Romans chapter 7. The title of
the lesson this morning is Two Natures, One Man. The scriptures
plainly teach the necessity of the new birth. There can't be
any salvation unless a sinner is born again. Which is exactly
what our Lord told Nicodemus. You must be born again. But the
new birth does not change the old man in any way. The old man
of flesh is still flesh and he'll never be anything but sinful
flesh. He'll never do anything but sin. And when we're born
again, there's a new man born. The old man's not changed. There's
a new man born who never existed before. And he's born in a very
similar way to our first birth. In our first birth, there was
a man of flesh born. He was born from fleshly seed.
That fleshly person has a body of flesh. He has eyes that see
fleshly things. He has ears that hear fleshly
things. He has hands that handle fleshly
things. He has feet that run after fleshly
things. He has an appetite for fleshly
food. He born with a mouth. The baby's
born with a mouth that cries when it's hungry and speaks lies
every day of its life. It's a man of flesh. And the
spirit is born in a similar way, but opposite in every way. Our
second birth, In that birth, there's a spiritual man born
of spiritual seed. A new person's not born. He didn't
go back into his mother's womb and be born again. A spiritual
person is born. I should have said a new body's
not born. A new person is born. A new body's
not born. There's a new nature, and that
nature is a spiritual nature. And that new man does have a
body that's described in God's word. He's born with eyes that
see spiritual things, that see Christ. He's born with ears that
hear spiritual things. He hears the voice of Christ.
He's born with feet that follow Christ. When he hears him, he
follows him. He's born with hands that serve
Christ, our new master. And he's born with an appetite
for spiritual things. He's got an appetite for the
sincere milk of the word of God. He's got an appetite for the
green grass of God's word. And that new man's born with
a mouth. A mouth that confesses Christ, a mouth that cries out
to Christ for mercy and grace. So every believer is one person,
but they have two natures. And each of those two different
people, those two different natures, they have a different heart.
They love different things. The flesh loves sin, and it will
always and only love sin. And the spiritual man loves righteousness.
and he'll always and only love righteousness. And those two
men, those two natures are polar opposites. So they're never going
to get along. They're always going to fight
against each other. They're always pulling in opposite
directions. Now in Romans chapter seven,
the apostle Paul writes about the daily experience of every
believer. Every believer experiences this
constant warfare that's going on inside of us. This warfare
is a civil war. It's me fighting against me. My old man fighting against my
new man. And some people mistakenly think
that Paul was a lost man when he wrote Romans chapter seven.
And they couldn't be more wrong. He's talking about the daily
experience of every believer. In the first 13 verses of Romans
chapter seven, Paul writes in the past tense. He's writing
about his time before conversion. But then in verse 14, there's
a tense change. He begins talking in the present
tense. And what he's talking about is
the present experience of every believer. So here's the first
thing he teaches us beginning in verse 14. This is the daily
experience of every believer. The law can't save anyone, verse
14. For we know that the law is spiritual,
but I'm carnal, sold under sin. Now the law is spiritual, and
I'll tell you what that means. That means the law, it does require
an outward obedience to every command of the law. And the law
requires an inward obedience to every commandment of the law.
The law not only requires I don't murder somebody, the law requires
I don't get angry without a cause. The law requires not only do
I not commit adultery, the law requires I not lust after another
woman The law requires not only that I don't steal, but that
I don't covet what doesn't belong to me. That's what it means when
we say the law is spiritual. So it's impossible for you and
me to keep the law, isn't it? Because we're carnal. We have
that fleshly nature. Even if we don't act on sin,
we think it all the time. It's the desire of the natural
heart. And that nature of the flesh
is opposed to the spirituality of the law. So we can't be saved
by our law keeping because we don't have the ability to keep
it. We don't have any control over
the sinful thoughts that fly through our head. Even things
you don't want to think about just fly through your head. Even
things you wish you didn't desire, the sinful desires of your heart
are there and we can't stop it because that nature, fleshly
nature is a nature of sin. So that makes it impossible for
us to be saved by keeping the law. Here's the second thing,
the daily experience of every believer. The law can't save
us and the law can't make anybody holy, even a believer. Look here
at verse 15. For that which I do, I allow
not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. If
then I do that which I would not, I consent under the law
that it's good. Now a believer's born again.
You've got a new nature that cannot A nature that truly does
love the law of God. And when I desire to keep the
law, I consent unto the law that it's good. Well, it stands, I
mean it's just obvious, God's law is good because God's good.
Of course it's good to love the Lord like God, with all thy heart,
with all thy soul, with all thy strength. Of course it's good
we don't have any idols and we worship only the Lord. Of course
it's good that you honor your parents, It's good that you're
an honest person. It's good you don't steal. It's
good that you're faithful to your spouse. All that's good. But Paul said, here's our problem.
We can't keep it in action or in thought. We cannot keep it.
Every believer will say, I, I desire to keep the law. I desire. I
mean, it's my desire to not sin again. I hate that I sin. But
that's exactly what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna do what I hate.
I'm gonna do the sin that I hate because that old nature is unchanged. So the law cannot make a believer
holy, can it? The threats of the law will never
make the flesh obey the law. So what we need to do, and I
hope we don't do this, but I'm talking about religious people
in general, is quit threatening people with the law. Just preach
Christ who's the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believe in Him. Just preach Christ who did keep the law for
His people and quit beating people over the head with the law because
it can't make them holy. No matter how much we beat people
over the head with the law, they're not going to keep it. It can't
make men holy. Even the new man who does love
God's law can't make that old man of flesh keep it because
the old man of the flesh hates that law. He loves nothing but
sin. And he can only do sinful things.
He can only think sinful things. He can only desire sinful things.
The nature of the flesh is not subject to the law of God. Neither
indeed can be. It can't be. So the law cannot
make us holy. Here's the third thing. This
is the daily experience of every believer. Every believer lives
their lives with two different people in one body. or 17. Now then, it's no more I that
do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. And when Paul says it's
no more I that do it, is he blaming somebody else for those things
that he does? Is Paul blaming Adam for making him a sinner?
Is he blaming his parents for making him a sinner? You know,
they didn't teach me any better. No, he's not saying it's not
his fault at all. Paul's putting the blame squarely
where it belongs. It belongs on that old man. Because
every believer has two different people in him. The I that the
apostle refers to here is the new man. That's me. And the sin
that he refers to is the old man. And that old man's me too. Both of them are me. And what
Paul's saying is, all I do is sin. But that sin doesn't come
from the new man that's been born of God, because he can't
sin. All that sin comes from the old man. Now the new man
desires to be perfect. He doesn't want to do those things.
He doesn't want to think sinful thoughts. He doesn't want to
do anything sinful. He wants to be kind. He wants to do good
works. But everything he does is filtered
through that old man. Everything he does is done by
this body of flesh. So it's all mixed with sin. So
it is sin. Look at Matthew chapter 26. You
know, I can't do anything the new man wants to do perfectly.
because I'm still in this body of sin. And those two natures
are constantly fighting with each other. See if this isn't
what the Lord says in Matthew chapter 26, verse 36. Then come with Jesus with them unto
a place called Gethsemane and say it under the disciples, sit
you here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and
very heavy. Then say at the end of them, my soul is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death. Tear ye here and watch with me.
Now you think of being in the presence of the Lord and him
saying, my soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death. I'm afraid
I'm going to die from this sorrow. And even if they don't understand
what's getting ready to happen, the master says, tear ye here
and watch with me, pray with me. And he went a little further,
they saw him. They saw their master fall on
his face and pray, saying, oh my father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou will. And the disciples saw that and
they just were in such earnest prayer, weren't they? No. And he cometh unto the disciples
and findeth them asleep. And saith unto Peter, what, couldst
thou not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you enter
not into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the
flesh is weak. That's exactly what the Lord's
saying. Peter, you fell asleep because there's two natures in
one body. I know the spirit was willing. The spirit was willing
to watch with me and pray with me, but the flesh is weak. Look
in Galatians chapter five. Every believer here It's thankful
that the Lord said that because that we think we're lost. We think there's no hope for
us if we didn't know there's these two natures. And you're a believer, you love
the Lord, but that's your experience, isn't it? The same thing as Peter.
And Paul tells us why in Galatians 5 verse 16. This I say then,
walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the
flesh, For the flesh lusteth, warreth against the spirit, and
the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary the one
to another, so that you cannot do the things that you would.
It's impossible to do those things that you desire, because that
old man, that nature of sin is constantly warring against the
new man. So which is it? Paul talks about
these two natures. Well, Paul, which are you? Are
you wretched or are you righteous? Are you sinful or are you holy?
Which is it? And the answer is yes. Both of
them are me. I am righteous. And I am wretched. I am holy. And I am sinful. Because I have two different
natures. So when I sin, Aaron, it's really
me that did it. I'm guilty. I did that. And when
I look to Christ and I rest in Christ, that's really me too.
Because that's the new man that's been born of God. So since a
believer has these two opposite natures in him, here's the fourth
thing. This is the daily experience of every believer. Believer lives
in a constant state of civil war. Me warring against me. Verse 18 of Romans 7. 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. For the good that I would, I
do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that
I would not, it's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. 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 of my members, warring
against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin, which is in my members. Now, every believer
knows exactly what Paul's saying there. I know that there is nothing
good in my flesh, totally depraved, totally sinful. There is nothing
good of me. I cannot produce anything good,
but there's something good in me. It's the new man that God
put in me, born of God. And I do desire to do good. I do desire to be holy, but I
can never actually do it because I'm in this body of sin. The
flesh stops the spirit from doing what I really want to do, which
is be holy and be just like Christ. So there's a constant war going
on inside me. The spirit constantly wanting
to be like Christ, the flesh constantly wanting sin. I don't
want to sin, but that's all I do. I don't want to have a bad attitude,
but that's what I have most of the time. I always do what I
hate, which is sin. And I never do what I really
love and what I really desire to do, which is be holy. And
Paul says it again. He says this twice, so we get
it. Verse 20. Now, if I do that, I would not.
It's no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. It's the
old man that sins and the new man desires to be holy. And both
of those men, both of those natures are really me. I really am a
completely sinful man. And I am a completely holy man.
I really am a completely sinful man. And I really am righteous
because of God's grace in Christ Jesus. And that makes me the
happiest most miserable man on the face of this planet. And
every believer can do to say the same thing. Because I do
what I hate and I never do what I love. Every time I want to
do good, Paul says I find a law present, the law of sin present.
Now he's not talking about the law like the law of God, he's
talking about the law of gravity. The law of gravity says everything's
gonna fall. The law of gravity says I let
go of that and it falls. No matter how many times you
change it, no matter how many times you change letting go of
it, every single time it's going to fall. It's never going to
float again. It's always going to fall. It's the law of gravity. The law of sin says everything
I ever do is sin and nothing I can do is going to change it.
Absolutely nothing. It's all I'm ever going to do.
It can't be changed. So here's the experience of a
believer. How I desire to worship. There's been some times. I really worshiped. And I want
that every day. But what I find is a law of sin. I'm so easily distracted. I want to pray. I mean, I want
to pray. I feel like the disciples so
often, Lord, teach me to pray. And I begin to pray, or at least
go through the motions of it, and my mind wanders so easily.
I find myself praying selfishly. I want to read God's word. I
want to read it. I want to meditate on God's Word.
I want to be fed by God's Word. I want to learn from God's Word.
I want to see Christ in God's Word. But I'm telling you, I
can read it and fall asleep so easily. I just read a few lines
and suddenly begin to think about something else. But we go on
vacation. I can sit down on the beach and
read for hours. I can read a novel cover to cover without ever moving.
The old man and the new man. I truly desire. to be a kind,
loving, caring person to my brethren. I desire that. But there's a
law of sin that always makes me selfish. It's an unchangeable
law, just like the law of gravity. Now, there's no excuse for sin.
Just because that's a law of sin that's in me doesn't make
any excuse for sin whatsoever. And the new man will never excuse
it. That's the warfare. The new man will never excuse
that. But that, even though it's not an excuse, it's simply the
warfare that's the daily experience going on inside every believer.
The flesh always stops the spirit from doing what we would. But
you know, thankfully, that warfare is going both ways. Thankfully,
the spirit stops the flesh from doing everything he wants to
do too. And believers are kind and gracious and loving people.
For the most part, they really are, because that's what they
desire to do. And you know why that is? Even though we have
our moments, generally speaking, you're kind, gracious, loving
people. Because there's a warfare going
on, but grace rules in the heart. Yes, the old man, he's still
alive, he's still strong, he's still sinful, he's still causing
a whole lot of trouble, but he's not on the throne anymore. Christ
is on the throne. So here's the fifth thing. Only
Christ can deliver us from sin. Only Christ can deliver us from
the condemnation of sin, and only Christ can deliver us from
the presence of sin. Look here at verse 24, Romans
7. O 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. Every believer gets so tired
of this constant warfare with sin. We just suffer battle fatigue,
don't we? Oh, it's just such a difficult
battle. So we cry with the apostle Paul, when is this gonna be over? When am I gonna get the orders
to be able to leave this battlefield and go home? When am I going
to be able to be done with all my sin? I am a wretched man and
I'm sick and tired of it. I'm tired of being a wretched
man. I want to be holy. When's that going to happen?
That's what he's asking here. Well, you know, it's only Christ
who can deliver us from our sin. You who believe, you've been
delivered from sin. Already you've been delivered.
You've been delivered from the condemnation of sin. You've been
delivered from the ruling power of sin. Look here in chapter
8, verse 1. For there is therefore now, this
is the present experience of a believer, now there is no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do, and that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of
sinful flesh and for sin, for a sacrifice for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us. He walked not after the flesh, but after the spirit.
See, there's no condemnation to any believer because only
Christ can deliver from that condemnation of sin. And he's
done that for his people by being condemned for us when he was
made sin for us. Christ has delivered us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. He delivered
us from the condemnation of sin. And only Christ can deliver us
from the presence of sin, too. And one day He's going to do
it. He'll do just that for all of His people. He'll finally,
when His time comes, He'll call us off the battlefield. Mike,
the stress will be over, woman. In that moment, the stress will
be over. Mike said he watched his dad
die. He said the spirit left. His
body. Stress was over. That's the way
it is for every believer. The stress is going to be over.
The battle fatigue is going to be over. We'll leave this body
of sin behind. Somebody left behind is going
to put it in the ground and we'll go be with the Lord. And there
we'll be with Him in perfection. In perfect holiness. In perfect
righteousness. No more dealing with sin. will be made just like Christ,
where we will not only be delivered from only the condemnation of
sin, but will finally be delivered from the presence of sin. And
can't we thank God for that? Oh, how I look forward to the
day. So until he's pleased to call us from this battlefield
to go home, that encourages me to continue fighting the battle,
to continue fighting this war. The flesh is going to continue
to be sinful. I wouldn't expect it to be any
different. But I myself, the new man, is going to delight
to serve and love the Lord. And until the Lord does call
us home, I'm going to make a shocking statement. For all of us who
are battle fatigued, I'm going to make a shocking statement.
We can be thankful for this warfare. We'd be thankful that this civil
war that's tearing us apart is going on inside of us We can
be thankful for it. Thankful for warfare? Yes. Because a believer is in a war
we cannot win. We're in a battle we cannot win. That battle will never end. So
what does that force us to do? What's your only other option?
You're in a battle you can't win. What's your only option? Just depend on Christ. Just rest
on Him. He said it's finished. The battle's
over. He's already won the war. This
civil warfare that causes us such agony forces us to depend
upon the Savior. I can gladly and thankfully depend
on Christ my Savior to be my all. Can't you? That's the only
thing one person with two natures can do. is to depend on the Lord
and wait on Him to deliver us from that old sinful man. All
right, Lord bless you.