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Father, thank you for this morning. Thank you for your word Lord open our hearts and our our minds to what you have us to to hear from your word Lord that you would be exalted and Christ's name will be magnified in our study today in Jesus name.
Amen. So last week we we got into Romans and we talked about the righteousness of God. The theme of the book of Romans is the righteousness of God and That righteousness is a gift and It's revealed. It's something new that's revealed in Christ and the gospel verses 16 1 chapter 1 verses 16 through 18 talk about that and it's the righteousness of God is by faith.
From faith to faith the text says for the righteous shall live by faith. And this is what the gospel is. It's a righteousness by faith. That is the gospel and so in review. The very next verse Paul says well the wrath of God is also revealed the wrath of God is revealed and the righteousness of God is revealed.
So the wrath of God is revealed against what. And the text tells us in verse 118. Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. So really what Paul is doing in the first Three and a half two and a half chapters of Romans is to give us a picture of the the universal condemnation of man.
So Paul establishes first of all the need for the gospel. Why do we need the gospel? Why is this important. And he says all men whether they are unrighteous pagans or Self-righteous Jews are all alike under the condemnation of sin.
There is no exception. Every mouth shall be silenced, right? All Flesh no flesh will be justified and the whole world is under sin. But he tells us in verse if you want to turn your Bibles to chapter 3.
And we're going to be going through the last five chapters of this section today in verse 21 Paul reiterates his point that he Established in chapter 1 verse 16 when he says 321 but now the righteousness of God has been manifested and that verb manifested is is a synonym for Apocalypse, right?
This is Fenera. Oh, it's it's a synonym. These are both of Greek words. It means to disclose something that was previously hidden. So the righteousness of God has now been manifested apart from the law.
Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction. We all know this verse verse 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a Propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.
So now Paul in three chapter three gives us the solution right the gospel is a solution the gospel is By faith and it gives us the righteousness of God. So we're going to do now is we're going to hop to chapter 14.
We got to get chapter 4 through 8 Covered today and I just want to do an overview and the point of this whole study is to give you the flow of Paul's. To give you the big picture to give you the main points of what Paul is getting across.
So that when you read Romans, you understand that really what Romans is talking about. It's talking about the doctrine of man who is man. It's talking about the doctrine of sin. It's talking about the doctrine of salvation and Really?
It's very Christ centered which we'll we'll take a look at as we go through every single part of room every chapter of Romans ends With drawing our attention back to Christ and we'll see that as we go through.
So we're in chapter 4 and what Paul does here is he uses Abraham. So if you're a Jew You think well Really the law is what it's all about. It's all about the law obeying the law keeping the law. Well, Paul says no, it's by faith.
It's different the law and the prophets testified to it, but it's really by faith. And he uses Abraham as an example if you look at chapter 4 verse 1 Paul says what shall we say? Was gained by Abraham our forefather according to the flesh.
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about but not before God for what the scriptures say Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. So the verse that Paul is referencing here is Genesis 15 4 through 6 and What Paul says he references this and what Genesis 15 says and he's speaking of Abraham.
After he was called by God and he says behold the word of the Lord came to him verse 4 15 foreign Genesis this man man's referring to Hagar son Ishmael Shall not be your heir. Your very own son shall be your heir.
So here's the promise that somebody his very own son shall be his heir and as Paul Discusses later Sarah his his body was gone. He was very old. His wife was very old so this is a promise that that in a human sense could not really be appreciated could not be understood or Or even Deemed to be real, you know, but he still believed God.
It was an unbelievable thing that God told him to believe and he still believed it and God you says this was counted to him as righteousness so he says To Abraham God says to Abraham he shall be your heir your own son shall be your heir and He God brought Abraham outside and said look toward heaven and number the stars if you're able to number them.
And he said to him Abraham. So shall your offspring be so here was the promise? So not only was he going to have his own son. But that son would be would produce Offspring would produce offspring of faith, right people us where Abraham's offspring and that's his point here.
There's what's Paul is saying. Now I quickly want to address one thing. Paul said Paul uses this verse To say that he was justified by faith, right? But the problem is James seems to say the opposite.
Do you know what? I mean and James 223 and 24 James says uses this he references this verse and he says. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. So we go there's a contradiction.
What's going on? But if you read carefully both chapters. If you go back to James 220, you don't have to turn there if you go back to James 220. He references a different event in Abraham's life to make that statement.
James says in 220. Do you want to be shown you foolish person that fate apart faith apart from works is useless. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar.
So you see that Paul and James are talking about two different events, right? Paul is talking about Abraham's initial belief that he would have offspring and that offspring would be as Numerous as the stars in the sky.
What James is saying he's saying after that when he actually had this son of promise God told him to sacrifice him and he obeyed at that point. So his initial justification by God and his crediting of righteousness happened early.
So the way the flow goes is you get Chapter down later if you jump down to verse 9 in Romans 4. What Paul says is is this blessing then only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised. For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after but before he was circumcised and if you go through as I mentioned Genesis 15 He gets the promise from God.
He looks outside looks at the stars. Just credit is righteousness in verse in Genesis 17. Circumcision is given as a sign. So Genesis 15 Justified by faith the sign is given of the Covenant in Chapter 17 of Genesis and it's not until Genesis 22 to the offers of his son Isaac.
So do you see the flow? He's saying here that Circumcision is not the important part faith is the important faith precedes the sign of the Covenant. Which preceded the outworking of his faith by sacrificing his son?
So when you put James and Paul together, it makes perfect sense. If you go back to Genesis and you read carefully what he's really saying. It makes absolute sense. Any questions on that? Does that make sense?
There's really no contradiction. They're just kind of. What Paul's reacting to is legalism of the Jews specifically and what James the occasion of James? He's dealing with Antinomian ism right or people who are lawless.
Two different questions two different answers, but from the same text from the same person. So that's what Paul's doing here is he's saying I'm using Abraham as an example of justification by faith let's go down to verse 16 and Paul says in chapter 4 16.
That is why it depends on faith in order that The promise may rest on grace the promise of what the promise of your offspring by faith shall be as numerous as the stars in the sky and Be guaranteed to all of his offspring.
Not only to the inherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all and Skip down to 20. No unbelief made him Abraham waver concerning the promise of God.
But he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God fully convinced that God was able to do what he has promised that is why faith was counted to him, but count it's an accounting term as righteousness and 23 here's kind of the key verse of chapter 4 where he sums it all up.
He said but the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised to our justification?
So you see there that justification by faith. Paul is making this point that this is not a new idea this existed from before. The law before Moses before circumcision this has been the way it's been the law he says elsewhere was added Because of transgression, but really now a new era has dawned and that's what we're gonna see in chapter 5.
If you look at chapter 5 verse 1 Paul Concludes his his justification by faith statement with Abraham by saying Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Through him we have obtained Access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. So Paul is saying Not only justified so justification is like a courtroom term.
It's it's What they call forensic right you think of forensic evidence. I'm gonna prove something in court. Well, this is the proof. This is the forensic evidence that We are already saved. We are already justified in God's eyes.
So we have here not only justification. But we have a term which it comes from human relationships and some people say Sort of from war right? We have the Nobel Peace Prize. Well, this is peace. This is our peace prize.
This is this is the actual peace here where it says since we've already been justified by faith a past idea We now present tense have what peace with God? We have it now. We've been reconciled and For the sake of time we have to skip on quite a bit.
But why do we have this piece? First of all, look at verse 3. So remember in chapter 1 where he said The righteousness of God is revealed and immediately thereafter he says well the wrath of God's also revealed.
Well, Paul says here we rejoice in the hope of glory of God and we kind of go. Yay. It's good. This is great. But then right away he says not only that but we rejoice in our sufferings and we're like what?
What are you saying Paul why why would I rejoice in sufferings that's silly. From a human perspective it is we think anything like we want it easy. We don't want suffering but in a spiritual sense suffering is critical.
Why? Because he says knowing in verse 3 that suffering produces endurance that words very interesting that's a word that doesn't just mean patiently, you know twiddling your thumbs waiting or just mentally just biting time.
This means it's like running an endurance race, it's it's the word for endurance and it's translated here as As endurance, which is correct. Sometimes you'll see it translated as patient. So it's it's important to understand That this word has the idea of an ongoing effort very important.
So this suffering produces an ongoing effort and what's that effort that effort is an effort to? Be faithful to God an effort to walk by the Spirit as we'll see in the following chapters. So that endurance then produces if you see the next word produces character and this isn't just It is character.
It is Having the fruit of the Spirit right? Those are all character, but it's it's more than that. It's proven character. So when you suffer and you endure that suffering no matter what that suffering is whether it's suffering from sin or suffering from persecution.
That proves your character and that's really what Paul is saying here. So that's why we rejoice in sufferings. Peter says if you suffer a Christian for being a Christian rejoice. Right, that's that's God's glory is on you so we're gonna we're gonna suffer for Various things in life, but if you suffer being a Christian you are blessed right because you're suffering for righteousness sake and so Endurance produces character back to the text and character produces hope.
So rejoice in hope, but we understand that Hope is is part of a process. Okay and the reason this hope Does not put us to shame Paul says because God's love has been Poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
So if we have the Spirit of God within us. What Paul is telling us is this is the reason that this is not a vain hope. This is not a hope that's going to disappoint us as another translation puts it. But God's love is important to our hearts through the Holy Spirit if you we have the Holy Spirit.
That is the thing that is going to make all the difference is what makes hope possible. This is what makes suffering Worthwhile, and this is what proves that we have the Spirit of God within us because if we fail.
When trials come when persecutions come that proves that we did not really know Christ, right and that's part of the process. So in verse 6 he says and and this is very important because It's not done by human effort.
It says while we were weak at the right time Christ died for the ungodly and He has a little excursion about you know, human people will die. Public safety officials soldiers they will die for a good cause and for a good person.
That's really what he's saying, but he contrasts that with It's one thing to die for a good person, but in verse 8. But God shows his love for us know while we were still sinners Christ died for us. It's a huge contrast, right?
So we're not worth dying for. But God still died for us. So there's three things in this little section. He says we were weak. In verse 6 we were ungodly in verse 6 and we were sinners. I don't know about you.
But when I first heard the gospel Romans 5 8 was one of those verses that just jumped out at me. Wait a minute, I don't have to get good before God will accept me and I'm saved. Are you kidding me? That's that's incredible.
I was blown away by that, but that's what he's saying here while we were still sinners Christ died for us and so as we continue through we look at verse 11 and Paul says that more than that. More than being reconciled in the verse 10.
He used the word enemies. So we've got weak ungodly sinners and enemies. So we were enemies now. We're reconciled. We're now friends. Through the Spirit through spiritual rebirth. We're friends with God and in verse 11 more than that.
We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation. So we have this again. It's through Christ and this is the the Christ is the cause of our rejoicing the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts.
The love of God through Christ through the Spirit in our hearts we're now friends of God rather than enemies and so Paul takes us through this and. Then in verses 12 through 21 of chapter 5 Paul takes us through death in Adam and life in Christ.
So he takes us through why we're going to have sufferings why we're going to struggle. And he says in verse 12. Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin and so death spread to all men because all men sinned.
And stop there for a second the next three verses Paul sort of goes into the gift and the trespass he kind of. It's very very involved in this and What he really does he picks up his thought in verse 16 when he says.
He reiterates he said this free gift is not like the trespass the result of one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation but the free gift. Following many trespasses brought justification.
So you see the contrast there one sin everybody in the world's condemned forever. I'll get you in a second, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification you see so there's very is a very stark contrast between what Christ did and what Adam did and Somehow and and there's a lot of debate among scholars in this area.
Somehow Adam sin was imputed to every human being that nature what do you want to call it original sin? Augustine was the first one who really came up with that. What do you want to call it? Just the propensity to sin?
It's always there from birth. We're just sinners by birth. And so this justification, however Gives a spiritual rebirth and it's something that wasn't there before. So there's a new principle added to our basic human principle of nature of sin.
Yes, Dave. Yeah, this is Daniel Wallace's outline. So I gave it to you guys just for your for reference. I'm not following it slavishly. So I'm trying to follow the text and. Yeah, and I don't want to go any more than that, but I thought that that dr Wallace's handout would be helpful and he follows a general same outline.
But some commentators do break it up and there is an overlap between justification and sanctification, right? Sort of. There is. Well, that's right. That's a good point. So you have justification which is forensic.
That's an event. Sanctification or you're made a friend instead of an enemy. You're made a child of God, which we'll see later and you also I Guess in this sense, it's a progressive after that point, right?
We believe in progressive sanctification instant justification. Catholics to your point they believe in instant sanctification at Infant baptism, I believe is that correct? Right? Well you set apart and you're justified to a point.
But you can't have full justification until after purgatory. Let's say more or less Brian. Yeah, so sanctification, you know as Paul presents it is really His focus is a progressive aspect of the Christian life.
That's really this so this next section from here on until through chapter 8 or into chapter 8 is talking about sanctification or growing in Christ likeness and then justification is that declaration of you declared righteous and Then glorification is another event which happens after we die as Christians.
So it's event process event if you're an engineer you get you know, you like that right you like Things that work that way, but that's how it works. That's really how it is. And that's how we need to understand it.
Otherwise, we do get confused as Dave said between this. You can lose its salvation kind of thing. No, if you declared righteous, you're declared righteous. So We have to move. Time is time is fleeting.
Let's go to chapter 6 so we get the idea just in summary. There's a universal condemnation and a universal condemnation is from Adam. It is no exception and so the Universal remedy which is not applied to every person Is through Christ there's one universal remedy just like there's one universal cause of our sinful condition so let's go to chapter 6 verse 1 and Paul asks this hypothetical person.
He keeps debating with throughout Romans. What shall we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound because in chapter 5 he said that Even though Adam produced many sins The grace of Christ is greater than all those sins.
Right Steve signs his email grace greater than all my sin. That's what he's saying. And here he goes. Okay, if sin makes God's grace more, why don't we just sin more? He's speaking here. He's addressing somebody who's an antinomian somebody who's a Libertine somebody who says hey, I'm saved now.
It doesn't matter what I do. And so he's addressing that here. Well, his answer is very simple in verse 2 by no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? It's inconsistent. He died to sin. What are you doing still living in sin?
It doesn't make sense. It's it's totally incongruous. So he goes through. Paul goes through. And for the sake of time I do have to skip on a bit. Down to verse 11. He goes through he ties us with between verse 2 and verse 11.
We were buried with sin to his in to Christ's death and just like Christ Christ was raised Excuse me from the dead. We too might walk in newness of life in verse 6. We know that our old man was crucified or our old self was crucified with him.
In order that this body of sin might be brought to nothing. And we no longer be enslaved to sin for the one who has died to sin has been freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ in the past that our conversion he's looking backward.
To every Christian we believe that we will also future also live with him. So this is pointing to both Justification at conversion and glorification after death of every Christian. So in verse 11, he says so you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ.
So for those who are tempted to say it doesn't matter what I do once I'm saved once saved always saved I'm gonna live the way I want to live. He's saying that's not true because your new self is Under a new set of rules and a new ruler if you look down in verse chapter 6 verse 6 16.
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves your slaves are the one who you obey either to sin Which leads to death or of obedience which leads to righteousness, but thanks be to God.
They you though you were once slaves of sin. You have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed standard of teaching is the gospel standard of teaching is the things that Paul has said so far and all the things that they've been instructed as new Christians and Verse 18 is very important and having been set free from sin.
You have become slaves of righteousness and that having been set free from sin. Is that past present or future in the text the way it's translated. It's clearly past, right? So this is viewed as Paul as a completed action.
You are set free not only by justification. Are you set free from the penalty of sin clearly no penalty? We'll see in chapter 8 There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus penalty is gone and we see here that Paul says he's been set free in verse 18.
Free from sin free from the dominion or the power of sin and now you're under the dominion of Christ under the dominion of Righteousness, it's a whole different Orientation a whole different way of living a whole different mindset a whole different motivation.
Because now you're motivated by righteousness. We used to be motivated by self and sin. That's what he's saying here. So it looks forward to so the fact that you've been set free from the penalty. You've been set free from the power doesn't mean that we don't sin.
That's not what it's saying. Because that would mean you're set free from the presence of sin. We still have sin in us. And that's what he's going to talk about in chapter 7. That's why it's such a struggle and that is why Even though we're justified and when we're reconciled with God He tells us that We're still going to sin we're still going to struggle but that when you struggle you repent and You continue to walk with God.
That is the testing that is the character proving that is part of the suffering of still having a mortal sinful nature in a mortal body while having the immortal spirit of God within us and now Guaranteed immortality through faith in Christ.
So do you see that distinction? Do you see that? There's no more penalty. No more power of sin, but even though the power is defeated sin is still after us. We still have the world the flesh and the devil.
There's no question about that. You can't get out of that. Death is the only escape. But with that death, that's why Paul says we rejoice in the glory of God because we'll see in chapter 8 that that death produces The glory of God that glorifies us the very presence of sin is gone.
Very significant, but we have to understand that we're never going to be sinless in this life. If you go down to verse 22 Paul reiterates this thought and here's this concluding thought of chapter 6. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God both past tense.
The fruit you get leads to sanctification. Growing in Christ likeness and its end eternal life so that we life is a process of becoming more like Christ if you're a Christian and then at the end eternal life includes Glorification and complete redemption of our bodies at the end of chapter chapter 8 but he says The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ.
Jesus our Lord. We all know this. I'm sorry. I skipped the first part. So its end is eternal life and Then the verse we all memorize in Iwana for the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ.
Jesus our Lord understand the context. Salvation is a free gift. It gives us eternal life through faith in Christ. It's by faith alone. But here he's saying that the fruit of sin is sanctification growing in Christ license Christ likeness growing in Righteousness through Christ through the power of God in us by his spirit.
He's poured into us. That gives us the ability to obey and to become more like Christ in the sin less but not to be completely sin free. So let's move on to chapter 7. Hopefully that is making sense to you.
If you have any questions raise your hand, we have two more chapters to go. Bob quick. No, so did you guys hear that? How do you explain the struggle between the old man and new man? It's like two German shepherds going at each other one's gonna win its constant struggle in battle that capture.
Which is yeah for you guys up in the balcony. It's a good question and Paul answers it in chapter 7. I think let's go chapter 7. If you look at chapter 7 Paul is speaking to people who know the law. He says or do you not know in verse 1 brothers that I am speaking to those who know the law.
That it is binding on a person as long as he lives and then he gives a quick illustration here of marriage. Marriage is binding as long as person lives. Usually a person's spouse dies. The living spouse is free to remarry here.
He's saying Well, you're the dead spouse and by death to sin. You've been freed to obey Christ apart from the law. So if you're freed from the law by dying to the law through faith in Christ. It's kind of a reverse analogy.
But it still works because the principle is if you're bound by something that only death can break. Then you have to die to break that obligation so Here what he says in verse 6. But now we who are believers are released from the law having died to that which held us captive.
So that we serve in a new way of the spirit and not with the old way of the written code. So now our service to God is free our service to God is Motivated by what Christ has done for us not in order to gain our justification before God.
It's a key distinction. So we have to understand as Brother Dave pointed out earlier Roman Catholics have a reverse idea of that they have a view that justification is obedience to the rules and Doing right things rather than justification starts it and once you're justified.
Righteous living follows logically from that and that's really James's point when he uses Abraham as an example. Yes Erickson baptism. That's that's exactly right. His point is that baptism shows us very graphically and concretely what happens in a spiritual sense.
That's why it's so important. You're absolutely right. Yep. So let's go down a little further and I apologize for skipping along. But again, we're just doing a survey to get the forest view of what's going on.
What Paul is really saying and here we go. Paul says starting in verse 7. He's saying what shall we say? that the law is sin by no means and He goes through and I'm not going to read through it down to verse 12 because he talks about Basically, I'll summarize sin is activated in us by the law.
It's not it's not as I discussed last week when he says every every mouth may be silenced By the law and a whole world held accountable to God. Sin is a diet. The law rather is a diagnostic of sin. It's not a remedy for sin you see and that's what Paul is saying here and he jumped down to verse 13.
He says did that which is good then bring death to me the lumpy that which is good being the law. It's a good thing, but is it a bad thing? By no means it was sin producing death in me through what is good the law.
So sin used the law to produce death in me in order that sin might be shown to be sin and Through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure now that's fairly complex what Paul is saying there, but my simple understanding of it is that Again, reiterating what he said in chapter 3 is it's it's a diagnosing just how sinful you are.
It's going to show you what you're incapable of and how short you're going to fall of the glory of God. That's really in a nutshell what he's saying here. So the law has a role. But we're talking about the law of Moses now, which is what he's specifically talking about.
If you go down to verse 14, he says we know that the law is spiritual. But I am of the flesh sold under sin. So he says Your slaves are righteousness, but he says I'm still a slave under sin and there is some debate and I'll cover this at the end.
About whether this is talking Paul's previous life. I think the first 13 verses Are talking about Paul's life in Judaism his previous life of trying to follow the law and his inability to do so. Because that's not really what the law is intended to do and he talks more abstractly about the law and he gets personal when he says Okay.
In verse 14 The law is spiritual out here, but I am of the flesh. So now from verse 14 through 25 Paul gets very personal. Not only does he get personal but Paul opens himself wide spiritually speaking Paul and the reason I think that he's talking about his current experience of Christians and this is a universal application and This is backed up by the way.
If you're if you really want to study Romans, I'd recommend Tom Schreiner's book. It's a Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament. It's a very good book. He's a professor at Southern Seminary.
You guys probably are familiar with the Doug move book. I think we have it in the library. But this one he interacts with move. This is newer and he's is about as pointy a five-point Calvinist as you're gonna get.
He's really good. He's really solid. So I'd recommend him what he says. He says if you look at Romans 7 14 to 25 Two things jump out. First of all, Paul is using the personal pronoun extensively I I I and.
And secondly, he uses the present tense throughout there's no indication that this is a past this is like an ongoing struggle for Paul. Whereas Typically if somebody were to say well, he's talking about his past experience.
It's called what they call the historical presence a historical use of the present. But the historical it means that so for example, if I was to tell you something that happened yesterday, I went to Graduation party and I was talking to Mike Avendroth and Mike says This or Mike goes, you know, we use the word go.
It's the one we're talking about speaking. So Mike goes. Hey Bob. How you doing? That's a present tense verb. We use it today but The only time it's used in Greek is when we're talking the third person if you go if you actually if you know any Greek.
If you study the book of Mark Mark is basically Pete Mark's writing down of Peter's preaching that that's what the scholars think Mark can sit. I mean Peter in through his preaching and Mark in the Gospel of Mark continually uses the historical present so Jesus says Jesus goes Jesus heals they're all present tenses, but clearly he's talking about past events.
But those are all he's describing like an eyewitness account third party events. Here he's talking about me the historical present in Greek is never ever used. With the first personal pronoun first person.
You don't see the historical presence. So that's probably the biggest defeater. That's what dr. Schreiner says and I believe it because he's really smart but dr. Schreiner I believe that Paul is talking about his present experience and therefore we as Christians today can Look at this and apply it to our situation.
I think this helps answer Bob's question about what's going on in us so let's read let me read through starting in verse 14 of chapter 7 as Starting in 15 rather for I do not understand my own actions.
For I do not do what I want to do, but the very thing I hate. So there is still a struggle here's the struggle and and by the way in the Greek it's this is very high. Let me just say in English translation This is very hard to read because every time you read the word it's like do I don't I do it's like do I do and you just.
To me, it's very obscure in the original when you read it. It's there are three or four different verbs one verb means to practice. Another verb means to accomplish and another verb is the simple to do or to make.
So every time you read the word do and it's a little easier to read in a sense in Greek I wish they had translated it that way the things I do what I want to accomplish. I don't practice right? This is the kind of idea you want to do one thing you do another.
So in verse 17, he says so it is now no longer I who do it. But sin that dwells within me very interesting. You see in in the Greek world. Greek world had a basic view of man that was dualistic the material part of us.
Was inherently seen as flawed sinful corrupted by its very nature. But the Bible doesn't teach that. Bible teaches the Hebrew view that Man is a unity of unseen aspects the eye. It's. It's not just a simple body and soul.
But the soul part of us the unseen the New Testament uses about eight or ten different words. It's our conscience our will our Mind our thoughts. He uses the inner man here later, you know, the inner and outer man is used elsewhere 2nd Corinthians but The essentially it's a unity and what this says is there's sin.
There's a foreign object. There's a foreign substance in us of sin that we inherited as Paul said in chapter 5 from Adam. So the body it's just like Adam and Eve were inherently they didn't have to sin.
They didn't have sin yet. That's what? And they were a unity. They were a unity of unseen and they had the material body. This saying that there's a foreign substance in me that I'm stuck with that. I have to fight against so and and I'm not exactly sure how this works out like how.
How does the body happen to be the place where sin dwells? He describes it as in my flesh. Or most translations refer to this sort of a sin nature. It's a good question. But I don't know exactly how it works, but the Bible tells us it does work that way.
Okay, we're not our bodies. And so this is why You know when Paul says the gospel is foolishness to Greeks. I Human bodies and material things are inherently flawed and evil. Why would God take on a human body?
That's foolish. Because the only true existence to them was a spiritual existence devoid of the material devoid of the body. So that's one reason but the second reason is what the Bible presents is the nature of man see in the Bible the nature of man is your two parts your material and immaterial and Paul here is separating those out.
But essentially you're always you. You're always you and the sin dwelling within you is another element that is foreign to you. And that is why when we die that foreign element the presence of sin can be expelled after death.
Because God then transforms our material bodies to become like our spiritual bodies. It's a very cool thing and it's hard to understand but that is what Paul is saying here. So let's get back to the text.
So Paul has this desire to do right but not the ability to carry it out. Nothing good dwells in me in verse 18 that is in my flesh Verse 19 for I do not do the good I want but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Now if I do what I do not want it is no longer I to I who do it but sin that dwells within me. So I find to be a law. That when I want to do right Evil lies close at hand for I delight in the law of God in my inner man.
That's what Bob was talking about, right? Here Paul's encompassing his whole his heart his mind his will his inner man. I want to do what's right. In my inner man, but I see in my members. That's my body parts again.
I see in my members. Another law and again Paul's using the lowercase law here. It's a principle or a rule. It's not the Mosaic law. I See another law besides the law of sin. But this law in my members is waging war.
Against the law of my mind and taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. So here we have a hostile force. Paul is using military Analogy here. So we want to live righteously. We want to do the will of the Father, but We have this complicating factor that Christ didn't have by the way, and that's why he was able to perfectly obey.
Which is sin within our body that dwells in our members and it says it wages war. This is the where we get the word strategy or stratego. The strategy sin strategizes against us in a sense, but it's wages this war against.
What God has put in me the spirit dwells in me, but sin also dwells in me. So in a sense Bob, there is this we have a redeemed spirit and we have the Holy Spirit. But we also have this principle of sin, which is warring against the righteousness.
Which God has transformed in our spirit and the Holy Spirit which is placed within us. So it's not a fair fight. Because we have the ability to overcome and that's how we overcome the power of sin although we have sin dwelling in us we have this ability to overcome sin and we see that.
It's taking him captive. So Paul is a captive to sin. He can't escape sin as long as he's in this mortal body as long as we're in these mortal bodies. We cannot escape our sin nature. The presence of sin is always there.
But Paul says you've kind of finally concludes his frustration by saying in verse 24 wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? It's the same word that is used in the Lord's Prayer.
Deliver us from evil. It's that that same he that same Greek word is used who will deliver me who will rescue me. Who will take me away from this body of death? Thanks to be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And he doesn't stop there. He says so then I'm getting delivered. I'm gonna be released. I shall be delivered from this body of death through Christ. But that so then is almost a but I myself serve the law of God with my mind.
But with my flesh I serve the law of sin. So Paul and we're running out of time. So let me conclude quickly by saying that Paul is presenting here this already not yet idea. This is a common phrase. You'll hear we are already saved.
But we are not yet free of sin until we die until we're glorified. So this in what P presents in chapter six and seven. So justification is the already the not yet is glorification, which is in chapter eight.
But here for two chapters and really two and a half with with Adam he's talking about but still. So we're already justified in the sight of God. We're not yet completely glorified with God. And we still have to struggle with sin.
That's really part of the suffering Paul's talking about. That's a big part of what I think he's getting at when he talks about the endurance required and the proven character. Is overcoming sin? So this is something that in us is begun but not completed.
But remember it's progressing by grace through faith. And this is why in the very first chapter when he says the righteousness of God is revealed by faith. To faith Anthony asked last week. What is that about?
Not only do you begin by believing that Christ died for your sins believing the gospel and That by faith his righteousness is applied to me and my sin is taken by him. Not only is that faith but this ongoing faith has to continue through our lives.
So it's this this idea of righteousness of God, which is what Romans 1 through 8 is all about. This righteousness is inaugurated upon conversion. But not yet consummated until we see the Lord. But it is also complicated complicated by sin still living in us.
So do the sake of time we'll have to we can't get to chapter 8. But let's conclude with this chapter 8 verse 1. There is then now No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
And Paul goes through let me just one last comment about this section. Paul is talking about those who are in the flesh and those who are in the spirit. It's very interesting. I think the translation I have here in translation.
Most of you have is probably live in the spirit live in the flesh. But it's not actually the word live or the word walk which will commonly see about. About the Christian life. This is actually the verb to be.
So what Paul's pointing out here is those who are by nature in the flesh. Cannot please God. They're still enemies of God. They're still dead inside. They're still dead in the spirit. But he's saying those who are of the spirit the verb they're very being it's the being verb those who are of the spirit.
Do what the spirit desires? So you see we have this enablement that non-christians don't have. And I didn't tell the truth. I'm gonna go down to verse 11, so let's conclude here. So starting at verse 9 you however, so he switches from in the first eight verses.
He talks third person he to those who are in the flesh those who are in the spirit, right? He's objectively he's taking he's having the Christian pull back and say those who are in the flesh are like this those who are in The spirit like this, but then in verse 80 says or in verse 90 says you however, it's emphatic pronouns at the beginning of the sentence.
It's right there. You are not in the flesh but in the spirit if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. So when we talk about the struggle with sin. You have been given and I have been given the enablement that we need to overcome sin and.
That we said, oh am I living in the flesh? Well, if you sin, yes, your flesh has has overcome you for a moment, but you are not in the flesh. That is not who you are. You are in the spirit if the Spirit of Christ dwells in you.
Anyone who does not let's continue reading in verse 9 anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Because they don't have the right mindset they can't please God it's impossible it says.
But in verse 10 if Christ is in you, although the body is dead spiritually speaking because of sin. The spirit is life because of righteousness and and some commentators say that's our spirit some say it's a Holy Spirit.
But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Through his spirit who dwells in you so we're given the promise that the very presence of sin at the end of our lives will be expelled.
Because of the spirit within us, that's what guarantees it and the fact that The spirit is in us tells us that we're God's children. He says later and It talks about the glory of the children of God. We are children if we are have God's spirit in us.
We're children and we're heirs of the promise all of those things and you can read chapter 8 on your own if you want but when you get to chapter 8 understand that that Paul's giving us a full orbed theology of Who we are?
The doctrine of man who every man and woman is in Christ. And then he's giving us the doctrine of sin exactly why we still sin and what we have to look forward to the glorious future Sinless future in the presence of Christ in glory.
That's guaranteed to every single believer. So any last questions we can we can finish up. I think we're out of time. Let me pray Lord Jesus, thank you that you've given us these promises and these guarantees and thank you Lord that we are told we are more than conquerors.
Through you who loved us and nobody ever ever can separate us From the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Nothing in creation Lord. You've given us all your promises you've given us the guarantee and the deposit of your Holy Spirit the first few fruits of our eternal life and glory with you and Lord, we do look forward to the day when We see Christ in person whether he comes tomorrow.
Or whether we are living our last day on earth. We're guaranteed if we know Christ that that future Will be eternal life in heaven with you and it's Christ's name. We pray. Amen.