So Romans chapter 7, and I'm taking the title for the message from the words found in verse 24. Romans 7, verse 24. Who shall deliver me? Who can? Who wants to? Who's willing? Who is able? Our kingdom and redeemer. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this body of death? Well, the answer comes quickly. I thank God. I thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Not through the law. Through the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, who shall deliver me? Well, the only answer that this Bible knows is Jesus Christ and him crucified. He's called, in Romans chapter 11, verse 26, I believe it, he's called the Deliverer, who shall deliver all Israel. No one for whom Christ died, no one can perish.

Now, I pointed out in the reading, Paul speaks of his past experience as a lost religious Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, who thought at one time he kept the law and he was blameless. and then how the law came in power of the Holy Spirit and showed him his true sinful state and convicted him of his sin and the condition of his sin and he says sin revived and I found it had no life, it only pronounced me guilty, dead, guilty as charged.

Paul in this chapter, Romans 7, illustrates for us what he had been saying about the believer and his relationship to the holy law of God. The law reveals the fact that I am a sinner. If you look back at Romans chapter 5, The law of God reveals that I'm a sinner, Romans chapter 5 verse 20. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life. The law entered in that the offense might abound, and abound it does.

But the law of God exposes our sin. It does nothing to put away our sin. Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. You remember from our study in Romans chapter 3, what does the law say? The law says, stop your mouth. Don't justify yourself. The law of God only pronounces judgment and guilt and death. The law is like a mirror. Now I would dare say everyone here this morning, when you got up at some point you looked in the mirror, didn't you? You looked in the mirror and that mirror was a reflection of your true self. You looked in the mirror and you saw a blemish, a spot, a defect here and here and here. But the mirror did not remove the defect, did it? And that's what the law is. The law reveals our sinfulness, but the law does nothing to remove it. It just exposes it, shows us the exceeding sinfulness of our sin, as it says there in verse 13.

Was then that which was good made death unto me? Romans 7, 13. God forbid, but sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding, exceeding sinful. I've often used the example of a light. You go into a dark, dusty room, and you turn on the light, and what do you see? You see all of them particles of dust, don't you? Does the light remove those particles of dust? No, it exposes them, doesn't it? And that's what the law of God does. It exposes our sin, our guilt, but it does nothing to remove that guilt.

How much different the gospel. The law finds us dead in sin, The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ raises us up, quickens us from the dead, and makes us dead to sin. You remember in Romans chapter 6, verse 1 and 2, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin? One time we were dead in sin, now we're dead to the condemning power and guilt of sin as the law is satisfied in our Lord Jesus Christ. No condemnation to those who are in Him. The law of God now cannot condemn me because it's satisfied in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dead to the law. What's your position? Anybody ever ask you, well, what do they say down there at your church? What do they say about the law? Some say, well, there's a perpetuity of the law. What do you say about the law? One word, dead. Dead. Graveyard dead. Dead to the law. in Christ were crucified, dead to the law through the body of Christ. Romans 7 verse 4. Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that you should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Verse 6. But now we are delivered from the law, being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter.

When Paul, in the book of Galatians, goes over this over and over and over again, he says that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. And then he says in chapter 4, tell me, you Galatians, do you hear what the law says? They were wavering between going back to circumcision and law keeping and Christ. And he said, tell me, you that desire to be under the law, do you hear what it says? Guilty. Condemned. Judged. Dead. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you hear what it says? The good news of the gospel, the law puts us under the dominion and reign of sin and death, but the gospel of Christ puts us under the reign of grace and life.

You remember in Romans chapter 6, look at verse 11. Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Look at Romans 6 verse 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we're not under the law but under grace? Well, God forbid. God forbid.

Now being made free from sin, its guilt, its penalty, its curse, its dominion to condemn, its punishment, we are now free to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Again in Romans 6, look at verse 7. He says this three times. He that is dead is freed from sin. Look at verse 18. Being then made free from sin. Oh, we're free from sin through Christ. He put away our sin. Again in verse 22 of Romans 6. Being now made free from sin.

Believers have no sin. Not in Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now in our study, Paul, the apostle, speaks of his present experience as a believer in verse 14 down through verse 23, and the struggles within the heart, mind, and soul of a true believer. He proved from his past experience that the law cannot make a guilty sinner righteous or justified by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. And he proves also from his present experience that the law of God cannot make a justified sinner holy.

Some have the idea we're justified at Calvary and then we're sanctified by the deeds of the law. Tommy Rock. Tom Fullery, Christ is our sanctification. Christ is our redemption, justified freely by his grace. So being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 14 in our text. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I'm carnal, sold under sin. We know that the law of God is wholly good and right. It requires spiritual, perfect obedience in word, deed, thought, and motive. But Paul says here, I'm carnal, still a fleshly man with a sinful nature that cannot honor the holy law of God as it should be honored.

Look at Romans chapter eight, verse seven. He said, the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. The carnal mind is enmity. The carnal man receives not the things of the spirit of God.

What Paul describes in these following verses is the daily inward struggles believers face between that old Adam sinful nature There's nothing but sin, none righteous, no not one, from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, nothing but sin. And that new nature, that sinless nature, that's imparted and implanted, imputed to the believer in regenerating grace.

So we have that old Adam nature. And in regeneration and in grace we have that new nature given in the new birth. That which is born of the flesh, what will it be? Flesh. That which is born of the spirit, what is it? Spirit. Born of God. Begotten of God. Listen to these scriptures. That's why there's a warfare.

1 John 3, 9. Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, Now they're not talking about the flesh now. His seed remains within him and he cannot sin because he's born of God. That holy new nature, that spiritual nature given in the new birth, it cannot sin. Why? It's given of God.

Listen to Ephesians chapter 4. Put on the new name which after God is created, created, it wasn't there before, created in righteousness and true holiness. Peter writes about it in 2 Peter 1, 4, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of a divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Now hold your place there. And you're familiar with this, but turn to the book of Galatians. That's why Paul, when he talks about this warfare in Galatians chapter five, Galatians chapter five, verse 17. For the flesh, excuse me, Galatians 5, 17. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. These are contrary one to another, so that you cannot do the things that you would. But if you be led by the spirit, you're not under the law.

There's a warfare, there's a struggle. In regeneration, the sin nature is deplaced from its dominion, but not from dwelling within us. Sin does not reign over us, we're not under its dominion, but sin does remain in us. What did John say? Verse John, remember, if we say we have no sin, That's singular. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we say we've not sinned, we make God a liar. His word's not in us. Sin does remain in us, but it does not reign. Christ reigns. We're dead to the guilt of sin, its power to condemn, but we're not dead to its presence. We're not dead to its influence. We're not dead to its thought, motives, and actions. We still have a struggle, don't we? What goes through your mind? Terrible things.

I come over here every day, take his word, study his word, set aside time to pray unto God and ask God for help as a mercy beggar. Lord, help me. And I pray about that long and my mind's somewhere else. It's gone. And I have to say, whoa, wait a minute. I'm praying now. If I didn't have this flesh to deal with, and one day we won't, one day we'll be done with it, and we'll worship and love God like we ought to.

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, but we still have to deal with that old nature. Paul describes himself as one person with a twofold nature, spiritual and carnal. In regeneration, that sin nature was displaced from its dominion, but not from dwelling within us.

Now, verse 15. For that which I do, I do not approve it, allow not. I don't approve it. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, I hate my sin, but that's what I do. Just stop, why don't you just stop sinning? Now, I've not robbed a bank lately, but I have thoughts about it. Just being honest. You ever walk through a parking lot and look at all those nice vehicles or go over here to Walters Ford? I stop over there once in a while, look at some trucks. I looked at one the other day, it was $103,000. All manner of lust and concupiscence. I said, man, I could drive that home. Why do I think those things like that? I still have this old, sinful, carnal nature to deal with.

And this is every believer's testimony. Only believers have this struggle between the flesh and the spirit, the old sin nature and the new nature given in regeneration. Every believer desires to worship and obey God perfectly, but we're greatly hindered from doing so by our sinful, ungodly, and fallen flesh. We consent and we agree with God. God's holy law is just. His right to condemn us is guilty. We mourn over the fact and we grieve over the fact of our sinful thoughts that dwell within us. And we're not trying to excuse our sin, but we're trying to understand why we do the things we do.

When I would do good, evil is present with me. Now this is not the testimony of those who are just religious and lost. This is the true, honest testimony of believers. They know there is nothing but sin in this flesh. You remember verse 18, For I know that in me, I know that in me, in me, do you know this? Do you know this about yourself? I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I do not find. For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that's what I do."

No wonder he says, I'm a wretched man. You remember this statement of Robert Hawker, one of my favorite I've had it in a bulletin several times, and others have had it in their bulletin, other pastors I know. Robert Hawker said, Regeneration makes no alteration in the flesh but in the spirit. There is nothing in the flesh made holy, nothing in the flesh made holy, and nothing in the spirit left unholy. That new man in Christ is perfect, perfect. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. No wonder our Lord said you must be born again. We're dead in sin. We must be born again. And in regeneration, there's no change in this flesh. It's the Spirit, the new man, created in Christ Jesus. But in our flesh dwelleth no good thing. There's none righteous. You remember Romans 3? The four nones. You remember the four nones? None righteous. No, not one. None that understandeth. There's none that seeketh after God. There's none that doeth good. No, not one. Not one. And Adam all died. And Adam all sinned. We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. And it goes all the way back to Adam sinned, doesn't it? But one man, sin, entered into the world.

In Genesis chapter 6, we read, God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And then it said, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Was Noah any better than anyone else? Absolutely not. But Noah, God would determine, to save Noah through the Lord Jesus Christ and His grace.

Verse 19, for the good I would, I don't do, but the evil which I would not, that's what I do. Verse 20, now if I do that I would not, it's no more I, that new I, but that old I, sin that still dwells in this flesh. Why do you do the things you do? And when you do them, you say, man, why did I do that? Or the things you think, you think, why in the world am I having such horrible thoughts? Because of this Adam, fallen, sin, nature. And you wouldn't even have a problem with that if you didn't have a new nature. That's where the conflict comes in. That's where the conflict comes in. Paul said, then I found a law, a rule, a principle, a truth, verse 21. I find in the law, a rule, a principle, that when I would do good, I'm dragging around this old evil man. All my praying, all my preaching, every bit of it's tainted with sin because it's part of me. The only thing which is good and holy is thus saith the Lord. Every believer, the inward man, the new man created in Christ Jesus, I find in the law, a principle, a truth, a fact, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

We are born with an evil, sinful nature, and it will always be present with us until death we do bury this flesh. and wait for a new body. Verse 22, For I delight in the law of God, I do. I do that new man in Christ. I delight in the law of God after that inward man. The inward man. Every believer has an inward man. The new man created in Christ Jesus. The inward man. The new man. The regenerated part of us. That's called the hidden man of the heart. Paul refers to it in 2 Corinthians 4. for which cause we think not, though the outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."

This flesh is getting weaker and weaker and weaker, sicker and sicker and sicker. It's headed back to the dust. But that new man in Christ, when we talk about growing in grace, it's not talking about this flesh. It's talking about that spiritual nature we have in Christ. It's growing and progressing, not that we're In Christ we're complete, but we know more of His love, more of His grace. We've experienced more of His mercy toward us. That's how we grow in grace.

Every believer does delight in the holy law of God as it is honored by the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how we delight in the law of God, as it's honored in our Lord Jesus Christ. Turn back to Romans chapter 5, verse 19. Romans 5, 19. Our Lord said, I didn't come to destroy the law and the prophets, I came to honor it. Romans 5 verse 19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous in Christ Jesus. Look back at Romans 3.31. Romans 3.31, Do we make void the law through faith? God forbid. We don't make void the law through faith, we establish the law. How do we establish the law? In Christ fulfilling the law of God for us. His faithful obedience unto death is our righteousness before God. Blessed is the man whom the Lord imputes righteousness with our works. Christ honored the holy law of God for us, didn't he? You remember that scripture? I love this scripture in Galatians 2. A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, not by the works of the law. By whose faith are we justified? By whose faithfulness? Don't ever think it's yours. were justified by his faithfulness, his faithfulness, his obedience unto death. You see, he honored the law of God. Every precept, he honored it, magnified the law of God. And in his death, he satisfied the penalty of that law. He died under the judgment of our sin.

Verse 23. But I see another law. I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But here I see, I see, verse 23, I see another law, I see another rule, I see another principle in my members, in my body, warring. There's a battle. There's a struggle, warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. And then he says, oh, wretched man that I am. Paul sees another. principle warring within his body between the flesh and the spirit. There's a civil war between the flesh and the spirit, as it were, company of two armies, flesh and spirit, sin and grace, combating together against each other, and it will be as long as this life lasts for the believer.

In the law of my mind, the new man, the second Adam, with a spiritual nature, partakers of a divine nature in Christ Jesus, and the law of sin in my members, that first Adam nature that we received in our original birth, our original corruption of our fallen flesh, which brings us into captivity of sin. It's only by the grace and power of God that we're delivered from this sin. Now here's what true faith and true repentance does. True faith and true repentance take sides with God against us. When God says you're guilty, A heart that's been taught of God and a heart that's been given true saving faith says, you're right, I'm guilty. I'm guilty. I'm guilty.

Verse 24, O wretched man that I am. You see that? O wretched man. A lot of people want to say, O wretched man I used to be. People, sometimes people, religious people who are lost, don't know the Gospel say, well, I used to be a sinner. I'm not no more. You living above sin? Well, if you are, you're not in this body. You see, we are sinners saved by the grace of God. Never graduate above being a sinner saved by the grace of God. Oh, wretched man that I am. Does that identify you? Wretched person before God? That's every believer's testimony. There's one place I disagree with the Apostle Paul. Preacher, you're not sure about it. Yeah, one place I disagree with him. He said that this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Now that's my disagreement. I'm the chief of sinners. I'm the chief of sinners.

And if you go back through the scripture, you find everyone that God saved by His grace and those who have had an experience of grace, this is their testimony. They are wretched sinners saved by the grace of God. Let me give you a few examples.

David said, the sweet psalmist of Israel, a man after God's own heart. that I was born in sin, shapen in iniquity against thee, and thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight. Well, he confessed he was a sinner, didn't he? How about Job? Job. Wherefore, I hate myself. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye seeth thee. Wherefore, I hate myself. I repent in dust and ashes. You see, he had the same opinion, old wretched man that I am. How about Isaiah? Oh, Isaiah. He saw the Lord high and lifted up in Isaiah chapter 6. You read Isaiah chapter 5, he says, woe unto them, woe unto them, woe unto them. And then in Isaiah chapter 6, he said when he saw the Lord high and lifted up, you remember what he said? Woe is me. I'm a wretched man. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. I dwell upon the people of unclean lips.

So there's David. There's Job. There's Isaiah. How about Jacob? Oh, Jacob. God loved Jacob. Remember what Jacob said? I'm not worthy of the least of thy mercies and of thy truth. Not worthy. Not worthy of it. Well, let's move on. How about Peter? Old Peter. Bless his heart. Bless his heart. What did he say? Lord, depart from me. I'm a sinful man. He said the same thing Paul said. Oh wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this body of death? Oh, I love the answer, don't you? Who can deliver me? Now think about this for a minute. Who shall deliver me? In other words, he's saying, he's asking this question, who can save me? Who can save such a wretched man? Who can save me?

You remember Hebrews 7, 25, wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him. And then that word there, deliver, who can save me or who can redeem me? Well, we need a kingdom and redeemer who is willing and able to redeem us from our sin. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of his grace, Paul said in Ephesians 1, 7. So who shall save me? Who shall redeem me? Who shall pardon me? None but Christ. He's pardoned those whom He has reserved to that pardon. Thou art a God who is ready to pardon those in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's ready to pardon. Who shall save me? Who shall deliver me? Who shall justify me from this sinful body?

Well, I'm just doing the best I can, preacher. I'm just getting along, you know. Forget it, my friend. Forget it. What did Paul call all of his so-called self-righteous goodness? Garbage. Trash. Trash it. Trash it. All your religious baggage, trash it. Forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. That's in that same chapter. I didn't read it, but Philippians chapter 3. Oh, wretched man that I am. Oh, who can deliver me from this sinful, sinful, wicked body? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's it. He's the only answer. He's the only Savior of sinners. He's the only one Son of God to save His people from their sin. Only through the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

So then with my mind, he says, or in my mind, I honor and serve the law of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But with the flesh? Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Let's close by looking at Romans chapter 8 for a moment. Look at verse 1, Romans 8, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus had made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, and it was weak to the flesh, God tending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. And for sin condemns sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit, while seeking salvation by the deeds of the flesh.

Moreover, Romans 8, verse 31, what shall we say then to these things of God before us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, verse 32, Romans 8, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? who shall anything to the charge of God's elect. It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth, it is Christ that died, yea, rather is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Don't look anywhere else. Don't look anywhere else. The Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners. The Lord came to seek and to save the lost. The Lord Jesus Christ in due time, when we were yet without strength, died for the ungodly. Anybody ungodly? Most folks aren't. Most folks got some kind of religious refuge of lies they're hiding in. But we say, believers do, I'm a wretched nun. I'm a wretched man. Thank God for His grace.