You ready, okay Well bear with us everybody if we have any technical difficulties, we're streaming live from YouTube first thing first time Well turn with me if you would over to Romans Already did Yeah, I already sent out a message on Facebook. I already kind of give warning that we were going to do this earlier this week and then this morning, just before we started. Romans chapter 7, if you would, we're going to look at a few verses there in Romans chapter 8. Wherever the Lord kind of leads us into.

Something that I've really been thinking about and seem to always keep going back to is the seventh chapter of Romans. And I think the reason why is because it just so much is felt within the heart, I believe, of each child of grace. And I've noticed there's several different other preachers that I listen to. They kind of always seem to kind of go back to Romans seven as well and everything. And I think that it's because we truly have when we've been given to know the depth of our sinfulness, the state that we are in and our nature.

Maybe let me backtrack just a minute. I hope it's clear by now to most of us that's here and to anybody that's listening for any length of time that for the people of God, we live with two men. We have the natural man, And we have the spiritual man. We have the flesh that we are living with and will continue to live with until the day that we die. And then we have the spirit that has been given to us, that it was born from above. and that spirit will be within that child of grace, and it will live on past the death of this body, and then will be clothed with an immortal body without sin in the resurrection. And so we are basically, as it were, two men or two armies, two rivers, two seeds, two people within one person.

So whenever we talk about sin, we're talking about the carnal man. Whenever we're talking about righteousness, we're talking about the spiritual man. The carnal man, all he can do is sin, and that's all. The spiritual man who is born from above, he is pure righteousness and holiness in Christ Jesus. He cannot sin. He is complete and total righteous. So we have these two laws living within us, the law of righteousness, the law of sin and death within our members, warring against each other. That's what Romans chapter 7 is all about.

And Paul puts Romans chapter 7 in between Romans 5 and 6 and 8 and 9. Paul puts this here as his experience of life. And me and Larry have talked about this before, and I'm sure everybody listening or anybody watching or whatever that has ever had any conversations about Romans 7 has heard some of the different comments made about this. He says, well, that's Paul back whenever he was unconverted. Paul's talking about himself as an unregenerate man, an unquickened man, whatever the phrasing, however you want to put it. But that's not how paul is now And I firmly firmly firmly disagree. I believe the bible bears that out. I believe paul bears that out In the in these passages whenever he said oh wretched man that I am present tense Okay, not what I was what I used to be or what I was now i'm not you know Wretched man that I am who shall deliver Me from this body of who shall That's ongoing who shall I'm in this state and I'm looking for who shall deliver me from this body of death And in verse 25, he makes very clear that he has resided within himself this state that God has brought the child of grace into to be exercised by from the time that they're born until the time that they die.

For with the mind, I serve the law of the Lord, or I serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. That consternation that God has ordained for every child of grace. See, the reprobate, the non-elect, they don't have this consternation. All they have is the carnal man. So they do whatever they do. They live their life to fulfill the lust of the flesh, whatever they want to do. They do. They follow after and whatever principle that they feel that they want to live by, they live by that.

But for the child of grace, there's something different. We have the carnal flesh that still is alive and well. Now it surely has been crucified. It surely does not have dominion over us. And there is no condemnation that comes because of that sinfulness that still dwells within our body. But brethren, listen, the flesh still remains. The Bible says that the flesh is dying daily. So that means it's still there. It's continuing to live and it's continuing to be a part of our life. but it does not have dominion over us if we are a child of grace.

But we also have this principle of the spirit of righteousness, the spirit of God within us who desires the things of God, who desires the gospel of Jesus Christ, who looks to Christ in faith. So we have a life of the carnal man who looks to the outward things We have the inward man who looks to the spiritual things and through faith walks in faith of what Christ has done. So we have one who looks outwardly and what can I fulfill outwardly? The one inwardly looks at what has been fulfilled already in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and by faith lives in that or lives by that.

Okay. And that's all of the language of Paul. That's the language of the gospel. The language of the gospel is substituted righteousness. The language of the gospel is Christ in your place, not Christ making you better so that you can do the job. It's never about what the flesh can do. It's always about what Christ has done. And that walk of righteousness, that walking in the spirit, that being led of the spirit is always speaking about the child of grace walking in faith, not walking in obedience to God's commands of the law and of the ceremonies and all the things that God has laid down in all the scriptures.

It is never about us obtaining righteousness or continuing in righteousness by anything that we do in this outward man. The outward man is perishing. The outward man cannot profit. The outward man cannot please God. The only thing that pleases God is what Jesus Christ Himself in His person has done. And then God works His will in you to do whatever He wills for you to do. Therefore, whenever you walk or do anything in faith by whatever, that is God's work in you. It isn't something that you decide to do, that you work up to do, that you try to do, that you're accomplishing to do. And when you do that, then God is pleased with you.

No, God is pleased with you already because you are united or you are married to, as Paul says here in this chapter, You are united to Christ Jesus. You are in Him. And because He is your substitute, your head, He's the one that God's looking at. Not you. He's looking at Christ. And because Christ has lived perfect law obedience, you are living perfect law obedience. And because Christ took your death on the cross, you died on that cross and suffered the penalty for your sins. But Christ did it in your stead. Christ has done that. And that is what is in view in the gospel. The gospel is turning away, or as the Bible calls it, repenting of fleshly works and it is turning to the finished work of Christ. That's what this is all about. And this is what Paul is trying to get us to whenever in Romans chapter 5 and 6, and I guess back in 4 too, Paul begins to talk about justification before God.

Justification before God means that I stand before God Almighty who is holy and just and righteous and perfect. And in His presence, I stand before Him as clean. I stand before Him as righteous. I stand before Him without guilt. I stand before Him without sin. Now that's not true, right? It's not true in our nature. It's not true in our walk, right? We are not sinless. We are not holy. We are not righteous. We are not without guilt. But that's how we stand before God because we have been justified before Him through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus shed blood on our behalf, cleansed us from all unrighteousness. All unrighteousness in the past, all unrighteousness that's going on now, all unrighteousness that I'll ever commit going forward. Every sin that I will ever sin or have ever sinned, Christ died for that. Therefore, I stand before God as having no sin. That inward man is the one who can claim that because he has no sin. This flesh is all about sin. And that is why this flesh, at the end of its time that God has ordained that it should breathe, This flesh will continue to be corrupt and then it has to die. It will die and it will go back to the ground and it will go back to the dust that God created it from.

But yet He will raise up our body that He has created in perfect righteous holiness that is immortal without sin. That body will now be corresponding to what's already inside of us by the Spirit of God. And that will be one man. We will no longer be two men. We will be one man. We will be one in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will be one within ourselves. We will be a righteous child of God. But right now, the only thing that's righteous about us is that spirit of God that lives within us.

And Paul is making that clear, that we have been justified so that in this dirty, vile body that we are in, this life that we live in time, the vileness of sin that we continue to commit That has been justified before God and God is not looking at us to live according to the law a perfect righteousness. Or even a partial one. to any degree, because we cannot keep that law. We break that law. Matter of fact, our very nature is enmity against God. And the Bible says it cannot please God. It will not please God. That body of flesh is enmity and all it does is corrupt sinfulness.

And so therefore, Paul is saying, because of our justification before God, in Christ Jesus. That corruptness that you're experiencing in this time has been done away with by that blood, and you stand holy before God, and then you jump chapter 7, you get into, there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. We're walking in the Spirit. Those who are alive to God, those who are in Christ Jesus, are walking in the Spirit. They're walking in righteousness. They're walking in hope. They're walking with Christ in them. They're hope.

But what's in between? See, Paul puts chapter 7 in between because we go from justification, okay, we go from what we are in standing before God to the link between how we are living And he tells us this is how we're living. We're living with a consternation. The flesh always doing nothing but sin. The mind desiring the things of God. And keeping the law of God in our mind. We keep the law of God in our mind. That's not me saying that. That's not me. And everyone says, well, that's not true because you sin. You're not keeping the law of God in my mind. The Bible says it. With my mind, I serve the law of God. I'm taking God's word over my experience. I'm taking God's word over your theologian. I'm taking God's word over whatever men may say, no matter how many years they have been saying it.

So what's your point, preacher? I believe that Romans... 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, New Testament, Old Testament, all teaches one thing. There is no such thing as progressive sanctification. There's no such thing as progressive sanctification. There is no such thing as the carnal man, the person in this time, this flesh becoming more and more and more and more holy and sinless, more sinless, more sinless, more sinless. Paul didn't experience that. Peter didn't experience that. James didn't experience that. John didn't experience that. And listen, I can tell you with 100% certainty, I don't experience that. And if you're honest with yourself, you don't experience that. You haven't experienced that. Those who are deceived, those who are blind, those who are without Christ, without the Spirit of God, they are the ones who believe that they are becoming more holy and are sinning less than they did when they first began. because they do not have the Spirit of God within them, teaching them, showing them, convicting them that all they are is sin.

So let me ask you a few questions before we get into reading some verses here. What is sin? What is sin? Anybody got a... It's what? Going against God? Okay, anybody else? Does anybody know what the Bible's definition of sin is? Huh? Missing the mark? Did you say something? One of the verses in the scriptures says that sin is the transgression of the law, which is basically going against God, going against His nature, right? Now, Sin is the transgression of God's law. That means anytime that you do not keep God's law, you sin, right? Would everybody agree that that's the first statement of scripture? Okay, so let me ask you, if sin is the transgression of God's law, then what is transgression? What is it to transgress the law of God? It's not hard. It's really not hard, and I'm not trying to trick you. I'm trying to get you to think in such a way that we, like I mentioned, I think it was last week, sometimes we don't just slow down and chew the cud, right? If sin is the transgression of the law, then we should know what transgression of the law means, right? To transgress the law means to what? Disobey to not keep it. Okay transgressing the law means to not keep the law Well, what is not keeping the law how does the Bible define not keeping the law Doing the wrong things that's definitely true

Turn with me if you would to James chapter 2 and James chapter 2, look with me if you would at verse 10. Now this is God's Word. This isn't Mike's thoughts. The question is, is what does the Bible say is not keeping the law? How do we not keep God's law? For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. So not keeping God's law is not keeping God's whole law. It's not individual sins, onesies and twosies. What is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law. Well, how do we transgress the law? By not keeping the law. Well, what is not keeping the law? Not keeping it fully, wholly. Completely. Totally. Continually. That's what transgression is. That's what sin is.

Sin is whenever we, by our own lust, are drawn away. And when we are drawn away by our own lust, it is drawn away to do something that transgresses God's law. Meaning to do something that does not keep God's law. So our very nature, which is sin, is that which draws us away from doing what God's law says. That's our nature. So that's what you are by nature. Before it ever is by you actually committing, you by nature are one who is disposed to go against God. That's why the Bible says that we are at enmity towards God. We are enemies of God because our nature, the very nature that we are made of, is a nature that is against God's law, that goes against His law. Therefore, we are transgressors by nature because none of our nature wants God's law.

But then we find out in actuality, in actual committing of sin, we commit sin by not keeping God's law completely. Now, I don't know about you, but if I try to keep God's law when I know there is no way I can keep God's law, Then now, what does that make me? A transgressor. I'm a transgressor. Matter of fact, I'm kind of a psychopath transgressor because I know the fact of scripture is, is I cannot keep God's law. But yet then on the other hand, I'm gonna say, well, I gotta keep God's law so that God will be happy with me, so that God will accept me, so that God will, Save me or whether it's God will keep me saved or whether it was I will do this so that I will be more righteous. So that's kind of. Opposed to each other, right?

Because the transgression of God's law, according to James, is not keeping it continually. Now, someone say, I think you're I think you're drawing something out of that verse. It's not saying that. Well, look at Galatians 310. Galatians 3 and verse 10. It says, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. That's pretty plain, brethren.

For it is written, Cursed, that means there lies a curse upon all those who continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do. Well, I'm pretty good. I keep 90% of them. You're cursed. You're cursed. Well, I've been on the road for a long time. And I'm not what I ought to be, but I'm not what I once was. Well, guess what? If you aren't what you ought to be, according to the law, you're cursed. No matter how much you aren't like you used to be.

You've traded some sins that you used to do for sins now that you are doing. But you're skipping the fact of the overreaching sin that umbrellas all of your little bitty transgressions. And that is the sin of trying to obtain favor with God by righteousness of yourself. By obeying a law that you cannot keep. You are thinking that righteousness comes by your obedience to this book. And that's not where righteousness comes. Righteousness does not come from the words in this book and you fulfilling them.

That's why Jesus had to come. It isn't about getting God out of heaven into the man so that man can live this book so that people out there can see what that man up there is like. That's why God sent Jesus. Not why God sent Jesus so he could be in you that. No, he sent Jesus so that Jesus not only would show it, but fulfill it so that it could be applied by imputation to every one of his elect children so that in the end of time, whenever they stand before God, they will not only be justified by the blood of Jesus Christ, but they will also be reconciled to a body that no longer is under the curse of sin that cannot keep the law of God.

That's why Jesus said, All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and all that come to me I will in no wise cast out. Counting all your sin, I won't cast you out. Why? Because in the last day I'm going to raise you up. This body of sin will be dealt with.

And is that not what Paul in Romans chapter 7 has said? Is that not a summary of everything that Paul has said in Romans chapter 7? Look with me in Romans chapter 7. Let's read it now.

With that background. Verse 1. Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law, How that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth. He's talking to the Jews here. Those who know the law. It was the Jews who was given the law and was under the law. How that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth. For the woman which hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth. And if the husband be dead, she is loose from the law of her husband. So then, if while her husband liveth she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband be dead, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man."

Now, Paul is using at the time the law of marriage, okay? to show forth the relation of us and Christ. Okay, so he's using marriage as a metaphor, once again, to show our union with our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, Wherefore, my brethren, ye also, just like the woman whose husband died, Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. Notice that was motions of sin which were by the law, by the way. But now we are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

The child of grace who has been born from above does not serve the law in the letter Bear with me. Follow along with me. Chapter 7, verse 6. Paul is saying to the one who has been born from above, who is the child of grace, they do not serve God in the oldness of the letter. What is the oldness of the letter? Well, speaking of the old covenant. Do this and live. Don't do this and die. If you do this, you'll have communion with God. If you don't do this, you will be cut off from God.

But what is Paul saying? That's not how we serve God. We don't serve God by the outward letter. The letter of the law. That's what law keeping is. The letter of the law. Living under the letter. The old letter. living to the T, obedient. God says, don't do this. I don't do that. God says, don't do this. I don't do that. God says, do this. I have to do that. That's living by the letter. And he says the child of grace in the spiritual kingdom of God. That is not how he serves God. That is not how he walks in righteousness. That is not how he walks in the spirit. Why? Paul's about to tell us.

What shall we say, then, is the law of sin? God forbid! Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law. See, the law is good because it tells us what sin is. It tells us what it is. For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Okay? The law tells us all these things.

But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concu- I never can say this word. concupiscence It just means all manner of desire all manner of lust. That's what the word means, right? For without the law sin was dead that didn't mean he didn't have it, right? It just means Paul didn't know Until the law told him that that was wrong that that was wrong And guess what child of grace We didn't know that everything that we do is sin until the law tells us that. The law convicts us of sin. The Spirit brings the law into view and shows us the magnanimous mountain that it is that if we even put our hand to it, we will surely die. Why? Because we cannot keep it. Our nature is corrupt and everything that we do to try to fulfill that law is sin. It's the transgression of the law. So it isn't just about individual onesie twosies breaking this commandment, that commandment, this commandment. It's who you are by nature. You are sinful by nature. Therefore, everything that you do by that nature is sin. even keeping the law of God. Trying to keep the law of God is sinful to the carnal man because he cannot fully keep it as James and Galatians says. You can't keep it fully. You never will. Paul's going to say that here in just a minute. I've got scripture to back everything I'm saying here.

Look what Paul says, verse nine. For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived or came alive and I died. What's Paul saying here? He said, I didn't realize that I was breaking the law until the law was revealed to me. And then when the law was revealed to me, I realized I'm not keeping it.

But what was happening before that time? Here's where we're going to chew some more cud. When did Paul come to the realization of this? When did Paul begin to realize that he had been breaking the law? It was on the Damascus Road, wasn't it? It's in his own testimony that those things that I thought were my gain, I now count as loss. Why? Because I saw Christ. And he preached to me the gospel. And in that gospel, there was no, you need to do this. There was everything that Christ had already done.

So when did Paul come to realize that the commandment that was revealed to him meant that he himself was not keeping it? It was at that point. So sin came alive, and what happened? The self-righteous Paul, who was keeping the law, who was the Pharisee among Pharisees, who he said to himself in his own mind, was according to the law, guiltless. What did Paul say here? That man died.

What does that mean to us? That means whenever we are born from above, brethren, the Holy Spirit of God comes in and reveals the law to us and how great it is and how glory it is and how righteous it is, how holy it is. But then it also turns around and sheds the light upon this corrupt and sinful nature that shows us that we cannot attain to that. and that whenever it does that, the man that I was who thought that if I keep that, God will be pleased, that man, the carnal man, dies.

But what does the spiritual man do? The Bible says he's renewed daily. How is he renewed daily? By the gospel. He lives upon the gospel. He lives by faith of what was done in His stead, not what He is doing on His own. What was done for me by the Lord Jesus Christ when He walked this earth? What was done for me by the Lord Jesus Christ when He hung on that cross? That's what I live by. I walk by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. That's what I walk by.

Whenever I'm walking here today, how am I going to be pleasing to the Lord today? The Lord Jesus Christ. He did it for me. I'm pleasing already because God did it for me in Christ. Does that mean that I'm not sinning? No, I'm sinning. Does that mean that it's okay to just go sin? No! I'm not saying that either. As much as humanly possible in our mind, we want to not sin, right? I don't like to sin. The only thing that people that say that, well, it's just a license to sin. Well, if you preach that, then you just believe go sin all you want to sin. That reveals something about you. That tells me that you want to go out and sin. That you're envious of our liberty. because you want to sin. Ain't that what Paul said exactly that the Judaizers were doing? They come to spy our liberty and they want to take you captive. Why? Because they don't have a conscience that's been cleared before God. They still have a conscience that says, I got to keep doing, keep doing, keep doing, keep doing, keep doing. Why? Because the Spirit of God is not coming to talk to them. They are without the Spirit of God.

And they spy our liberty, those of us who say that we are no longer under the law of God. We are no longer beheld unto the law of God for righteousness, for upkeeping, for longevity. Let's go on. What does Paul say here? He said, And the commandment which was ordained to life I found to be unto death. The very commandment that God give that I thought was to give me life, guess what it did? It brought me death. For sin, he's going to tell you the reason why. For sin, that's my inward lust, taking occasion by the commandment. When the commandment said don't do it, my sinful self said, guess what? You're going to do it. You're going to try. You're going to keep it. Just do it. Guess what? I didn't do it. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me. The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, and who can know it? You know what your heart's going to tell you? You're good. You're all right. Your good outweighs your bad. You know what your heart's also going to tell you? You see all those laws there? Just keep as many as you can. God's going to be pleased with you. He's going to accept you because you're trying. That's what Paul is talking about here.

For sin, taking the occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore, the law is holy, the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good. See, the law is given for a specific purpose. Not to make you righteous, the law was given to make you guilty before God. The law came in that the offense might abound, and that started with the first man, Adam, and it continues down to every one of his posterity. The reason that God has given a law to anybody at any point in time is to make them sinners before Him. to bring them to the knowledge of their unworthiness. And listen, it's only the children of grace that is given that revelation. It is only the children of God who is given the Spirit of God, who testifies of their unworthiness in the natural man, but of their non-condemnation in the inward man.

What was then good made death unto me, God forbid, but sin that it might appear sin. working death in me by that which is good, the law, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. The more I try to keep the law, the more I see I can't keep the law. And brethren, that is Michael Smith's testimony and experience of life.

Of all these years of me thinking that if I just be obedient to God and let God be God in me, If I just yield to God, then I'll become more holy and righteous and I will quit sinning. My desires will change. And what I have found, brethren, the more that I kept doing that, the more draw to not do it was in me.

Now, if you're so sanctimonious and you say, well, that's not my experience. Guess what? You're that Pharisee that stood beside that sinner who was on his knees crying, Forgive me.

The more that I try to keep the law of God, that doesn't mean I don't desire it. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying I want to think evil thoughts. I want to do evil things. I want to do wickedness. I want to live in debauchery. I'm not saying that. Again, that tells something about you, if that's what you think this is saying, saying or meaning.

No, what I'm saying is that the very nature of the law is given to expose what we are. And Paul began to see that. Paul, who was again, the greatest Pharisee of the time. He was God's man according to his own thoughts. He was doing the work of God. He was the son or the disciple of Gamaliel. He had sit at his feet, learned everything, and he kept God's perfect old covenant law to a T. And what he found out is, man, I am ruined.

He says, verse 14, for we know that the law is spiritual, but here is the problem. The law is spiritual. But we are carnal, sold under sin. We're a slave to sin. We're carnal. For that which I do, I allow not. Meaning, I'm doing something that I can't even stop. Why? Because it's my nature. Can you stop being what you are? Daniel, I want you to turn your hair black right now. No redhead. Can't do that, can you? Now you can go get a bottle of something and put it on there, but guess what? After a little time, it's gonna grow out. Just ask the ladies here. The true color's gonna be exposed. Why? Because that's who we are.

My dog. He's a dog. He's gonna act like a dog. He's not gonna purr like a cat and he's not going to go out and try to climb trees and chase birds and all that kind of stuff like a cat does. He's going to be a dog.

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, so to understand. For that which I do, I allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. That's the inward man battling against the outward man. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For or because I know. See, that's the wondrous grace of God. Paul was given to know this about himself.

Listen, the reprobate and the non-elect, they don't have that blessing that God has given them to know their sin. They might know that they've done something wrong. They might admit that they have done this or that, but they do not admit that this is all that they are and can do. It is no more than I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing." Is there anything good in you? I hear people all the time. I hear Joel Osteen on TV all the time saying that there's a little good in us. I hear all kinds of famous preachers and famous writers of books. Listen, you walk down the aisle of any Christian bookstore and you're going to find probably 15 or 20 rows of Christian living books. And every one of those Christian living books is basically working off the premise of there's something good in you that you can pull out of yourself, that you can do to be good. And Paul here is saying that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.

For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not." So that tells me that in his inward mind, he desires, like I said a while ago, listen, I desire to do what's right. I desire the things of God. But guess what? My flesh doesn't know how to do it and cannot do it. The inward man desires it. The outward man can't perform it. can't keep it, and in trying to keep it, breaks it, therefore becomes a transgressor, therefore it exposes that we are sinners before God. The law has done its thing. The law has completed what it was there to do, to show us of our inability before God, and therefore what does the child of grace do? What does that inward man do? What does the man that is inside of us, born from above, that God calls a new creation, What does he do? He doesn't look to the flesh to obtain that righteousness anymore. He thanks God for the righteousness imputed to him by the finished work of Jesus Christ. That's the gospel. Isn't that great, brethren?

Why would anybody buck against that knowledge to know that we can't? He did, and that's all God requires is that he did it. He doesn't require that we do it. That takes the load off of my shoulders. Come unto Me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Rest from what? Rest from trying to keep it. Rest from trying to be it. And just resting in the fact of who He is. Abide in Me, and I in you, and guess what? You will bear much fruit. He didn't say that you will produce much fruit. He didn't say that you will get out there and create fruit. He said abide in me and I in you and guess what? Ye shall bear much fruit.

Them acorns that's out there in that tree, did that acorn do anything to cause itself to grow? It didn't. Did that branch that's holding that acorn on there, did that branch do anything? No. Did that stem that comes up that holds that branch do anything? No.

What created the fruit? Well, spiritually speaking, God. In our little example here, the life of the tree. The life that flows inside the tree is what produced the fruit. So that tells me that that branch and that trunk had no bearing on when and where that fruit showed up. Guess what? It just shows up at the life's appointed time. When the life produces the fruit, it shows up. When the life doesn't produce it, it doesn't show up. And what happens? A barren limb shows.

It's the same thing within us, brethren. When the Spirit of God works in you to will and to do His good pleasure, you show forth the works of God. The works of Him. Not your works. The works of Him. I can't control it no more than that tree can control exactly where an acorn is going to come out. Or where an apple is going to come out. Or a pear is going to come out. It comes out where the life pushes it out. When it pushes it out.

Paul is saying the same thing. He says, For I know that in me and my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for the will is present with me. But how to perform that which is good I find not. Even Paul didn't know how to do the law at this point in his life. For the good that I would do not, but the evil which I would, that I do. Now, if I do that I would not, it is no more that I do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Here he goes. He's wrapping this up. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. So even whenever outwardly I'm doing what I think is good, what I think people think are good, what the preacher thinks is good, what the church thinks is good, what all the religious folk thinks is good, whenever I'm doing what I think is good, guess what? Evil is present with me.

Does that mean evil is there enticing me? No. What is he saying? He says, whenever I would do good, evil is present with me. Why? Because everything that this flesh does, he just told us right above that, for in me and my flesh dwelleth no good thing. The good thing that I think that I'm doing, that's evil. So that means all of my what? All of my righteousness is filthy rags. It's no good.

Paul was blessed to be shown this by God. I find it then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. When I try to keep the law, it's actually me transgressing the law because I can't keep it fully and holy. So then me, in my attempts to be righteous and holy before God, only shows that I am corrupt sinner. Evil is always present with me, because in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.

Verse 22, For I delight in the law of God. See what he says here? After the inward man. The outward man never does. Cannot. For I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind. That's the inward man. The law of the mind. And bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

How are you ever delivered from this body of death? By your law keeping? No, sir. No, ma'am. You're not delivered from the body of death by you becoming less and less sinful because you will never be. You are delivered from the body of this death through Christ our Lord.

So then with the mind, so Paul's down here saying again, So what am I to think about this? Consternation. What am I to think about this outward man versus the inward man? Until the day that I die, my outward man is going to serve that law of sin. Just know that. Come to grips with that and rest in the fact that the inward man is serving the law of God in perfection. and that before the throne of God, all he sees is the inward man, because this outward man has been adopted. The outward man isn't the true righteous one, but he's been adopted as if he was one. He's not, but he is.

If Zach would have been an adopted child, I would have adopted him, taken him. My stepdad, now he never did legally go to court and adopt me, but he took me in as his only, his child. I was a year old whenever him and my mom got married. And my stepdad took me in. He treated me as his only child. He acted as if I was his child from his loins. He didn't treat me any other way. He loved me. He treated me as if I were his, even though I wasn't. in actuality, in legality. I wasn't. And even though this old man is not His in that relationship, now I am His by creation, but I am not His in relation to righteousness and in relation to His love for me. I am not His. But yet because of His love for that inner man, whom He, before the foundation of the world, chose and elected and gave to my Savior, Jesus Christ, to be my substitute. Because of that, God sees me in Him and treats me as if I am His. I am His child. And this outward flesh has been adopted until the day of redemption, whenever this body, the adoption of the body to wit, is resurrected. And it becomes the body that the inward man will be fully clothed with for all eternity.

I thank God through Jesus Christ the Lord. So then with the law, or with my mind, I serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.

Now brethren, there's some good news that comes in chapter 8. Maybe we'll pick that up next week. Because listen, the unfortunate chapter break here, sometimes leaves us off and we just stop right there. But if we continue to chew the cud, we're going to find out that that's not where Paul left off. That Paul said all of that in chapter 7 as something in between chapter 6 of justification and chapter 8 of how we live and walk. He said that so that we might know what it means to walk by faith. We walk by faith not by looking back to the law, our old husband that died, but we look forward to Christ Jesus and our faith looks to Him and what He has done because there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

All right, anybody got any questions? Comments? Corrections or rebukes? All right. Anybody got an amen? So be it. Praise the Lord. All right. Well, let's bow and have a word of prayer.

Father, we do thank you once again for the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank you, Father, for the life that you have given us in him and through him. We thank you, Father, for your grace and your mercy. We thank you that the law has been given. and the Spirit has been given so that it might reveal our inadequacy, our inability, our enmity, our sinfulness. But Father, we're also thankful that it has also revealed the grace of God in the face of Jesus Christ, who has borne our sin, who has carried our load, who has obeyed in our stead and has died in our place. And by his life and death, and resurrection. We've been reconciled to God. We have been given forgiveness of sin. We've been given justification. And Father, we have been given hope of the glory that is to come. And so, Father, now we just pray that you would keep us, that you would refresh us with the gospel each and every day as we wait till this body of death is done away with and that new body that is without sin is brought forth. Lord, we just thank you again for all that you are and all that you have done for us in the person of your son, Jesus Christ. It's in his name that we pray. Amen.

They didn't know how I would cry, right? Oh, we've been singing a whole bunch of songs.