Romans 7:7-8:4, What Have You Seen?, Dr. John Carpenter

Romans 7:7-8:4 and the Question of What Have You Seen?

Romans chapter 7 from verse 7 to chapter 8. Verse 4. Hear the word of the Lord. What should we say? That the law is sin by no means. Yet if it had not been for the law I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said you shall not covet.

But sin seizing an opportunity through the commandment produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law. But when the commandment came sin came alive and I died.

The very commandment that promised life Proved to be death to me for sin seizing opportunity through the commandment Deceive me and through it killed me. So the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Did that which is good then bring death to me by no means it was sin producing death in me through what is good in order that sin might be shown to be sin and Through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure for we know that the law is spiritual.

But I am of the flesh sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions for I do not do what I want. But I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want I agree with the law that it is good.

So now it is no longer I who do it. But sin that dwells in me for I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

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 who do it but sin that dwells within me. So I find it 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 being.

But I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law that dwells In my members. Wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind. But with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law.

The Spirit of Life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death for God has done what the law weakened by the flesh Could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin.

He condemns sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law Might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word.

Seeing Ourselves Through God's Law

What have you seen. That's changed you. Have you seen? Yosemite National Park or Cape Flattery, Washington. Or some other such site that's so beautiful. You didn't know such beauty could exist. You leave changed by its splendor.

Or maybe you see wild animals buffalo or bears. Maybe dolphins like Herbie has Frolicking and you realize that there's more in heaven and earth than has dreamt of in your philosophy. Now people like watching nature shows narrated by David Attenborough just to see something.

They can't see around them. Have you seen other cultures and so realize that people can live and think much differently than you? You've experienced that some of your most basic assumptions that things you've just taken for granted.

But maybe about how to communicate. What does a gesture like this mean or should it be this or that whole? Civilizations that billions of people speak a language you don't understand. And Eat food totally different than you were raised with.

People will spend a lot of money to travel to some beautiful site or see some exotic culture. Just so they can see something new something that changes the way they see life. Something that enables them to see themselves differently.

Well, what have you seen? Some people no matter what they see don't seem to be able to see past themselves. Bill Gothard was a popular Christian speaker targeted at youth in the 1980s and 90s. Before he got into some scandals of the church I was a member of in college in the 80s.

Had us go hear him gotta go here. Bill Gothard in his Institute for basic youth conflicts or whatever was something like that. In Singapore in the early 90s. I got to interview him. One-on-one and he was wearing a full suit and tie.

Which no one in Singapore does okay. I don't know if I've ever seen anybody. I've seen sometimes with jackets. I've seen sometimes with ties. I don't ever recall any time a man wearing a full suit and tie in Singapore.

But anyway, there he is. I'm interviewing him in Singapore and he's just a full suit and tie and I asked him if a lot of what he's Stands for is just from his culture. He said no and I thought. You totally lack self-awareness.

A Lot of people these days utterly lack self-awareness. They'll be the most hateful bigots. That is there people who condemn anyone who believes differently than they do while in our culture. Simultaneously boasting of their tolerance.

In fact, it's almost a law these days that the more they boast of their tolerance the more bigoted They are. It's just a weird thing about our culture. They'll call for diversity and inclusion which means they want people they're fine with people who look differently than they do.

They don't mind that. But they can't tolerate anyone who thinks differently than them and if you try to confront them about their bigotry. It's like trying to describe Yosemite to a blind person. They haven't seen that they are the very thing they condemn.

Now some people don't want to see narcissistic people may believe that they're their smartest that they're the best and the most talented. But they will typically not try anything that will show them Who they really are.

It's kind of a quality of narcissistic people that they won't try out for the team. They won't try out for the orchestra. They won't take a real a valid IQ test. Because they might see they know I think somewhere in the back of their minds that if they do those things They might see that they're not the person they imagine themselves to be.

They don't want their inabilities to be seen. They don't want the coach to say sorry. You're not good enough. The maestro of the orchestra say sorry you need to practice. You're not good enough for us.

But if your weaknesses aren't seen. You can't grow past him now here in this passage. We see that God wants us to see to see ourselves in particular. He's given us his law not only so we can see what is right.

But so that we can see ourselves. We see that here in three parts first the show in verses 7 to 13. Then the sin from verses 14 to 20 and then finally the results from chapter 7 verse 21 to chapter 8 verse 4.

First there's the show something is shown. To us is shown to us so we can see the means of the show. The way is shown that the screen the monitor the thing that displays what God wants us to see is His law.

It's like a mirror shows us ourselves. We look into a mirror. We can see ourselves. We look at God's law. We see the contrast of who we really are. We see ourselves. He's already shown in the first part of chapter 7 that we're free from the law.

This is a way to be right with God. We don't have to keep the law to to be in the right relationship with God. We're free from the law. When Christ when we're in Christ when he died and so if we're in Christ when he died when he died.

We died to sin and that and also he says in the first half of chapter 7 we died to the law now. Does that mean then someone say some scoffer? Responding to Paul does that mean hey you saying that the law sin or maybe it's like sin like just like we died to sin.

We died of the law. So you're saying they're like together. Well by no means he says. Just like we heard twice in chapter 6 remember the by no means certainly not absolutely not no way. But it's true in verse 7 if it had not been for the law, we would not have known sin.

We wouldn't know what sin is. We wouldn't see it. We wouldn't be aware that we are sinning that we are sinners. For example, we wouldn't know that there's something wrong with our desires. Our covetousness if the law had told us.

Don't covet. Our culture tells us all the time follow your heart. Whatever we desire is good greed is good. Ambition is always healthy. That's what the world the flesh of the devil will combine to tell us.

So unless something outside of us Tells us differently shows us differently. We'll never see where it's wrong. And then comes God's command you shall not covet. Every wrong desire every lust for things that are not yours by right every craving for the thing to satisfy you the money.

That will finally make you secure all of that is according to Colossians chapter 3 verse 5 is Idolatry. Covetousness is idolatry when you covet. The object of your desire is in the place of God. The money is what you seek first not God's kingdom.

You see the money if you believe the money will give you the things you need. You don't believe God will give you the things you need. Now, maybe you believe God will help you get the money. But and so you'll seek God as far as for doing that.

But you think if you're covetous the money is what you seek first. That's why you can't come to church on Sunday morning to worship God. You've got to be working to make more money. The sex or the relationship or the family or the status is what you have to have most.

You might go to church. You might you might be one of those. Well, okay I can maybe because the business of clothes on Sunday who knows or you might get baptized or claim to be a Christian if you Think if the covetousness covetous person thinks that by doing that.

You will get your real goal. You'll kind of pay off God and he will give you the thing. You really want. The girl the stable family and maybe church will teach the kids to be successful. So I'll take him there for just for that.

For the recognition. Look at me. I'm a holy. I'm unrighteous. I'm a good person. You're good citizen. You want to show off some people go to church for that to get that it's theme. You'll try to use the real God.

To get your hearts God, but then the real God speaks up. Commanding you shall not covet and your sin is shown. You would never have known that you had this sin if God had not said don't covet you would not Have had the awareness of it.

You would lack have left. You would have lacked self-awareness thinking that you're fine. Then God gave the command of the sinfulness in you. Saw the command as an opportunity to sin. It's like telling the kids here and in the evenings Sunday evenings when they come don't go into the kitchen.

Okay, I don't. I don't really ever do that. I just locked the kitchen but because what happens if you tell the kids don't go to the kitchen. You know what happens when you do that? They think hmm. There must be something really good in that kitchen.

So I'm gonna go in as soon as he's not looking. Without the command don't go into the kitchen. They may never have an opportunity to show their sin now for us. We think we're fine until God says don't covet and we finally then see that the things we want instead of him.

Maybe we're trying to use him to get but we really deep down we want instead of him. Maybe the catch the thrills the stuff the recognition the relationship. Whatever it is. Is it those aren't just fine goals.

Their idols. God gave us the law to show us that to show us that were Idolaters now a common piece of a worldly wisdom today is and you hear this a lot out there. God will never give you something you can't handle.

God will never give you something you can't handle basically is if you've got this situation your life that must mean you can handle it. You're up to it because that's why God gave it to you. So you can handle it.

That's totally wrong. God gave us the law. Not only the law of Moses, but any of the commands of Scripture for the very purpose of showing us that we cannot handle it. By ourselves, he gives us more than we can handle so that we will see our sin.

Indeed the command makes our sin worse. Notice how he says that here verse 8 God's command against covetousness produces more covetousness. In us, it's like some medical test. I Don't know enough about medicine.

It's probably better examples than this. Someone's got doctors will give you something that will actually make the condition whatever a little worse. So it shows up doctors might give you barium to drink so that it can see your stomach and intestines and an x-ray.

Now they're adding something to you. That makes what was hard to see Easy to see. It's the purpose of all that and that's what God does with the law. Sometimes our our sin is hard to see and so God gives us the law and then we can see.

After we've heard the law. That what we really desire. Our wealth or luxuries some experience some thrills our exaltation our very ego. That that those things are our covetousness that they're idols. He gives us that to show because without the law without God giving us that he says at verse 7 sin lies dead.

In other words is dormant. It's hibernating is sleeping. You can't detect it. So he gives us the law. To kick it awake. Now that doesn't mean sin lies dead. What that sect. I debated about three years ago in the debate.

One of their people called up and quoted part of Romans 7 said I believe the party quoted was before the law. It was alive something like that. Anybody called up to try to argue that that says that we don't have a sinful nature.

Which is really weird if you read the whole chapter. I mean look at the whole argument of the chapter. Paul is saying here first that God gave the law. For the purpose of showing us sin. So that we could see that whatever delusions we created in our mind and our lack of self-awareness.

That that we have it to show us the sin we couldn't see well without the law that it is. More than we can handle. God's command promises life if you keep them. Verse 10 remember in Deuteronomy it sets before you life and death.

But it always leads to our death. You know always. It's not because of the law because we never really keep the law. Even if you keep the outward commands against killing adultery stealing defaming people still in our hearts we idolize.

Something the almighty dollar the family our politics something. The sinfulness deep in our sinful nature what he here calls the flesh. That here is a command as an opportunity to sin. Don't eat of that tree.

Tempts us to eat. I think I'll eat of that tree and thought about eating that tree until our the command came along. Don't commit adultery makes us think well. Maybe adultery might be nice if God's telling us not to do it all because deep down our sinful selves our flesh want something Besides God so we covet.

So it deceives. Has God really said? It whispers to us and then it kills us. The law is holy and righteous and good in verse 12, but the sinful nature within us trips us up over the law and We're shattered by it.

It's more than we can handle. The flesh uses the law to kill us. But God knew that the law would do that beforehand and he gave the law to us on purpose. So that in verse 13 notice in order that this is a purpose statement.

This is the reason for God's law. Sin might be shown. We have this law to see therein that we have not been free from sin. So it becomes inflamed sinful beyond measure. Why does God do that to us? So that finally we'll see it and admit it and finally know ourselves and Finally cry out.

Who will save me? Have mercy Lord. I Believe a lack of preaching the law is one of the main reasons that so many people are in our culture lack self-awareness. Yet to remember in previous generations.

The church preached were caught the law and I mean you keep the law to be saved. It means God this is God's requirements. Like we heard of the Ten Commandments and if you violate them you live in a way that's the violation of God's law.

You are a sinner. That's the typically through the centuries. That's what the church did and over like the past couple generations the church got the idea in mind. Hmm, what we'll do is try to win people over.

We'll kind of put all that stuff in the back and but we still maybe we still believe it. But we're gonna tell people that we'll put out this dead this inviting message you know, God loves you and he's gonna affirm you and you have your best life now and here's some we have some Useful tips on how to do that.

And so we've been not preaching the law. And so we have now the condition in which we have so many people who lack self-awareness who are simultaneously living in immorality or approving of immorality and yet are also Self-righteous, one of the marks of our culture today is the incredible Self-righteousness, you would think we're the most morally pure people in the history of the world.

Where is the other? When in fact, we're on the other extreme of moral purity and yet the culture is so incredibly Self-righteous. In Jesus's time, you know in Israel. They had the Pharisees who were self-righteous on the one hand.

That's the way they were and they they were self-righteous because they thought they kept the law. They didn't know they were sinners. And so Jesus used the law to awaken them to their sin. You know, you think you're keeping the law just by not murdering.

Well, you shouldn't even hate you. Shouldn't be spouting angry insults saying you fool. You think you're keeping the law just by not committing adultery. Well, you shouldn't even lost. You think you're doing well enough?

But you've got to be perfect and he was showing them that God had given them more than they could handle. Jesus was using the law to show them their sin to conquer their self-righteousness and. Then there were other people in Jesus's time in the Israel like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.

You know that who had had five husbands and now was on man number six. Sinners who weren't even trying to keep the law and they knew they were sinners now. They had some self-awareness and they had self-awareness because the law told them That they were sinners.

Today we have people who are just as if not worse just as immoral as the woman at the well. But who are as self-righteous as the Pharisees and that's because we haven't been telling them God's law. That sex out of marriage is immorality and that you won't inherit the kingdom of God if you live in it.

We haven't been telling them. Hey, look you're immoral and so now we have a bunch of people really a whole couple of generations who don't know that they are immoral who will even complain and decry a purity culture as though that's a bad thing and who will self-righteously condemn you and who flaunt what they think is their virtue and We have this because they have it been shown their sin by God's law.

The War Within and the Captivity of Sin

Well second is the sin. The law shows that we have it. Well, what is it? What does it make us do and that he shows us from verses 14 to 20 the reality of Sinfulness. For the beginning of verse 14 as because the law shows us our sin.

Because it is spiritual it shows that we are present tense. Fleshly that is I am Paul says verse 14. I am currently knows the birth inside right now fleshly, I have a sinful nature because the reason I have a simple nature right now I have been in the past a Past completed action with the condition still standing.

It's not I was sold as a slave of sin. But I have been sold and I still am a slave of sin. I've been sold as a slave of sin. I know that because This is what shows us there were slave us in a verse 15.

I do not understand my own actions. Why do I do the things I do I? Lack self-awareness in a way because I continue to do some sins that the new me Doesn't want to do I Don't do the good things. I Want to do I?

Don't pray enough. I don't enjoy God's presence God's people enough. I don't love God enough. I don't give enough. I sometimes break God's law. There's this commands. I know it's his commands and I keep not doing it.

Why? Why are I the Christian I want to be. Because of verse 17 of the sin that dwells in me because of my sinfulness my what he calls flesh. That's why it's that's why I believe it's proper is in the new international version.

The NIV can interpret that word flesh Greek. It's arcs. You can interpret it as Sinful nature. I think the NIV is right to interpret it that way. It's the nature that we have that is in rebellion against God.

Nothing good dwells in me. That is in my flesh I have a simple nature. Now I also have a new nature Risen with Christ that wants to do good to follow God's commands, but because of my simple nature I don't have the ability to perfectly do all the good all the godliness.

To have all the love for God a love for his word his ways his people. That my new nature wants to have. We're not able at the end of verse 18 even after salvation to perfectly carry out all the desires of my new God-centered new creation nature.

That's the sin really the Sinfulness that is in us that it is in our old fleshly Nature and we see that because still in verse 19. I do not do the good I want. My new nature wants to be satisfied with God.

My new nature wants to say that he's enough. To sing that song we sang more than enough. To not be obsessed with money or with relationships or with sports. Or to be addicted to alcohol or ice cream or to sugar drinks.

My new nature wants to be in control. To not be angry. I want to have all the fruit of the Spirit in my life. But then I keep slipping back Into greed into selfishness and the gluttony to losing my temper.

That's the old nature still in me. Now sure it's in chapter six. It died with christ and a new nature arose with him but that rotting Dead corpse is still clinging to me still in me In verse 20 and it's making me do what I don't want.

No, I The new me Isn't doing it but I The dead me Is still doing it? That's the reality of sinfulness. Well third lastly the results Are listed from chapter 7 verse 21 to chapter 8 verse 4. There there are four results of the sinfulness that were shown and four results of god's salvation that were shown in in two parts.

There's the sinner and the justified each with four results. Here we see That we are simultaneously a sinner. And justified. Well first the sinner. What's the result of being a sinner of being fleshly?

Sold under sin first. Evil is close. Yes. That's certain that's so certain. He says it's a it's a law. It's like a law of gravity. It's just certain you can you can just take it for granted. It's always there.

Evil is close the result of being a sinner having that rotting corpse of a sinful nature in you is that there's evil close. Even when I want to do right. When I want to love god, I want to give and to serve and be full of the fruit of the spirit.

But still in verse 21 evil lies close at hand despite the fact that in verse 22 I delight in the law of god in my inner being. The new me that is raised with christ in chapter 6 that delights in god's word in god's ways and in god's presence.

That's why I come to church. That's why I want to sing. That's why I don't want to hear from his word. But in verse 23, the result of being a sinner is I see. What do you see? I see in my members. My body means my actual life the way I live what you can see in my life another law another principle another force.

Besides that one that makes me delight in obeying god another one. It's waging war. Against the positive law of my mind. That is what I want in my inner being. So there's two forces like two laws of nature as certain as gravity at work within justified sinners.

A new nature and the evil that lies close at hand. That's why There's a war within. Well, the first result of being a sinner of still having that rotting corpse of a sinful nature is that we have That law of sin and death at work in us undermining us is defeating us.

Sometimes we hate to admit it. But sometimes it's true so that we We don't end up doing what we want to do. Roman 7 shows us about ourselves that even when we're at our highest we're at our most triumphant pinnacles of faith.

Believing god's promises that we're a new creature and no longer slaves of sin yet still even there. There Evil lies close at hand. It's right there. Always so close you can reach out and touch it. Well, the second result of being a sinner in verse 23 is captivity.

Our sin makes us captive to the law of sin. We're chained To it that same law of sin and death that's waging war against us the law of sin dwells. He says that it lives secretly hiding maybe like an enemy soldier hiding in a cave.

Hiding he says In my my members that often in our body now the body itself is not sinful. The body is good. God created it but hiding within it often using it is the law of sin. That is our fleshiness our rebellion against god and that holds us part of us captive.

It's like we're handcuffed to it. So that we're not free to love to serve god as we want in our inner being romans 7 shows us in verse 23. Even when we feel the victory of christ, we feel the peace that passes all comprehension that there is still another force waging war still.

Making me captive as captives. We're not free. We're often dragged off To where we don't want to go. To sin. The third result of being a sinner in verse 24 is that it makes us wretched. Wretched man. That I am the word wretched means it means miserable distressed tormented in anguish.

Now the new you risen with christ wants to do right delights in god's word. Loves god and wants to seek first his kingdom, but that fleshly that dead you is still distracted for all the other things but the money but the immorality.

Whatever frivolous things the world is putting out. There is the next greatest thing and the war between those two inside you that result of that war is wretchedness. Distress and struggle. You know if you ever seen the movie saving private ryan.

Like there's some scene where they come into a french town or near early in the movie. And there's these french civilians with this girl. They're stuck in the middle between the two sides fighting. Think how wretched that is to be stuck in the middle.

I mean the nazis allies. They're fighting this war going on. That's us. We're stuck in the middle of this war. Roman 7 shows us about ourselves that just what we thought well. Some people let's say well now i'll be happy all the day.

Then still we say oh wretched man that I am. This is why one of the best signs of true conversion Is humility. The truly saved person is humbled by the daily fight against sin. The unsaved person isn't humbled by it because he's given into sin so he has no daily fight.

The saved person Has seen his or her own sinfulness because he's fighting against it. He knows the core of his being that he needs help that he's desperate. That's why he reads his bible. He prays he comes to church to get the help that he's been humbled enough to see now that he needs Who will help me.

The truly saved have seen how evil lie is close at hand. They know it's there. They see it there. And so they have the desperate Humility of a person who has seen his or her own sinfulness. Because they've accepted the result of god's law that the problem is sin and they know it's there.

And he cries out a wretched man that I am the fourth the last result of being a sinner while being justified. Is our desperation. So we cry out in verse 24 who will deliver me from this body of death.

And you feel within you the anguish of a person risen with christ. Yes free from sin yet still with this rotting corpse of a sinful nature unable to perfectly Do what is good? Unable to perfectly do the good things.

We want to do to love the god. We want to love this thing in us that leaps at opportunities to sin and you know desperately That sin is more than you can handle. So you cry out Who will deliver me? The cry itself Is a result of the war within.

So the desperate anguish wretched cry leads to the four results of being justified. You are simultaneously a sinner And justified. And you cry out who will deliver me and you hear the answer Thanks be to god through our lord jesus christ.

Jesus saves. What's the results. Well, it's not yet that you are completely perfectly free from all sin. The second half of verse 25 says that now Simultaneously justified and a sinner. I myself serve the law of god with my mind that the new risen Inner of you but with my flesh This rotting corpse I serve the law of sin.

That principle that when I want to do right still evil lies close at hand. That's still the situation and that last sentence of chapter 7 by the way proves What's often some a debate among some people but I think it's pretty clearly answered by this chapter.

It proves besides the The verb tenses the present tense verb tenses and the really just the whole theology of the chapter. It proves that paul is talking about the life of the christian now some perfectionist in order to To hold on to their doctrine of perfectionism have claimed that chapter 7 is about the unsaved person.

Experiencing conviction before conversion before getting saved but here at the end of the chapter after The answer to the desperate cry who will deliver me. You know after that even after the triumphant answer who would deliver me.

Thanks be to god through jesus christ. Our lord still after that paul says with my flesh. I serve the law of sin. So this is about the christian life. Well, the first result of being justified starting in chapter 8 is no condemnation.

You have no. The justified has no Condemnation now that's really obvious because condemnation is the opposite of justification. Justification is the judge's verdict that you are Not guilty. You're free to go.

Condemnation is the guilty verdict thundering out sentence to the punishment the banging of the gavel the bailiff hauling you off to prison the result of justification even if sinners Soul, understand unable to perfectly do what is right evil close at hand is still no condemnation.

No matter how much you keep doing evil. You don't want to do no matter how much you fail to do the good you want to do still. You are justified and so not condemned. There is therefore therefore because of what god did through jesus christ our lord.

No condemnation you are simultaneously a sinner and justified. Thanks be to god through jesus christ our lord. Well, the second result of being justified is that we're free. In verse two as sinners were captives as justified new creatures were free.

The law of sin and death that means evil is close at hand. It makes you sin even when you want to do good to even when you want to love god. You know perfectly because of that but if you're in christ jesus.

There is also the law of the spirit of life and that sets you free. Now notice it's not rule keeping that sets you free. It's not learning the principles. That sets you free these list of rules that if you keep them.

That's what bill gothard was hawking. You learn all this stuff. And if you learn that you'll. You'll be a success. No, it's not what some christians think. Well, sure at first we're saved by grace. That's salvation.

But now that we're saved you've got to hunger down and you got to keep the rules. We have to we leave the grace up to god. Don't worry about grace. We've got to obey that's our part. We got to get it.

We got to do get to work follow the new laws. On how to how to walk how to daily live. You know find the principles and apply them. No. Now that we're set free by grace we walk. That is our daily living by the spirit.

That is as the spirit leads as the spirit empowers. As paul said back in chapter 7 verse 6 just before we started this passage we serve you still serve now you still serve god. But we serve in the new way of the spirit.

By the holy spirit's power and not in the old way of the written code. The holy spirit gives you life. And so now you're alive. Now you're bearing fruit because you're not a dead tree anymore. So fruit comes out.

Now when you want to do good. You don't always have to fail. Now when you delight in god's word and your inner being. You don't always have to see your your body failed to live it out that new law. The spiritual law of gravity that attracts you to the holy spirit.

Sets you free from always being a captive to the old law of sin. The result. Is you can live a new life. Well, the third result of being justified. Is god's accomplishment? In your life god's accomplishment.