Law, Sin, and the Flesh, or Victory in Jesus
Law, Sin, and the Flesh
(Romans 7:12-19, 24, 25; Romans 8:1-4)
Introduction:
The title of our message this evening is . . . . Back in 1973, a psychiatrist, Karl Menninger, wrote a book titled, Whatever Became of Sin? His answer was a simple one. Yet it was also one that most today would say was a holdover from a more unenlightened time. Menninger argued that sin has been redefined, first as a crime–that is, as a transgression of the laws of man, not a holy God–second as symptoms of a sickness that is external to us and beyond our control. We are not sinners, but criminals or mentally ill. We have not violated a moral standard that applies to everyone, a moral code that was given to us by our Creator, but we are just poor, little sick criminals.
And listen, while there is, indeed, such a thing as mental illness out there; people, that still doesn’t mean we are not sinners. And that still doesn’t excuse us from the consequences of our sin, does it? Even though our culture has redefined sin against God as simply the result of bad circumstances, and no one is really to blame, sin is still sin! And yes, we are to blame! All of us have sinned and all of us have come far short of the glory of God.
In this passage of Scripture, the Apostle Paul is writng what most commentators consider to be autobiography. He is writing about himself. There are other interpretations, but it seems to me that Paul writing about himself here is the most straightforward, and the easiest to get to from the text. And so part of what we will read this morning can be discouraging for us. Here is arguably one of the greatest Christians of all time, one that God blessed with enormous revelations; the greatest theologian, missionary, pastor, writer, and thinker perhaps of all time, confessing in the pages of Holy Scripture that he can’t seem to quit sinning! Amazing!
But of course, God never leaves us in the depths of depravity or despair, does He? The last section of our Scripture reading holds out the incredible promise of victory over the flesh, victory in Jesus, as the hymn tells us. And as always, whether we are great sinners, or guilty of the so-called lesser sins, God emphatically tells us we are not victors over the flesh by our own efforts, but by the grace of our Lord!
I. Law and Sin (Rom. 7:12-13)
(1 Our first two verses kind of lead up to Paul’s confession that even he struggled with the flesh. They are designed to reveal the goodness and holiness of God’s law. And he does so because back in Rom.7:5 Paul wrote, Romans 7:5 (ESV)
5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work kin our members lto bear fruit for death. Here is what happens sometimes. We look at the law’s prohibitions against certain behavior, and what happens? We listen to a preacher railing against the sin of sexual immorality, and what happens? That which is good can, at times, excite the very sins it is prohibiting, right? And so Paul felt the need, in verse 12, to extol, exalt, the virtues of the Law. Look at your Bibles, verses 12-13.
(2 The law is a fairly difficult area for Christians to come to terms with, isn’t it? What bearing does the law have on a believer’s life? Some say none, right? In what respect are we under grace and not under law? What exactly does that mean? Romans 6:14 (KJV)
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. The key word there just might be dominion. You see, because we are under grace doesn’t mean we can sin with abandon, but it means that because of God’s grace, we are now free from sin’s domination of us. We are free to live an increasingly holy life.
(3 You know, one of the things we need to keep in mind about grace is that there just might be a higher moral standard for us under grace than there is under law. Under law, the Jewish people had an endless round of legal observances, didn’t they? There were ceremonial washings, sacrifices, dietary requirements, all the things observant Jews had to do as part of being in the Old Covenant. But Paul is saying that the law is not the way of salvation, but grace is. And he is also saying that the law cannot free us from the power of sin to dominate our lives. Although the law is good, it cannot free us sin. Now rules are not always a bad thing. They are necessary in order to bring order into chaotic situations, but if you are living your life out in the vain hope of pleasing God by rigidly observing rules, laws, and a certain way of behaving, not only are you not going to please God, but you are destined for failure and misery. But under grace we are required to love one another, aren’t we? In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said these words that define for us how we are to live under grace: Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV)
37 † Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. If you are loving God with everything you have, and if you are truly loving others as yourself, you know what? You are going to obey God’s law, aren’t you? If you love them, you’re not going to steal from your neighbor; you’re not going commit sexually immorality with them; you’re not going to covet, lie, and you are certainly not going to murder them. But this love we are to have toward others goes beyond merely not doing things to them, and includes doing things for them, right? It is a sacrificial giving of ourselves.
(4 We need to also keep in mind that the Pharisess were the moral people of their day. They were the ones who kept all the rules, all the law. As a matter of fact, they added their own requirements to the law, forcing onto men and women an impossible load, one they could not bear. Peter said this in relation to the controversy that existed in the early church surrounding Gentiles being admitted into the New Covenant. Acts 15:10 (KJV)
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
(5 The law was a teacher designed to drive men to Christ, but it could also be a burden because of the very impossibility of meeting its requirements. But the law is good, it is holy, Paul writes, it is God’s law, after all!
II. Law and Self (Rom. 7:14-24)
(1 I am not going to break down every bit of these verses right now. I want to cover the overarching theme of what I believe Paul is saying here. When we get back to our Sunday School class we will break it down in more detail. But what I want to point out to us is the problem that all confessing Christians face. And that is the problem of the seemingly irresistible pull our old man, our old sin nature, has on each one of us. The temptation to sin is an ever-present reality in the lives of believers. And I believe that what Paul is writing here is a description of his life too. Look at your Bibles, verses 14-24.
(2 Now, before we go into the three main views of who Paul is writing about, I want us to notice something that is obvious about whoever Paul has in mind here. This a genuine struggle, isn’t it? Paul is not writing about someone who is sinning with abandon, who is running after sin, and not caring one way or the other about it. This is about someone who truly wants to do what is right, but fails, winding up doing the very opposite of what they want to do. This is, in my opinion, a description of us. And the Apostle Paul himself.
(3 But there are other interpretations. This passage has been debated for centuries. One view is that the passage describes a non-Christian Pharisee under the Law. The second view is that it describes a normal Christian (the view of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin). The third position is that it describes a carnal Christian. I believe the second view is correct, mainly because Paul continues to write in the first-person singular but in the present tense. It seems most natural to understand this section as Paul talking about what he was then experiencing. And then using it to describe what all Christians will experience.
(4 Are you struggling? Take heart! In this sef-portrait Paul describes himself not as a so-called carnal Christian, but as one who loves the Law of God and longs to please God, but is trying to do so in his own strength. That is key for us to keep in mind. A so-called carnal Christian does not have such a goal. Here Paul speaks with a candor to be praised. He does not put on any prissy piety. I am weary with a Christianity that does not seem to want to come to terms with the radical nature of sin. Our sin natures are strong and the devil who attempts to manipulate our weakness is far more powerful than we are. And it does us no good to ignore the plain teaching of Scripture and the obvious evidence of our daily lives. We sin! We sinned before we were saved, we continue to sin after salvation, and we will keep on sinning until Jesus comes to take us home. This is Paul’s autobiography, but it is also the experience of every Christian. Anyone who has seriously followed Christ has known something of this. This is reality!
(5 The great struggle of the Christian life, the great drive to Christlikeness in our lives, is one between the old nature and the implanted new nature, isn’t it? We are born with a sin nature inherited from Adam, and we are given a new nature when we are born again. Right? Will that old nature ever be eradicated? Not in this life! Might we have victory over our sin? Yes, and yes again! But we must understand some things first. We must understand the nature of the battle; and we must understand where, and in whom, the victory lies. Look again at how Paul ends this section in verse 24. Of course, for most of us, the answer is clear, isn’t it? The seventh chapter of Romans is a passionate piece of writing. Paul wants us to feel the emotion he experiences in trying to live up to God’s standards in his own strength. And here we have the third pillar of wisdom defined: A believer who tries to please God in his or her own strength will always come to disheartening, aching frustration—always! Moreover, this will happen to “good Christians”—even super-Christians. Paul was perhaps the greatest Christian ever, and this was his experience. He had more theology and passion in his little finger than most of us have in our entire life. Despite this, he sometimes tried to live up to God’s standards on his own. It would be naive to say that after Paul came to an understanding of how sin defeats us through the Law, he never came under bondage again. I personally believe that with time he came less and less under bondage, but he never came to perfection. And neither will we. That is both discouraging, and strangely liberating.
III. Victory in Jesus (Rom. 7:25; 8:1-4)
(1 Are you living in the power of the Holy Spirit? If not, you are doomed to failure. But listen, there is still victory over sin. There is still victory over addictions. There is still victory over all the things that bind us. And listen, God knows we will fail! And He still loves us! And He will still hold out the offer of victory to us. Get this in your head! Nothing you can do, or not do, will ever make God love you any more, or any less, than He does right now! Repeat! And if we could truly get that in our hearts, you know what that will do to us? It will inevitably make us move closer to loving this awesome God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. And help us love others as ourselves. We will have victory! Right? Victory in Jesus! Look at your Bibles, 7:25; 8:1-4.
(2 Look at the contrast between 7:24 and 25. Guys listen, do you sometimes agonize over your sin? Paul certainly did. Every Christian I have ever read about had seasons in their life when they struggled with sin. Sin is powerful. But God is even more powerful, isn’t He?
(3 There is nothing wrong with God’s Law, is there? It is holy; it’s pure; it’s right. But there is something wrong with us. Whatever Became of Sin was the title of Menninger’s book. As much as we try to explain sin away as being nothing more than sickness, or the consequences of a poor upbringing, or oppression, or unfair circumstances, sin just will not go away, will it? As an explanation of what is wrong with us, sin is the only answer that makes sense out of the senselessness of our lives.
(4 We all know there is something wrong, don’t we? But we all try to point the finger at someone else. Republicans blame the Democrats; liberals blame conservatives; Christians blame atheists; Muslims blame America; everyone blames everyone else . . . . and no one, it seems blames themselves. Here is what’s going to happen when we stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ: Brother Mike–God is not going to ask you a single thing about my life, is He? He is going to ask you about yours. And you know what? God is not going to ask me a single thing about Brother Mike’s life either, is He? Except did I love Brother Mike, and serve him as Christ served me. And you know what else? He ain’t gonna ask me who I voted for either. He will ask me if I used principles in His Word to make judgements on how I voted. He will ask me if I prayed and asked for wisdom. God is going to ask us about our lives! And I just don’t believe that a holy and righteous God is going to allow us to stand before Him and blame anybody and everybody for our wrongdoing! Do you? We are the problem, aren’t we? Not our neighbor! We are!
(5 What did Jesus say? Turn with me to Matthew 7:1-6. Now I would be willing to bet that if there is one verse of the Bible that an unbeliever knows it would be Matthew 7:1. It is often used in an attempt to whip Christians into being accepting of sinful lifestyles. People will tell you that Jesus said to not judge them, right? Of course, Jesus is not saying that we cannot be discerning about right and wrong, is He? He is not saying that we cannot name certain behavior as sin. What is Jesus saying? Look at your Bibles, Mat. 7:1-6.
(6 Consider how ridiculous this guy looks carrying around this beam, this log, and trying to pull out a tiny splinter from someone else’s eye. Some of us carry around a load of undealt with sin in our own personal lives and then appoint ourselves as a sin detector in others. Our desperate need is to look long and hard at our own reflection in the mirror. We need to deal with our own lives, people, before we ever presume to help someone with theirs! Notice I said help! We do not club them with our judgmental attitude, but we are to help them, bearing burdens for them, and as gently as we can, help them to repentance. And I believe we must help them to understand that they cannot blame anyone else for their own wrongdoing.
(7 We must be constructive, though, and not destructive when we deal with others. And people, we must first do what? Take care of the sin in our own lives. Right? All of us, and I mean everyone in this room, including myself, sets ourselves up as judge and jury over others, don’t we? At least sometimes we do, anyway. But listen to this: We set the standard and tone for our own final judgment by our judgmental conduct in life. And we by our judging of others, what wer are really saying, is that we think we know what is right. So if we do not do what is right, we condemn ourselves. Listen to that once more. James 3:1 (KJV)
1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnationa. James is writing about those of us who presume to be preachers and teachers of God’s Word. We will be judged by a higher standard than others. Be careful when you teach. If you become a teacher, and set yourself up as a religious authority over others, you will be judged by the authority you claim. And again, as I said, if you claim to have a higher moral standing than others, if you say you are living a better life than others, if you are constantly pointing out the faults of others, and you are found out to be false, don’t be surprised when others judge you harshly.
(8 More importantly than this, though, God will judge you harshly, too. How we behave toward others matters, people! Right? Our passage in Romans, and the very lives we all lead, should bring us to our knees in humility and repentance. All of us! We all struggle with doing the right things. We all sometimes do the very things we do not want to do. We know what we are doing is sin yet we rush headlong into sin’s arms, don’t we? Paul found victory when he stopped relying on himself and his efforts to fulfill the requirements of God’s holy Law, and began relying on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to do so! Go back to Romans and look at Rom. 8:1-4 again.
(9 Paul writes there is no condemnation. What does that mean? It means first, that believers will never suffer the eternal separation from God that unbelievers will suffer. Listen, if you are in Christ, you are on your way to heaven! Guys, we struggle in this life, don’t we? Bad things happen to us; indeed, horrible things happen to some of us. But the worst possible thing that could happen to any of us, being cast into hell by our Creator, will never happen to the child of God, will it? Matthew 10:28 (KJV)
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Did you know that Jesus talked more about hell than anyone else in the Bible? But did you know the same one who talked about the horrors of hell also came into the world to deliver us from that condemnation?
(10 Secondly though, this word, condemnation, also means that through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can delivered from sin’s dominion over us. We talked a little about that earlier. The law, our works, cannot free us from sin’s control, only the power of God can! And only as we walk in the Spirit.
(11 One of the most powerful things that happen to a believer when they come to Christ is that Christ comes to live in them, doesn’t He. God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, indwells every born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn’t He? 1 Corinthians 12:13 (KJV)
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentilesc, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV)
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 3:16 (KJV)
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? You and I have the very power of the living God aiding us in resisting sin. We can have victory in Jesus!
(12 We can succeed in walking after the Spirit and not the flesh. We can live righteous lives. We can honor the Lord who died for us. We can do these things. We can do this, not by projecting a list of do’s and don’t’s on a wall and saying, “Well, I got to this, and not do that, and then God will like me.” That’s not how it is, is it? But we live our lives in the grace and love and power of Jesus Christ, and we will not pursue the flesh and sin, but we will walk after the very things of God! In perfection? Never! But we will walk. Not in our own strength, but in His.
(13 Grace and love and power . . . . and forgiveness. These are lifechanging things in our lives, aren’t they? With them we can have victory. Victory in Jesus! We have a place in the coming great banquet, don’t we? Beth Moore illustration here.
(14 Listen, are you living a life of despair? Are you struggling to do the right thing, and seem to forever be falling short? Do you have no peace? All of our struggles find their relief in the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t they? They first begin with salvation. Do you know Jesus? Forgiveness, victory, peace, all find their genesis in Jesus. By His sacrifice there on the cross, Jesus not only made a way for us to live good lives, but He reserved a place at the table for us, didn’t He? Do you know Him? There is no other way!! John 14:6 (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.