because of statements like, “I do not understand my

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February 9, 2014

We’ve made it to one of the most well-known sections of Romans. It’s sometimes called “The Divided Man” because of statements like, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate… For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (7:15, 19). This text is also one of the most heavily debated sections of Romans. The biggest debate is over Paul’s spiritual condition in this text. Is Paul describing his experience as an unbeliever or a believer? Some people even add a third category and ask, “Is Paul describing his experience as an unbeliever, as a new but immature believer, or as a mature believer in moments of weakened faith and struggles with sin?” Good arguments can be made for each interpretation, although I think there is one interpretation that is most likely. We’ll get to that later. First, I want us to see the main point Paul is making in this text, because whichever interpretation you favor concerning Paul’s spiritual condition in these verses, the main point does not change. To see the main point of the text, we need to set it in the overall flow of Romans to this point. Romans teaches that we have all turned away from God and exchanged God’s glory for trivial things that are much less valuable. By doing so, we have insulted God and dishonored Him and denied His rightful authority over our lives. Therefore, we are guilty of sin and deserve God’s wrath against sin. However, God, in His grace, has made a way for guilty sinners like us to be right with Him through Jesus. For anyone who trusts Jesus, God unites us to Jesus in a supernatural union. The result is that our sin is transferred to Jesus, and Jesus pays the price we owe by dying a sacrificial death in our place on the cross. Even more, the perfect righteousness and obedience of Jesus is then credited to us—God counts Jesus’ righteousness as if it is ours—because we are now connected to Jesus and share in everything that is His. Therefore, God can justify us and declare us righteous, because we have no sin (Jesus took it) and we really have righteousness (Jesus gave His to us). And Paul has taught that the only way this double transaction of sin and righteousness can happen is through faith, not works of the law. For example, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (3:28), and “To the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (4:5). So justification comes through faith, not through law. But it’s not just that the law isn’t able to fix our problem with God. The law actually is part of our problem. For example, “The law came in to increase the trespass” (5:20), and “While we

were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death” (7:5). The law arouses our sin and causes our sin to increase. In fact, in order to bear fruit for God (grow in sanctification) and live in the Spirit, we have to die to the law (7:4, 6). That teaching about the law raises a huge question, “Is the law sin?” (7:7). Paul’s answer is emphatic, “By no means!” Last time, we saw Paul explain that the problem is not the law; the problem is us. When our sinful nature encounters the law, our sinful nature responds to the law by sinning (7:7-11). So the law is holy, righteous, and good (7:12), but we are sinners. Then Paul asks the question a little differently in 7:13, “Did that which is good, then, bring death to me?” In other words, “Even though the law is good, is it the cause of my death?” Again, the answer is emphatic, “By no means!”” The law doesn’t cause your death; sin does (7:13)! Sin takes what is good and deceives us (7:11) and kills us through the perversion of what is good. So again, the law is not what’s wrong. The sin within us is what’s wrong. Our text tonight is a continuation of that answer. Paul is continuing to defend the law as good by showing that our sinful nature is what’s wrong. Look at 7:14, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.” 7:16-17, “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.”

So, when we finish chapter 7, think about what Paul has shown us concerning the law: First, we must die to the law in order to be made right with God (justified) (3:28). Second, we must die to the law in order to bear fruit for God (sanctified) (7:4). Third, the reason we must die to the law, though, is not because the law is sin or the law is death. The reason we must die to the law is because we are such wretched sinners that our sinful nature will never respond to the law in the right way. Instead, our only hope is that Jesus’ righteousness will be the ground for our justification and Jesus’ Spirit will be the power for our sanctification. You could say the law is good, but the law is not as good as Jesus. The law cannot do for us what only Jesus can.

So in the overall flow of Romans the main point of 7:13-25 is to show that the law is not what causes our misery and makes us cry out with Paul, “Wretched man that I am!” (7:24) Our sin nature is what causes our misery. The fact that we are sinners is what makes us so wretched. So the law is not sin, and the law is not death. I am a sinner, and my sin brings death. And that’s why I said at the beginning that however you interpret Paul’s spiritual condition in this text, the main point does not change. If Paul is describing his experience as an unbeliever, his misery comes from his sinful nature, not the law. If Paul is describing his experience as a believer, his misery comes from his sinful nature, not the law. So there's room for both interpretations to fit the main point of the text. However, I still think one interpretation fits the details of the text better. It seems most likely that Paul is describing his experience as a believer. Let me give you 8 reasons to support this interpretation: 1.

Paul writes in the present tense and in the first person (he uses “I,” “me,” “my,” and “myself” at least 38 times in these verses). He seems to be describing his present experience as a believer, not his past experience as an unbeliever.

2. Paul talks about sin the way a believer would. He says that he hates it (7:15), and he does not want to do it (7:15, 16, 19). This hatred for sin and a desire not to sin suggests the perspective of a believer, not an unbeliever. 3. Paul talks about the law the way a believer would. “For I delight in the law of God” (7:22). We’ve seen repeatedly that unbelievers don’t delight in the law. Even if they obey externally, they still recoil internally. Their sin nature hates the law. It’s only when the Spirit lives within us that our hearts change so that we delight in God’s law. 4. Paul talks about himself the way a believer would. “ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh” (7:18). The understanding of his sinfulness is the understanding of a believer, not an unbeliever. Even more, when Paul is careful to explain, “that is, in my flesh,” he seems to indicate there is another “me” where something good does dwell—”Christ in me” (Galatians 2:20). He wants to be clear which “me” he is talking about—”flesh me” not “Christ in me.” That distinction isn’t necessary for an unbeliever, only for a believer. Also, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being…” Something has taken place inside him so that he delights in God’s law. The unbeliever would only hate God’s law internally. It is the believer who has been changed in his “inner being.” 5. Paul talks about a desire to obey that only a believer would have. He says he wants to do good (7:15, 19), and “For I have the desire to do what is right” (7:18). Again, this is a desire that the Spirit gives a believer. 6. When Paul describes his life as an unbeliever in other texts, it does not sound like Romans 7. For example, in Galatians 1:14, “I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.” Philippians 3:4-6, “If

anyone thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more… as to righteousness, under the law blameless.” When Paul was an unbeliever, he was proud and arrogant and

confident of his ability to keep the law. It’s only when he met Jesus that he saw how wretched he was and stopped trusting himself and started trusting Jesus. He continues in Philippians 3:7-9, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I

count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” The man in Romans 7 who distrusts his own law-keeping sounds like believing Paul, not unbelieving Paul.

7. When Paul describes the life of a believer in other texts, it sounds like Romans 7. For example, Galatians 5:12, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires

of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” There’s a battle within believers, and therefore, the command in that text is “walk by the Spirit” (5:16, 25). Also, Galatians 2:20 , “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” There’s a distinction between “I” and “Christ in me.” This fits with the divided man in Romans 7.

8. Maybe the strongest argument that Paul is describing himself as a believer is the way he ends the chapter. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” And then immediately after he’s said that… after he has said Jesus is the one who will deliver him... he comes back and summarizes, “So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” Jesus is delivering him as a believer, but he is still in a battle with sin in this current life. For those reasons, I interpret this text to be a description of Paul’s life as a believer. However, I think it will be helpful to also consider the strongest argument against Romans 7 being a description of Paul as a believer. Some people point to 7:14, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin,” and say that being “sold under sin” must describe an unbeliever, because at least seven times in Romans 6, Paul talks about believers being set free from sin (6:6, 7, 14, 17, 18, 20, 22). This one argument doesn’t carry as much weight as the eight we just looked at, but it is still very significant. So what should we think? If we look more closely at Romans 6, we can see that it supports our interpretation of Romans 7. Here’s what I mean: It is absolutely true that Romans 6 teaches that believers are set free from sin in Jesus… just as Romans 7 teaches that believers are set free from the law (and therefore from sin) in Jesus (7:4) and that Jesus rescues us from our sin nature (7:24-25). However, Romans 6 also teaches that we have to choose to live out what Jesus has done for us. For example, 6:12, “Let not therefore sin reign in your mortal bodies.” Even though we’re free from sin, it’s possible to let sin reign in our bodies… not as our rightful master, but as a rebel who’s fighting back against King Jesus. Also, 6:11, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin…” and 6:13, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness…” Romans 6 teaches the reality of what Jesus has done for us… He has accomplished everything that needs to be accomplished, and He has set us free from sin so that it is no longer a master ruling over us. However, we must still live in that freedom by faith. We must believe what Jesus has done for us and rely on His grace and choose to serve Him as King instead of sin. In moments of weak faith, if we turn from Jesus, we allow sin to reign over us, even though sin is no longer our true master. That’s exactly what Romans 7 teaches, as well, if we understand Paul to be describing his experience as a believer. Jesus really has set him free from the law, and therefore from sin as well, and Jesus really will deliver him from his sin nature. However, he is still currently living in the battle, and in the moments when his faith is weak, sin temporarily conquers him and causes him to do what he does not want to do. So it seems to me that even 7:14 fits the description of a believer, when interpreted in light of Romans 6-7. And if that’s the case… if Romans 7 describes Paul’s experience as a believer, then the next question for us to ask is, “So what should we learn as believers from Romans 7? How should this chapter speak to us as we live out the Christian life?”

First, Romans 7 rescues us from hopelessness when we sin. It is a biblical reality that sin still dwells in us as believers right now (7:17, 20, 23), so failure to be perfect does not mean we are not believers. This truth should give us great, great comfort and hope. Second, Romans 7 teaches us that we should never be content with the sin in our life. We may sin, but we don’t want to, and we hate it when we do. When our sin reveals our wretchedness, we despise it, and we cry out for help. If we don’t despise our sin and don’t desire the reign of Jesus in our life, then we should be very concerned about our spiritual condition. Third, Romans 7 teaches us how to respond when we sin. 1.

We confess that we are wrong and God is right. “I agree with the law, that it is good” (7:16). “I delight in the law of God, in my inner being” (7:22). The word translated “confess” in the Bible literally means “to speak the same.” In other words, we say the same thing about our sin that God does. We say that it is wrong, and that His law is right.

2. We cry out to God to deliver us from our sin. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me

from this body of death?”

3. We trust God to deliver us in Jesus. “Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord!” Fourth, Romans 7 should guard us against pride. We are not above sin. We have not arrived. Jesus has guaranteed we will win the war against sin, but we are still capable of losing any battle that we arrogantly fight by our own strength instead of humbly fighting by Jesus’ grace. Fifth, Romans 7 should drive us to Jesus more than ever before. Only Jesus can justify you and make you right with God. Every time the sin inside you rears its head, it should remind you all the more that Jesus’ righteousness is the only hope you have for being right with God. And only Jesus can sanctify you and help you become holy like God. Every time the sin inside you rears its head, it should remind you all the more that Jesus’ Spirit is the only hope you have for becoming holy like God. To win the war against sin, you must run to Jesus and trust His righteousness. To win each battle against sin, you must run to Jesus and rely on His Spirit. I pray that we cherish what Jesus has done for us. I pray that we cherish what Jesus is doing for us. I pray that we run to Jesus and trust Jesus and love Jesus with all of our hearts. The reality of indwelling sin should drive us to Jesus more than ever before!