Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Romans chapter 7, the chapter
that we read, and reading through our text just a few words from
verse 21. In the middle of verse 21, when
I would do good. The whole verse reads, I find
then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. But I just want to confine our
thoughts to the words, when I would do good. The apostle in this
chapter is speaking very much of his own personal experience. But what is his experience? is also the experience of the
people of God. And we must remember that, not
just think that this is just Paul, but to know that here is
one that has been saved, converted, called, and this is what goes
on in his life and in his heart. He gives us in the first part
of the chapter an illustration, an illustration of being under
the law. He uses the illustration of the
marriage covenant and we know that at death that law is broken. And he says then that if a husband
has died, then the wife is free to marry another, and she's not
an adulteress. The death, it breaks that law,
bond. And so he applies this. He says
in verse four, wherefore, my brethren, ye also become dead
to the law by the body of Christ. So it is by being identified
with our Lord Jesus Christ who died for our sin. He bore the sin of his people
and died in their place as if it was us that was dying and
rose again, as if it was us rising again from the dead. That is
what is set forth in the ordinance of baptism. buried with him by
baptism into death and risen again in newness of life. The law is given for a purpose
and that is to make known sin, to be as a schoolmaster, to bring
us unto Christ. And so he pictures himself as
he was and as everyone that is born is in this position that
they are born under the law of God and so also under the sentence
of death. The sentence that was given upon
our first parents in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die applies to us and surely there is no man, woman
or child living that would dispute the fact that one day we must
die. One day this body must be laid
again in the dust of the earth. But not only must that happen,
that we already are dead in trespasses and sins. We are born that way
and so we do not really know the demands that the law has
upon us, especially in a spiritual way. We may be able to give a
sentence and say, yes, we know our bodies shall return to the
earth, but somehow think that, well, the soul ceases to exist
as well. But when we realize that our
soul is eternal, that never ceases to exist, and that that returns
to God that gave it, then after death is the judgment, and we
must give an account, and the account that we give in ourselves
cannot satisfy the law of God at all. And there is the second
death which is eternal banishment from God and in eternal torments
in hell forever and ever. And we are born then under this
sentence but yet ignorant of it, not knowing the extent of
the law, not knowing what its sentence is, And the apostle
describes himself in verse nine as being alive without the law
once. In other words, well, he was
a Pharisee, and Pharisees prided themselves in their religious
devotions, in their prayers, they made long prayers, and they
were very religious people, and they trusted in their works,
they trusted in their religion, trusted in what they were doing. as if that would gain them an
entrance to heaven and favour with God. Paul was like that,
Saul of Tarsus as he was. But then God brought the commandment
into his heart. What it was was through one commandment
of which God convinced him that he was a sinner and that he had
transgressed not just one but all. Whoso offendeth in one point
is guilty of all. And the commandment that was
used was, thou shalt not covet. And that commandment, it stirred
up in him all manner of evil sexual desire. And when that
came, then, as he says, I was alive without the law once, but
when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. When he saw the extent of the
commandment. We must remember when our Lord
began his ministry, our Lord extended the laws. Whosoever hateth his brother
without a cause hath committed murder already in his heart.
Whoso looketh upon a woman to lust after in her heart hath
committed adultery already with her. And he extended it not to
the outward deeds but to the very thought and the desires
of the heart. And so the apostle then speaks
of that holy law of God that slew him, that took away his
hope of salvation in his own works. And that is so vital. Later on in Paul's epistle to
the Romans in chapter 10, he speaks of his heart's desire
and his prayer to God that Israel might be saved. But he says they
had a zeal of God but not according to knowledge. And what they were
doing, they were ignorant of God's righteousness. They were
trying to save themselves by their own works. They hadn't
had to fall before God as a guilty, hell-deserving sinner that couldn't
by their own good works purchase heaven and they must rely on
what Christ had done and rely on his mercy and his grace and
trust in that precious blood shed for them and that alone. And so in Romans 7, the apostle
speaks of how it was with him when the commandment came, when
it was in his heart bearing a true witness as to what was right
and what was wrong, what is very evident. It didn't make him give
up, as it were, and say, the law is too holy, it's too upright,
it's too strict, there's no way I can fulfil it, I'm just going
to live as I like, I'm just going to go on, it's just impossible
to be saved that way. And yes, we cannot by the deeds
of the law, but what it made Him do, it made Him want to do
that which was good and that which was right. Our text, it
says, when I would do good and the desire of every soul that
is truly quickened into life and that God has suffered, bled
and died for and now is working in their hearts and blessing
them with faith in Him will want to do that which is good and
right in the sight of a holy God. And so the apostle speaks
of that desire it was with him. But could he do it? Could he
do it in a way that he saw that his works and his life was perfect
and right? No. He says it was not so. He says, when I would do good,
evil is present with me. I delight in the law of God after
the inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring against
the law of my mind. And we have the picture of the
old nature, still the same, still fallen, still corrupt. And yet,
in the soul of that person, there is a new nature. a new birth,
there is life there, eternal life, and the life shows the
death and shows the sin of the flesh, of the old nature. And yet the apostle, he asked
this question, if this is the case, if I do that which I would
not, he said, is it not? Is not I that do it? but sin
that dwelleth in me. But how vital it is that we really
are walking in a way that we would do good and that we're
not just, as it were, sheltering under the grace and mercy of
God and living a careless, prayerless life. and actually making excuses
for the breakings out of sin and indulging of sin, saying,
well, that's just my old nature. In the previous chapter, the
apostle deals with the question, if we are saved by grace, by
the free favour of God, shall we just continue in sin? the
opening of that chapter, what shall we say then? If we are
saved by grace, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer
therein? And we need to, and this is the
burden upon my spirit this evening, really search our hearts. Our
text says, when I would do good. And so I want to look with the
Lord's help at three ways where we join this text, the words
of our text, and see where our true state really is. The first point is that which
I do when I would do good. And the second point is the opposition
of our nature, when I would do good. And the third point is
our hope, when I would do good. Firstly, that which I do when
I would do good. give an illustration. If we were
to be going away on holiday and we say, now, if I was to go on
holiday, what would I do? Would I just wait until the date
came and then just go out of the house and jump in the car
and off I'll go? Or would I actually think about
beforehand what was required and make some preparation and
do some packing? In many things in our lives,
when we would do something, there is that which we do to be able
to do that thing. If we've got a job, if we're
employed, If we're going to fulfill that role, there are those things
that we do to be able to do it. Many professions, it was so in
my profession as an engineer, you need what they call continuous
professional development. There's changing materials, changing
processes all the time, and an engineer must keep up with those. And that's why when I left the
engineering profession without retraining, as it were, I'd struggle
to go back into it. Many principles, of course, are
the same, but many things are the change. It's the same with
the nursing profession. Those who have a nursing qualification,
they've got to spend certain time in the profession. They've
got to keep up with the latest things and practices and drugs
and nursing. Something that if they're going
to do that, there's things that they must do to actually fulfil
it. And so my point here is, that
which I do, when I would do good. We may have read this chapter
many, many times and just quickly read over the words of our text,
when I would do good, and we say, yeah, I would do good. I would walk in a right way.
Yeah, but what do you do? How do you change your life? What are you actually fashioning
your life over that shows that really you would do good? I want to look at this mainly
from Paul's own words throughout the epistles, but through the
tenor of scripture. If you and I are walking in this
path and truly would do good, there are those things that we
will actually be walking in. That which I do when I would
do good. First thing I'll mention is prayer. Are you, am I, a praying person? If we really would do good, do
we come before the Lord and seek his help, his grace, and ask
of him the way that we should go, the things that we should
do, how we should walk, or do we neglect the throne of grace?
If we would really know and really walk in the apostle's shoes and
be able to say with him, I would do good, be able to say before God, with
that aim in view, I come to thy throne and I have many supplications
and many petitions that I might be like thy people, that I might
be like Jabez, and that I might pray like him, that thou wouldst
keep me from evil, that it do not grieve me. that thou didst
enlarge my coast, the petitions before the Lord, that we might
know more of him, and that we might more glorify him, that
we might be delivered from Satan, delivered from our old nature,
and that we might truly walk in his ways. How much do we bring
before the Lord in prayer that we might be fruitful servants,
that we might be showing forth His praise. They took knowledge
of the disciples, that they had been with Jesus, and how are
we with Jesus, but by coming from the closet, coming from
His presence. And so this is the first point. When I would do good, that which
I would do is to pray. and maintain, seek by the grace
of God, continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving. The second thing I'd mention
is regarding the Word of God, paying heed to the Word of God. The Lord said to those that believed,
if ye continue in my word, then ye shall be my disciples indeed. said that they were his disciples
but did those things that were grieving and sorrowful to the
people of God, to the true disciples of God. The psalmist in Psalm
119, he says, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
And what is the answer? Is it by neglecting the word
of God? No, by taking heed thereto. to the Word of God. That is the
way that is set before us there. Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according
to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought
thee. O let me not wander from thy
commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart. Why? That I might not sin against
thee. If we are truly honest before
God and desiring to do good, then we will take heed to the
Word of God. We won't be neglecting it or
saying it doesn't matter about it. Many like to think that,
well, they're right with God, but they don't want to come to
the Word of God. The Word of God is spoken of
as a light. And he that cometh to the light,
if our deeds are evil, we don't like to come to the light. because
it shows us those deeds are evil. But where our desire is with
the apostle to do good, then we would come to the Word of
God. The next is to pay heed to the
ministry of the Word of God. In writing to the Hebrews, we
have in chapter two, therefore, we ought to give the more earnest
heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should
let them slip. And it is the word of salvation,
how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at
the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed
unto us unto us by them that heard him. The Lord hath been
pleased to use the preaching of the gospel to save them that
believe. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. He that heareth you, heareth
me. He that heareth me, heareth him
that sent me. Ambassadors for Christ. And so
if we would do good, then we pay heed to the ministry, to
the warnings, the admonitions, the direction, the correction,
suffer the word of exhortation, that which I do when I would
do good. The fourth is this, seek to walk
in the fear of the Lord. In the book of Proverbs, we read
more than really any other book of the blessing of walking in
the fear of the Lord. I have in Proverbs chapter 8
verse 13, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil pride and arrogancy
and the evil way and the froward mouth do I hate. And it is said
regarding the wicked that the transgression of the wicked,
what does it say? There is no fear of God before
their eyes. And that sense of the all-seeing
eye of God upon us, how great he is, how holy he is, how we
must stand and give an account before him, that he knows our
thoughts, he knows our words, he knows our intentions, he knows
our hearts, that the Lord be very real to us, that we, as
it were, stand before him and we know that he sees us. The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And may that be one
of the things we pray for, as one of our hymns says, that unto
us be given the fear of the Lord. The Apostle, when he writes to
the Corinthians, he speaks, and this is very personally concerning
himself, how that he keeps under his body. In our text and the
context, he's speaking of the lusts of the flesh, the workings
of his old nature, and in that way that he walks, when he would
do good. In the first epistle to the Corinthians
in chapter 9, we read in verse 27, at the end of that chapter,
or perhaps if we read a couple of verses before, he says that
how he runs and he does it to obtain an incorruptible crown. I therefore so run not as uncertainly,
so fight I not as one that beateth the air. He has a purpose in
his walk and conduct, he has an aim as to what he should be
doing, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection,
lest by any means when I preach to others I myself should be
a cast away. And really he has a picture of
this, he's not just going carelessly through life, but he's very mindful
of the corruptions of his own nature. And he seeks to keep
that under, that they don't just break out and just do what they
want. And so the next point I bring
before you is what Paul speaks of in Romans chapter eight, the
chapter after our text, when he says, In verse 13, for if
I live, ye live after the flesh, ye shall die, but if ye through
the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. And so that which we do and we
would do good is a mortification of the deeds of the body, but
it is through the spirit. And so really, it is a, When
all the temptations and all of our old nature wants to go one
way, whether in thoughts or in actual deeds, then it is to walk
in the opposite way. Perhaps it is in how we use our
time, that when we would do good, we're careful in that use of
our time is not after the flesh, but after the spirit. And all
the time we're walking in the way of the spirit, the old flesh
will be saying, I don't like this, I hate this, I'd rather
do this, I'd rather walk in that way, I'd rather not be. In subjection,
it is rebelling against it. But the path that Paul sets before
us is a mortification. And when something is mortified
or when a person is mortified, It's painful. It doesn't like
it. And so when I would do good,
it's walking a path that is not a stranger to mortification of
the flesh. It knows what it is. We have
the apostle writing to the Galatians, and he exhorts them there that
they should walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. In Galatians 5 and verse 16,
also in verse 25, he says, this I say, walk in the spirit and
you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And the verses
before, he's speaking of them that bite and devour one another,
take heed that you be not consumed one of another. This I say then,
walk in the spirit, you shall not Fulfil the lust of the flesh. And then in verse 25, if we live
in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be
desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. In Romans chapter two, the apostle
speaks of that patient continuance in well-doing in verse seven. who will render to every man
according to his deeds, to them who by patient continuance in
well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal
life, but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the
truth but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath." And there
also he is drawing that parallel between those that are seeking
for eternal life, those that seek for glory and honour and
immortality, they're doing it by patient continuance in well-doing. Sometimes we like to see great
things done and great conquests and to just patiently go from
day to day serving the Lord and walking upright there in his
sphere. We don't count that a great thing,
but it is a great thing. And in those things that we're
able to do for our fellow mortals and for the Church of God, that
patient continuance in well-doing, not weary in well-doing as is
set before us in Galatians 6 and verse 9. So under this first
hat, That which I do when I would do good. How is it with you? I find these words searching. Do I really take conscious notice
of what I do with the aim that I would do good? And that I seek
in all the things that I do, Words of the hymn writer says,
let all my prayer and praise the jest come and dwell within
my breast. And the scriptures, it points
this way. If those would do good, it's
not just an idle desire. It's not just an idle thought. There is actually the way that's
set before us that we are to walk that strengthens the new
man of grace and will weaken the old man of sin. Well, let us move to the next point. Even when we have sought to do
that which is good, this is where we are with the Apostle Paul,
when I would do good. We believe the Apostle truly,
he walked in this way that he sets before us as we've gone
through the scriptures. The very first point with him,
behold he prayeth. But when it is so, our second
point, the opposition of our nature, when I would do good. May be right clear in the very
first thing as to what is in this chapter. When you, when
I would do good, we will have opposition. Maybe, yes, from
those that are around about us, the Lord said, I have given them
thy word and the world have hated them. But the greatest opposition
is within, is our old nature. It is the flesh, as the apostle
puts it here. It is fallen, it is cracked,
it is cramped, it is depraved. The heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked. And really it is only the people
of God. that really know the depths of
sin. The children of Israel, when
they were in Egypt, the king of Egypt, Pharaoh, made them
to serve with rigor. They were really in bondage there. But it wasn't evident as to how
much bondage until the Lord appeared, sent Moses, and they were in
the process of being delivered from them. And plague after plague was sent
and Pharaoh would not let them go. They were held in very, very
strict bondage. You know, if Pharaoh was just
holding them loosely as it were, he couldn't care less whether
they were there or not. The first hint of a trial, he
would say, go, away you go, off you go. And we know, of course,
that the Lord hardened his heart to show his power and might in
him. But as time went on, it was evident
how much they were in captivity to that. And with a child of
God, the more he would do good, the more he will really know
how fallen, how corrupt his own nature is. how much he needs
the Saviour, how much he needs Christ's righteousness, how much
he needs the Lord to appear for him, how that he cannot trust
in his own works. But I make this point under this
second point, the opposition that is here. The good that I
would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. The aim was truly, sincerely
there. and sought in every way to do
it, but finding that he could not. Like a person with a broken
leg might know all the theory of how to run a race, and may
very well try to run a race, but cannot do it because they
haven't got the ability of that limb. Someone with a weak heart,
someone with a weak chest, to run a race, to even walk as some
others would do, they cannot do it. And with the best will
in the world, they couldn't do it because they physically are
not able to do it. And so here, the fallen nature
of a sinner, the opposition that is within, we cannot live as
if we were not sinners. We cannot live as if we were
already in heaven. but we can live in the way that
the Lord has appointed a sinner that is in a body of death should
live. But may we be very clear that
that life is, while we are here below, a constant battle. One of the Puritans, he said,
impressed upon the heart of a young believer that he is called to
do a daily battle with the corruptions of his own heart. Never think
that God's people don't know what an evil heart is or that
sin is in them and don't look upon them as that they are perfect
or expect that they be perfect. Yes, we would not bring any reproach
upon the name of Christ. We would walk uprightly But how
much of the Word speaks of forbearing one another in love? And as the
Lord taught his disciples to wash one another's feet, and
when we think of the disciples, the mistakes they made, the trips
they made, the reprovings of one to another when they saw
each other fall, and we'll be the same. So, perfection in the
flesh? No. Opposition from the old nature,
yes. But where there is that desire
to do good, we join with the apostle. We desire to walk as
he walked. We desire to be like our Lord. When I would do good. I want
to look then lastly at our hope when I would do good. We spoke of the Apostle Paul,
saw that he was when he was a Pharisee, and his hope then was in his
good works and that they would recommend him to God. And that
is how man is. You cannot, cannot get man. to let go of his hope of good
works. I remember many years ago in
this town speaking to a lady, and often used to pass by a garden
and speak to her, and speaking to her in these ways, pointing
her to solely trust in Christ, to not trust in her own works,
her own righteousness, her own good works, but to to plead the
mercy of God through Lord Jesus Christ and to shelter in his
blood alone that it is Christ that has died. And I tried to,
tried to set it before her and when I finished she said, well,
she said, I just try and do what's good. I do what's good in my
life and believe God will accept me. And all the words I'd spoken
was as if she'd never, never heard them. She went back to
the one thing that she knew or thought she knew that God would
be pleased with. And yet the word of God says
that our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. That is, our
good works. The hymn writer says that all
our best is stained and died with sin. Now can we take that
as a way of acceptance to God in heaven? Our hope is not in our works,
in that which we are doing good. Our hope solely is in Christ's
work. in what Christ has done at Calvary,
that he bore our sins in his body on the tree, and the wrath
of God due to our sins fell on him, and that our sins were atoned
for there, and the wrath of God against us was extinguished there,
and that God accepted that sacrifice, and therefore our Lord rose from
the dead. How do we know that it was our
sins that were laid upon him? That under the preaching of the
gospel, the good news of salvation through Christ, that in the Lord
Jesus Christ, he is exalted to give repentance and remission
of sins. And it is that gift, that blessing
of repentance joined with the forgiveness of sins that marks
out the people of God. Everyone that Christ has died
and put away their sin shall be brought to feel and know that
they are a sinner. They shall be brought to repent
of those sins, to turn away from them, to hate them, to desire
as the Apostle Paul here is, desiring to do good, not to continue
in sin that grace might abound, but he's desiring to walk in
the right way, not with an idea of earning our salvation, but
as a true token that we see how evil sin is. We see what it costs
the Lord. We see his wounds, his cries,
his sorrows, The hiding of a father's face. We look upon him whom we
have pierced and we mourn for him. And we hear his voice as
the shepherd and seek to walk in his ways. The apostle says
in the sixth chapter that we are servants to him. that whom
we obey. He says in verse 16 of chapter
6, Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants ye are, to whom ye obey, whether of sin
unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked
that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine. which was delivered you. It is
a being set free from being the servants of sin. Sin shall not
have dominion over you, for you're not under the law, you're under
grace. It shall not have dominion, but
it shall plague us, it shall try us, it shall annoy us, it
shall grieve us, it shall be within us as a body of death. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? What is the answer? What is our hope when I would
do good? So then, he says, I thank God
through Jesus Christ our Lord. With the mind I myself serve
the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. The Lord sees that fruit of his
work in a sinner's heart and is that which is acceptable to
God, the mark, the mark of God's own teaching, the fear of the
Lord and that hope of that sinner in Christ. And that is our hope,
that is our deliverance, that the Lord has given us a new nature,
another mind, and desire to serve Him and to follow Him and obey
Him, that doesn't come from our old nature, does it? Those of you that know this plague
within, with this conflict, this trouble that is going on, that desire to do that which
is right, doesn't come from the old nature, does it? You have
a daily experience of what that's like. So where does it come from? Who gave it to you? Who put that
fear in your heart? Who made the change in your life?
Who brought there to be a conflict? Why is there a conflict if there's
only one nature, an old nature and no new nature? God's work, when it is put in
the heart of his people, will bring forth that which is pleasing
to God. And God sees the struggles that
go on in the hearts of his people, their sorrow for sin, their wrestlings,
their strivings. He sees that. You know, if we
had a person attacked by someone
that was stronger than they, and that stronger person tried
to make them do things that were very evil and wrong, if that
person just had no resistance whatsoever and they just let
them go along or went along with everything that they wanted them
to do, there'd be no indication that there was any opposition
to it at all. But if that person struggled
and they tried all they could that they wouldn't do those things
and go in that way, but the one that was stronger than they had
his way with them, would it not be evident to any
that saw that conflict that it was not consensual, that it was
something that was hated, that was fought against, And the fact
that they didn't prevail, could that be held against them? That
they weren't strong enough, could that be held against them? But the Lord does appear for
his dear people. He sees those struggles and he
gives those sweet reliefs and comforts and helps through the
word. And may it be tonight that some
poor, tried and tempted souls and troubled soul through the
workings of the flesh has some help through the word here. The path here is the path of
a child of God, a path of those that love the Lord Jesus Christ
and would do good. When I would do good, what do
you fill in there, dear soul? When you would do good, can you
fill in all of the struggles and all of the trials and all
of the things that you go through? You feel to really fail, don't
you? For your miserable failure, for
you're such a sinner. And it grieves you. And you cry unto God on account
of it. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And you join with that dear man
that the Lord said, went down to his house justified rather
than the other. May the Lord bless this word
and grant us to be found desiring and would do that which is good
and seeking the help of the Lord that we might trust solely in
his finished work, in that which is our true title to heaven and
which shall never miss, but he which hath begun a good work
in you, and truly a soul that knows that it is begun, it's
been carried on, will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Amen.