Go back to Romans 7 with me now.
At the meeting, the Bible conference in Lexington, Kentucky last week,
Brother Don Bell again began the meeting and preached from
Romans 7, this chapter. Such a blessing, and I thought,
I want to deal with that too. And then I followed him right
after that, and I preached, or tried to, on the glory of the
cross. And the point is, only those
who know something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, only those
who can enter into Romans 7, with glory in the cross. They will say with Paul, God
forbid that I should gloat. Most in excluded, pride I abate. I am only a sinner saved by the
grace of God through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every child of God can enter
into Romans 7. When you read that in the bulletin,
did it kind of make you glad that we were going to look at
it? Well, that's what I felt when I heard Brother Don preach
from it. Look at Romans 7. Look at verse 14. Well, let's
read verse 15 and following. The apostle said, That which
I do, I allow not. I know not. What I would, that
do I not. What I hate, that do I not. In verse 18, I know that in me,
that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. The will, the
desire is present with me, but how to perform that which is
good I find not. I can't seem to be able to do
it. Verse 19, the good that I would,
I do not, but the evil which I would not, that's what I do. Every believer enters into that. Why do I do what I do? Why can't
I do what I want to do? The good in what I want to do,
I don't do. And what I don't want to do,
that's what I do. Can you enter into that? I believe you can.
Self-righteous religionists say that Paul was talking about what
he used to be. That's what they say. They say
this was written by Paul talking about what he used to be before
he was saved. That's not what he says in verse
24, is it? This old wretched man that I
am. 1 Timothy 1.15. That's your favorite verse? It
is mine right now, dear. This is a faithful saint. Worthy
of all acceptation. That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. And Paul said, and I'm the chief.
He said, I'm less than the least of all the disciples. I'm not
fit to be called an apostle. Oh, my. And then religious people
can't enter into this. Just self-righteous people can't
enter into this. Then there are others. There
are some wicked people who say they believe sovereign grace
and use Romans 7 as an excuse for anything and everything and
say, well, it doesn't matter. I've known a few, not many, but
I've known a few. They say it doesn't matter how you live,
the blood of Christ will take care of that. Well, that's wicked,
too, isn't it? That's evil. Our Lord said, though,
blessed is he, blessed are they that mourn their recompense. Only those that mourn over their
sins will the gospel comfort them. That's fact. That's fact.
The child of God has been born of God, convicted of his sin,
been given repentance, heard and seen the glory of God in
the face of Christ Jesus, seen the substitute for sinners, know
something about ruin, about redemption, regeneration. They know what
Paul is talking about. It's a paradox. Paradox. Every child of God claims to
be the chief of sinners, like Paul. Don't you? I'm talking
to believers here. Every true believer feels less
than the least not fit to be called a disciple. And if anybody
is lost in the end, it's going to be me. Don't you? Am I talking to you? I want you
to know, for your comfort, like Peter said in 2 Peter, he said,
know this, brethren, for your comfort, the same afflictions
The very same afflictions, struggles, inward struggles, are accomplished
in your brethren throughout the world, that are in the world.
They're out there in the world, just like you, and they come
out of it and they feel like no better than the world. But this is the Spirit of God
that's accomplishing something in them. Accomplishing something. Let's look at this briefly. Romans
7 speaks of the law. He's talking about the Ten Commandments.
That's exactly what he's talking about. There's much law, Levitical
law, Mosaic law, but Ten Commandments because he mentions it. I wouldn't
have known covetousness if the law hadn't said thou shalt not
covet. Talking about the Ten Commandments,
the moral law, which is God's requirement of man. God's holy. He requires this. God said, I'm
holy, you be holy. It shall be perfect. Leviticus
22, 21. It shall be perfect to be accepted.
The righteous Lord loveth righteousness, hateth iniquity. Be ye perfect,
he said. Be ye holy, I'm holy. Saul, Paul, who was Saul, and
religious, like that swept empty swept and garnished fellow. That
was Saul of Tarsus. He said, I used to think I was
blameless concerning the righteousness of the law. Didn't he say that?
In Philippians, I was blameless. He said, I thought I was perfect. I did. Looked down on those who
weren't. But he said, when the law came,
verse 9, I was alive without the law, I was somebody without
the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. In other words, when God sent
the commandment, the law, it showed me not how good I am,
not how I... you've measured up. But how bad
I was. How I didn't even come close.
That I'm weighed into balances and found wanting. That I'm like
dust. I don't even weigh. Dust in the balance. He said,
the law slew me. Verse 10, what I thought was
my rule of life. Look at that. Verse 10, commandment
which was ordained to life, this do and live. That's the rule
of life, isn't it? Just do and live. He said, I thought the
law was my rule of life, and I thought I did it. I lived perfectly
according to the law, and I thought God was going to let me in heaven.
But then the law really came, and I died. It slew me. It killed me. It killed me. And those that he later said
with compassion, you that desire to be under the law, don't you
hear it? Remember, he said to offend in one point, be guilty
of it all. The law is a curse. It's a curse. It wasn't meant to give life.
It wasn't meant to show you how good you are. But by the law
is the knowledge of sin. Look at verse 13. He said sin, that it might appear
sin, what it really is. Work death in me by that which
is good, by the law. that sin by the law, the commandment,
might become exceeding sinful. Exceeding sinfulness of sin.
Our Lord Jesus Christ magnified the law. Over in Isaiah 42, it
says of Christ, the great servant of God who would come, said,
The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness. I am too. I'm sure glad. that He came,
the Righteous One. My righteousness came. Aren't
you? He came. And the Lord is well pleased
and said, He'll magnify the law and He'll make it honorable.
The Lord, in His Sermon on the Mount, said, You've heard it
said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill. He said, Let
me blow it up for you. Let me magnify it for you. If
you look with hate, You're guilty. You killed that
man. You just didn't have an opportunity. God kept you from
killing him. If he hadn't kept you from him, you'd have killed
him. You're guilty of murder. Look with lust. You're guilty
of adultery. Just look. This is what Paul
said here in Romans 7. He said in verse 14, the law
is spiritual. The law is spiritual. In other
words, the law demands perfection in thought. And motive. It must be perfect. Motive. Just like God. God looks
on the heart. Your heart better be perfect. And our Lord Jesus Christ, He
stood up one day, didn't He? He said, which of you convinces
me of sin? Somebody. One sin. Ever. In thought, word and deed. God looked on the heart and God
out loud said, I am well pleased. So Paul says in verse 14, the
law is spiritual. It requires perfection, inward
perfection, motive, heart, not just actions, but motives and
thoughts. And he said, I'm carnal. I'm
flesh. Sold unto sin. Flesh. What's flesh made up of? Lust
of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life. That's flesh. Paul's not talking about this
body. There's nothing wrong with this
body. God made Adam with a body. Christ took a body. He was made
in the likeness of sinful flesh, but no sin. We're going to have
a body someday without sin. But the thing is, Satan And this
thing of sin, the temptation, this is what he appeals to. This
is what he uses. And this is what we can't overcome.
This is what plagues us. These temptations in the flesh.
Alright? You know, every child of God
knows something about this paradox. This paradox. That what I want
to do, I can't do. And what I do, I don't want to
do. What I hate, that's what I do.
What I love, I can't seem to do it. I find this law, he said
in verse 21, that when I do good, evil is present with me. The
light in the law of God after the inward man. Every child of
God knows something about two natures. An old man and a new
man. And we know something about this
paradox. Listen to J.C. Philpott. And
this is why I love Philpott. He really, I can relate to what
he says. He said, every believer has a
constant acquaintance with his own wickedness. And that preserves
them from being self-righteous, from trying to get some kind
of holiness in the flesh. And it keeps them from careless
presumption. Listen, he's full of contradictions,
full of paradoxes. He says he's never easy when
he's at ease. When he's without a burden, he
still has one. He's never satisfied without
doing something, yet he's never satisfied with anything he does.
He's never so strong as when he sits still. Never so fruitful
as when he does nothing. Never so active as when he makes
the least tastes. Everybody outruns him in the
race, but he's going to win the prize. Everybody's sure for heaven
but him, yet he's going to be in or in abundantly. He wins pardon through guilt,
hope through despair, deliverance through temptation, comfort through
affliction, a robe of righteousness by having filthy rags. Strange contradictions are in
him. He's never so prayerful as when
he says nothing. Never so wise as when he thinks
he's the greatest fool. Never so alone as when he's in
the most company. Never so much under the power
of an inward religion as when he's separated from an outlaw. Word of God here, Romans 7, convicts
the believer. If you be without it, you're
a bastard. But then it comforts you, doesn't
it? It turns right around and comforts
you. These very words that convict us also comfort us. I was comforted
by hearing that Paul has the same problems I did. Paul. These words make us ashamed that
we do what we hate, but yet it makes us glory. in Christ who
thought nothing of the shame. Endured the cross. The child of God feels miserable
in his sin, and yet when he hears the Gospels, overjoyed. He's
never more miserable and yet never more joyful. Can you mourn and laugh at the
same time? Cast down, yet be lifted up? Full of fear, yet full of peace
and assurance. Only a child of God knows these
things. Paul summed it up in this verse 24, O wretched man
that I am, but thank God for Christ. See, Christ came for
wretched men. And that's me. He said, I do
what I what I do. I don't want to do. I don't know
what I'm doing. Verse 15. I love that. He said
that which I do, I know not. I don't know. I don't know why
I do what I do, and I don't know why I can't do what I want to
do. Anybody? Made me think of our Lord's first
words on the cross. Father, forgive them. They know
not what they do. He still prays that. He still
ever lives to make intercession. Lord, I don't know why I did
that. Father, forgive him. He didn't know what he was doing.
He knows. He knows our frame. Didn't our
Lord say concerning these two natures, didn't he say the Spirit
is willing? He came and found the disciples
asleep like some are almost right now in here. Three times. But
he came back and he found them, and each time he upbraided them.
He said, this is serious. This is life or death. I'm going to the cross. Your
salvation depends on it. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the word. Here you are asleep. He gently rebuked them and upbraided
them, as they should, as we should to them. But then he said, for
their comfort, the Spirit is with them. That new man I gave,
he is with them. He wants to hear this. He needs
to hear this man. This new man just delights in
the Word of God. He delights in the gospel. He
wants nothing more than to hear it, but that old flesh is waiting.
I'm glad he added that. He knows our prime. How? He took
flesh. He was made in the likeness of
sacred flesh. He took our prime. He knows our prime. That's how
he knows. Verse 16, Paul said, If I do that which I would not,
I consent under the law that it is good. In other words, if
I know that I have sinned and am convicted by it, I consent
to the law of God. I agree with the law of God.
In one place it says, after the Lord preached, it says sinners,
Pharisees and publicans, I mean publicans and sinners, publicans
and sinners, justified God. In other words, they said, like
David, you're going to be clear when you speak and just when
you judge me. Everything you say about me is truth. Like the
woman, the Syro-Phoenician woman. Truth, Lord. I'm a dog. I'm not
fit. I'm unworthy. Everything you
say is true. They justify God. And we do, too. I consent to the law that it's
good. There was a time, Paul said, that we were not under
You know, only a born again child of God experiences these two
natures struggle. Our Lord said, when a strong
man is armed, keepeth his palace. That's Satan. Satan has hold
of somebody. He keeps his palace. That's who
he has kept. His heart. His palace. That's
where he reigns. He says his goods are in peace.
There's no struggle. There's no warfare. All is peace. Everything is good. Okay? Until
a stronger than he comes. Until somebody comes to take
away, to take away his goods. Like our Lord Jesus Christ comes
to take one of His own from captivity. Then there's no warfare. Satan's not going to let go easily. Oh, he does. I mean, he does. He has to. Christ has taken captivity. He's taken what belongs to him,
okay? What the Father gave him. One of his own, okay? But Satan
doesn't know that. He's not omniscient. He doesn't
know that. He thinks I'll get him back.
He's not getting him back. But there's a warfare. And so
he goes after more than anybody. Satan goes after what those that
Christ takes hold of more than anybody. I'll never forget reading this
when I was a young believer. Oh, it helped me so much. You
know, I didn't struggle with sin until I heard the Gospel. There was no struggle. It's just
the way I lived until Christ came. And then I found, like
Paul, I hate what I do and I love what I don't do. I found this
war in me then. It never was there before. William
Gurnall, I think it was, wrote a book called Life, Walk, and
Triumph of Faith. And in it he's talking about
the wiles of the devil, how crafty he is, how he tries to fool people,
and he tries that with God's people. And he said this, and
I'll never forget this. He said he'll take someone who's
self-righteous or openly wicked, for that matter, and leave them
alone. It won't bother them. They don't have any problem.
They don't really suffer any temptations. It doesn't bother
them. He's got them right where he
wants them. Leave them alone. No terrible temptation. Leave
them right there. In self-righteous religion or
in the gutter, they're not condemned by that. They love it. Then he'll
take a child of God. Someone who's looking to Christ
and Christ alone. And just bombard them with everything. Anything and everything. So he
says that self-righteous fellow thinks I'm so good, I must be
saved. I don't have a problem with those
things. I got the victory over those things. Satan's not bothering
him. That's exactly where he wants
him. He thinks, I don't have a problem with those things.
Why do you? He'd be like me. He's lost. Then you'll take that child of
God that's trusting Christ alone and so bombhard him with temptations
and snares and even falls to him so that he thinks, he or
she thinks, I'm so mad, there's no way I can be saved. That's the one that Christ saved.
Like the Pharisee and the Publican. Pharisee and the Publican. The
Pharisee said, I thank God I'm not like other men. I'm not like
the Publican. Oh, I used to be, but I'm not anymore. I'm over
that. And all the publican could do
was be on his chest. All he could do was, God be merciful.
That was his prayer. God be merciful to me, the sinner.
Who did he justify? Who went away not condemned?
The man who could only hope in his mercy. That's where I find
myself, John. That's where I find myself still
after all these years, right back where I started, the beginning
of my confidence, holding it steadfast. God delights to show
mercy. But this salvation is for sinning.
Well, listen to this. A child of God
goes through a lifelong spiritual warfare and struggles. It's like
a new birth, you know? It's like a new birth. We're
in this body of death, like a child in the womb. Struggling and kicking
and all of that. And finally, someday, it's going
to be brought forth in the newness of life. Well, someday we will
be there. This body of death, this sin,
this struggle, this old man. I delight in the law of God,
verse 22, after the inward man, but there's this old man in my
members, warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into
captivity. Oh, wretched man that I am! That's the question, isn't it?
I need a Deliverer. Who is going to deliver me? That's
why Christ came. That's His name, isn't it? The
Deliverer. Oh, I thank God through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ our
Lord. And down in verse 1 of chapter
8, it begins this way. There's therefore now. Right
now. Not shall be, but right now.
No condemnation of them in which you are in Christ. who walk not
after the flesh but after the Spirit. That's by the leadership
of the Spirit who makes you know you're a sinner, makes you hate
sin, makes you love righteousness. Well, let me give you five or
six things in closing. Brother Donnie, I got these from
him. He said he got them from somebody
else who got them from somebody else who got them from probably
the apostles who got them from the prophets who got them from
the Lord. Why can't we just be done with
sin? Why doesn't the Lord just let us be done with it completely
right now? Wouldn't you like that? No more
sin, no more temptations, no more struggle. They asked Spurgeon
that one time. He said, if you could have anything
you wanted right now, what would it be? He said, to be completely
without sin. Never sin again. But the Lord
doesn't allow that. Why does He allow us to do what
we... He can stop us. And He does. It's only His restraining grace
that prevents the old man from coming out. Let me give you several things. Several
reasons why we're going to have a lifelong struggle with sin
and not be rid of it until the day that we die. Number one,
it makes us know that in our flesh there is no good thing. You've got to know that. It's
the first thing the Lord teaches every one of His children. In
your flesh dwelleth no good thing, and it will make you have no
confidence in your flesh ever. Ever. No confidence in it. If you have any confidence in
yourself, you will have complete confidence in Christ. So He's
going to teach us that in all our lives. And the older we get,
the more we realize there really is no good in me at all. None. Just about the time I thought
I was over something, it comes right back up as strong as ever. Why do we struggle with sin all
our lives? It makes us understand. Salvation
is by grace. It really is. By the grace of
God, you're saved. It's a free gift. You can't do
anything. If you could, you would, wouldn't
you? But you can't. He did. He can't, he didn't. Isn't that
good? Salvation by grace. It's all
of grace. It's a free gift. Righteousness, wisdom, sanctification. Righteousness, sanctification
were just a free gift. The free gift of God. By the
disobedience of one, they were all made sinner, but by the free
gift of righteousness, the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous. Isn't that good news? Make us understand salvation
is all of grace. To remind us that when we sin, And we will. Some of you old folks. I'm sorry
I just look right here at this row every time I say old folks.
There you are. But it still ain't over. I mean,
the sin's not over. It's tomorrow. Abraham thought
he was done with it. David thought, I've learned something
now, Solomon, to remind us when we sin. And John wrote this, little children,
these things I write unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, what kind
of sin, John? All manner, no matter how bad
it is. We have an advocate with the
Father. Jesus Christ directs us. Isn't that good news? That's the only good news to
a sinner. See, if a fellow quits sinning, the Lord in His goodness
makes these bodies old so that you can't really enjoy sinning
like you did when you were a young person. Ecclesiastes talks about
that. The desire fails and so forth.
That's a good thing, isn't it? The sooner the better, actually.
But it's still right here. It's still right here, isn't
it? You still think it's bad thoughts, but he reminds us that
you need an advocate. He's an advocate, and we had
one. He lets us struggle with this
lifelong thing of sin, our own sinfulness, to teach us to be
patient with our sinful brethren. Teach us to be patient with our
sinful brethren. About the time one of our brothers
falls and we're tempted to think, well, he doesn't have much grace
in him. Look at him or look at her. Look
what they did. Get ready. Get ready. If you're a child
of God, you're coming down. That's good, isn't it? have any compassion on somebody
unless you go through it. Teach us to be patient with our
sinful brethren. The more we know of our own sin,
the more merciful will be with us. The more we know of our own
corruption, the more forgiving, ready to pardon we will be. God's people, if they're like
this, like Romans 7, they know It's going to take the sovereign
mercy and grace of God to me till the day I die. And our Lord
said, you need mercy. Blessed are the merciful. They'll
obtain mercy. That's it. He says, if you don't
forgive me in their sin, I won't forgive you. But I need a lot
of forgiveness. So that's where we start. Noah,
we look down on Noah. Look at him. Look at Noah, drunk. It ain't over yet. Look at Abraham. Denied his wife not once, but
twice. It ain't over yet. He was an
old man, wasn't he? Sarah. Lot. Lot. Jacob. David. Mary. The woman at the well,
you know? The woman at the well. I know
a sister That story appeals to her more
than any other, the woman at the well. This sister was never
married five times, never was living with a man. As far as
I know, she lived a pretty moral life, an upright life. Yet she could enter into that
woman at the well, been married five times, living in sin. She
could enter into that woman. Just as convicted as that woman.
Isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing? That's what
the Lord does. See, she wouldn't have any patience
with or any compassion on that woman at the well if she didn't
feel just as bad. If she didn't know that it's
by the grace of God that I had been married ten times. And a failure. And we forbear
and forgive because we need to. God allows us to go through these
things, a lifetime of struggle with sin, to wean us from this
present evil world. To wean us from it. Because the
things that we used to love, I know there's pleasure, but
now we really, we hate. That's what he said there. What
I hate, that's what I do. You didn't used to hate it. You
didn't used to hate it. What made the difference? Who
made the difference? There's the difference. It's
to wean us from this present evil. It's like Lot sitting in
the gate, isn't it? Lot went to Sodom because he
wanted to, and the Lord did something to him, in him, and then he found
Lot sitting in the gate. I want out! Why did I ever come
here? Lord, lay hold of me and bring
me out of here. I didn't linger. Oh, thank the Lord for His Word.
To wean us from this present evil world. And lastly, to make this gospel the dearest,
most precious and wonderful thing of all. For you've got to hear
it. You've got to hear it. You struggle
with sin. You struggle with sin and never
seem to get over it. And you come crawling back. And
you've got to hear this gospel. This gospel is a full, free pardon
for who? Sinners. Sinners. David said
it this way, and I close with this. David said, as for me,
I will behold His face in righteousness. I know that. I'm only going to
be there through His righteousness. Psalm 71, he said, I'm going
to make mention. You're going to ask me about
righteousness? David said, I'll make mention of His and His only.
Isaiah said, mine, ours, filthy rags. So David said, I'll make
mention of His and His only. And as for me, I will behold
His face in righteousness. He said, believe on me and you're
righteous. And I'll be satisfied. And I'm
not going to be satisfied until I awake with His likeness. How about you?