The Body of Death

Q: What does the Bible say about the struggle with sin?

The Bible highlights the ongoing conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, particularly in Romans 7:15-25. In Romans 7:15-25, Paul vividly describes his internal struggle with sin, emphasizing that genuine believers experience a deep conflict between their new spiritual nature and their old fleshly nature. This passage illustrates that while the law is holy, spiritual, and good, our carnal nature is sold under sin and opposes the desires of the Spirit. Paul states, 'For I delight in the law of God after the inward man' (Romans 7:22), indicating that believers truly desire to obey God but often find themselves unable to because of the pervasive influence of sin. This struggle is not a sign of an unsaved state, but rather the reality of living as a redeemed person who still battles against sin.

Q: How do we know that Paul was speaking as a saved man in Romans 7?

Paul's acknowledgment of his struggle with sin and delight in God's law shows he is speaking from a saved perspective. In Romans 7, Paul repeatedly expresses his internal conflict and dissatisfaction with sin, demonstrating that he is indeed writing as a saved individual. He declares, 'I delight in the law of God after the inward man' (Romans 7:22) and grapples with the fact that, despite his desires to obey God, he often falls short. This struggle is an indication of spiritual life; only a believer, who possesses the new nature, would lament sin and desire righteousness. Furthermore, his ability to recognize the goodness of God's law indicates his regeneration and understanding of spiritual truths, contrasting with an unsaved person who may disregard or not discern such struggles.

Q: Why is understanding the law's role important for Christians?

Understanding the law's inability to justify or sanctify helps Christians rely on grace, not works. The law's role in the life of a believer is crucial for understanding our relationship to both sin and salvation. Paul states clearly that 'the law can never justify a lost man, and the law can never sanctify a saved man' (Romans 7:14). This means that while the law shows us God's holiness and our sinfulness, it can neither provide salvation nor offer us the means to become holy. By recognizing this, Christians are compelled to rely wholly on Christ's finished work rather than their own efforts. The law serves as a tutor, showing us our need for grace, so that we may turn to Christ who fulfills the law on our behalf, ensuring our standing before God is based not on our merit but on His grace alone.

Q: How can believers deal with their ongoing struggle with sin?

Believers should walk in the Spirit to overcome the flesh and cultivate their spiritual life. To navigate the ongoing struggle with sin, believers are encouraged to 'walk in the Spirit' as outlined in Galatians 5:16. This involves actively engaging in spiritual disciplines such as prayer, reading Scripture, and fellowshipping with other believers to strengthen the new nature within while suppressing the old nature. By immersing themselves in the things of God, they can decrease the influence of their carnal instincts. Moreover, understanding that the struggle is a constant reality acknowledges both the potency of sin and the assurance that through Christ, they will ultimately be delivered from all sin when they are glorified. Thus, relying on Christ’s power rather than personal strength is key in this ongoing battle.

And I'll tell you why. Some people
contend, and they're usually very contentious in contending,
that in these verses Paul is writing about himself before
he was saved. That these are not the words
of a saved man, a man who knows God, that these are the words
of a man Before he met Christ, this is an unsaved man talking
here. That's what they say very strongly,
that he's an unsaved man. And when he wrote Romans 8, he
moved out of this unsaved state into a state of salvation and
wrote Romans 8. Others say, and this is what
I believe, I'm just sure of it, that Paul is writing here about
his own inner feelings and inner conflicts and troubles at the
very time he wrote the epistle. These were the conflicts and
struggles and feelings going on within him while he was writing
the inspired word of God. I believe. In other words, these are the
daily experiences of a redeemed person. Now, there are two extremes.
I heard them both this past week. I heard a man preaching, and
he was indicating by his preaching, that if you believed on It didn't
matter how you lived. If you believed the gospel and
made a profession of faith, then it didn't matter what kind of
life you lived outwardly. You were saved. You were a child
of God. Well, it does matter. It does matter a great deal.
But then I was listening to a preacher this morning. Now I want you to hear this,
I wrote this statement down after he made it. And he was, now that's
all wrong, when a father stands up and says it doesn't matter
how you live, you can drink and gamble and cheat and steal and
lie and commit adultery and divorce your wife and do all, and it
doesn't matter how you live, you're saved if you believe on
Jesus. That's not so. God's people are
honest people. They're people with clean lives,
and they're trustworthy, and people of integrity. They're
not drunkards. They're just not that way. But here's the other extreme.
This man was preaching this morning, and he's of the holiness persuasion. He's a Methodist preacher, and he was exhorting God's people
to holiness and to obedience. And I exhort God's people to
holiness and obedience, but let's not get ridiculous. And that's
what this is. This is ridiculous. Now, he says
God's people will walk the straight and narrow. They'll live a holy
life. Now, he said, I'm not saying that you're going to be perfect.
I'm not saying you're going to be perfect. you won't be perfect,
you will make mistakes." I don't know why they just can't call
it sin. The way they have not thrown
it, he said, you'll make mistakes, and down the road somewhere you
may inadvertently sin. You won't be perfect, you'll
make mistakes, and down the road somewhere you may inadvertently
You may, but I'm here to tell you there ain't no doubt about
it. And I don't mean down the road
very far either. You won't lose weight walking
that road. But let me read these last verses
again, and you can see why people have trouble with this. a revelation of the Holy Spirit
to enter into any of God's word and to rightly divide the word
of truth. The Spirit of God must reveal to us what he's saying. We're extremists, and if we're
not careful, we'll take it the wrong way. But we want it to
glorify God in its context. Now, let's read the last eleven
verses again and see what they say. Verse 14, Romans We know that the law is spiritual,
but I'm carnal. I am carnal. He didn't say I
was, he said I am. I'm sold under sin. I'm a slave,
sold under sin. One thing that most people overlook
when they're teaching this part of Romans, they overlook, and
I really believe this, they overlook in teaching and preaching these
verses, the Apostle's great objective. He has the whole book of Romans,
Paul has a great objective and purpose. And in this chapter,
it's the same purpose. He's trying to say to these people,
the law can never justify a lost man, and the law can never sanctify
a saved man. Did you hear that? He's saying it loud and clear.
The law, the law of Moses, the Levitical law, the moral law,
the ceremonial law, no law can justify lost man. And no law
can sanctify saved man. The law cannot make a bad man
good, and it can't make a good man better. It can't do it. It
wasn't given for that purpose. The law shows no mercy. The law holds out no hope. Tell me, he said to the Galatians,
you that would be under the law, don't you hear it? It holds out
no hope. It offers no mercy. The law says,
do this, do this in love, do it in perfection. The Lord hasn't
given for us to admire or to agree with, but to perform perfectly. And it cannot justify a lost
man, and it cannot sanctify a saved man. It offers no hope to the
lost, it offers no help to the redeemed. And back here in these first
thirteen verses, Paul tells us his past experience with the
law. You hear what he said? He says,
I was alive and the law came and killed me. The law killed
me. The law deceived me. The law
slew me. That's what the law did to me
while he was in the flesh, now back before he met Christ. He
knew the law. He knew he was under obligation
to keep the law, and he thought he did. Do you remember? He said,
I was blameless. He thought he did. Paul knew
the law. He knew he had an obligation
to keep it, and he thought he did. But when the law really
came to him in true understanding, in his true spirituality, in
his true authority, instead of making him holy, it killed him.
That's all the law can do. It will kill you. It will slay
you. It will destroy you. That's what the law will do if
you really see it. Look back up there at verse 13.
I just read you verse 14. We know the law is spiritual.
Look at verse 13. The law is doing that which is
good. The law is good. Is it not? God's
law is good. Oh, it's good. Everything about
his law is good. I shall love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. That's good. I
shall love thy neighbors thyself. That's good. The law of God is
good. Was that which is good made death
to me? Did it? Just because it's good,
kill me? No. that it might appear to be sin. That's what worked death in me.
The sting of death is sin. That's what killed me, my sins.
But I saw my sin in the light of his law. That sin, and watch this, sin
by the commandment might appear what it really is, exceeding
sinful. This is the reason that Most
people don't really understand sin at all, because they compare themselves
with themselves. They look at everything in the
light of how it affects us, human beings. The only way to really
understand the sinfulness of sin, the exceeding sinfulness
of sin, is or even what sin is, is to examine it in the light
of God's holiness, in the light of God's perfection. And then
when I see sin, you see Saul of Tarsus, back in religion,
he thought, well, he was keeping the law. But he was interpreting
the law in the light of his own understanding. But when he interpreted
the law in the light of God's holiness, he saw that he was
the greatest lawbreaker of all. So that's what he's saying in
the first 11 verses. He said, when I was an unregenerate
religion, I found that the law could tell me what was right
and wrong. The law could command me to do right and avoid wrong. The law could threaten me, condemn
me, curse me if I didn't comply. But the law could not eradicate
my sinful nature. It only stirred it up more. The
law could not eradicate my sinful principles or help me to do right. The law even stimulated my evil
nature. It couldn't justify me. And in these last eleven verses,
Paul is showing his present experiences with the law. And this is what
he's saying. Now look at it. Now I'm regenerating, and this
I know. Number one, the law is spiritual. What does that mean? Well, it
comes from the Spirit of God. It reaches to the spirit and
thoughts of man. It's spiritual. It's spiritual. It requires holiness, not just
outwardly. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ
was talking about when he interpreted the law. He said, you've heard
it said by them of old times, thou shalt not kill. I say unto
you, to hate in your hearts to be guilty already of murder.
You've heard it said by them of old times, thou shalt not
commit adultery. I say unto you, to look with
lust or intent is to be guilty already. You've heard it said
by them of old times, I shall not swear by the temple or the
altar or all these things, I say unto you, swear not at all, let
your yea be yea and your nay nay, anything other than that
sin. Well, this is what he's saying,
the law is spiritual. The law comes from the Spirit
of God, reaches to the spirit and thoughts of men. It requires
holiness, not just in the outward parts, but in the inward parts.
It requires spiritual obedience, spiritual service, and spiritual
love for God. That's what the law is. And what
am I? I'm carnal. I'm carnal. I'm natural, I'm flesh, I'm sold
unto sin, like a servant to a master, I am a servant to my nature.
And my nature is the opposite of spiritual things. It's fleshly
nature. Let's look at the next verse.
So therefore, watch verse 15. I allow not. What does the word
allow mean? The word allow means approve.
That which I do, I don't approve of it. I don't approve of it. For what I would, that do I not. And what I hate, that do I. I
do things I don't approve of. I think things. Now this is what
we're talking about in the spiritual realm. I think things that I
don't approve of, I say things I don't approve of, I do things
I don't approve of, the believer actually hates seeing, especially
in himself. Paul is saying here in verse
15, that which I do, I not only don't approve of it, I don't
justify it either. I don't justify it. I don't excuse
I don't try to offer a reason for it. I'm wrong. You see what
I'm saying? I'm wrong. I disapprove of what
I think. I disapprove of many things that
I do. I disapprove of many things that
I say. I actually hate what I do. I hate what I do. I do what I
hate. Well, look at verse 16. which I would not, which I don't
approve of, if I do that which I hate. I consent to the law that it's
good. You see, that's a good evidence.
That's a good evidence that I know God. That's a good evidence that
I know. A good evidence I don't know
God is when I justify my sin and excuse my sin and approve
of my sin. But when I take sides against
myself with God, like David in Psalm 51, and I say, Lord, you're
just when you condemn me, you're right when you judge me, my sins
are ever before me, I hate my iniquity, I consent to the law
that it's good. Do you see that? Now, the law
of God is holy and good and spiritual. comes from the Spirit of God
to the Spirit of man. And it requires not only outward
perfection and outward obedience and outward holiness, it requires
a perfect holiness of mind and attitude and love and spirit
and truth and honesty and holiness and integrity. But I'm carnal. I'm a slave of a fleshly nature. And therefore I do things that
I don't approve of. I say things I don't approve
of. I think things I don't approve of. And those things that I do,
I actually hate. I despise them. And so therefore,
if I hate that which I do, and I do that which I would not,
then I consent to the law. And it's good. It's good. Now here's his problem. Here's
his problem. Now then, it is no more I that
do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. What's Paul talking about
here? He's talking about this. He's not putting the blame somewhere
else. That's not what he's doing at all. He is accounting for
the presence of sin in a true believer by saying this, and
I know a lot of folks, especially people of holiness inclination,
do not believe this, but a believer Actually, it's two people. Did
you know that? That's right. Well, if I was
lying to you or not, it's true, that's what he's saying. In verse 17, it is no more I
that did it, it's sin that dwelleth in me. I didn't do it, sin did
it. It's two I's. Now, turn to Matthew
chapter 26 and see if our Lord is not teaching that over here.
Matthew 26, verse 41. While you are looking at it,
Matthew 26, verse 41, I do know this, that when the Nicodemus came
to the Master, the Lord Jesus said to him, that which is born
of the flesh is flesh. In other words, we were born
the first time of our parents and we are flesh. That which
is born of the Spirit is spirit. So a person that is born of natural
parents has a fleshly, carnal human nature. A person born of
God still has that carnal human nature. It's not eradicated,
it's still with us. But he also has a new nature,
a spiritual nature. I'm telling you this, and that
flesh is natural, that spirit is spiritual. And that freshly
old man is corrupt, and that new man is holy. And that old
man can do nothing right. That's right. He doesn't get
any better. And that new man can do nothing
wrong. And that old man, that old nature,
still loves and delights in seeing, and that new nature despises
it. That's just so. You say you oversimplify. Well, we're simple, aren't we? I've got to say it like it is.
Now, listen to the Lord in Matthew 26, verse 41. Here's talking
to his disciples. Watch and pray that you enter
not into temptation, The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh
is weak. Is that not true? The spirit indeed is willing,
very willing. The flesh is very weak. They
wanted to pray, but they couldn't stay awake. They wanted to watch
with him, but they just, the old flesh was too weak. Look
at Galatians. Turn to Galatians chapter 5.
See, that's not what this is saying. In Galatians 5, 17, the flesh,
by the flesh, in verse 16, he said, walk in the flesh and you
will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. In other words, the
more you, it will cultivate the spiritual interest. Think on
things that are holy. Think on things that are pure.
Think on things that are righteous. Think on things that are good. Don't think on things that are
bad. Read good material. Don't read bad material. If you
read bad material and think in that vein, you're going to have
problems. It's going to have greater problems. Walk with believers. Walk with believers. Walk with
people who talk about Christ. If you walk with the world and
that old nature gets fed and encouraged and excited, you're
going to have problems. You see that? Walk in the Spirit.
Cultivate spiritual interest. Think on things spiritual. Feed
the new nature. Feed the new man. Encourage the
new man. Stay away from these things and
these people that put you down and excite your flesh and bother
your flesh and cause you to do things you shouldn't do. Don't
go to those places. And don't hang around with that
kind of people. Stay away from them. That's what he's saying. You'll walk in the Spirit, and
you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh. Why? The flesh always
lusts against the Spirit. There's always a battle going
on, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are conjuring
one to the other. You cannot do the things that
you would. Isn't that, that's what he's saying. So in verse 17, when he says,
It's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Verse
18, Romans chapter 7, I know 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. The flesh
is a drag on me and holds me back. Now, and I wish I could encourage
you to think along this particular line right here. The more you
walk in the Spirit, the more you read God's Word, the more
you pray, the more you think about spiritual things, the more
you walk in that vein. I mean, the conflict won't be
as difficult. It'll always be there. It's always
there, but it won't be as difficult. But now if you persist on walking
this other way, if you persist on being around people and things
and material and all this sort of thing that appeals to that
old nature, you're going to keep it always stirred up. It'll stir
up enough as it is, but it's going to be stirred up more.
And so this is what he's saying here in verse 17 and 18. We have
two natures. And when this seeing thing, when
I think and say, It's not my nature that loves Christ. It's
not that man that adores Christ. It's that old, please forgive
me, it's that old flesh. It's not I. That's not what I
want. That's not what I desire. That's not my objective. That's
not the life I want to live. That's not the way I want to
talk. That's not the way I want to act. That's not the way I
want to be. I want to be holy, don't you? I want to be righteous. I want to be truthful. I want
to be pure. I want to be like Christ. So
when I'm not, it's not me, it's my nature. Is that what he's
saying, Jim? That's exactly what he's saying.
It's not me. It's not me. Verse 19, watch
this now. And he repeats verse 16, 17. Notice, you know, I didn't
notice that until I studied this yesterday. He repeats it again. You know, Paul feels pretty strongly
about some of these things over there in Galatians when he said,
He said, there's just one gospel, and if a fellow comes preaching
any other gospel, let him be accursed. Now, he said, I'll
say that again. Didn't he? I'll say that again. If any man
preach any other gospel, let him be accursed. Well, he says
this again. Look at verse 16 and 17. Read it again. Then I do that
which I would not. I consent to the law that is
good. Now, it's no more I that do it, it's sin that dwelleth
in me. I look back down here at verse
19. 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, it's sin that dwelleth in me. That
is the true nature. He insists on it, he repeats
it, he declares it again and again. Again and again. Nothing can express, I read this
by Mr. Spurgeon. Nothing can express
more fully that dreary struggle that must go on and on in every
believer. Experience convinces us that
while our human resolutions are good, they are also very weak. And sin is married to morality. Sin is married to immorality. And the past makes us tremble
for the future and assures us that tribulation, temptation,
and trouble will return again and again and again, so that
our days on earth shall be spent in a warfare that will never
end till we are taken to be with Christ. All right, let me wind
it up. Now verse 21, I find in a law,
a principle, a truth, that when I would do good, that is, when
I would be perfect, when I would be perfect, when I would do good,
evil is always present with me. For I delight in the law of God,
I delight in God's law. That's not an unsaved man talking,
that's a saved man talking. I really delight in God's law,
I love God's law, don't you? After the inward man, spiritual
man. But I see another law, I see
another principle, I see it there, I see it more and more all the
time. It really doesn't get any weaker either. I see it there
all the time. It must be dealt with all the
time. I see another law in my members, and that principle and
that law of sin, that flesh, is always 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. Oh, wretched He wasn't a wretched
man in Christ, he was a righteous man in Christ. He wasn't a wretched
man in Christ, he was a happy man, blessed with all spiritual
blessings in the heaviness in Christ Jesus. He wasn't a wretched
man in Christ, he was a man free from wrath and free from condemnation
and a man of peace and rest and pleasure. But this misery And
this wretchedness was because of that continual combat between
his flesh and his spirit. And because of the body of sin
which he carried about with him all the time. And then he says,
who's going to deliver me? Who's going to free me? Who's
going to set me free from the body of this death? Well, I can't
do it. And the law can't do it. And resolutions can't do it.
You make resolutions, there's only one who can do it. I thank God. I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. I shall be delivered. Already
I've been delivered from condemnation. Already I've been delivered from
the penalty of sin. Already I've been delivered from
the consequences and the curse of sin. But I thank God one of
these days I'm going to be delivered from the very motions of sin,
from the very passions of sin, from the very practice of sin,
from the very presence of sin. And we're going to be perfect. This is the way it is, and the
way it's going to continue. So then, with this mind, with
the mind of Christ, let the mind of Christ be in you. With the
mind of Christ, with the new nature, I serve the law of God,
and serve it faithfully, and delight in it, with that old
flesh, the law of sin. I know that's so difficult for
some people to enter into, but, and it's not an excuse for sin.
It doesn't justify sin, because believers are not looking for
that. But nevertheless, it is true, and it gives comfort to
the people of God. The carnal nature, the fleshly
nature is natural. It'll never be anything else
but natural. It'll never be improved upon.
And the spiritual nature is spiritual, is born of God, the old man is
corrupt, the new man is holy, the old man can do nothing right,
the new man can do nothing wrong. The old nature can do nothing
but sin, and the new nature can do nothing but love God. What can we do? Walk in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit. Walk in the
Word. Walk in the fellowship of believers.
Daily, be identified with the things of God. And mortify the
old nature. Put Him down. Suppress Him. Crucify
Him. Put Him under. You say, well,
I still have trouble. Tomorrow will be the same battle.
Same thing. Next week will be the same thing. See, we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness,
spiritual wickedness in high places, even the evil that dwells
within us. O wretched man that I am, is
there no hope? Oh yeah, there's hope. Who shall
deliver me? Not myself, not the law. Christ
will. Christ will. Alright, Mike, come
lead us in a closing hymn.

The Body of Death

What does the Bible say about the struggle with sin?

How do we know that Paul was speaking as a saved man in Romans 7?

Why is understanding the law's role important for Christians?

How can believers deal with their ongoing struggle with sin?

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The Body of Death

What does the Bible say about the struggle with sin?

How do we know that Paul was speaking as a saved man in Romans 7?

Why is understanding the law's role important for Christians?

How can believers deal with their ongoing struggle with sin?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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