Glad to see everybody out this
morning. Appreciate you coming. I hope
that because of being here, God will bless you, bless all of
us as we grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. We're going to pick back up this morning. Our last lesson
had to do with the believer's warfare within. This right here
is going to be a two-part message, and this is part two of that
message, having to do with the believer's warfare within, having
to do with that warfare that the believer has with the flesh
that we're born with, we have by nature, and the spirit, which
only God's God's elect has is the spirit of God that's given
to us at the new birth. And as I said, the title is The
Believer's Warfare Within this morning. And I think it'd be
good to go over a couple of things that we had mentioned last time
that I had this message. First of all, we should remember
that each and every daughter and and son of Adam are born
with only one nature, and that being a human nature that we're
all born with. And that human nature is contaminated
by sin due to the fall of Adam. We all have a sin principle,
that principle that's contaminated our nature due to the fall of
Adam. There's been only one man that's
ever had two natures, and that is Christ Jesus. He not only
was human in that he was born of the Virgin Mary, he was man. He was also, he had a divine
nature. He was born of God, born of the
Holy Spirit. So we need to always remember
that, that all men born of Adam, believers and unbelievers though,
have a sin principle, and we'll have that sin principle even
unto death. One of the verses that we'll
study this morning calls this sin principle that we have by
nature, it calls it a law. Look at Romans 7 verse 21, where
Paul says, I find in a law that when I would do good, evil is
present with me. So now believers born of the
spirit, God has graciously given them a new principle of life.
We must understand, however, that this new principle of life
is not a divine nature. It's not a divine nature within
us. Only God himself has a divine
nature, and that divine nature cannot be transferred and imparted
to sinful humanity. Christ alone bore, born of God,
the Holy Spirit is both man and God, yet without sin. Now this new principle that is
given by God to all believers, it guides the believer as he
walks this earth. This new principle wars with
the sin principle that remains, and that we're never able to
do what we know we should do, and that is perform all things
perfectly before God. This is a warfare that will continue
within the believer as long as he lives on this earth. And second
of all, our discussion this morning is pertaining to our walk on
this earth and how it's still affected by sin, that sin that
still remains within us as sinful humanity. We must remember that
even though we still have remaining sin, that before God, we're justified. We're righteous in his sight
all based on what Christ accomplished at the cross by the shedding
of his blood. Before we begin with verse 19
here, which will be our first verse that we'll talk about,
Romans chapter seven, beginning at verse 19. But in verse 18
here, which is the verse that we ended in our last study, where
Paul says, for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth
no good thing. For the will is present with
me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. Paul's showing
here that the I of whom he wrote back in verse 17 is himself. He says, in me. But he also describes
it as my flesh. This is flesh which is opposed
to the spirit of Christ that dwelt within Paul. After saying
that in his flesh, well, it's no good thing, he then says that
the will, the will is present with me, but how to perform that
which is good or that which is perfect, I find not. He now begins
to explain why he's not able to do those things, which he
knows that he ought to do. He begins in our next verse by
saying in verse 19, For the good that I would, I do not, but the
evil which I would not, that I do. Paul states emphatically
here that he fails to attain the good or his goal of perfection,
perfect obedience to Christ, which is sinless perfection in
all his deeds, all his thoughts, and all his motives. He goes
on to say that the evil he hates is what he does. This sounds
like a defeated man, a defeated life, and a failure, but it's
not. This struggle itself is proof
of salvation by God's grace in Christ. This is a warfare in
which only believers can engage, as it is a struggle between the
spirit, the spirit of God, and the flesh. Unbelievers may have
struggles of conscience, and they do, and strive to keep the
law of God. But their motives are evil when
they do this. Their motives are evil because
they're seeking to establish their own righteousness before
God. Listen to what Paul says about his brethren, according
to the flesh, over in Romans 10, beginning at verse one. Now,
he's speaking of Israel. He's speaking of, he was an Israelite.
He was a Jew, according to the flesh, the way he was born. It
says, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
is that they might be saved. He says, for I bear them record
that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
For being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish
their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. These unbelieving
Jews here did not have the Spirit of God, but they had a conscience,
and that conscience drove them to outwardly obey God's law in
order to establish the righteousness of their own. Therefore, they
only exalted the flesh. Believers, on the other hand,
have a new principle within them. It's a holy principle given by
God. And because of this, they have
the motive of grace, gratitude, and God the love given by the
Spirit in the new birth. They have a different motive.
That motive is not one that would cause them to go about to establish
a righteousness of their own, thinking that by their works
they could somehow or another attain eternal life. Again, we
see another proof that Paul is not describing here as some claim
a new and sinless nature within that cannot sin and cannot be
contaminated. Paul states he desires to do
good, but he cannot and does not. The question is would a
new nature within that cannot sin or cannot be contaminated
desire to do good and not do it? that would be absurd. If
it were a new sinless nature that did no sin and only performed
not only perfect acts, but was perfect in inward thought and
inward deed, not only would this perfect nature desire to do good,
it would actually do good and it'd be perfect in every way.
We'll talk a little bit more about these two principles within
the believer as we get to verse 25. Now, the next verse here,
it says, now, if I do that, I would not, it is no more I that do
it, but sin that dwelleth in me. As Paul described in Romans
17, 7, 17, he says, now then, it is no more I that do it, but
sin that dwelleth in me. Paul traces his inability to
obey God perfectly back to its source, which is sin, that dwell
within me." When he says, it is no more I that do it, he is
not refusing to take the blame for the sin that he does. His
point is that as a new and regenerate sinner, a sinner saved by the
grace of God and born again by the Spirit of God, in his spirit,
in his spirit, he does not approve of the sin that plagues his present
life. He is speaking of the conflict
between his desires to do good. And when I say desire to do good,
I mean perfectly, perfectly obey God as Christ did. You know,
he is that perfect standard of obedience. And he is speaking
of the conflict between his desire to do good and sin within him.
Paul himself is a regenerate person. He has that new principle
of life given to him by the Holy Spirit. But he still has to contend
with the sin principle that corrupts his fallen humanity while in
this life. Next, in verse 21, Paul says,
I find in a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. Sin within us, even as regenerate
sinners saved by the grace of God, It's a powerful principle
that still remains, so powerful that it has a force of law that
forcibly demands compliance with its lust. This is the force of
fallen, sinful humanity that still resides within our minds,
our affections and will, so that when we desire and attempt to
do good, to be perfect, we will always find in this life that
evil is present with me. We cannot get away from it while
we're still in the flesh. The law of sin is the greatest
grievance to every believer. It disturbs our happiness and
peace more than any other cause. It constantly besets us, and
from its influence, our very prayers, instead of being in
themselves worthy of God, even our prayers need forgiveness.
and can be accepted only through the mediation of Christ. It is
strange that any believer should even hesitate as to the way in
which the apostle uses this language. It completely describes the believer
and his struggle in this life. It describes it well. Next, verse
22, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man,
Paul says, Paul's delight in the law of God comes by the grace
of God in looking to Christ as his righteousness before God,
as we can see in Romans 10 in verse 4, where it says, for Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Paul
is also delighted in the work of the Spirit in the new birth,
which cleansed his heart and conscience to see the guilt of
sin removed by the blood and righteousness of Christ alone.
The last part of verse 22, which says, after the inward man, refers
to his very heart, Paul's very heart, and every believer's very
heart and soul, our conscience, which has been purged from dead
works and settled by the application and knowledge of God in Christ. Let's look at Hebrews 9, 14. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offer himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? And also in Hebrews 10 verse
22, where it says, let us draw near with a true heart, full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. That evil conscience
is a conscience that is going about to establish the righteousness
of our own. They do not see God as He is,
or just God and a Savior. They do not see Christ as the
one that accomplished salvation, not made an attempt, but actually
accomplished salvation. on behalf of all those he represented
and died for. And so, they go about to establish
a righteousness of their own. They're ignorant of God's righteousness. Don't know how God saves a sinner.
And so, if you're ignorant of God's righteousness, what are
you gonna do? You know God's angry. You know
we're sinners, we commit sin. So you go about to establish
a righteousness of your own by your works, by deeds of law.
And whether you say you did it on your own or whether you say
God enabled you to do it, that's what we're doing. We all were
establishing a righteousness of our own before God revealed
his righteousness, God's righteousness to us, how he saved the sinner.
The pure water here in this verse that we just got through reading
in Hebrews 10, 22, is not baptismal water, but the grace of the Spirit.
which in scripture is often compared to water, the body as well as
the soul needs washing and redoing. The internal grace of God influences
outward actions. Grace within, or the inward man
that Paul's speaking of here in verse 22, it does affect our
walk as believers. It will reveal where our hope
is. No matter what unregenerate sinners might say about those
who have fled to Christ, for all of their justification, all
of their righteousness before God. We do not look to our works
to be justified before God. And in our innermost being, God's
elect does desire to obey God perfectly. Obeying God perfectly
is our desire, desire of our heart, our minds, and affections,
and will. This inward man here is the same
as Paul described back in 2 Corinthians 4. in verse 16, where it says,
For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish,
this fleshly body, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. This
has to happen because of the continual influence of sin upon
it. God has ordained that the renewing
be accomplished by the Spirit of God, keeping it and continually
drawing it to Christ and His Word as its strength, as David
did and as he acknowledged back in Psalm 51 verse 10, where he
says, creating me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit
within me. This proves that the inward man
is not some kind of perfect sinless nature that cannot be contaminated
with sin. If it could not be contaminated,
it would not have to be renewed. All believers have one nature
that's influenced by two nature, that holy nature and that sin
nature, that sin principle rather. In verse 23, our next verse that
we'll look at, Paul says, 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. There is, however,
another law in my members, Paul says, or a powerful principle
of evil within his humanity, his human nature, that wars against
the law of my mind, he says, that which he knows and desires
to do in obedience to God. Paul states emphatically that
his remaining fallen human nature keeps him captive so that he
cannot be sinlessly, sinlessly perfect in this life. Although we have been totally
freed from the guilt of sin and its condemnation by the body
of Christ, and here's what he accomplished on the cross, we
have not, in this life, been freed from the power of sin.
to influence and contaminate our deeds, our thoughts and motives. Again, when he says his members,
he's referring to his physical body, which is the realm from
which sin operates. Next verse, verse 24, Paul says,
after seeing all these things about that warfare, O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Paul's ultimate desire is expressed
in crying out for total deliverance from the remaining power and
presence and influence and contamination of sin. This is a certain hope
for all who are saved by God's grace in Christ, but it is not
a present reality until we die, until we set aside, as Paul says
here, the body of this death, or this body of death. The saints
of God live in a house of death and will remain there until death. They drag around a fleshly body
that's contaminated with sin. That body is subject unto death,
though the inner man, that man that's born of the spirit, is
renewed in the image and righteousness of God in Christ. Eternal life
dwells within the believers' immortal soul. That soul will
never die. Paul wrote back in 1 Corinthians,
chapter 15, in verse 50, now this I say, brethren, that flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither does
corruption inherit incorruption. And also in verse 53, for this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Notice the present tense of our
wretchedness, even as Regenerate Sinners, that Paul speaks of
in Romans 24, says, O wretched man that I am, not was, but that
I am. You'll never hear this from a
lost religionist. You'll only hear it from a child
of God, one for whom God has done a work of grace in his heart,
one who has been slain by God's law and shown his helpless. and hopeless state without Christ. He has been shown that there
is no hope of salvation apart from Christ's righteousness imputed,
one that's legally charged to your account, the righteousness
that Christ worked out by his obedience, even under death,
his blood shed on the cross. Therefore, the question is in
Romans 24, who shall deliver me from the body of this death
then? This question is not asked for information, but to emphasize
the grace and power of God in Christ. As expressed in our next
verse, the last verse that we'll have this morning in verse 25,
Paul says, 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 thank God through Jesus Christ
my Lord, Paul said, as Christ was and is the only one who can
deliver us from the guilt of sin and condemnation. He is the
only one who can deliver us from the power of sin's presence and
contamination. The emphasis here is not on any
supposed righteousness within us, but upon the righteousness
of Christ freely imputed and received by grace. We have but
one righteousness before God, Christ and Him crucified and
risen again. He is our deliverance from all
sin. Look at 1 Corinthians 15 and
verse 57. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look back
at Romans 25 again. Romans 7, 25. So then, with my
mind, Paul says, I myself serve the law of God, but with the
flesh, the law of sin. Paul says, I myself, therefore
it's clear that he's not talking about another person here, but
himself in this discussion. Paul says here that with my mind,
by which he means his inward man, that inward man, that holy
principle that God had given him. that renewed self, I serve
the law of God, and with the flesh, by which he means his
carnal life, that that he's born with, that sin principle that's
within us. I serve the law of sin, he says,
with the flesh. Paul accounts for his serving
at different times, two different laws, the law of God, written
on his mind, and in the service of which he delighted as a regenerate
man, and the law of sin, to which he was sometimes influenced. Also notice that he does not
say, I have served, as referring to his past state of being unregenerate. He doesn't say that, but he says,
I serve, as speaking of his present state as a believer, a believer
in Christ, made up of flesh and spirit. Paul and all believers
are one person with two different influencing principles, which
regard two different laws. After seeing the wretched state
that we're in by nature, this is why our confidence and our
hope as believers must be in Christ and his righteousness
alone and not in our flesh, as it says in Philippians 3, verse
3, where Paul says this, for we are the circumcision, those
that God has done a work in. those that God has regenerated,
which worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh, no confidence in anything that's
done in us or by us. We have no confidence in anything,
any of our works before God. We're sinners saved by the grace
of God based on Christ's righteousness alone. Now, in closing here,
I want to read something that it gives comfort to believers,
those that have fled to Christ for refuge as their only hope
of salvation, fled to Christ for that refuge. And even though
we know that we're not guilty before God, that we're justified
before God, based on Christ's righteousness alone, we know
we still struggle through this life with remaining sin. We know we still struggle with
it. And I'm going to read a few things that sometimes, you know,
when you read something, you say, well, that's good. I agree
with that totally. And it gives me comfort. And
it's written by an old writer, Job Hupton, back in 1762. He died in 1829. And the title
of it was The Christian's Conflict but encouragement. He says, my
desire being to comfort the dejected and the discontent and unsatisfied
because of this warfare that we're in. He says, I shall lay
before you a few scripture truths which the God of love has intended
for the consolation of his dear children in the field of battle. First of all, He who made you
has fixed his love upon you freely in his Son. He loves you unchangeably
in all states and conditions from eternity to eternity. Whatever
changes, internal or external, you may pass through, the love
of your God is the same. It doesn't change. You may suffer
the loss of wealth, of health, ease, reputation, and friends. And even like Job, be stripped
of all your earthly comfort. But you cannot be deprived of
your heavenly Father's affection. He rests in his love and joys
over you with singing. Love runs through all his purposes
concerning you and all his dispensations towards you. Secondly, he has
chosen you in Christ Jesus to be his people forever. and adopted
you to be his children and his heirs. He has given himself to
you to be your God and father, your portion and inheritance
forever. Thirdly, he has united you to
his son, Jesus Christ, and fixed you in him, never to be separated
from him. Jesus and you are one. One body, one building, one vine. Your union with Christ commenced
with your election in him. Free sovereign grace was the
cause of both. God's eternal and immutable love
is the bond of your union with Christ Jesus. Therefore, it can
never be dissolved that God, that God who chose
you in him, keeps you in him. Being in Christ, all that he
is, all that he is, and all that he has is yours. His abundance
grace, his perfect righteousness, his complete atonement, his consummate
holiness, his eternal redemption, his perfect and all glorious
salvation, his unsearchable riches of glory and blessedness, all
your own. on this very ground that you
are Christ. You belong to Him. You're in
Him. Christ in you, being one, you stand in Him complete before
the throne of God. You are washed from all your
sins in His blood. You're justified from all things
by His righteousness. Yea, you are lawful fillers in
the righteousness of God in Him. The Father views you with infinite
delight. He sees no spot in you. There
is no curse, no condemnation for you. You are saved with an
everlasting salvation and shall not be ashamed nor confounded,
world without end. And fourthly, God has made with
you an everlasting covenant, not a covenant of words, but
of grace, not a conditional, conditional, but an absolute
one, not one in confusion and disorder, but one ordered in
all things by His comprehending wisdom, not one which may vary,
be disowned, or made void, but one which, like its divine author,
is immutable, permanent, and everlasting. It is founded upon
Jehovah's unchangeable will and confirmed by His unbreakable
oath. It is sealed by the blood of
His incarnate Son, And for its fulfillment, the Eternal Three
have, by their joint oath, pledged themselves. And lastly, God has
given you exceeding great and precious promises suited to all
your cases. The fulfillment of these promises
is certain because the promise is faithful and almighty. These
promises are breast of consolation to the distressed, milk for babies,
and meet for strong men. You may safely trust them, and
in all trust in them, you will sweetly enjoy them. And I say
this morning, as we struggle through this warfare with the
flesh, remember that Christ has already won the battle. He's
already defeated Satan at the cross. And even though we will
continue to have this warfare within, this warfare between
the flesh and the spirit, Until we lay down, lay aside at death
this fleshly body, always remember that our standing is sure and
already been secured by Christ our Savior. We stand before God
without blame in the person of our substitute and our Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless our study in his
word. Winston, come lead us in a closing
song.