Why Am I Like I Am?

I turn to Romans 7. As I've told you so many times,
if we're going to study a particular chapter, it's always wise to
go back to the one preceding it, because the Word of God was
not written in chapters and verses. And in Romans chapter 6, in the
preceding chapter, Paul declares that true believers are not under
the law. They are not under the law, they
are under grace. Now look at this, Romans 6 verse
14. For sin shall not have dominion,
the rule, over you. For you are not under the law,
but under grace. you're not under the law, you're
under grace. And Paul, knowing that people
would cry antinomianism, people would cry, well, if we're not
under law, let's live like an outlaw. If we're under grace,
let's live in disgrace. And so he anticipates it and
says in verse 15, what then? Shall we sin because we're not
under law, but under grace? God forbid. Now when he taught
this, that the believers not under the law, when Paul wrote
this, when he taught this, he knew this would be offensive,
especially to some of the Jews, Jewish believers who still had
a high opinion of the law. And therefore in chapter 7, Paul
takes this whole chapter and explains what he means. by not
under law but under grace. This is what he means. The whole
seventh chapter. Now, let me lay down some things
that are subtle before we go into chapter seven. First of
all, what law are we talking about? When we say we're not
under law but we're under the grace of God, what law are we
talking about? Well, we're not talking about
the ceremonial law. We're not talking about the temple
and the sacrifices and the Sabbath days tithings and the dieting
and the washings and all these things. These people knew that.
They knew they were not under that Levitical law. Paul didn't
have to say that to them. They knew they were not under
that Levitical law. The law Paul is referring to
in Romans 6 and 7, now listen to me. The law to which he refers
is the moral law of God. And I'm not just talking about
the Ten Commandments. I mean the moral holy, universal
law of Almighty God, given first in Eden. Do this and live. Do like me, God said. Be like
me and live. The whole character of God, the
holiness of God, the universal law of God, which is His holiness,
it was given in Eden's garden. And it was summarized, part of
it, on Sinai's mountain, And Paul said it's written on the
conscience of every person. That's right, their conscience
excusing them. So this is the law we're talking
about. We're talking about the universal, moral, holy law of
God Almighty, all that is in the very character of God. You
see, in the Garden of Eden, when God created the first man, Adam,
he gave to that man a law of universal obedience. by which
he bound Adam and all his posterity to obedience. God said to Adam,
obey me and live. Obey me and live, disobey me
and die. It doesn't matter what the commandment
is. It doesn't matter what area. Obey me and live. Walk before
me in perfection and holiness and live. And disobey me and
die. And all men in Adam were placed
under that law. Let me show you that in two scriptures.
in Romans 3, in Romans 3. Now understand, I want to be
as simple as I can, as plain as I can. Most messages I've
heard on law and grace are just confusing, and I want to be plain. When Paul says we're not under
law, thank God we're not, but we're under grace, he's talking
about that universal law of God, the holiness of God, the holiness
of God. And in Romans 3, there was a
time we were under it. There was a time we were under
a covenant of works. He said to Adam, obey me and live, disobey
me and die. And here's the consequences of
it in Romans 3.19. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, any law, all law, God's law, holy law,
it saith to them who are under it, that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world become guilty before God. God put that law
on Adam, and when he sinned, we sinned. When he died, we died.
And consequently, before that holy law of God, every son of
Adam is guilty before God, under that law. Turn to Galatians 3,
Galatians chapter 8. All were under that law, and
all men are born under that law. Even Jesus Christ was born under
that law. He was made of a woman, made
under the law. And every person that opens the womb, male or
female, is under God's holy law. Do this and live. Disobey me
and die. We're born without the ability
to obey God. In Galatians 3, look at verse
10. For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is
everyone that continueth not in all things written in the
book of the law to do them. What I'm saying is this. that
the perfect law of Almighty God continues to be the rule for
righteousness and the rule for sanctification and pronounces
a curse upon every man who offends in one point. James says to offend
in one point is to be guilty of the whole law. And this law
not only reaches our acts, it reaches our attitude. It not
only demands a perfection in manners, it demands a perfection
in motive. It not only demands a perfection
in deeds, it demands a perfection in thoughts. What is this law? It's the very holiness of God.
It's the very character of God. It's the universal law that reigns
and rules over the whole universe. And every creature, every person
is under that law and commanded to be in perfect obedience. And
every one of the people in scriptures, when they got a glimpse of that
holiness, They were just devastated. Isaiah saw this holiness, the
very holiness of God, and he said, woe is me, I'm undone.
I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips. Job, who was a moral man, a man
of integrity, and a man of honesty, and a man of Morality, as far
as men are concerned. When he saw God in his holiness,
he said, I hate myself, I abhor myself, I repent in sackcloth
and ashes. And Paul said, here in the scripture
I read, when the law actually was revealed to me, I died. I just literally died before
Almighty God. What shall we do? What shall
we do? Every one of us, born of woman,
How can he be clean that's born of a woman? How can he be just
that's born of a woman? Behold, the moon shineth not,
the stars are not clean in God's sight. How much more abundant
and filthy is man who drinks iniquity like the water? We come
forth into this world under that law, condemned by that law, cursed
by that law, damned by that law. How can we get out of this impossible
situation? How can we be freed from such
an impossible position? Do this and live. Well, I can't
do it. I'm unable to do it. I was born
without even any potential to do any of it. Well, disobey me
and die. That's an impossible situation.
How am I going to get out of it? Just one way. Death. Death. Death frees a person from any
obligation to any law. In other words, if a man is convicted
of a crime, He's under the curse of the broken law, under the
sentence of the judge, and when they put him in the chair, he's
dead. The law has no more claim on him. The obligation has been
met. That's right. Death frees a man
from any obligation to any law to which he's rightfully subject,
and nothing else can, and no one else can. It has to be death.
It has to be death. The law has to be satisfied.
Is that not right? The law has to be satisfied.
I had an experience one time that illustrates what I'm talking
about. I raised three sons, and it's
interesting to raise boys. Any of you who do not have boys,
you need to have some boys, especially 16, 17 years of age. One Friday
I was sitting over here to study, preparing my messages for Sunday.
And the telephone rang, and I picked up the phone, and the voice on
the phone said, this is Mr. So-and-so, and somebody driving
your car has broken my windshield, and I'm going down to the courthouse
and swear to work for your arrest if you're not down there before
six o'clock this evening. Well, one of my boys, it wasn't
Paul, Mindy, one of my boys had my car that day and gone fishing
with two or three other boys, I found out later. And they were
driving through Catlisburg and one of the boys sitting in the
back seat, my son was driving, one of the boys in the back seat
had a handful of BBs. And a car was coming toward him
and he took them and threw them out and broke that man's windshield,
all to pieces. And of course the fellow turned
around and got my license number and went down to the courthouse
and found out who owned that car, the Reverend Mayhem. And so I
found my son and his friends, they were over in Belfont, and
I told them what had happened. I said, you boys get up that
cactus bunk and straighten this out, or I'm in trouble. And my
son said, well, so-and-so did it, called the boys name. And
he said, yes, I did it, and I'm sorry. I said, well, you boys
go straighten it out then, and I trust you to do so. So I thought
they did. And so that night we were having
some kind of birthday party over at my house. I can't remember
what it was, It came around about 10.30 at night, and we were having
coffee and cake and so forth. There was a knock at my door.
And I went to the door, and there stood two police officers. And
one of them said, Are you Reverend Mahan? I said, Yes. He said,
You're under arrest. I had to drain the blood out
of your face. I said, What's the charge? What did I do? And he explained
the windshield. And I said, Well, I can explain
that. I'm not here for an explanation, I'm here to arrest you." And
I said, well I'll tell you what, I'll meet you down at the courthouse.
He said, no sir, you misunderstood me, you're under arrest. And so I went out the door between
those two policemen, right over here on Blackman Avenue. And
one of those cars, police cars, was sitting out there because
he had his light on, you know. And they put me in the back seat
of that car. And they had that mesh over there and that rifle
up there. Did you ever know they don't have any handles on the
inside of those car doors? You're under arrest now. Listen,
this is embarrassing. This is trouble. I'm under arrest. The law's got me. And there's
no way out of that car. And there are two officers up
front with shotguns. So we go down to the courthouse,
well, down to the city building in Ashland. See, Ashton police
arrested me, but I was under arrest for Catlisburg. You didn't
know you had a notorious criminal up here pushing, did you? So
they took me into the city building in Ashton, and I walked in there
and they'd arrested some more people that night. It was about
11 o'clock at night there, and there stood a young black girl
that I'd helped, bought some groceries for her and things
like that. And she'd been arrested, and she saw me come in. She said,
Reverend, I wonder if you could help me out. I thought, honey,
could you help me out? Well, I sat down and waited for
the Catlesburg police, and they came after me, two of them. And
they escorted me out of the city building down into their car.
And I got in the back seat of that car, and we started toward
Catlesburg. And one of them turned and said, brother man, my wife
listens to you every morning on the radio. He said, she sure
likes your preaching. I was under arrest. under arrest. And we got to Katzburg and we
got out of that car and they took me in the courthouse and
they called some judge or somebody, I don't know who it was, he'd
come down there, he was sitting there when we went in before
the docket there. And I said to him, I said, now
this is embarrassing. And I said, I'm not guilty of
this, this is somebody else's responsibility. And I said, I
can tell you who he is. And my son came along in my car.
He wasn't under arrest. I was. He drove down. And he
said, yes, sir. And he explained it to the judge.
And the judge said, see if you can get this man on the phone
and have him bring his boy down and take your place, and you
can go home. But not until. And I stood there
and waited there until this man from Bellefontaine, his son,
came driving to that courthouse. I was glad to see him. About
midnight or after then, 1230, quarter to one, he walked in. And when he walked in, I walked
out free from the law. You see what I'm saying? No charge. I was free. They couldn't put
me back in that car. That law didn't have any claim on me,
no dominion over me, no rule over me, no charge against me.
Who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? I was born under
the law now. In this case I wasn't guilty,
but in this case I am. In this case I am. I'm held,
I'm arrested, the law has me, I'm in bondage, and I'm standing
before the very throne of God, and so are you now. Every one
of us. We're guilty. Guilty as charged. We broke the windshield. Guilty
as charged. But our Lord Jesus Christ comes
in, and our charge is death. And we're not playing games.
This is not a fine. He that is soul that is sinneth
shall die, God said. He's going to die. You follow
me? The soul that is sinneth shall
die. The law has a claim on you and me, and the law has sinneth
us to death. We've got to die. It's just like
I was up there and I'm going to have to pay or somebody else
is going to have to pay. Thank God somebody else did.
And when our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world, made under
that law, Made under that law. Subject to that law. Pronounced
guilty by that law. And taken to Calvary's cross
and slain by that law. And when he died and was buried
and rose again, I walked out scot-free. And they needn't send
any police after me. They needn't send any demons
after me or angels after me. I'm not under the law. The law
has no charge against me and cannot condemn me, Paul said,
because God justified me and Christ died for me. Do you see
that? That's substitution. That's substitution. And I tell
you, I just got a hold of something when my son and I walked out
of that jail. Walked out, I mean, free. And the other fellow stayed in
and suffered and faced the consequences. But I was free, and I was glad
to go home. Glad. And I didn't turn around and
say, hey, don't y'all want me to stay here? No, sir. You that
would be under the law, don't you hear the law? All right,
let's see what Paul is saying here now in Romans 7. This is
in verse 1. Don't you know this, brethren?
Know you not, brethren? I speak to them that know the
law. Do you know the law? The holy, holy, holy law of God? I'm not talking about five or
six commandments, I'm talking about the holiness of God. Do
you know the law? How the law has dominion over
man as long as he lives. Lives under that law, subject
to that law, under the condemnation of that law. But when he dies,
he's free from that law. And then he gives an illustration.
He said the woman, which is the husband, she's bound by the law
to her husband. She's under the rule of her husband.
She's under dominion of her husband. How long? As long as he lives.
But if the husband be dead, she's free from the law of her husband.
She's not under that law anymore. She's not under his rule. She's
not under his dominion. Now if while he's living she'd
be married to another man, she'd be called a Dulcetress. But if
he's dead, she's free. Free from the law of her husband
and she's no Dulcetress, so she'd be married again. Then he says
in verse 4, Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the
law, not by your death, but by the death of Christ. See that?
By the body of Christ. Christ died. The law sentenced
me. But he is so much a part of me that when he died, I died. And I'm so much a part of him
that when he faced the condemnation of the law, I was in him. See?
I died in him. I was buried in him and rose
again. So we are dead to the law by the body of Christ, that
we should be married to him, not to that old husband, the
law, but to Christ, even to him who is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruits to God. Now let me make a comment
here. We were under the law, as a woman is to a husband. That
husband has a claim on her. She's under his rule, under his
dominion. She's subject to him. But when he dies, she's free,
totally free. And when Christ died, when he
answered every claim, when he took every charge and paid every
debt and died under the curse of the law, I was free from that
law. Not by my death, but by his death.
And I'm not married to the law anymore. I'm not subject to the
law anymore. I'm not under the dominion of
the law anymore. I'm not under the rule of the law anymore.
I'm not under the punishment of the law. I'm married to Jesus
Christ. You see that? We ought to be
thankful we never could please that old husband. That's right,
never could please him because he demands perfection. That old
husband is a tyrant. That old husband has no mercy.
That old husband has no kindness. That old husband has no grace.
It's nothing but cold, hard, dead, law. Dead! Never could please him. He requires
perfection. You want to be married to him
again? I tell you, Christ loves you like God. He remembereth
our frame. He knoweth it with us. He loves
you like God. You got a new husband. Do you
want to be back under that old law, back under that old husband?
No, sir. And our delight and our joy is
not pleasing the law, but in pleasing and honoring Christ,
our new husband. All right, look at verse 5. Now,
when you were in the flesh, that is, when you didn't know Christ,
when you were married to that old husband under the law that
demanded perfection, perfect holiness, when you were in the
flesh, the motions of sin which were by the law did work in our
members to bring forth fruit unto death. Here's what Paul
is saying. When you didn't know Christ, when you were in the
flesh only under the law, what effect did the law have on you?
Did it make you holy? Did the law, back before you
came to Christ, back before you knew Christ, did the law make
you holy? No, sir. I'll tell you what the
law did. Instead of subduing your anger and subduing your
passions and subduing your desires, it irritated them. I was down at the park yesterday
watching Luke's game, soccer game. And I could tell this man
was this woman's wife the way he treated her. But she was standing
there, and she and one of her girlfriends or something, and
she wanted to go buy something. And he was watching the game,
and his team was losing, and he's already mad. And he turned,
and he read her title clear, up there in front of me, and
told her what she could do. He turned and walked off. Now
let me illustrate, the law won't make you holy. The law may be
right, and it is, and perfect, But it brings out something in
you and me. When he turned his back and walked
off, she went, oh boy. When we were under the law, did
it make you holy? Now come on. Has the law ever
made you holy? Has the law ever produced anything
righteous in you? No, sir. You hate the law and
the lawgiver. in the flesh. That woman hated
what he said and she hated him. That's exactly right. Oh, I tell
you, look at verse 6, but now, thank God, we're delivered from
the law. That being dead wherein we were held, that we should
serve in newness of spirit, not in the oldness of the latter.
What's that talking about? We're free from the law. We're
delivered from its bondage, free from its captivity. And we serve
Christ not because we're afraid of the whip, not because of the
rules laid down, not in the spirit of the old letter. We serve him
because, bless your heart, we love him. We love him. We love him. We love his law. We love his truth. We love his
hand of mercy. We love him, don't we? That's
why we serve him. We love him. There's a difference.
There's a difference. There's a difference. All right,
verse 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Is the law the
cause of my sin? Did that husband telling her
she couldn't spend the money and couldn't buy this and couldn't
do that, did that make her a sinner? It brought out her rebellion.
It revealed it. It was there. And the law does
not make me a sinner? Verse 7 says, What shall we say?
Is the law sin? God forbid! God forbid! Is the law at fault because it
demands perfection? Is the law at fault because it
demands what I don't like? Is the law at fault because it
demands what I can't produce? Is the law at fault because it
exposes my evil heart? God forbid! I wouldn't have known
sin except the law said, Thou shalt not covet. That's when
I found, when I saw the holiness of God, that's when I saw my
sin. The holiness of God didn't make me a sinner. The law of
God didn't make me a sinner. It revealed my sin. When God
said do, and I didn't do, and when God said don't, and I did
anyway, it revealed what I am. You make me a sinner, it reveals
what I am by nature. Now look at verse 8. This is
interesting. Let me read 8, 9, and 10. Paul was a very religious
man, a very righteous man, he thought. Sin was there, but he
didn't see it. Sin, taking occasion by the commandment,
wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was
dead. I was alive. I thought I was
once. But when God's commandment came,
when God's holiness appeared, sin revived and I died. And the
commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
What's he saying? He's saying this. Sin was in
me. But I had no light by which to
see it. I had no light by which to see
it. And when the light of God's holiness, the beauty of God's
holiness entered my conscience, I saw what I'd never seen before.
I saw a swarm of lusts and evils and all kind of insects of hell.
That's what I saw in the light of God's holiness. I thought
I was healthy, and I found out I was sick. I thought I was alive,
and I found out I was a dead sinner. I lived in a state of
self-righteousness, but when the true holiness of God came
in, I died. I saw that I was dead to God
and condemned. And the law, now what's this?
And the holy law of God, which was given to Adam to promote
life. Isn't that right, John? He said,
do this and live. That promotes life. That holy
Lord God, which was given to promote life and happiness, sentenced
me to death. That's what he's saying. And
verse 11, For sin, taken occasion by the commandment, deceived
me and slew me. He's saying my sinful, self-righteous
nature even used the law to deceive me. I even used God's law to
deceive me. My sinful, self-righteous nature
used the law to tell me I was good. That's what the Pharisees
said. I don't do this, that, and the other. And the rich,
young rulers said, I've kept these from my youth up. That's
his nature, taking the law of God and trying to promote righteousness. And that made me a worse sinner.
That made me a deceived liar. Verse 12, Wherefore the law is
holy, just, and good. It forbids nothing but that which
is wrong. It requires nothing but that
which is right. The holiness of God is worthy
of its creator. The law is not the cause of my
sin. The law is not the cause of my misery. The law is not
the cause of my death. God forbid, the law reveals it. Now look at verse 14. Now watch
this. He says in verse 14, I know that
the law is spiritual, holy, just, and good. But what am I? I'm
carnal. I'm carnal. I know the law is
spiritual. It comes from the spirit of God.
It comes to the spirit of man. It requires spiritual service.
It requires spiritual obedience. Why can't I keep it? I am a carnal,
fleshly creature. That's my problem. I live in the flesh. And my fleshly
nature and God's holy law are contrary one to the other. That's
just so. You're looking at a human being
up here, and I'm looking at human beings out there. I'm looking
at people who are not totally in the spirit. I'm looking at
people who are spiritual people in the flesh. And you're doing
the same thing. And I know that God's holiness,
God's law is just. It's holy. It's good. It requires
nothing but what's right. It forbids nothing but what's
wrong. But how to perform it, how to
do it, I can't find it in this flesh, can you? And that's what
he says in the next verse. Now listen to it. For that which
I do, the things I think, the things I carelessly say, I don't
approve of them. I don't approve of them. Isn't
that what David said? I don't approve of them. Lord, my sins
are ever before me. I acknowledge my transgressions. And he said that, for what I
would, that do I not, and what I hate. The believer hates sin. He hates anything contrary to
God's perfect holiness. Is that not right? And what I
hate, that do I. Now, if then I do that which
I would not, I consent to the law that it's good. In other
words, listen to this. This is proof that I know God.
This is proof that I know God. God's holiness and God's law,
I agree with it and approve of it. I approve of it. I agree with it. The law is good.
I take sides with God against me. See what I'm saying? A man of sins will never keep
him out of heaven. Christ died for sinners. But
a man of righteousness will. If you can't take sides with
God against yourself now, then you'll be defending yourself
at the judgment. And God will cast you out. And this is what
he's saying here, verse 16, if then I do that which I don't
approve of, and that which I hate, and that which I would not, what
I'm saying is this, I consent to the holiness of God, the law
of God, it's good, I take sides against me. I say unto God, I
am the sinner, be merciful to me. See that? And justify God
in his condemnation. My friends, the worst thing you
and I could do before God is justify ourselves. The worst
thing you can do. And the best thing you can do
is what Paul's doing right here. I'm guilty. Christ died for sinners
of whom I'm cheap. Look at the next verse. I know
that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. I hear
people saying, I don't believe the believer has two natures.
Well, maybe you're not a believer. Every believer knows he's got
two natures. I don't have to read the Word
of God, John Chapman, to know I've got two natures. I know
that. The Word of God explains it to
me. Turn to Galatians 5. Let me show you that. I wouldn't
waste five seconds arguing with a person, and you needn't do
it either. If they come to you and say, I don't believe the
believer has two natures, just tell them, forget it. Because
if he knew God, he'd know he has two natures. This man Paul
did. He said that one eye would do
perfect and the other eye won't. Look at Galatians 5.17. The flesh
lusteth against the Spirit. Spirit against the flesh. These
are contrary one to the other, so that you cannot do the things
you would. When a person is born of God, redeemed of God, born
again, regenerated, he has a new nature, spiritual nature, a holy
nature that cannot see it. But he's still in the flesh,
he's still got the same eyes he's always had. He's still got
the same flesh that he's always had, he's still got the same
desires and the same needs and these things you see he always
had. It's just so, and what I've got to do someday is put this
carcass in the ground and then I'll just be one person, one
nature. And that nature loves God. I
couldn't, this nature wouldn't be happy in heaven. No, I wouldn't. Not this flesh. Flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Because that's all it is.
But I have a nature in me that loves Christ. I have a nature
in me that wants to be just like Christ. I've got a nature in
me that would never sin. And I've got another nature in
me that won't do good. That's what the man is saying
here. Look at verse 18. He's just telling the truth. You say,
I would encourage people to sin. Oh, no it won't. Oh, it won't. I know that in me, that is in
my flesh, verse 18, dwelleth no good thing. The will is present
with me. Let me ask you, you who know
Christ, wouldn't it be wonderful if you could never sin again? Never say an evil word, think
an evil thought, do an evil, never offend God in word, thought,
would you like that? Boy, I would. I would, and that's
what Paul is saying here. To will, that's what I will.
Now, wait a minute. Let me ask you a second question.
Does anybody in here think that's possible? Let me ask them again. You don't remember the first
one. How many in here would be absolutely,
the rest of your life, perfect? Never say another word, think
another thought, do another deed contrary to holiness. Would you?
Well, why don't you? If that's what you want, is that
what you want? It's what I want. And Paul said,
how to do it, I don't have the ability. I just don't have it. I don't have it. Verse 19, the
good that I would do, I don't do. And the evil I would not
do, that's what I do. Now, if I do that, I would not.
It's not I that do it. It's not the one who loves Christ,
knows Christ, believes. It's that old man that's still
in me. It has to be mortified daily. It has to be slain daily.
Verse 21, I find in the law, when I would do good, evil is
present with me. Always is. Let me tell you one
on Ron Traban. We went golfing the other day, and while I'm
telling this on him, I can brag a little. But we went golfing
the other day, he and I and a couple, John Thompson and Art Young, Ronnie hit, and the ball went
somewhere, and he just walked on up to the green. It was a
par-3, you Fresno Golf understanders, par-3, 140 yards, 145. He walked
up there by the green. He was standing up there when
I hit my shot. And it went through the air,
and hit the ground, and rolled across the green, and he's standing
there with his eyes open, his mouth open. It missed a hole-in-one,
that much. Is that right? And you know what
he told me? He wasn't on my team, he was
on the other team. And he said there was something in me that
wanted that to go in and something in me that didn't want it to
go in. That's us. Now it illustrates
what I'm saying. There's something in me that
wanted you to have that hole in one. But that other fella
in me knew that'd put us down two strokes. See, that's us now. See, this is just simple ill... I'm not talking about going out
and getting drunk now. You know that. I'm not talking
about blaspheming the name of Christ. I'm not talking about
that. I'm talking about these daily living. Daily living. That's where you get chafed and
angry and upset and pride and lust and all these things that
dwell in us. These monsters. That's what I'm
talking about. Well, I tell you, you might as
well be honest now. Now, you might as well, because
honest people don't wind up in hell. It's those liars out there
that say, I am what I ain't, that are going to miss Christ.
I am what I am by the grace of God. And that's what Paul is
saying in verse 21. I find in a law a rule that when
I do good, evil is present with me. Verse 22, I delight in the
law of God. I do after the inward man. But
I see another law, another rule. I conflict with this guy all
day long. I find the rule in my members
a lot warring against this righteous nature, this law of my mind.
And this flesh brings me into captivity to that law of sin
which is in my members. My conclusion is this, I in the
flesh am a very wretched man. Oh unhappy, pitiful, wretched
man that I am. Who's going to deliver me? Who's
going to release me from this body? the body of this death. Who's going to do it? Well, there's
no use turning to the law. The law reveals what you are.
The law can't give you life. There's no use turning to the
law and saying, well, I'm going to keep the Sabbath, and I'm going to tithe,
and I'm going to follow the Jew, and I'm not going to eat any
pork, and I'm going to church, and I'm going to do all these.
It won't help you. It won't help you. It won't help
you. Well, I'll turn to the church.
It can't help you. I go to the preacher, he can't
help you. Well, Paul said this, I'm going to be delivered, I
thank God. And I tell you this, my friend, when you see us for
what we are, His holiness, and what Christ has done, you can
really say honestly, I thank God. Just like when that old
boy came in and took my place in the courthouse, I thank God. And I walked out from there.
I'm not under the law. The law has no claim on me. Is that right,
Tom? I'm free. I'm free. I'm not guilty. I'm justified. God justified
me. And you're not going to bring
me back under it. That old husband is dead. He never was good to
me. Never was. He's dead. I'm married to Christ.
And he's the sweetest. He gets sweeter every day. And
he's the kindest and he understands and he loves me. And takes me
just like I am. That's right. I thank God. So then, here's the way it's
going to be. You say, does it get any better?
Ask some of these older fellows, don't ask me. So then with the mind, I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, I just put up with
it. I'll put up with it until we
put it in the ground. And then I'll never put up with
it again. Is that clear? But I'll tell you this, that's
what it says. Alright Mike, come lead us in
the south.

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