... This is my sin. I look for quick and easy fixes. But if I'm honest with you this morning... the underlying motivation for most of my searching is not to obey Jesus because I love him! It's laziness! It's lazy optimism that expects my posh American life to be easy, not hard. So if we find something hard or difficult, we assume we are missing the right formula and we go searching, don't find it, give up, and sink deeper into depression at best and at worst, rage and resentment.

Does this mean, then, that when Paul uses the word carnal (or fleshly) of himself in , he is speaking of himself as an unbeliever, the first of the views discussed? No, we have already seen reasons why that is not correct. What does it mean then? It means that the struggle Paul is describing is between himself as a new creature in Christ, the new man, and that old, sinful, un-Christian nature that he nevertheless retains in some measure. The struggle is part of what it means to be a Christian in an as-yet unperfected state. It does not mean that there is a first or early stage in the Christian life that may be described as “carnal.”

We must remember that the flow of through 8 is from justification by faith to glorification and that chapters 6 and 7 are parentheses, inserted between chapters 5 and 8 in order to deal with Antinomianism (chap. 6) and the purpose and limits of the law (chap. 7). There is no two-stage doctrine of Christianity here at all.

Secondly, We try to avoid struggle by hunting for some new spiritual experience. "If I get baptized again, I'll have no more war inside me. If I really get into the worship today and fall on my knees and somehow get goosebumps and start crying even though I don't feel like singing, then, oh then I'll be on fire! Then it'll be easy! No more war no more conflict! There is nothing wrong with worshiping out of passion and love, and falling into tears and on your knees, but take away the ease of life and do you still worship the same God? Take away the money, the house, the spouse, the kids, the health, the country you live in, and what happens? If you cease to worship, than perhaps your God is that which has been removed and cause you stop worshiping...

The “Man” of is a Mature Christian

A third way we avoid struggle in the the Christian life is typically “American”: avoidance. That is, when we are defeated, rather than girding up our loins and turning to attack the problem again, we turn away from it and try to fill our minds with something else. Often this “something else” is television or other entertainment. Sometimes it is empty busyness—even in Christian activities.

The final view, which is that of most Reformed commentators from the time of the later Augustine forward, including Luther, Calvin, and the Puritans, is that Paul is writing of himself as a mature Christian, describing the Christian’s continuing conflict with sin, which we all experience, and teaching that there is no victory in such struggles apart from the Holy Spirit. To put it in other words, since is discussing the function and limits of the law, Paul is saying that just as the law of God is unable to justify a person (justification is made possible by the work of Christ), so also is the law unable to sanctify a person. Sanctification must be accomplished in us by the Holy Spirit

Christian, What I want to commend to you as we face the fact of the war within us is what J. I. Packer calls “spiritual realism.” He talks about it toward the end of his study of the various Christian views of holiness, Keep in Step with the Spirit. As Packer defines it, “Realism has to do with our willingness or lack of willingness to face unpalatable truths about ourselves and to start making necessary changes. In light of , want to suggest four statements with which this spiritual realism should start.

When God called us to be Christian people he called us to lifetime struggles against sin. The starting place for achieving spiritual realism is to recognize that we are called to a constant spiritual warfare in this life and that this warfare is not easy, since it is against the sin that resides in us even as converted men and women. Realism calls for rigorous preparation, constant alertness, dogged determinism, and moment-by-moment trust in him who alone can give us victory.

Although we are called to a lifetime struggle against sin, we are never going to achieve victory by ourselves. This is an easy American temptation. This is an easy Samuel Parker temptation. I want to win all by myself... but no matter how perfect I can become... I will never ever ever be enough. He alone can give us victory through grace! Grace given on the cross of Christ.

Even when we triumph over sin by the power of the Holy Spirit, which should be often, we are still unprofitable servants. Why is this so? It is because our victories, even when we achieve them, are all nevertheless by the power and grace of God and are not of ourselves. If they were, we would be able to take some personal glory for our triumphs, and when we die we would bring our boasting into heaven. But our victories are not of ourselves. They are of God. And since they are not of our ourselves, we will not boast either on earth or in heaven but will instead give God all the glory.

And yet, fourthly, we are to go on fighting and struggling against sin, and we are to do so with the tools made available to us, chiefly prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, service to others, and the sacraments.We are never to quit in this great battle against sin. We are to fight it with every ounce of energy in our bodies and with our final breath. Only then, when we have finished the race, having kept the course, may we rest from warfare.

I want to close by suggesting that a gospel in which we must do everything possible to attain a victory over sin—but in which, in spite of all we do or can ever do, the victory when it comes is by God alone and not by us or for our glory—a gospel like that must be from God; it could never have been invented by man. The very nature of our gospel is proof of its divine origin.

Left to ourselves, what do we do? We do one of two things. Either we create a gospel of works, so that our salvation depends upon our own righteousness and our sanctification likewise depends upon our own ability to defeat sin and choose righteousness. Or else we retreat into passivity and say, “Since the battle is God’s and there is nothing I can do to achieve victory, I might as well just sit back and let God work.” To our way of thinking it seems that it must be either of those two choices. But the Bible, through Paul, says something quite different: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (, emphasis added).

The Christian life is not easy. No responsible person ever said it was. It is a battle all the way. But it is a battle that will be won. And when it is won, we who have triumphed will cast our crowns at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ who worked in us to accomplish the victory, and we will praise him forever.

Finally, In the words of Leif Enger in his novel, PEACE like a river, "We and the world, my children, will always be at war. Retreat is impossible. Arm yourselves."