Romans chapter 7. And this morning we'll be looking
at verse 7 down through the end of the chapter. The title of
the message this morning is, The Two Natures of Saints. The Two Natures of the Saints. Here now in verse 7, the Apostle
Paul asks another question. He begins with, what shall we
say then? What shall we say to this truth
that we who are dead to the law are no longer married to the
law, no longer under the law, but under grace? What shall we
say then to these things? Is the law sin? Now before he says in verse 5,
for when we were in the flesh, and he is talking about the old
man, when we were in the flesh having only the one nature, what
was the result of this one nature when it came in contact with
the law? He said, when we were only in
the one nature, the flesh, the motions of sin, the desires of
sin, which were by the Law, did work in our members to bring
forth fruit unto death. What is he saying? The Law, it
moved us. It hardened us. It didn't help
us to curb sin. When we had only the one nature,
all the law did was incite us to more sin. Again, I always
use the illustration of wet paint, don't touch, and the first thing
we do is we want to touch. Now, there was nothing wrong
with that statement. What's wrong is not the law,
it is our nature to rebel against the law. And when the law came,
the only thing we had was the old man that was incited by the
law to sin. Now then, he says, what shall
we say to this? Is the law sin? God forbid. Is the problem the law? No. Man by nature is always looking
to blame someone or something other than himself. This is what
the old man always does. Seeks out someone else to blame. And so when Paul said that, he
said, when I was in the motions of the flesh, the desires of
the flesh were incited by the law, then the people would say,
ah, there's my scapegoat. I sin because of the law. If
there wouldn't have been a law telling me not to sin, then I
wouldn't have done it. No, God forbid. It's not the
law's fault that you are a rebel. Man always tries to blame someone. Can you blame the law? No. The
law is not to blame. The law of God has a purpose. And the only purpose of the law
of God is to expose sin. Expose it. Paul here begins now
with his own personal experience. He begins with his own personal
experience to show the purpose of the law and to expose the
truth concerning our nature. Concerning our nature. And he
uses himself as an example. And I'm thankful for this. I'm
very thankful that the Apostle uses himself. He says this in verse 7. Nay,
I had not known sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust,
except the law has said, Thou shalt not covet." Believer, let
us praise God for this truth, that all of God's men are not
lifted up so high that we can't relate to them. Isn't that a
wonderful thing about the Scriptures? No other religion does this.
Every other religion raises their prophets up so high that no man
could really attain to what they are. But God doesn't do that.
God shows us that all of His men are just sinners saved by
grace. Sinners saved by grace. I like
this illustration. Oliver Cromwell, after he came
to power in England. He had his portrait painted,
as all the kings did. As all the potentates, they always
had their portraits painted. But Oliver Cromwell did something
that was strange to the painters. Because these painters were always
told to take out all the blemishes of the kings. If a king had a
blemish, you didn't want anybody to see it in his portrait. But
when they tried to do this to Oliver Cromwell, he said, no,
I want you to paint me warts, and all." And he had plenty of
warts on his face. He was not a very beautiful man. And so he said, you will paint
me warts and all. And this is exactly what God
does to all of His men in Scripture. He paints them warts and all. He shows us that they are sinners
saved by grace. Remember David? What a glorious
thing when God showed us His faith to Goliath when He went
before that giant and He slew the giant with a sling and a
stone. But yet God also shows us David
in his sin when He murdered that man. Had that man murdered Uriah
and took his wife away from him. You remember Abraham. Abraham
lied to Pharaoh concerning his wife Sarah. Not trusting God. And yet we see Abraham giving
his son. So what do we see? We see that
God calls sinners and saves sinners by His grace. And now by the
mouth of Paul, he confesses his own experience as a sinner. He
said, I had not known sin, but by the law. And you and I would
not have known sin, but by the law. The law has a purpose. The purpose is this, to expose. That's the only purpose of the
law, is to expose our guilt. Our guilt. As we take into view Paul's experience
of grace and his walk of faith, we may see our own experience
here. The experience of two natures. And look at verse 7, he says,
I had not known the law, sin, but by the law. The purpose of
the law is in other places referred to
as a mirror. That's a good way to illustrate
the law is a mirror. When you look into the mirror
this morning, did it do anything for your hair? Did the mirror
fix your hair? Did the mirror brush your teeth?
Did the mirror fix your face? No! All the mirror could do was
expose what was there. That's all it does. Exposes what's
there. It doesn't do anything to fix
it. The law is the same. The law shows us the holiness
of God. And it puts it in front of us
and it exposes us for what we are by nature, sinners. Sinners. The mirror of the law
does not repair our sin. It does not give us a means by
which we can be saved. It just exposes. The law says,
Thou shalt not covet, Thou shalt not lust. And when the law is
held up to our hearts, the law itself did not make us lust,
just like the mirror didn't make your hair messy. That wasn't
the mirror's fault. You can't blame the mirror. It's
exposing what's there. The law says, Thou shalt not
covet. And then when it holds it up to your heart and it shows
you your covetousness, shows you your sin, it's doing its
job. It's doing what it's purposed
to do. It's to show you your guilt. And look at verse 8, But sin...
taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was
dead." The law, the sin, taking occasion by the law, wrought
in me all manner of lusts. That's what the word concupiscence
means, longing. By sin, the apostle is speaking
of his sin nature. He says, but sin, but the sin
nature that was in me, taking occasion by the law wrought in
me all manner of longing and lusts. The law says to a man,
thou shalt not commit adultery. And when you have a man that's
committing adultery, when you have a man that's living out
of wedlock with a woman, and you say that, you say the law
says thou shalt not commit adultery. Or if one desires to be rich
and have possessions and he covets wealth or fame, what then is
the reflection, the reaction of the flesh? Well, how dare
you? How dare you say things like that to me? You don't understand
my circumstances. You don't understand my situation. I'm doing the best that I can
do. And because of my circumstances, that's why I'm living in adultery.
Or that's why I'm doing this. You see, excuses come out. When
the law comes up, what's the first thing that comes up? Excuses.
The law shows up and shows us the guilt of our heart and the
first thing the old man, the sin nature does is bring up why
we do these things. The law didn't ask you why you
did them. The law doesn't care why you did them. The law is
there just to show you your guilt, to condemn you. Well, I'm going
to be rich because of my family. You know, that's a good excuse,
isn't it? We say, well, we want to just make our family better.
The law says, Thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not lust. And it doesn't care. The law
is not bendable, is it? The law is not bendable to our
circumstances. So then the flesh is not moved
to cease from sin, but rather it is hardened. The law then
comes in, it convinces us of sin, and what does the natural
man do? The natural man doesn't curb
his appetite for sin, the natural man hardens his appetite. In other words, he continually
does it until he feels less and less guilty. What does the Scripture
liken that to? A man searing a wound with a
hot iron. That's how they used to stop
bleeding. They'd take a hot iron and then
they would put that hot iron right on the wound. And what
would that do? It would make a hard flesh. Hard flesh. In other words, they
couldn't feel anymore. And that's what the natural man
does when he hears the law, is that he hardens his heart against
it until he doesn't feel any more guilt. Paul says this, he
says in verse 9, 4, I was alive without the law once. What does he mean by that? In
other words, he felt no spiritual death in himself. He felt no
problem with himself. He thought that he was not like
other men. He thought he was not a sinner.
Other men are sinners. Other men are sinners. He didn't
think himself to be a sinner. He being a Pharisee, he thought
he was without sin. Therefore, he thought he was
alive to God and acceptable to God. In Philippians chapter 4, In Philippians 3, in verse 4,
the apostle says, "...though I might have confidence in the
flesh, if any man thinketh he might trust in the flesh, I more."
He said, "...I will circumcise the eighth day of the stock of
Israel, the tribe of Benjron, a Hebrew of the Hebrews." as
touching the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching righteousness, which is in the law, blameless."
In other words, the apostle at one time thought he was alive,
that his religion was enough, that his self-righteousness was
enough. And even so, when we were lost,
is that not true of us? Is that not our experience that
we were alive once? We didn't have convictions of
sin or guilt of sin. We didn't have any idea about
this law. We just knew when our conscience
felt guilty that we need to get rid of that guilt as fast as
possible. But when Christ came, the Apostle
said, but when the commandment came, Sin revived and I died. When Christ came in grace to
Paul on the road to Damascus, when Christ revealed His holiness
and Paul's sin, that he thought was his life became death unto
him. What he thought he did well,
what he thought was his salvation, he found to be only condemnation. Isn't that what happened when
the law came in, in power? It opened up all those cauterized
wounds that we had. Those freshly opened wounds of
sin and guilt. And what happened? Sin revived
and I died. Is not this our experience? Have you ever been spiritually
dead? I'll tell you this, if you've
never been dead, you've never been raised from the dead. Isn't
that so? If you've never been lost, you've
never been found. If you have never been exposed
by the law to be only a sinner with no righteousness or goodness
of your own, you've never been saved by Jesus Christ. But all
who have been born again, we know this, Paul's experience
is our experience. When the law came in power, sin
was exposed. We became dead before God. We confess with Paul we were
alive without the Law once, but as soon as the Holy Spirit opened
our eyes, we saw what we were by nature. We saw we were sin
only. Sin only. We were exposed and
naked like Adam and Eve were exposed. I don't know how long
they ran around in those fig leaves. I don't know how long
before God came. I imagine it was very soon. But
as soon as they sold those fig leaves, you imagine they felt
a little relief. They felt a little comfort. When
then did they realize that that was not enough? They realized
that when God came to them. When God revealed Himself to
them. They realized it wasn't enough
and they tried to hide. Have you tried to hide from your
sin? This is what happens when God comes to a sinner. He exposes
him. He exposes that the fig leaves
of our goodness, our obedience, cannot cover ourselves. Cannot cover our nakedness. The
bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on, and the cover
too narrow. He cannot wrap himself in it.
Our righteousness is too short and too narrow. We cannot cover
ourselves. We need the righteousness of
God we cannot provide. But when the pure and holy law
of God confronts the souls of men, we are made to own our guilt
and own our inability to save ourselves. The law shows the
exceeding sinfulness of sin. Look at that in verse 13. He
said, What 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, that sin by the commandment
might become exceeding sinful." Friends, sin is not a mistake.
It's treason. Sin is not an accident. It's
rebellion. It is shaking your fist and spitting
in the face of God. That's what sin is. Paul says
that this was revealed to him. His true nature of the law and
His condition of His own nature. Look at verse 14. For we know
that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Isn't this what the law revealed
to us? Isn't this what it exposed to us? That the law is spiritual. It's not just an outward working
of the flesh. The law is just not do this and
do this and do this. Don't do this. It's spiritual. It's not just actions. It's thoughts. It's motives. It's intent. I'm
guilty. If I could never, if I was a
vegetable, if I had no brain activity whatsoever, and I was
laying and I couldn't move or sin outwardly, I still would
be a sinner. Because sin is not what we do,
it's who we are. We are by nature sinners. The law is spiritual. Jesus said
to look on a woman is lusting, committing adultery. To hate
a man is murder. But what are we? We are carnal. sold under sin. Have you seen yourself as that?
Carnal? Sold under sin? A slave to sin? I tell you, we who believe on
Christ, we know this for a fact. We, by nature, are without hope. There's no hope in us. What then
is our hope? The hope was when Jesus Christ
came into our souls and gave us life. That's our hope. We were born again of the Spirit
of God. And Paul says, yes, I'm carnal,
sold under sin. But something happened to Paul.
Look what it says in 15. It says, for that which I do,
I allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that I do. If then I do that which I would
not, I consent unto the law that it is good. In other words, something
has taken place here. Those things that Paul once loved,
he now hates. Those things He once would do,
He doesn't want to do, and yet He realizes that He can't stop. There's something in Him. There's
something happening inside. It is a new nature. This is what
happened to us. When God came and revealed to
us our death, He also came and gave us life. He gave us life. Scripture says, For by the grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. Yet
faith is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his what? Workmanship. Created. in Christ Jesus unto good works.
This new nature is not something that came out of the old. This
new nature is something God created in us. The Apostle Paul on the
road to Damascus, was he looking for a new nature? Was he seeking
God? No. But God came to him and gave
him a new nature. That's exactly how God did it
for us. We were not seeking God. We were not looking for God when
He exposed our sin. We were happy without our sin.
We were content to have the one nature. And yet God in His mercy
came, exposed us of our sin, and gave us a new heart, a new
nature. And then, what happened to you
and me? There began something of a struggle.
There begins something of a duel in our own hearts. The things
that I would not do, the things I would not allow, that's what
happens. But what I don't want to do,
that's what I do. Why is this? Because of the dual
natures that are in every believer. A new creation that's imputed
and imparted to us in the righteousness of Christ. And this struggle
exists because there was no change in the old man, but rather a
new creation was given. The apostle, he says in Ephesians
chapter 4, to you who believe, this is our exhortation, put
off the old man. Now, if the old man was eradicated,
then why would Paul tell us to put it off? Some people believe
the old man's eradicated and everything's all right. If everything's
alright, something's wrong with you. Something's wrong with you. Because not everything's alright
with me. I have a struggle. The Apostle
Paul here confesses he has a struggle. He confesses that he has an old
nature. He says, Now then, it is no more
I that do it. but sin that dwelleth in me. The sin that I do, I don't want
to do. Who does it? It is the old man
in me that does it. Therefore, he says, put off that
old man. Put him down as you would take
off a garment and put on a new one. Put on the new man. Put on the new man. Believers, are we not daily tempted
by lying, deceit, stealing, complaining, murmuring, gossiping? Are these
not daily our struggles? Do we not daily contend with
these on a moment-by-moment basis? Does sin just flood my thoughts
or is it you? I know it's not just me. The
apostle had it. I have it. So then what is that? That's sin in you. That's your sin nature. And all
it does is sin. God is not asking the believer
to patch up the old man. He's telling you to kill it.
Kill it. Put it off. And put on the things
that become salvation. Paul had these troubles, he said,
that which I do I allow not. What's wrong with us? Sin that dwelleth in me, in my
flesh dwelleth no good thing. I am carnal, sold under sin.
And yet the new man desires to put that old man off. Is that
not so with you? You not desire to put that old
man off? I do. I long to be holy. I long to be righteous. I long
to be without sin. That's the new man. That's what's
created of God in you. And so then Paul says this, he
says down in verse 24, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? phrase, the body of this death,
has reference to a Roman torture, punishment, to where they would
take a rotten corpse and string it up around a man's neck and
he would have to carry that until it fell off. Is that not exactly
how we feel? We who are believers, is it not
how we feel concerning this rotten corpse? I thought about that,
about that man and that corpse and that stench. The stench. I imagine he always tried to
go against the wind, don't you? To make that smell go... Sometimes
we're walking along and we don't actually smell that we're going
against the wind. But as soon as we turn and that wind blows
us in the face, we smell the stench of this old man. Who shall deliver me? One day
this old man's going to rot off and praise God for it. He's going
to fall in the grave. And what's going to be left?
Nothing but the new. Nothing but the one saved and
created by God through Jesus Christ our Lord. I thank God
through Jesus Christ our Lord. He has delivered us by His blood
and by His righteousness. And what are we then to say? What are we to expect, believer?
We are to expect a battle. until this flesh falls in the
grave. Don't expect anything else. You expect anything else,
you'll be disappointed. What then is our comfort? Here
it is. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who
are in Christ Jesus. This is how we are lifted. This is how we sustain and maintain
our faith is by the grace of God telling us, that man, that
rotten corpse on your back, he's not going to condemn you. There
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Is this not Does this not lift
us up with wings as eagles? Calls us to run and not be weary,
to walk and not faint. I'm thankful that God gave us
Paul's experience, because I tell you, I identify with it. I'm
a man of two natures. One of sin and one of grace. And I know one day I'll be delivered
from this body. Let's look for that day and be
encouraged. And God bless you.