If you want to follow along,
please turn to Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7. I'm going to
read, I think, the last five verses, beginning in verse 21
of Romans chapter 7. Let me rub my eyes now, so I
won't have to do it later, hopefully. Romans 7, verse 21. 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, but I see another law in my members, warring
against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members. Oh, wretched man that
I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. I got another sign I'm gonna tell
you about. This wasn't on a church, although I'm sure it probably
has been. But I've seen plaques and things
about signs that people have made, and this is how it goes.
Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will
last. Now doesn't that sound holy?
Doesn't that sound good? That sounds right religious.
And that's exactly what it is. Now this is a rather famous saying
by a fellow named, and I'm not making this up, C.T. Studd. S-T-U-D-D was his name. And if you look him up on Google
and Wikipedia, you find out two things. I didn't read a whole
lot about him, to be honest. He was a missionary, and he went
to China and Africa. And he played cricket, two very
important things, equally important to the world. I'll tell you that
right now. But I looked it up, and there are like eight verses
or stanzas, if it is a poem. But it looks like it was set
up as a song. And these two lines, only one life will soon be passed,
only what's done for Christ shall last, that's the last two lines
of every stanza. So it's set up like a song, whether
they meant to sing it or not, I don't know. Now, I know a lot
of people, because like I said, they've made plaques and signs
and all this stuff, and you can buy them on Amazon and wherever.
Okay, with these two lines, with this last two lines of this song. But I know a lot of religious
people, a lot of otherwise people, I'm sure, think this is a great
religious statement. Well, they're half right, and
only half. The first line, only one life
will soon be past, that's true. And that's scriptural. Our life
is nothing but a vapor. The sun comes out and burns it
off and it's gone. We're like the flowers of the
field. We're there a few days, and guess what, it turns into
a weed. That's our life, that's true, that's true. But the second line is deceptively
wrong. And I'm going to say it. It's
deceitfully wrong. Now, it sounds good. It sounds nice. And it sounds
religious. And it's wrong. Guess what? There's a lot of stuff like that,
folks. You don't have to guess. All
you got to do is open your eyes. Listen with your ears. There's
a lot of stuff out there. There's a lot of people that
talk about grace that don't know anything about grace. There's
a lot of people who talk about Christ and have, yes, and have
never met Christ. See, he knows, he knows. Oh, but I can tell you this.
I can fix that last statement by changing one word, and that's
all it takes, one word. And it totally changes the whole
meaning of that statement. Instead of saying only what's
done for Christ shall last, change it to only what's done by Christ
shall last. And it's right. It's right. And it's true. And they won't
put that on a poster in Amazon. I don't know, I'm really tempted
to try and sell a few signs that way. Make something up, pretty
it up, put flowers behind it and stuff, you know? A waterfall,
I got waterfall pictures. And just see if people will get
it and get it. But I'm afraid they would. Because those eight standards,
I looked at them, okay? Maybe I shouldn't have, but I
did. They go on and on about what you need to do for Christ.
I'm gonna read you one here. I got it here. Only one life, yes, only one. Soon will its fleeting hours
be done. That's true. Then in that day
my Lord to meet and stand before his judgment seat. Only one life
will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will
last. Now you can read the whole eight
stanza thing. It's online. I don't recommend it because
it's not worth your time. But I can tell you, it tells you
in each verse something needs to be done for Christ. And that's
a lie. That's a lie of the basis sort. That's the lie the devil told
in the garden. Oh my. But there's not one word
in the eight stanzas. And they actually put a little
one, an extra down at the bottom. I don't know where they got that
from. Don't care. Eight stanzas of this poem, or
this song, and there's not one word of what Christ has done
for me. Now that tells you, that guy
was a sorry missionary. If that's the kind of songs he
wrote. I sent Walter one from John Newton today, and I'm telling
you that second stanza of his is always excellent. The whole
song is. But you understand, if your song
is what you've done for Christ, and not what Christ has done
for you, you've missed Christ. I was gonna say you missed the
whole point, but no, you've missed Christ. Now, the title today,
Paul, is Believers. And I wanna talk about believers.
Now, you might think, Romans 7 and verse 21 is what I'm gonna
talk about. You might think that's a strange
scripture to use to talk about believers. But it's not. Because this scripture shows
a true believer's experience in Christ and the state of the
true believer in Christ right now. Now, the first thing I want
to say about this, and you'll find out why here in a minute,
that in this verse, as in most of chapter seven, Paul is writing
in the first person. What's that mean? It means Paul
is writing it down as it happened to him, as it's happening to
him, as it relates to him. He's writing about himself. Okay? That's what he's doing. And he's
writing about himself two ways. From verse, let me look at it
here before I tell you wrong. Let's see. Like from verse seven
to verse 13, he's writing in the past tense. Okay? Now then from verse 14 to verse
25, He's writing in the present tense.
He's writing about himself before he was converted, and then he's
writing about himself right now. I was gonna say after he was
converted. No, he's writing about himself right now. Because everything
in those last 11 verses, 12 verses, is in the present tense. And
trust me on this, if nothing else, you don't have to trust
the word of God, you can trust me. Okay, if you believe that,
don't know. But here's the thing. Paul knows
exactly what he's saying here. Paul was a very learned and educated
man, and when he wrote in the past tense, he meant in the past
tense, and when he wrote in the present tense, he meant in the
present tense. But if you just wanna glance
at him a few times, verse seven, he says, I had not known sin. Verse eight, stuff was wrought
in me. Verse nine, I was alive and I
died. Verse 10, I found. Verse 11,
deceived me. Verse 13, unto me, in me. Verse 14, we know and I am carnal. So Paul started with we know,
believers, including himself, and then he goes to I am carnal. Verse 15, I do, I allow not,
I would, do I not, I hate, I do. I'm just gonna stop with that,
because it goes on through the rest of the chapter. Paul's writing
I, I, I, me. He does write we one time, but
you understand, Paul is writing this in the first person, personally
to himself. Personally about himself, excuse
me. I guess it was to himself too. This is what John Gill wrote,
and this is one reason why I wanna bring this out. From hence, talking
about Romans 7, 14, to the end of the chapter, many are of the
opinion that the apostle speaks in the person of an unregenerate
man, what he talks about in the past, or of himself as unregenerate,
but nothing is more clear than he speaks all along of himself
in the first person. I am carnal, I myself. And in
the present tense of what he was and found. Whereas when he
speaks of his unregenerate state, how it was with him under the
first convictions of sin, he speaks of them as things passed.
He said he used the past tense when he meant the past tense.
And he used the present tense when he used the present tense
because I'm going to tell you something, folks. People don't believe Romans 7.
I don't understand why. Because it's plain. You understand, there are some who say that Paul
took on the role, okay, that's the way they put it, of writing
as a regenerate man but unconverted. when he was writing verse, not
the first part in the past, but the second part where it's in
the present. Now listen, I read all of Paul's epistles that we
got. I'm not gonna claim to be an expert on them, but I can
tell you this much. Paul never pretended to be anybody else
in any of his writing. When Paul said I, he meant I.
And when he said you, he meant you. And when he said we, he
meant believers, or in some cases, Jews, when he was talking about
his nation. He did say that, but he was clear
whenever he wrote it down. This is Paul writing about himself. There's a guy, his name is C.H. McIntosh. I've got his books,
his little books, you give me them, they're about this big.
And they're about 100 years old. And I'm going to tell you something. His books have done me a whole
lot of good. He preached grace. And in other places, he sort
of deals with this. But then one time when he mentions
it, he's of the opinion that Paul was writing this about when
he was regenerated but not converted. And writing about what I just
wrote, I find in the law that when I would do good, evil is
present in me. Because, wait a minute, the believer's
not carnal. Now that word carnal has a bad
connotation now. But in here, in the scriptures,
it means fleshly. And listen, folks, our flesh
hasn't gone anywhere. And it never will until we awake
in his likeness. And anybody that says any different
is lying to you. And that's just the way it is. But here he wrote, this is C.H.
Macintosh, now we know the Christian is not carnal, but spiritual.
He's not sold to understand, but redeemed from his power.
He's not a wretched man sighing for deliverance, but a happy
man who knows himself delivered. Now this man also wrote in other
places that sometimes we might even feel like we are of all
men most miserable, even though we're not. Paul said if we have
in this life only hope, we are all men most miserable. But sometimes
you feel like it. You understand? I don't understand
how people can run this way. You understand? But it happens. But I wanna tell you the truth
about this scripture. This is Paul writing about himself
even when he was writing it. This is what happened. This is
the life, this is the state of a believer. in this verse, in
all these verses. And I wanna say that very clearly.
Excuse me. Because this is Paul, in the
first part, from verse seven to verse 13, talking about his
conversion, his conversion experience, where it says, What shall we say then in verse
seven? Is the law of sin, God forbid, nay? Realize, this was
a Pharisee writing this, a former Pharisee. And he's writing about
his past life, things that happened to him in his past. He said,
I had not known sin, but by the law. That's good, because that's what
the law's for. For, but here he explains it, for I had not
known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet. Understand, Paul says it later,
in the epistle later, he says, you know, according to the law,
I was blameless. You couldn't point your finger
at the apostle Paul and say, you are stealing, you're a thief.
You know, you committed adultery. But thou shalt not covet. Where does covet happen? It happens
right up here. You know, it's that first sin
that Christ listed in his litany. Evil thoughts. Evil thoughts. And that's what Paul says, I
didn't really know the law. I knew the law. He could quote
the Ten Commandments, I'm sure. He probably had them written,
you know, in a little thing you pull down from your eyes. You
know, the word of God is ever before me, it's right here. That's
the way they were. That's how religious Paul was.
But then he says, I didn't know the law until it hit me. Now why did it hit him there?
And tell me this, folks, why doesn't it hit everybody? that parable of the lost sheep,
the lost coin, and the lost son. One parable, three things. There's
a statement in that third part about the lost son where he says
this. He's already out there, he's
in the hog trough, he's wasted his living on riotous living,
he's wasted his money. He doesn't have any money, he's
broke, and he's slopping hogs for a living. And it wasn't much
of a living. But it says these words. but
when he came to himself. Now if you look at those first
two parts of that parable, the lost sheep didn't come to himself.
The shepherd went out and found it and brought it back. The second
one, the lost coin, didn't find itself. And I'm gonna tell you
this right now, the lost son didn't find himself, God found
him. Because that's the point. But
once God finds you, bless God, you will come. Once Christ finds
you, once Paul saw the law, he couldn't unsee it. Once Paul
knew the law, for I had not known lust, except the law had said,
thou shalt not covet. And I'm gonna tell you something,
that never left Paul till his dying breath. Because once God
opens your eyes, you're going to see and you can't help but
see him. And you're going to come. Paul said, we know the law is
spiritual, but I am carnal. What, sold under sin. And he
clarifies it on down. My members. My members, wait
a minute, this tongue up here, that's an unruly member. Oh my. I am carnal. And I will say with
the apostle Paul, I am carnal. And I will stand right here and
point at you and tell you, you are carnal. Because your flesh
hasn't gone anywhere. It's still there. And Paul wrote that whole section
from Romans 7 to verse 25 in the first person, using himself
as an example, in sample, of what goes on inside a believer
before and after conversion. And you understand this. Paul,
we don't get no better. I don't get any better. Now yes,
by God's grace and by his power and by his work and his mercy,
I have grown in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. And we are told to keep doing that. And do it until you
die. Because you will never attain.
Paul said, I have not apprehended. We were talking about this before
outside on the porch. I'm not apprehended for that
which I have been apprehended for. I have not arrived. I'm not prayed up, packed up,
and ready to go. Paul said he was ready to go,
but it was more profitable for me to be here for you. That's what he told us. Paul
wrote of what went on inside the believer before conversion,
and he wrote what is going on, what is going on after conversion. And I told you he wrote verses
seven to 13 in the past tense, and verses 14 to 25 in the present
tense, and he meant exactly what he wrote down. You got a problem with that?
You got a problem with this book? What's it say? Verse 21. I find then a law that when I
would do good, evil is present with me. When I would do good, evil is
present with me. You understand what I'm saying?
When I would do good, evil is present with me. I'm gonna tell you something,
evil's present with you even when you're not trying to do
good. But this is the other thing, this is when you're gonna notice.
This is when you're gonna notice. Because this is the state of
every believer. There is a war between the flesh
and the spirit. Verse 23 says that. But I see
another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members. That is the death that Paul's
talking about. He's not talking about, not saying
that Christ hasn't given him life yet. He's saying no, this
is the war I'm in right now. And it's a war in my members
against my mind. It's a war of the spirit versus
the flesh. And I remember years ago, Earl said, I've told you this
before, The believer is a dichotomy. Earl had a vocabulary. And he wasn't afraid to use it
sometimes. Now I knew this one, I knew what it meant. But I have
had to remember looking up some of the words that Earl used just
to be sure. I never tell him that I had to
look them up. But I did. But I looked it up
this time and wrote it down for a dichotomy. Here we go. It's
a division or contrast between two things that are represented
as being opposed. That's the word. There's an opposition
inside me between the spirit of God and my flesh. Understand,
the problems with me, it's not with God. And the problems with
you, it's not with God. But when I would do good, evil
is present. And it's present, not only just
present, it's present with me. With me. That's where my problem
lies. My problem lies with me. And
your problem is not me, thank goodness, it's you. People get upset and they might
want to yell at the preacher. You go right ahead, I'm sure
I deserve it. But if you want to, you can yell at Walter too.
But your problem's with you, just as my problem's with me.
I don't want to be yelling at you folks. Because my problem,
my faults, my failures are mine. That's why it says my faults
and my failures. I saw another sign years and
years ago I kind of liked. It says I choose my friends by
their faults. They're virtues I can live with. This is the way we are. And Paul's
writing here, when I would do good, evil is present with me,
with me. It's built into my members. This
is the state of every believer, I said. There's a war in every
believer. There's opposition within me. And this is why God must work
in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. You understand? Only what's done by Christ shall
last. See, I like that thing now. Yeah,
I like that now. But a dichotomy means that we
are opposed to one another. And what Paul said, with my mind
I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of
sin. You understand? If I could get rid of the evil
that's with me, I would. I can't. I can't. You understand? It's ingrained. It's in me, in my members. I am my own worst enemy, and
I always have been. But now here's the thing. Now,
because of Christ and in Christ, I know I'm my own worst enemy. I used to think I was a pretty
good fella. Fairly smart. Used to be cute. I got my hair cut yesterday.
I complained to the lady who cut it. I said, wait a minute.
My sideburns are still gray. My flesh has never changed. It's gotten older, but it's still
the same. And that's what Paul is telling
us here. This is the state of the believer. When I would do
good, evil is present with me, with me. Believers are both abased and
exalted. We are earthen vessels, clay
pots, and we are the sons and daughters of God. Believers are
stung with hatred and touched by love. His love. Believers are proud when they
ought not to be, but he humbles us. Believers are both empty and
full. And here's the thing, at the same time. At the same time,
all of these are at the same time. Believers are full of folly. I got that one from J.C. Philpott.
I like that. They are full of folly and know
the wisdom of God. Because Christ is the wisdom
of God. Believers are lagging behind
and pressing forward. Believers have tripped and fell,
and they're running the race. Believers have good and evil
present with them, because believers are both sinner and saint. That's it. This is the thing. It's not just a word. Like you
said, oh, I'm a sinner. Yes, yes, we're all sinners,
brother. No, no, I'm a sinner. And what I mean by that is I
sin every day, even though I don't want to. If I believed what you
all preach, I'd sin as much as I want to. Geez, I got that B
a long way. I sin a lot more than I want
to. When I do good, evil's present. And it's not saying you don't
get to do good. But even when I would do good, evil's present. With me. With me. Because believers
are both, right now, flesh and spirit. Christ said it this way. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. and both things, that which is
born of the spirit is spirit. And they are not the same. And
they are in every single believer in Jesus Christ. You understand? Some people might
think it's strange that I find then a law that when I would
do good, evil is present with me. And the title of this message
is The Believer, Believers. Because this is where we are.
Yeah, in Christ. The only thing that what people
don't seem to understand about this is the only ones who know
that there's a war in their members are those that have the war. Before God saved me, before God
regenerated me, before God converted me, I didn't have a war in my
members. I didn't have a war in my members. Only those who know the truth
can know the lie as a lie. You understand? You may know
the lie, but you may not know it's a lie. Oh, you mean people
are deceived? That's exactly what I mean. That's
exactly what the scripture says. They receive not the love of
the truth and therefore they believe the lie. But here's the thing, look at
the next verse of this, well Romans eight and one. Look at
Romans 8 and 1 at the end of this statement. I, I, I, I, I,
I, I, I, me, we. Paul writing all this of what
he was before conversion, what we are after conversion. Paul
writes this. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit. He didn't say you've overcome
the flesh. but says you walk not after the
flesh. Now understand that's a descriptive phase of who's
in Christ Jesus. Because Paul's already said it.
So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God but with
the flesh the law of sin. But here's the thing. It doesn't
say therefore now nobody falls that are in Christ Jesus. It
doesn't say that. It says there's no condemnation. It doesn't say that nobody fails
that's in Christ Jesus. It doesn't say that nobody sins
who's in Christ Jesus. No. You fail, you fall, you stumble,
you trip, you crawl on your belly. You bust your head because you're
running to a brick wall. Why? Because you're running with
your eyes closed or looking the other way. And now there is no condemnation
in those who are in Christ Jesus. I like that. It says that there's
now no condemnation. When I would do good, evil is
with me. And there's now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. But let me tell you something
about one of the miraculous things to realize today. One miraculous
thing to realize today. I, and I'm going to speak of
myself, I would actually really like to do good. And I mean God good, not man
good. I can do that. I'd like to do
God good, Walter. You understand? I never cared about that before. It's a miracle of grace that
God makes his people want to do good. And sometimes he teaches them
what is good. They already know who is good.
Sometimes you're not sure about what is good. I would do good. Even though evil is present with
me, I still desire to do good. And there's no condemnation to
them that are in Christ Jesus. Now here's the thing I want to
say about this verse. If you don't quite understand,
I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. If you don't know about this warring between your members
and your mind, the spirit and the flesh. If you don't have
a battle, you may not know Christ. You may not realize it. Most
people don't, because they are deceived. But this is the thing,
this is the state of the believer. When I do good, evil is present. And the believer, knows both
of these things. They know both of these things.
Because believers are, and I said it before, both sinner and saint. And thank God for that. Because
before, all I was was a sinner. All I was was a sinner. Now I'm both. In him, both sinner
and saint. And one day, the sinner part's
going away. It's not gonna do it while we're
here on this earth, until he come. When he comes, it's all over. Our Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord. for all that
you've done for us, for all that you've given to
us. The knowledge of sin in ourselves
was a miraculous blessing. The knowledge of the righteousness
in Christ is grace beyond measure. Thank you, Lord, for your Son,
whom you gave to save us from our sins and to bring us into
your family as sons and daughters. In Christ's name we pray.