Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nyberg. I've entitled this morning's
message, Are You a Romans 7 Sinner? Now, in order for you or I to
be able to answer that question, we have to see what Romans 7
says. So I'm going to read 9 or 10
verses out of Romans chapter 7. If you can get a Bible and
open it up and follow along, I think it would be helpful.
But I'm going to read these verses so we can determine whether or
not we are Romans 7 sinners. In verse 14 of Romans 7, Paul
says, For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal,
sold under sin. 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 unto the law that it is good. Now then, it's no
more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that
in me That is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For to 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 the 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 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, O wretched man that
I am. Who should deliver me from the
body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord, so then, with my mind, I myself serve the law of God,
but with the flesh the law of sin. Now, there's been a lot
of debate over the centuries regarding this passage of Scripture. How did you see yourself in it? Now, some people have said Paul
was speaking of his experience before salvation. This is how
he was before he was saved. The person who holds that position
is either not saved or they're in such a backslidden condition
and so given over to the spirit of Laodicea that they can't discern
sin in themselves and they're getting ready to be spit out
of the mouth of Christ. Now Paul is speaking of his experience
as a believer. Are you a Roman seven sinner?
There are not many of them, but all of God's elect are Romans
7 sinners. As a matter of is a portrait of the truly holy
man, and it's a portrait of a truly honest man. There's not much
honesty in our day, particularly among preachers. Preachers aren't
honest with the Word of God. They're not honest with themselves.
They're not honest concerning themselves or others, but by
the grace of God, Paul was. He was an honest man. Now Romans
chapter 7 is the confession of an honest man. Romans chapter
7 is a portrait of a holy man. Now let's look at these verses
one at a time. In verse 13, to set this up,
of Romans chapter 7, Paul had made this statement, working death in me by that which
is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. Now, if I ever see what the law
of God actually has today to say regarding me, I'm going to
see that I personally am exceeding sinful. That would describe my
character, exceeding sinful. Now, Paul goes on to say, for
we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Now before we get into the meaning
of this passage of scripture, so you and I can see whether
or not we're Roman seven sinners, I want to make these four statements.
First, why do I bring this message? One, to glorify God. Oh, if God
gives me the grace to speak what this passage of Scripture says,
it will glorify God. And secondly, I want to clearly
state what the passage of Scripture I just read actually means. I don't want to hold back out
of fear that someone will use what I'm saying to justify a
sinful lifestyle. Now, I realize some will do that. But some will hang themselves
with a rope, too. And we don't stop the manufacturing
of rope because somebody hangs himself with it. It's not the
rope's fault. It's the person who hung themselves'
fault. And it's not the true's fault.
If someone uses this to justify a sinful life, they'd find some
other reason to do it if that's what they wanted to do. I'm not
going to worry about how someone may abuse this, because probably
someone will. That's not the fault of the text.
I want to clearly state what this text means. Thirdly, I want
every believer to enjoy the full assurance of salvation, to know
that they're saved and that the Savior has saved them. And fourth,
I want those who are not saved to know they're not saved, because
that's the first step of salvation, to find out you're not saved.
That's when you'll call on the Lord for mercy. And what a blessing
it would be to you if God teaches you that you're not saved. If
God teaches you you're not saved, you'll cry out for mercy. Now,
let's read these verses of Scripture. Let me make some comments on
them and see if you are a Romans 7 sinner. Now, Paul says, For
we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Now, I love the way he says,
we know. You know, the Christian is someone who knows something. He's been taught of God, and
we know, Paul said, that all things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are called according to his
purpose. They may not know this, but we do. A Christian is someone
who knows something, and Paul says we know that the law, the
Ten Commandments, is spiritual. The first commandment regarding
putting no God before God, putting nothing before God. He's so altogether
glorious that nothing's to be put before him. The second commandment
regarding idolatry. He's so altogether glorious that
to make an idol, a comparison to him is blasphemy. There's
nobody you can compare him to. The third commandment regarding
taking his name in vain, he so altogether holy to even speak
his name without fear and reverence is great wickedness. You see
the law is spiritual. The law concerning the Sabbath,
resting, doing nothing at all, resting in what he has done. That's a picture of faith. The
law concerning honoring your parents and obeying all authority. The law concerning adultery,
all sex outside the marriage covenant is forbidden. It's wrong.
The Lord is the one who created sex. It's beautiful, but it's
wrong outside of the marriage covenant. And to commit spiritual
adultery, looking for something that would give you assurance
outside of the covenant of grace. Killing is wrong. Whether I'm
killing a man's body or I'm murdering his character. Telling a lie
is wrong in any respect. Coveting, stealing, all of the
law is spiritual. It's so spiritual that Paul says
concerning himself that I am carnal, fleshly, sold under sin. dominated by sin as a slave to
its master. Now, let me tell you this. If
you believe you've kept one of these commandments one time,
you're completely ignorant of the law being spiritual. Because
if you experience what Paul experienced, you'll say the same thing Paul
did. We know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold
under sin. Now that's the confession of
a Roman seven sinner. That's how he sees himself. And
once again, remember, Paul is being honest. He's not a religious
phony trying to promote himself. He's being honest what he is
before God. Now he says in verse 15, for
that which I do, I allow not. I don't approve of it. I don't
recognize it. I know it's wrong. That which
I do, I allow not. For what I would, I would be
holy. I would be without sin. But that's
not what I do. But what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would
not, Paul says, I consent under the law that it's good. Now then,
it's no more I that do it, but that sin that dwelleth in me."
Now, Paul here speaks, and he's going to say more about it as
we go on down in this passage of Scripture, but he speaks of
the two separate natures that dwell in the believer. Now, an
unbeliever cannot possibly understand Romans chapter 7 because he only
has one nature. All he has is that fallen nature,
and he can't even discern what sin is. He looks at a couple
of rules and a couple of do's and don'ts, or he compares himself
with somebody else, and he thinks he comes out pretty good. He
only has one nature, a fallen nature. Now, every man comes
into this world with a fallen nature, inherited from our first
father, Adam, and it's described as totally depraved and totally
unable. Now, what do those two terms
mean, totally depraved and totally unable? Well, total depravity
is seen in this statement by our Lord in John 5, verse 40,
you will not come to me that you might have life. Man is so
evil, all men, me, you, all men by nature, we're so evil that
we will not come to Christ. Well, doesn't man have a free
will and can't he choose to come to Christ? You can't get that
from the scripture. Man is so desperately wicked that his will
is against Christ. Total depravity. There's none
that doeth good, no not one. There's none righteous, no not
one. But not only are men totally
depraved, men are totally unable. They're unable to be anything
else but that. The Lord said in John 6, verse
44, no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me
draw him. You and I are unable to come to Christ unless drawn
by the Father. Now that's the natural man. He
will not come to Christ. He's unable to come to Christ
because he's totally depraved and he's totally unable. Now
that's the nature we're all born with. But when a man is born
again, He's given a new nature, one that was not there before. It's not the old nature being
changed. It's not the old nature being
improved. It's God placing something in
there that was not there before, being born again, the Scripture
says. not of corruptible seed, but
of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever." He's given a new nature. This is the nature that now loves
God. The old nature never loves God. This is the nature that
believes the gospel. The old nature never believes
the gospel. This is the nature that truly repents this change
of mind. The old man never does that.
So every believer has two natures, a holy nature and an evil nature. The evil nature never gets better. The holy nature always stays
holy. And you have these two natures
funneled in one body, and the new nature's desire is perfect
holiness. The old nature's desire is nothing
but sin. And there's always this conflict
going on. For that which I do, I allow
not. For that which I do 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 unto the law that's
good. God's just in condemning me. Now then, it's no more I
that do it. It's not the new man, but it's
the sin that dwells in me. It's the old man that did it.
Verse 18. He says, for I know that in me,
that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. Do you know that? That in the
way you were born into this world, in your flesh, dwells no good
thing, nothing but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores,
nothing but sin. Paul says this concerning himself,
I know that in me, That is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing,
for to will is present with me." Now, every believer has this
new nature that wills perfect holiness. That's what I desire.
That's what I want, perfect obedience to God, never sinning again.
To will is present with me. Thy people shall be willing,
the scripture says, in the day of thy power, Psalm 110.3. Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power, but how to
perform that which is good, as far as the actual performance,
I find not. Not one time have I ever found
in my experience that what I did was good. I desire perfection. I desire likeness to Christ. I would be just like Him, but
when it comes to the performance, that wickedness that's in me
always comes out, that self-promotion, that sin, whatever it may be,
it's always there. When I would do good, evil is
present with me. Only one with a new nature can
discern that. If I only have one nature, I
don't understand what Paul's talking about. It's impossible
for me to because I can't see from that point of view. But
if I have a new nature, I know exactly what Paul is talking
about. He says in verse 9, this is pretty
much a repetition, for the good that I would, I do not. But the evil, which I would not,
that is what I do." Now, Paul, once again, is being honest.
Not many people talk like this, do they? I mean, would you wanna
buy a car after a fella that made a, off of a fella who made
a confession like this? Well, are you being honest? Well,
I would be, but I'm not. And you'd say, well, hold on.
But Paul is being honest before God. This is not talking about
someone who uses this as an excuse to deceive men and rip off men
and say, well, I couldn't help it, or sin, I couldn't help it,
it was the devil that made me do it. But this is someone who's
honest before God about what he is before God. He says, the
good that I would, I do not. But the evil which I would not,
that is precisely what I do. Once again, this is the honest
man before God. And he says in verse 20, now if I do that which I would
not, it's no more I that do it, but the sin that dwelleth in
me. The new nature says it wasn't
me who did it. It was that old man, the sin that dwells in me. Verse 21, Paul says, I find then
a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. Now this is my experience. This
is a law. I find in a law that I can't
get away from. that when I would do good, evil
is present with me. That's what Paul was talking
about in Galatians chapter 5 verse 17 when he says, the flesh lusteth
against the spirit, and the spirit lusteth against the flesh, and
these are contrary one to the other, so that you cannot do
the things that you would. If you're a believer, you would
be without sin, but you can't. and you would be a monster in
iniquity, but you can't. The Spirit won't let you. The
flesh won't let you be what you want. The Spirit won't let you
be what you want. Now, you know, there's never
a time in my experience when I don't say, Lord, I believe.
Help that. My non-belief. The new man always
believes. The old man never believes. Now, the language I'm using will
be foreign language to somebody. They'll think, what in the world
is he talking about? What's wrong with him? And the
only reason you feel that way is because you don't have a new
nature. You don't have a holy nature. You don't have the discernment
to see what Paul is saying. But oh, if God has given you
a new nature, you know exactly what Paul is saying. It fits
your experience precisely. You find yourself to be a Romans
7 sinner. Let's go on reading. Paul says
in verse 22, For I delight in the law of God after the inward
man. Oh, the holy law of God. I delight
in it. I delight in all ten of the Ten
Commandments. They're reflective of His holy
character. Now, the only way you can delight
in the law of God is if you really believe, it doesn't have anything
against you. That you stand without guilt before that holy law of
God. If you feel like you're guilty before that holy law of
God, you're going to be afraid, you're going to resent God, you're
not going to love or delight in the law of God. But when you
see it's fulfilled in Christ, that Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. And when the
law of God looks you over, it says not guilty. That's what
the gospel does. It makes a man not guilty. It
makes a man perfect before God's law. It makes a man without sin
perfectly righteous. When you're not afraid of the
law, you're not trying to keep it, you've kept it in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you delight in the law of God
after the inward man. It's holy, just, and good. It's fulfilled. Paul says in
verse 23, but although I do delight in the law of God after the inward
man, I see another law in my members warring against the law
of my mind, that new man, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin, which is in my members. The believer has these
two distinct natures funneled into this one body that hate
each other. The holy nature hates the sin
nature. The sin nature hates the holy
nature. Hence we have this war, another
law in my members warring against the law of my mind. And look
at the language Paul uses, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my Paul says, I'm a prisoner of
this, and I can't get myself out in my experience. You know,
Paul is expressing his utter dissatisfaction with sin, and
the only freedom there is, is to not sin. Yet Paul says, I'm
held in this prison cell of sin. I can't get out. It's always
there, and I always hate it. I feel enslaved by it, captivated
by it, locked up by it, and I can't escape. That's exactly what he
means when he says in verse 23, 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." And look what he
says in verse 24. Oh, wretched man that I not was,
but am. Right now, present tense. Once again, this is a portrait
of the truly holy man. This is a portrait of one that
Christ has created anew. This is the cry of one who is
honest. He's not a religious phony. He's
not trying to pretend to be what he's not. He's being honest.
And he says, Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver
me from the body of this death?" And this is a reference to a
Roman prisoner having a dead body rotting, chained to him,
decaying, chained to him that he has to drag around. This was
done as a special means of torture, and that's how he considers his
old man, a dead body dragging around. Oh, wretched man that
I am. Now, if you believe in responsibility, you're responsible
to obey God. You're responsible to not sin.
And if you believe in inability, you don't have the ability to
not sin. If you believe that, it creates
wretchedness, doesn't it? I know I'm called upon to obey
and my sinful nature is always there. Oh, wretched man that
I am. Now, a legalist doesn't believe
in inability. He believes he can perform that
which God requires. The licentious man, the wicked
man, doesn't believe in responsibility. He thinks it's okay if he sins,
but not a believer. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? I need rescued. I need saved
from this body of death. I can't save myself. I need him
to do something for me. I need him to rescue. If salvation is dependent upon
me in any way to any degree, I will not be saved. That's what Paul is saying. Who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? Now he ends the
chapter with these words, I thank God through Jesus Christ our
Lord. He's the one who delivers me.
Salvation is of the Lord. Now, a Roman seven sinner is
someone who's completely dependent upon what God does for them,
being totally depraved, really believing that about myself.
I need God to choose me. I know I won't choose him unless
he chooses me. I need him to elect me. I need
him to do it for me. I don't charge God with wrongness
and injustice for electing some. Passing by others, I see why
I should be passed by. I need God to choose me. I need
Christ to die for me and accomplish my salvation. He won't do me
any good if He just offers me salvation. I need Him to actually
put away my sins. And I need God's grace to be
irresistible and invincible and cause me to believe, to create
life in me. I need God the Holy Spirit to
enable me to persevere all the way to the end. That's what a
Romans 7 sinner needs. Now, are you a Romans 7 sinner? Do you fit the description I
just read from Romans chapter 7? Beloved, if you are, you're
a saved sinner. You see, the only type of saved
sinners there are are Romans 7 sinners. Paul put it this way
in verse Timothy 115. This is a faithful saying and
it's worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. That's the only
hope a Roman seven sinner has is that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners, and that's exactly what he did. When
he said, it is finished, they were saved. Our song is not Jesus
paid a half and the other half I owe, but our song is Jesus
paid it all, all the debt I owe. Now we have this message on CD,
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