“In the Heat of Battle”
Romans 7:14-25
April
22, 2007 Pastor
Jack Harpold
Do
you have the experience of struggle in your Christian life? Do you do something, then hate yourself
because you have done it? And you cry
out, "God, oh how I've failed you!"
Every child of God has this experience.
We
know the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
The last half of
Romans 7 deals with the inner conflict that comes to every believer. The struggle against sin and evil does not
come to an end when one becomes a Christian.
On the contrary, the conflict intensifies. A believer is more sensitive to sin. Before conversion, we thought cheating on our
income tax was clever, and dressing in the latest style was a smart thing, and
the accumulation of wealth was a sign of success. Now our consciences don't permit this
thinking. The conflict between good and
evil becomes all the greater.
Paul allows a view
into his own inner life to witness his struggle. He knew what was right and wanted to do the
right thing, yet somehow he didn't do it.
He also knew what was wrong and that was the last thing he wanted to do -
yet somehow he did it.
We know what is right
but fail to do it. We also know what is
wrong, yet we do it anyway.
Was this conflict before
or after conversion? It seems
Paul was describing this conflict after salvation (though likely in early
years of his Christian experience). He
says, "I delight in the law of God according to the inward man"(vs.
22). Paul delighted in God's law. This is the language of a converted
person. The unconverted man doesn't delight
in God's law; rather he is an enemy of God and is alienated from God.
The fact Paul
experienced an inner conflict after conversion agrees with the Bible teaching
that the two natures are in constant conflict.
Even after our conversion the two natures are in constant conflict. Galatians 5:17 says, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other." Before conversion, the conflict was not strong
– as he grew in faith and knowledge, the more sinful he realized himself to
be. The more sincere a Christian is, the
more faithfully he tries to please God - the more conscious he is of this
struggle within. In fact, the very presence
of a struggle in one's life is often evidence of regeneration.
Romans 7 ends with a
cry for deliverance. It describes a man
trying to be good by his own efforts, but every time he is beaten back by the
power of indwelling sin. The Law can't
deliver. Human will-power can't
deliver. Verse 18 says, "I know that nothing good lives in me,
that is in my sinful nature. For I have
the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." As long as the Christian trusts his own
powers, and seeks to keep the law in his own strength, he is going to be
defeated.
For we know that the
law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin [Rom. 7:14].
This is Paul's testimony. The Law
is spiritual in the sense that it was given by the Holy Spirit and is part of
the Word of God.
"But I am carnal,"
means, "I am in the flesh [Greek sarkinos]." It does not mean the meat on the
bones. The body is neutral and can be
used for that which is either good or bad.
Carnality refers to this old human mind and spirit and nature which
occupies and uses the flesh so that actually the flesh itself is contaminated
with sin. Flesh is inert and has no
capabilities or possibilities toward God.
It is dominated by a sinful nature, the ramifications of which reach
into every fiber of the body and mind.
The frontal lobe of the brain is merely an instrument to devise
evil. The motor neurons are ready to
spring into evil excesses. The heart of
man is desperately wicked. He wants to
do the things that are evil, and the body responds. This is the conflict of two natures.
"For what I will
to do" is what the new nature wants to do.
"That I do not practice" - the old nature rebels and won't do
it. "But what I hate" - the
new nature hates it - "that I do"; the old nature goes right ahead
and does it.
Now then it is no more
I that do it, but sin that dwells in me [Rom. 7:17]. In other words: It is no longer I (new
nature) working it out, but sin (the old nature) living in me.
Paul learned two
things in this struggle which many of us believers need to learn. "In me (that old nature we have been
talking about) dwells no good thing."
Have you learned
that? Have you found there is no good in
you? How many of us Christians feel that
we in the flesh can do something that will please God? Many believers who never find out otherwise
become as busy as termites and are having about the same effect in many of our
churches. They are busy as bees, but not
making honey! They get on committees,
try to run the church, thinking they are pleasing God. Although they are busy, they have no vital
connection with Jesus. His life is not
being lived through them. They are
attempting to do it in their own strength by the flesh. And when it is of the flesh, it is no
good. Have you learned that? Jesus said, "That which is born of the
flesh is flesh…" (John 3:6), but "Whosoever is born of God does not
commit sin…" (I John 3:9). How
wonderful that is! We are given a new
nature, and that new nature will not commit sin. I assure you that the new nature won't commit
sin. When I sin, it is the old
nature. The new nature won't do it; the
new nature hates sin. That new
nature won't let me sleep; it says, "Look, you are wrong. You have to make it right!"
Paul found something
else that is very important for us to learn:
He found there is no good in the old nature and there is no power
in the new nature. The new nature
wants to serve God, but the carnal man is at enmity against God; it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (see Rom. 8:7). But the new nature has no power.
As you are attempting
to serve God in the Spirit, have you discovered the old nature is right there
to bring evil? Perhaps an evil thought
will come into your mind. Every child of
God must admit that in every act and in every moment evil is present with
him. Failure to recognize this will
eventually lead to shipwreck in the Christian life.
A Native-American Christian sought counsel from a
missionary. He was very troubled by the
spiritual conflict going on in his heart.
He wanted to do what God wanted him to do, but he was frequently
disobeying God. He found that he was
prone to do evil things, even as he did before he became a Christian.
The native described the conflict within himself as a
dogfight. He said, “It is as though I
have a black dog and a white dog inside me fighting each other
constantly.” He explained that the black
dog represented evil and the white dog represented good.
The missionary asked, “Which dog wins the fight within you?”
After several moments of silence, the native said, “The dog
that wins is the one I feed and the dog that loses is the one I starve.”
A person can either feed or starve the carnal nature or the
spiritual nature. One will win and one
will lose. Man has a free will. He can decide, even as a spirit-filled
Christian, whether he will obey the dictate of the flesh or the leading of the
Spirit. Whether he lives a consistent,
Spirit-filled life is determined by the frequency with which he says “yes” to
the leading of the Spirit and “no” to the temptations of the flesh.
The old sin nature, if not properly dealt with, can become a
major hindrance to living supernaturally.
A Christian who, for any variety of reasons, does not properly deal with
his old sin nature is said to be living in a state of carnality, or
worldliness. Such a carnal Christian is
usually a miserable person – even more miserable than the nonbeliever.
Some or all of the following traits may characterize the
carnal Christian: ignorance of spiritual
heritage, unbelief, disobedience, loss of love for God and for others, poor
prayer life, no desire for Bible study, legalistic attitude, impure thoughts,
jealousy, guilt, worry, discouragement, critical spirit, frustration, and
aimlessness.
The way to overcome these carnal traits is to be filled –
continually controlled by – the Holy Spirit.
Here’s a story from Bill Bright’s Insights (he is dead but
his insights still come through Crosswalk.com).
The story is about Puffer fish – the most poisonous creature
in the sea. Its poison is 275 times more
deadly than cyanide. Yet the Japanese
love to eat the raw flesh of the Puffer.
Diners pay $150 per person for a fugu meal. For gourmets nothing matches the taste of the
liver which contains the most concentrated poison. If the Puffer is properly prepared, the flesh
is usually quite safe, but there is no way of telling until one has eaten
it. The results of eating the Puffer is
often lethal. The toxin works on the
nervous system. The first symptom is a
tingling on the lips and mouth. Then the
fingers go numb and paralysis starts to spread.
A Japanese restaurant owner says, “Even though you can think very
clearly, your arms and legs become numb.
It becomes impossible to sit up.
You cannot speak, cannot move, and soon cannot breathe.” Death may come within minutes or it may take
up to six hours. There is no known
antidote.
Isn’t it strange and sad how we mortals taste or sometimes
feast on things of this world that bring us death? There is both spiritual poison and spiritual
life-giving food available to all. Life
or death depends on which we choose.
Chuck Colson in Breakpoint
spoke of Dennis Kozlowski, convicted of looting Tyco of hundreds of millions of
dollars.
His life was one of excess.
2.2 million dollar birthday parties for his wife, expensive homes in New
York, Nantucket and Colorado, 30 million dollar racing yacht, and mistresses in
Tyco owned apartments.
Kozlowski was raised in a poor family and made it big in
industry. He was overcome by greed. He had an insatiable appetite for money and
power. He wanted to gratify his own
desires despite the consequences to others.
He exemplifies the modern American desire for personal autonomy, defined
as freedom from all restraints. His
ultimate goal was to do just as he pleased – to be, in a sense, his own god.
We all realize there is a battle going on inside us. One part of our nature says life has a higher
purpose, and the other part wants to indulge all our desires. The task in life is to subdue our baser
nature and govern ourselves by what we intuitively know to be our higher
purpose, what we were made for.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man [vs. 22]. “The inward man” is the new nature. But I
see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members [vs. 23].
What a wretched man
I am! Who will rescue me from this body
of death? [vs. 24].
This is not an unsaved
man who is crying, "0 wretched man that I am." The word wretched carries a note of
exhaustion because of the struggle.
"Who is going to deliver me?"
He is helpless. His shoulders are
pinned to the floor - he has been wrestled down. Like old Jacob, he has been crippled. He is calling for help from the outside.
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law
of God; but with the flesh the law of sin [Rom. 7:25].
"I thank God [who
gives deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord." This is the answer to Paul's
© 2007, Spring Creek Church of the Brethren