I'm convinced that one of the
most important chapters found in all the scripture is the 7th
chapter of Romans. Would you turn there with me
please? Romans chapter 7. I want to make a statement and
I want you to listen to me very carefully. If you and I are not
sinners, as Paul declares himself to be here in Romans chapter
7, then we're lost, we're without Christ, having no hope and without
God in this world. And I understand that's a strong
statement. But it's a true statement. And
here's the proof of what I say. I have a great deal of proof
from God's Word. First, Paul tells us this is
a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And Paul said,
of whom I am chief. Who did Christ come into the
world to save? He came into the world to save
sinners. What kind of sinners did Christ come to save? Ones
of whom Paul was considered to be the chief. The chief of sinners. The worst of the worst. The lowest
of the low. Christ came to save sinners who
were sinners just like Chief Paul was. And we're gonna see
in Romans chapter seven just what kind of sinner Paul was.
Secondly, Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was
lost. Luke chapter 19. Zacchaeus, you
remember Zacchaeus. He was a lost sinner. You see,
he was a publican. He was a stealing tax collector. But concerning that small statured
publican, the Lord said, this day is salvation come to his
house for he is also a son of Abraham. For the son of man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost. He's speaking about Zacchaeus,
the sinner. It's sinners that Christ came
to save. It's sinners that are lost. And then thirdly, It has
to be lost sinners that Christ came to call, if those other
things are so, and they are. When the scribes and the Pharisees
saw the Lord Jesus eating with publicans and sinners, oh, they
shook their head in disgust. And they asked the disciples,
they said, how is it that your master eats and drinks with these
wretches? And when the Lord heard that
question, he said to them, they that are whole, those that are
well, have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. And I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, Mark
2 17. Those that are whole in their
own eyes have no need. That's the issue, having need. True bonafide sinners have great
need. Do you see that you have a great
need? Not everybody does. It's soul sick sinners that have
a great need. And the Lord Jesus did not come
to call those who were righteous in their own eyes. He came to
call soul sick sinners to repentance. They're the ones that have the
need of the physician. It's lost, wretched sinners that
Christ Jesus came to save. Are you a soul sick sinner? You
must be in order to be saved. That's who Christ came to save.
Now Paul wrote this in Romans. He said, for when we were yet
without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet perventure for a good man, some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Fourth thing, the Lord Jesus
loved and died for lost, ungodly, strengthless sinners. Are you
a sinner? Has the Holy Spirit revealed
to you that you're without strength? Has God made you to know that
you're ungodly? Have you by grace been made to
believe that God has commended His love to you? If you see that
you are a real sinner like Paul saw himself to be, you have,
because that's who God reveals Himself to. He reveals Himself
to sinners. Now, in Romans chapter seven,
verse 13, Paul makes this statement. Speaking of the law of God, he
says, was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. Now notice this statement. But sin, that it might appear
sin, working death in me by that which is good. Now to many, sin
does not appear sin. There's a natural blindness in
all men and women. There's an ignorance of sin in
every son and daughter of Adam. All of us need divine illumination. All of us need for God to shine
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ unto us. And just as
in the creation of the world, the new creation, Must hear God
say, let there be light. And if God says that, there'll
be light. That's how effectual God's word is. He says, surely
as I have thought, so shall it come to pass. And as I have purposed,
so shall it stand. God says, I've spoken it, and
I'll also bring it to pass. I've purposed it, and I will
also do it. Is that your God? The effectual
mercy and grace of God is what a sinner needs and what a sinner
must have, but only a real sinner sees their need of Christ. So
again, I ask, are you this kind of a sinner? Does your sin appear
sin unto you? In most men and women, not seeing
sin to be sin arises from the ignorance of the spirituality
of the law. That's what Paul says in verse
14. Look at it. He says, for we know that the
law is spiritual. You know, men read the Ten Commandments
and they suppose them to apply to an outward, external, physical,
and superficial sense. For example, they read, thou
shalt not murder, and immediately they say, well, I've never broke
that law, never murdered anyone. But they forget that one who
hates their brother without a cause has committed murder in their
heart. They forget that their unrighteous
anger towards a brother is as much an instrument of homicide
as a gun or a knife. A man considers the commandment,
thou shalt not commit adultery, and he says, well, I'm innocent
of that. But he forgets that a licentious look upon a woman
in lust is adultery. You see, this has to do with
matters of the heart. The deceitfulness of sin is not
external. For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies. These are the things which defile
a man. But to eat with unwashed hands defiles not a man. inward
things. That's what I want you to see.
That's what the law of God deals with. Yes, to many, many, sin
does not appear to be sin. But one whom God has illuminated
sees that they would have not known sin, but by the law. They
would have not known lust if God's law had not said, thou
shalt not covet, verse seven. Again, verse 14, for we know
that the law is spiritual, but then Paul makes this statement.
He says, but I'm carnal, sold under sin. Paul says that the
saved sinner knows some things. God's revealed some things to
the chosen sinner. They know that the law is spiritual.
It comes from the Spirit of God. It reaches to the spirit of man. It's a spiritual law. It requires holiness and obedience
in the inward parts. The law of God is spiritual.
It deals with internal obedience. The child of God is made to know
these things. Now we know that whatsoever things
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. Romans 3, 19. We've been made
to know some things. And here in verse 14, Paul says,
for I know that I am carnal, sold under sin. He saw that by
nature he was fleshly minded. He was concerned with fleshly,
physical, earthly things. Are you such a sinner? Do you
see that you're sold under sin? There are many who believe that
this is Paul's evaluation of himself before the Lord's safety.
I was amazed at how many of the commentators believed that. That
can't be so, because Paul says, I am a carnal. Right now, present
tense. He professes to be carnal when
he wrote this epistle. The unregenerate sinner doesn't
hate their sin, like he says in verse 15. The unsafe sinner
doesn't consent that the law is good, as Paul says in verse
16. A man that is yet to be saved
does not delight in the law of God, as it says in verse 22.
In verse 24, Paul reiterates this truth by saying, O wretched
man that I am, not O wretched man that I was. I'm wretched
right now, Paul says. I'm wretched present tense. And
then he says, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
This is Paul's testimony of his present self. Look at verse 15. Let's break this verse down so
it's easier to understand. The apostle says, for that which
I do. Now he's speaking of his actions
of sin and his disobedience. And then he adds, I allow not.
Now that word allow means approve. That word allow means to understand. So what Paul is saying here is
this. He said the sin that I commit,
the things that I do, I don't approve of them. And then he
said I don't understand why I do them. You know what? It's the
same with me. Is it the same with you? I don't
understand how someone who professes to know and love Christ can do
the things I do. I'm just being honest with you. Is that the case with you? There's not a believer on earth,
I'm convinced, who does not frequently think or do things that they
do not understand or approve of. If so, they're being dishonest
with themselves. Have you ever tried to try not
to sin? Now, I know that's a strange
question, but I remember as a kid, the first time I ever said a
curse word, I don't know that anybody heard me, but I was even
then religious enough, being raised in a works religion type
church, I knew then that I needed to ask God for forgiveness. And
I promised God that I'd never curse again. But I did again
and again, and I determined to stop. I'd ask God to forgive
me and promise that I would not do it again, only to do it again
and again. And again I asked for forgiveness,
promising to refrain from doing so in the future, only to break
my promise to God over and over again. It didn't take me long
to stop promising to stop, because it actually became quite ridiculous. Paul says, for what I would that
I do not. Do you see that? That word would
in this verse means to choose and determine. In other words,
what Paul is saying, what I want to do, what I desire to do, what
I choose, determine, and prefer to do, I don't do. I don't do. That describes me
pretty well. How about you? Are you that kind
of a sinner? Paul adds further, but what I
hate, that do I. He's saying, I want to do what's
right. He's saying, I would prefer to
do what's right. He's saying, in my mind, I choose
and determine to do what's right, but I don't do it. And I hate,
I hate it that I don't. Now let me ask you some serious
questions, and you may seem them to be redundant. Can you relate
to that? Does that describe you? Is that
the kind of sinner that you are? Look at verse 16. Paul continues
and he says, if then I do that which I would not, I consent
unto the law that it is good. Now, it is here that Paul takes
sides with the law of God. You know, that's what a saved
sinner does. He takes sides with God against
himself. We say that all the time. But
it's true, isn't it? God says, you're guilty. There's
none that doeth good, no, not one. And the believer says, that's
me. Never done anything good. God says, there's none righteous,
no, not one. And the believing child of God
says, that's me. God's shown me that. God's revealed
that to His people. Paul here takes sides with the
law of God. He condemns his evil. He mourns
his transgressions. He consents that the law is good
and that God is right. Let me try to give you an illustration
of that. If a man commits a crime and
the law finds him guilty, He's judged by the law. He's found
guilty according to the justice of the law. He's sentenced according
to the law, and he's condemned to prison by the law. You agree? That's the way it works. Will
he dare say that the law is the reason that he's incarcerated?
There's many that do. There are many who declare that
the law is the reason that they're in jail. But it wasn't the law
that put them behind bars. It was the man's offense. It
was the man's crime. It was the man's sin that put
him there. You see, the law of God is good. God is right. God is just. Thank God that Christ
died the just for the unjust. And the real question to you
and I this morning is, do you see that it is your sin that
condemns you before God? Do you see that God's law is
good? Verse 17, he says, now then,
it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. And
I'm telling you, Paul is not denying his responsibility for
sin here. That's what it may seem like
to some. Well, it's no more I that do it, but sin that's in me.
He's not laying the blame here on someone else. He's declaring
that there's a battle, there's a war, there's a struggle going
on within him. He's struggling with the two
natures within him. Paul is saying here that the
old nature within him is still present. The old man within him
still has influence over him. Now listen, sin cannot act. It's the sinner that acts. Sin
doesn't have legs. The sinner does. It's the sinner
that commits the transgression, but sin is the influence that
motivates the action. It's the law of sin that is in
our members. That's what Paul's talking about.
That's what he says in verse 18. He says, for I know that
in me, that is in my flesh. That is in that old nature, that
old man within. dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present with
me, but how to perform that which is good I find not." Now, have
you seen, has God shown you that nothing good dwells in your flesh?
You'd be surprised how many people don't believe that. Do you see
that concern in yourself? There are many who think that
they're basically good people. I talk to them all the time.
They think that they're basically good, but I'm telling you the
truth. That kind of thinking reveals the true state and condition
of their heart. Comparing ourselves to other
folks might cause us to think that there are some admirable
traits in us. But when you compare one maggot
with another maggot, both are disgusting maggots. Does that
offend you? Don't be upset with me. That's
what God calls us. And that's how God sees us by
nature. Apart from Christ, that's what
we are. David said of himself in Psalm
22, verse 6, he said, but I am a worm. And you look that word
up in your concordance and it means maggot. Not a little wiggly
fishing worm. A maggot. He said, I am a worm
and no man, a reproach of men and despised of the people. But
what makes that verse in Psalm 22 even more amazing is the fact
that it's a prophecy of Christ. It's a Messianic Psalm. And it's
foretelling what He was made to be for His elect people, even
though He knew no sin. Was Jesus Christ a sinner? No,
He knew no sin. But He was made to be sin. He was made to be a worm, a maggot,
because that's what we were. And that's what we are by nature.
That's what divine substitution made Him. And it was a great,
great condescension that Christ became a man. It was a giant
step downwards, which is the wonder of angels. You ought to
read Psalm 22 sometime in your leisure. Why did Christ become
a worm? Because He hung on Calvary as
the substitute, the sacrifice, and the Savior of them, as we
saw last week, that God gave Him before the foundation of
the world. The child of God has been made to know these things. Paul said, I know that in me,
that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. Do you know that? Do you know that? There's nothing
good in us, dear sinner. No good thing. There's none that
doeth good. Within us is no good thing. And
again, we see that the child of God wills to do good. The
will, the desire to do good is present with us, but how to perform
that which is good we find not. Do you know why we don't find
it? Because we're dead in trespasses and sin. We have no power to
carry it out. We have no ability to perform
a good work. And in verse 19, Paul repeats
what he said in verses 16 and 17. Man, I'm telling you, he's
hammering this home. Oh, the struggle that goes on
within us. And if you don't see your struggle
with this, I'm just going to be honest with you. If you don't
see your struggle with this, you have yet to see and know
who you really are before a thrice holy God. And if you have not
seen who and what you are before God, you'll never ever desire
Christ, the remedy for your dead state and condition. And that's
just the truth. I don't apologize for telling
you the truth. And these things the enlightened sinner sees,
their depravity and their inability. Not too popular subjects. Those
two subjects aren't popular, man's depravity and man's inability. And our Lord tells us very plainly
of our depravity, it's found in our unwillingness. He said,
and you will not come to me that you might have life. You're not
willing to come to me. And then he also tells us of
our inability when he said, no man can come to me except the
father which sent me drawing. So there we see our unwillingness
the depravity of our heart, and we see the inability that we
have, do you see your depravity and your inability? If you can't
see these two things within yourself, it's because you only have one
nature, the old nature. Marvel not, the Lord told Nicodemus,
marvel not that I said unto thee that you must be born again. You've got to receive that new
nature. You need a new nature, which
is a partaker of the divine nature. You need to be made a new creation
in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. It's the
new nature, now listen, it's the new nature that enables us
to see the old nature. If you don't have a new nature,
you'll never see your old nature. And you'll skip and skate right
along to hell. It's the new nature that recognizes
the sin of the old one. Verse 20. Now, if I do that,
I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin, the old nature,
the old man that dwelleth in me. You see, the new nature cannot
sin. Can anything that's born of God
sin? No. That's what the beloved John
said. He said, whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for
his seed, speaking of the Holy Spirit, remaineth in him, and
he cannot sin, because he's born of God. That new nature within
you cannot sin. The seed of the Holy Spirit,
Christ Himself, is in you, and you cannot sin. The error of
what is called today progressive sanctification comes from believing
that there are not two natures. Some believe that the old nature
improves and becomes more holy. The child of God didn't believe
that. It's been revealed to him that
that's not so. The old nature never becomes
holy. The new nature never sins. And
that's why there's a battle. That's why there's a great struggle.
That's why there's a war that goes on within us. That's what
Paul's talking about beginning in verse 21. He said, I find
then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. For I delight in the law of God
after the inward man, the new nature, But I see another law
in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing
me into captivity to a law of sin, which is in my members."
And you've got to have a new nature to see the old one. You'll
never see it if God doesn't give you a new heart. The question
is, do you find that law within you? I speak of that law within
you, that when you would do good, you find that evil is present
to keep you from doing good." Boy, I sure do. Do you delight? Do you find satisfaction in the
law of God after the inward man? If you do, then you have a new
nature within you that loves the Law of God and desires to
keep the Law of God after the inward man. There's something
within you that wants to be pleasing to God. Do you find that within
you? But at the same time, There's
another law in your members that wars against your mind and brings
you into captivity to the law of sin. There's something within
you that wars and battles and struggles to detain and to cage
and confine you under lock and key to keep you from doing what
you really desire to do. Do you have that struggle within
you? Does that describe you? If you do not see or feel that
there's a war, a struggle, a spiritual battle going on with you, endeavoring
to lead you away captive, it's because you only have one nature. A saved man or woman, a holy
man or woman. is one who sees the struggle
within and knows how to obtain redemption and who it is that
gives it. Really, Romans 7 describes a
holy man or a woman when you get right down to it. A saved
man or woman. In verse 24, Paul claims what
only a saved man or woman knows. He says, O wretched man that
I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this dead? I was recently reading Mr. Spurgeon
and he said that a wretched man is one who sees both his inability
and his responsibility. One who is a legalist. You know
what a legalist is. It's one who thinks that they
can purchase, that they can earn, that they can merit salvation
by something that they do. One who is a legalist does not
believe in inability. They think that they can do something
to be saved. And then on the other hand, a
licentious, immoral man or woman doesn't believe that they're
responsible for their sin. They use grace as an excuse to
sin. And at the same time, you find a man or a woman who knows
who and how that they can be delivered from their body of
death. You find a man or a woman, a sinner that sees their inability
and their responsibility. And I'm telling you, you found
a wretched man and woman. Because there's a war going on
within them. But at the same time, you find
a saved man or woman. because they know who it is that
can deliver them from the body of this death. In the day of our Lord, they
would torment criminals, especially murderers, by chaining to their
backs a dead, rotting, putrefying, decomposing corpse. That's what
Paul calls his old nature here. That's what He calls the body
of this death. Who can deliver us from this
horrific thing? Who can rescue us from this body
of death? Verse 25, I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. That's it. We can't even thank
God if it's not through our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything. He is truly our one mediator.
Everything, everything. Our prayers, our praise, our
worship, our love, our thankfulness has to go through Him. Well,
my time's up, but I have to ask one more time. Are you a sinner
as Paul describes a sinner here in this amazing chapter? If you
are, then thank God. And if you are, then you're a
saved sinner. If you are, then you'll understand
something that the unsaved won't. You'll understand something that
the natural man won't. What is it? Salvation is of the
Lord, from beginning to end. Salvation is altogether a work
of grace. You see, a real sinner needs
a real Savior, and Jesus Christ is that Savior. May God enable
you to trust in Him and in Him alone.