That's Romans chapter 7, verses 7 through 25 on page 1133 of your church Bibles.
What shall we say then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not. Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.
For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, you shall not covet.
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting.
For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.
I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.
So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.
Did that which is good then become death to me? By no means.
Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, he used what is good to bring about my death,
so that through the commandment, sin might become utterly sinful.
We know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. For what I hate, I do.
And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.
For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
For I do not know, I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do.
This I keep on doing.
Now, if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work. Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in me,
waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
What a wretched man I am.
Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thank you, Dan, for reading for us.
Before we make a sort of proper start, I kind of want to begin with an apology.
I know that's probably not a great way to start a sermon, but I want to apologize.
I'm not actually really going to cover verses 7 to 13 in the passage that Dan just read for us.
You might look down at it now and you'll notice that it is kind of bookended by the repetition of the word nevertheless, right?
Nevertheless is said in verse 7 and in verse 13.
And in that sort of nevertheless section, Paul is asking a specific question that kind of addresses some of the things we were looking at last week.
So he's basically saying, listen, if the law, as in the rules, won't make us holy, are the rules bad?
Now, if I'd been a really smart pastor, I would have covered all of that material last week.
But here's the news for you that I start with is I'm not really that smart.
And so we're not actually going to cover those verses really in very much detail.
My hope is that as Dan read them, you mostly understood them, that while the law is not able to make us holy, the law itself is good.
The problem is not with the law.
The problem is with us.
And in the interest of time, I am going to not say anything else about verses 7 to 13.
And you can ask me later if you want to.
And we're going to zoom in on verses 14 to 25.
And I'm going to pray as we look at those.
Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help.
Gracious God and loving Heavenly Father, thank you that despite our weakness, my weakness, still your word is powerful and effective.
Amen.
Sharper than a double-edged sword.
Able to cut right into us and right through us and what we're thinking and feeling and perceiving.
To teach us the truth of who you are and what you've done for us in the Lord Jesus.
Lord, how we pray this morning that you might help us to be good listeners to your word.
As we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now, the big idea in our passage this morning is that the hardest part of being a Christian is not the struggle that we have with the things outside in the world.
You know, the biggest struggle for the Christian is not that people might tease you for being a Christian, that people might disrespect you or give you a hard time.
That is difficult, but it's not the most difficult thing about being a Christian.
Nor is the most difficult thing about being a Christian the struggles that might be in this room with one another that we might have.
Again, it's hard, isn't it, when church is not running well or people in church don't behave as they should.
But the point of the passage is that that itself is not the hardest thing about the Christian life.
The battle for the Christian life is not an external one, but an internal one.
The battle that the Christian faces is the battle with indwelling sin.
That despite the best of our intentions, despite the privilege of having the Bible in our hands readily available to us,
despite being in a vibrant church community and church family,
despite having that great wealth of Christian resources at our fingertips on the internet,
despite having friends who will challenge us and encourage us and pray for us,
despite all those good Christian books that you have on your shelves at home,
still we get angry.
Still we're bitter.
Still we lust after things that we should not have.
Still we think more of ourselves than we should.
Still we find ourselves gossiping and talking about others in ways that we shouldn't.
Still we covet the success of others.
We worship material success.
We crave the next purchase.
We imagine that comfort will bring us contentment or that material success will deliver us happiness.
We even lie in our beds at night,
imagining winning arguments that we feel like we lost during the day.
In our idle moments, our thoughts don't wander to God and his goodness,
but to trivial nonsense.
We seek escape in the sort of endless, mindless banality of our phones.
And there's no let up, right?
If you speak to an honest Christian, honest Christians are hard to find, aren't they?
But if you find one and you ask them,
it doesn't matter whether you've been a Christian 10, 20, 30, 60, 70 years,
the battle still rages.
Augustine, the great African bishop writing in the fourth century,
describes his Christian life as a struggle every day.
Augustine was probably one of the greatest minds that ever lived.
And that's how he described his Christian life.
He talks about his inability to delete images of the past,
or even to mourn for them properly.
He says this,
But for the present, I am a burden to myself.
There is a struggle between joys over which I should be weeping
and regrets at matters over which I ought to be rejoicing.
And which side has the victory, I do not know.
Alas, Lord, have mercy upon me, wretch that I am.
Paul describes it.
Verse 24 of chapter 7 in our passage this morning.
What a wretched man I am.
Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
Now, I wonder if I can ask you, before we go any further,
if you're willing to be that honest about your own Christian life.
Do you know how Paul feels?
How Augustine feels?
I know I do.
The longer I go on as a Christian,
the more acutely I am aware that the fight for my Christian life
is not with anybody else, but it's with me.
It's in me.
That whilst knowing the gospel is true,
and understanding that God loves me,
and he gave his son for me,
still, as I think about my battle for holiness,
I feel weak and wretched.
You know, past sins that I thought I'd be well beyond by now.
Unwanted thoughts, hard-heartedness,
unkindness, thoughtlessness,
the absence of generosity,
those aren't imposed upon me from the outside,
but they are in me,
and come out from me.
And if you're honest this morning,
that's true of you too.
And that's why Romans chapter 7,
verses 14 to 25 are in our Bibles.
Because they want us to understand why that is the case,
and where to find hope in that situation.
So let's think about this together.
Firstly, let's think about the nature of the battle.
The battle that we feel in our Christian lives
is described by Paul as a war
between what he describes as the inner man,
the inner man who, according to verse 22,
loves or delights in God's law,
loves the expression of God's righteousness,
loves to obey,
the inner us that considers God's law as spiritual,
in verse 14,
this inner us that wants to do good,
in verse 21,
and then what he calls the flesh.
Verse 14,
our NIVs have weirdly translated it,
I am unspiritual.
Really it is literally,
I'm in the flesh.
The war is between the new inner man,
the inner us,
and this flesh.
Sin living in me,
he calls it in verse 17.
The body of death,
he calls it in verse 24.
And these two realities
inside the life of the Christian
are at war with one another.
New life by the spirit
that agrees with God
and wants to live for him
and the old flesh
that still loves to sin.
Paul summarizes it,
verse 22,
for in my inner being,
I delight in God's law,
verse 23,
but I see another law at work in me,
waging war against the law of my mind
and making me a prisoner
of the law of sin
at work within me.
Let me say,
this is such an important category
for you to understand
if you're a Christian this morning.
That whilst if you're a Christian,
you are born again,
you've been given new life by the spirit,
a life that is turned to God
and trusted in him,
has turned from its sin
and longs to live for him.
Though you are fully forgiven,
justified,
declared not guilty before the perfect God,
you have that in lieu of judgment day
even now,
still,
you will not be perfect in this life.
You will never be perfect in this life.
As long as you're alive in the flesh,
you will still carry around
an old sinful nature,
a defeated sinful nature,
yes,
a dead sinful nature
that's dead at the cross,
yes,
the penalty and the moral debt
that that nature owes
has been written off in Christ,
but you still carry it
for now.
So that,
as Luther would say,
of you,
Martin Luther,
the great reformer,
would say,
you are both a saint
and a sinner.
You are holy in Christ
and you still fight temptation
and the wickedness of your flesh.
If you're not a Christian this morning,
it's great you're here,
we're really pleased
you're with us this morning,
welcome.
This is not your battle,
right?
This is the Christian's battle,
not the non-Christian's battle.
Not because if you're not a Christian
this morning,
you don't have a moral conscience
or feel bad about the things
that you've done.
No,
rather because it is impossible,
and Paul has said this
over and over again,
it is impossible for any of us
in our own nature,
by ourselves,
to say that we delight in his law,
right?
By ourselves,
without this new life
by the Spirit
that he gives
as we turn to him,
we will not delight in his law.
If you're not a Christian,
the law is a burden to you,
right?
The law is a problem.
The law,
the list of what God expects
of you,
is a burden to you.
It's a list of your failures.
It's like that for all of us.
It's like a charge sheet
against us.
This is what we did not do.
And we hate the law
because it condemns us.
So even if we're earnestly
trying to obey God's moral law,
even if you think,
well,
I'm trying to live
with a clear conscience,
I'm trying to be good,
I'm trying to do to others
as I'd have them do to me,
let me tell you,
that's not delighting
in God's law
as it's written here.
That's using God's law
for your own ends.
And so the battle you face
is a real battle,
but it's not the one
being described here.
In fact,
it's a worse battle
because you're trying
to use the law
to earn God's favor
and that is a battle
that everybody loses.
Our battle is that
we delight in God's law,
but still we fight
an old nature.
Now,
there are some Christians
and some preachers,
especially on the internet,
there are especially books
that you might read
which try to deny this battle.
They'll tell you,
oh,
no,
Paul,
it's not describing
the Christian life here.
You're fully redeemed
in Christ.
Total freedom from sin,
they'll tell you.
If only you come
and receive this particular blessing,
you will escape
that temptation to sin.
If you come to this meeting,
if you develop this habit,
then you'll be free
from the battle.
Paul says,
that is utter nonsense.
The battle
is the Christian life.
And in a way,
in a sort of paradoxical way,
it is feeling
and knowing
and experiencing
that battle
in your heart
which helps you know
that you're a Christian
because it means
that God has made you alive
and there is something
to fight
the sinful nature.
So that's the nature
of the battle.
Next thing with me
about the ferocity
of the battle.
Really,
these are the same two points
but I've split them up
just so that you might remember them.
And I don't want us
to miss this
or deal with it too quickly.
Look at verse 15
and notice how Paul
describes this.
I do not understand
what I do.
for what I want to do,
I do not do.
But what I hate,
I do.
Here it is then.
The battle means
that in an important sense,
life for the Christian
is mysteriously difficult.
We don't understand
what we do.
We shock ourselves.
We find ourselves
capable of things
we thought we would not
be capable of.
I thought I was well beyond that.
I didn't think
I would struggle with that.
I've noticed
that other people do
but I didn't think
that would be me.
I can't imagine
that I would still be bitter
towards them
so many years on.
I can't imagine
that I'd be so petty.
But I'd be so committed
to people pleasing
that I'd be so insecure.
I would have thought
that that gossip
wouldn't interest me anymore.
I would have thought
I would have forgotten
those images by now
but I haven't.
And so there's a sort
of insanity to this
that our lives
are not marked
by perfect holiness
but by surprising sin.
So much so
that we find ourselves
doing the very things
that we hate.
Things maybe
that others do to us
and we hate them
doing them to us
and now we find ourselves
doing the same things.
But actually
it's worse than that
isn't it?
It's not just
that we do wrong things
that we wish we wouldn't.
Verse 19
For I do not do
the good I want to do
but the evil I do not
want to do
this I keep on doing.
This is what we were
thinking about
with the children
isn't it?
These are the sins
of omission.
Good things
that we wanted to do
that we find
we don't do.
You know
I really didn't mean
to stop reading
my Bible.
I really had intended
to give more generously
to gospel ministry.
I really did want
to be regular
at church.
I really did want
to share the gospel
with my colleagues
before I left
that place of work.
I really did intend
to send a word
of encouragement
to that Christian friend
but the good
I wanted to do
I didn't do it.
Now obviously
Paul understands
that this dynamic
is a symptom
of the war
or the battle
that he's in.
It's important isn't it?
It's not this
new nature
from the spirit
that is sinning
it's the old him
that is not yet
got rid of completely.
Right?
Look at verse 20
he says
now if what I do
now Dan
this is difficult
isn't it?
Right?
It's harder to read
this than you think.
Now if
I do
what I do
not want to do
it's no longer
I who do it
but sin living in me
that does it.
Right?
Now he's not meaning
that as an excuse
it's not like
haha it wasn't really me
it was sin living in me
he's not saying it like that
rather he's explaining
the battle he's in
the ferociousness of it
where we find ourselves
doing what deep down
we don't want to do
and not doing
what we really do
want to do
as we carry around
this sinful nature
that's dead
but still twitching.
It's worth thinking
about how this works out
for us as Christians
I don't know a lot
about war
I know there are some people
in the room who do
in God's kindness
I've never had to fight
in a war
but I imagine
that those
in the most danger
in a war
are those who don't
really realise
they're in it
right?
Those who've lost
concentration
those who've forgotten
that they're in a battle
those who've let
their guard down
those who've turned up
ill prepared
what's the phrase
like bringing a knife
to a gunfight
it's those people
isn't it?
And so it is
in the Christian life
and that's why
Paul writes this passage
he's not writing this
to depress you
or me
to think that
Christian living
is a hopeless task
he's going to go
to great lengths
to prove that
Christian living
is not a hopeless task
we'll come to that
in a bit
and in weeks to come
but the point here
is to warn you
to warn you
and me
that there is a
ferocious battle
inside of myself
and I cannot
just thoughtlessly
live my life
you know
you're
if you're a Christian
you cannot just
thoughtlessly
follow your wants
and your desires
because your wants
and your desires
are the location
of the battle
that he describes
if you carelessly
follow what it is
that you want to do
you will find yourself
in terrible places
not every desire
that you have
will be a prompting
of the spirit
not every aspiration
that you have
will be a godly one
not every dream
that you wish for
will be good
if it happens
because there's a battle
going on
and it's not out there
it's in here
and it's ferocious
!
Just think about
how this cuts through
naivety
right?
Think about it
from two angles
notice that Paul
is essentially saying
that you will
surprise yourself
I will surprise myself
at what I am capable of
even as a Christian
now if I find myself
ever thinking
oh I wouldn't do that
I'm in grave danger
I'm the guy who forgot
he was on a battlefield
right?
Or if I imagine
that you know what
I don't really need
God's moral law
I don't really need
his moral instruction
I don't really need
the Bible to teach me
what it is that God values
because I can just
kind of follow my instincts
I kind of know
what God wants
uh uh
no
because that's where
the battle is
it will not be okay
if we imagine
that just because
we're Christians
all our ambitions
will no longer be
tainted by selfishness
or that we won't be
tempted to be unfaithful
in our friendships
or our marriages
that we won't kind of
lose it with our kids
we're wrong
if we don't understand
that we'll be tempted
not to do the things
that would be
spiritually best
for us to do
you know
if you
if you live your
Christian life
without imagining
that your desire
to attend church
will always be
equivalent to the amount
that you should attend
church in order to be
spiritually healthy
you are gravely mistaken
because your desires
will not match up
it's the same with
giving and speaking
and praying
we'll have good reasons
won't we
why we don't do
those things
you know it's true
isn't it
that our old nature
although dead in Christ
still twitches
and has a really
good lawyer
right
who's really good
at persuading us
that it's right
when it's wrong
and if we don't
understand that
we'll be hopelessly naive
but the naivety works
the other way around
as well
it means
if you think
if you're a Christian
you think
that other Christians
will not let you down
or that if they do
let you down
somehow the gospel
is not true
and really you should
give up on the whole thing
then you are
hopelessly naive
because this is
every Christian's battle
right
Christians around you
will sin against you
and you will need
to forgive them
church leaders
will let you down
church pastors
will be imperfect
perhaps imperfect
in ways that you
would be better
than they are
Christian friends
will gossip about you
Christian friends
will hurt you
be unkind to you
upset you
behave in ways
towards you
that you will
not believe
because they too
are in this battle
and sometimes
they find themselves
not doing the good
things that they
want to do
but doing the evil
things that they
wish they weren't
doing
because they're
in the battle
now this doesn't
mean of course
that we shouldn't
have high expectations
of one another
or that we should
live as if it
doesn't matter
of course it does
matter
there's great grief
in these words
isn't there
rather the point
is that you
shouldn't pretend
that this is not
the world that we
live in
we shouldn't
imagine that the
Lord's prayer
instructs us to
seek forgiveness
as we forgive
those who sin
against us
for no reason
because if we do
we'll spend much
of our life
sorely disappointed
and in grave
danger
you know if we
organize church
life as if our
members and our
leaders are not
tempted to sin
we're hopelessly
naive
over the years
I've had a number
of friends
who are
alcoholics
most of them
Christians
church members
one of them
a pastor
and what's
obvious is that
the most destructive
alcoholics are
those who will
not admit
that they've got
a problem with
alcohol
you know they
pretend they've
got it under
control
no no no
it's not really
an issue for
me
when really
they don't
but for those
who will admit
it
for them it
requires a level
of seriousness
having admitted
that this is
their struggle
it requires a
level of seriousness
to deal with it
doesn't it
we're not going
to have any
alcohol in the
house
I'm not going
to have the
first drink
I'm going to
be really honest
with my close
friends and my
family
well listen if
you're a Christian
this morning
you might not
be an alcoholic
but let me tell
you that you and
I in the flesh
are sinaholics
we are addicted
in the flesh
to selfish
rebellion
that the
inner us
the new life
by the spirit
absolutely hates
but it's still
there
and the most
dangerous Christian
is the Christian
who doesn't
recognize it
and the safest
Christian
is the one
who takes it
seriously
who is honest
about it
who deliberately
steers away
from the desires
of their hearts
who doubts
their gut
instincts
who is quick
to repent
when challenged
who doesn't
fake it
brush it under
the carpet
or keep people
at arm's length
church is at
their best
when people are
honest with one
another
forgiving each
other
where corporate
repentance
in the life
of the church
it's not
it's just that
thing that we
do right
that's kind
of you know
traditional
maybe
no repentance
is a moment
of honesty
in a world
of fakers
right
where people
around you
encourage you
to feed this
new inner man
and starve
the old sinful
nature of worldly
indulgence
let's finish
though
if it feels
a bit hopeless
let's finish
by looking at
the victory
in the battle
the victory
of the battle
look with me
at verses 24
and 25
let me read
them to you
as we finish
what a wretched
man I am
who will rescue
me from this
body that is
subject to death
thanks be to
God who delivers
me through
Jesus Christ
our Lord
notice then
that hope
hope for victory
is not in our
own strength
it's not that we
are different
from those who
have gone about
I know
I know that
other Christians
have this struggle
but I don't
really and I'm
going to be
victorious
it's not that
is it
no
the hope
is that
Jesus
delivers us
Jesus
will deliver
us in the
end
that is the
hope
that in
the present
strength
and future
victory
will be ours
in the Lord
Jesus Christ
so that we
fight the battle
not with our
own resources
not even
with the
resources
of the
law
for it
has none
to offer
but with
the resources
of the
grace
that is
ours
in the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
I
think about
this this
week
thinking
why
why do
some
Christians
resist
Romans 7
why do
we
why are we
tempted to
think this is
not really
what the
Christian life
is like
or should
be like
and I
think it's
because we
think that
really it
should be
easier
we imagine
don't we
well
the Lord
could make
me perfect
couldn't he
surely the Lord
could liberate me
from this
particular struggle
surely the
Lord could
defeat all
my impulses
to selfishness
my temptations
to pride
surely my
addictions are
nothing to
God are they
why would he
make his
fight
can't be right
can he
if God
loved me
why would he
make me
fight like
that
interestingly
Augustine who
he started with
that fourth
century African
bishop
wrestled with
this question
in a book
called the
confessions
when Augustine
was a young
Christian he
read Romans
7 and
assumed that
this was
written about
someone who
wasn't a
Christian
later in his
Christian life
he came to
realise no
actually this
is written
about me
this is the
Christian life
and then he
was thinking
well why is
this the
Christian life
why would
God make
the Christian
life a
battle
well this
is the answer
that he came
up with
his answer
to the
question why
why make
it so
difficult
was joy
joy
might be
surprising to
you his
illustration
which I
don't think
scans very
well but
you might
imagine it
was that
the emperor
does not
have great
joy over
land that
already belongs
to him
but has
great joy
over land
he's conquered
right
his other
illustration
which is
perhaps easier
to connect
with is that
to enjoy a
great meal
and a fine
glass of
wine you
must first
be hungry
and thirsty
and so
he says
here
in order
to enjoy
the victory
of Jesus
we need
to be in
the battle
our ongoing
battle with
sin is
not meant
to ruin
us and
defeat us
and depress
us but
is meant
to be a
perpetual
reminder to
you and
me that
we need
Jesus
and Jesus
is brilliant
and he's
all sufficient
for me
and I
need to
keep
repenting
of my
sin and
turning to
him
because joy
and we
experience it
in part
now but
we'll
experience it
fully in
eternity
is that
Jesus is
victorious
that in
the ferocity
of the
battle there
is one
man who
stands tall
and that
man fights
for me
and his
name is
Jesus
so I
understand
when I
didn't lose
my temper
even when my
plans were
thwarted
and my
day came
crashing
down
that
patience
wasn't
my
patience
that was
the Lord
Jesus
at work
that was
his victory
you know
sound the
trumpets
wave the
flags
Jesus
won a
victory
in my
life
you know
when I
repented
to that
friend
against
whom
I
sinned
even
though
my
internal
lawyer
had
given
me
a
thousand
reasons
why
it
wasn't
really
my
fault
still
I
saw
my
sin
I
owned
it
I
said
sorry
for
it
that
was
Jesus
is
victory
sound
the
trumpets
wave
the
flags
victory
for
Jesus
you know
see I
came to
church
I
read my
bible
I
prayed
honesty
I
love
sincerely
I
gave
sacrificially
that
wasn't
me
that
was
victory
for
Jesus
wave
the
flag
sound
the
trumpets
he
is
great
he
is
my
victor
one
day
I
will
be
free
from
sin
free
from
the
love
of
sin
free
from
the
desire
to
sin
I
will
live
in the
presence
of
my
Lord
and
really
it
will
be
the
sweetness
of
the
victory
over
sin
that
I
will
rejoice
in
I
have
been
forgiven
I
have
conquered
in
Christ
I
came
through
the
battle
victorious
because
of
Jesus
and
the
scars
will
be
the
stories
of
victory
and
not
the
stories
of
defeat
let
me
pray
for
us
oh
heavenly
father
please
help us
in these
moments
now
not
to do
that
silly
thing
that
Christians
are so
good
at
doing
which
is
pretending
that
we're
better
than
we
really
are
but
help
us
now
in
these
moments
in
our
hearts
before
you
to
be
really
honest
we
are
in
the
midst
of
the
battle
and
the
battle
is
littered
with
stories
of
our
own
personal
failure
but
also
with
victories
for
the
Lord
Jesus
and
we
thank
you
that
though
now
we
find
ourselves
in
a
ferocious
battle
we
know
one
day
the
ultimate
victory
will
be
ours
in
him
so
keep
our
hearts
turned
to
Christ
keep
us
looking
to
him
trusting
repenting
to
you
and
to
one
another
and
enjoying
this
great
joy
in
the
gospel
of
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
Amen