Reading through Romans-The war within

Romans 7:20-23 "Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 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."

I find then a law, that evil is present with me: Anyone who has tried to do good is aware of this struggle. We never know how hard it is to stop sinning until we try. "No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good." (C.S. Lewis)

For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man: Paul knows that his real inward man has a delight in the law of God. He understands that the impulse to sin comes from another law in my members. Paul knows that the "real self" is the one who does delight in the law of God.

The old man is not the real Paul; the old man is dead. The flesh is not the real Paul; the flesh is destined to pass away and be resurrected. The new man is the real Paul; now Paul's challenge is to live like God has made him.

Warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin: Sin is able to war within Paul and win because there is no power within himself, other than himself, to stop sinning. Paul is caught in the desperate powerlessness of trying to battle sin in the power of self.

Dear Holy God, Thank you for creating me as a new woman!  Even though I am now so much more keenly aware of my sin and the war between the new creation I am and the flesh in which I dwell...I praise you Lord for your Goodness!

Reading through Romans-The struggle inside

Romans 7:15-19 "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."

For what I am doing, I do not understand: Paul's problem isn't desire - he wants to do what is right (what I will to do, that I do not practice). His problem isn't knowledge - he knows what the right thing is. His problem is a lack of power:how to perform what is good I do not find. He lacks power because the law gives no power.

The law says: "Here are the rules and you had better keep them." But it gives us no power for keeping the law.

It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me: Paul is not trying to get pagans off the hook; he is not saying that people “in Adam” love God’s law and they are not sinning. No. By distinguishing the “real me” from the “sin living in me,” he seems to be saying that the “real me” is the person in Christ. That is who we really are. This is why he can say that there is no condemnation for people in Christ (8:1). Whatever bad they do is blamed on the sin within them, not on the new person they are in Christ.

O Dear Holy Lord, thank you so much for creating a new creature in me!  I humbly admit that I do not do what I will to do, but I am so grateful for the freedom from condemnation through the gift of Jesus Christ!

Reading through Romans-Carnal man (and woman!)

Romans 7:14 "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin."

But I am carnal: The word carnal simply means "of the flesh." Paul recognizes that a spiritual law cannot help a carnal man.

Carnal uses the ancient Greek word sarkikos, which means, "characterized by the flesh." It speaks of the person who can and should do differently but does not. Paul sees this carnality in himself, and knows that the law, though it is spiritual, has no answer for his carnal nature.

Sold under sin: Paul is in bondage under sin and the law can't help him out. He is like a man arrested for a crime and thrown in jail. The law will only help him if he is innocent, but Paul knows that he is guilty and that the law argues against him, not for him.

Even though Paul says that he is carnal, it doesn't mean that he is not a Christian. His awareness of his carnality is evidence that God has done a work in him.

Luther on but I am carnal, sold under sin: "That is the proof of the spiritual and wise man. He knows that he is carnal, and he is displeased with himself; indeed, he hates himself and praises the Law of God, which he recognizes because he is spiritual. But the proof of a foolish, carnal man is this, that he regards himself as spiritual and is pleased with himself."

Reading through Romans-Law exposes sin

Romans 7:13 "Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful."

Sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good: Though the law provokes our sin nature, this can be used for good because it more dramatically exposes our deep sinfulness. After all, if sin can use something as good as the law to its advantage in promoting evil, it shows how evil sin is.

We need sin to appear sin, because it always wants to hide in us and conceal its true depths and strength. "This is one of the most deplorable results of sin. It injures us most by taking from us the capacity to know how much we are injured. It undermines the man's constitution, and yet leads him to boast of unfailing health; it beggars him, and tells him he is rich; it strips him, and makes him glory in his fancied robes." (Spurgeon)

"Those who preach only the Gospel to sinners, at best only heal the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly. The law, therefore, is the grand instrument in the hands of a faithful minister, to alarm and awaken sinners." (Clarke)

So that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful: Sin "becomes more sinful" in light of the law in two ways. First, sin becomes exceedingly sinful through contrast with the law. Second, sin becomes exceedingly sinful because the law provokes its evil nature.

Dear Holy God, my sin is made so evident to me through your Holy law.  I cannot overcome it.  I humbly admit my sinful nature to you.

Reading through Romans-Law brings death

Romans 7:10-12 "And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."

And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death: Sin does this by deception. Sin deceives us:

- Because sin falsely promises satisfaction

- Because sin falsely claims an adequate excuse

- Because sin falsely promises an escape from punishment

For sin … deceived me: It isn't the law that deceives us, but it is sin that uses the law as an occasion for rebellion. This is why Jesus said you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32) The truth makes us free from the deceptions of sin.

And by it killed me: Sin, when followed, leads to death - not life. One of Satan's greatest deceptions is to get us to think of sin as something good that an unpleasant God wants to deprive us of. When God warns us away from sin, He warns us away from something that will kill us.

Therefore the law is holy: Paul understands how someone might take him as saying that he is against the law - but he isn't at all. It is true that we must die to sin (Romans 6:2) and we must die to the law (Romans 7:4). But that should not be taken to say that Paul believes that sin and law are in the same basket. The problem is in us, not in the law. Nevertheless, sin corrupts the work or effect of the law, so we must die to both.

Dear Holy God, the sin within me clearly deceives and kills me.  Thank you so much for your law which clearly and equivocally convicts me of death and separation from you.
 

Reading through Romans-The law revives sin

Romans 7:7-10 "What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."  But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from 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."

Paul, as we know, was raised in a godly home. He was raised a Jew in the city of Tarsus. He was brought up to be a typical Jewish son, and he was taught the Law from birth. So when he says he lived "apart from the Law" he doesn't mean that he didn't know what it was. He simply means that there came a time when the Law came home to him. "The commandment came," he says.

In this home in which he was raised, Paul, like many of us today, was protected and sheltered and kept from exposure to serious temptations. He was raised in the Jewish culture, where everyone around him was sheltered also. Therefore, he grew up relatively untroubled with problems of sin. 

Many young people, like Saul of Tarsus, think they have handled the problem. What about keeping the Law? It's not hard!  

Now, for the first time, they feel the force of the prohibition of the Law. Now, that is what Paul discovered. It was the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet" (Exodus 20:17a KJV), that got to him. He thought he had been keeping all the Law because he had not done some of the external things prohibited in the other commandments. But this one commandment talks about how you feel inside, your desires, you imagination, your ambitions. It says, "Thou shalt not desire what another has." Paul found himself awakened to this commandment and discovered that he was coveting, no matter where he turned. When the Law came, he found himself aroused by it and brought under its power. It precipitated an orgy of desire. Many of us have felt this same way.

Now, that is something like what Paul is describing here. Sin lies silent within us. We do not even know it is there. We think we have got hold of life in such a way that we can handle it without difficulty. We are self-confident because we have never really been exposed to the situation that puts pressure upon us -- we never have to make a decision against the pressure on the basis of the commandment of the Law "Thou shalt not... "

But when that happens, we suddenly discover all kinds of desires are awakened within us. We find ourselves filled with attitudes that almost shock us -- unloving, bitter, resentful thoughts, murderous attitudes -- we would like to get hold of somebody and kill him, if we could. Lustful feelings that we never dreamed were there surface and we find that we would love to indulge in them if only we had the opportunity. We find ourselves awakened to these desires. We discover something that we never knew was there before. Now, is this the Law's fault? No, Paul says, it is not the Law's fault.

Dear Holy God, Thank  you for your law and for the illumination of my sinful desires that it illuminates in me.  The depth of my sin makes me so aware of my need for forgiveness through a Savior!

Reading through Romans-The law produces evil desire

Romans 7:8 "But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead."

But sin, taking opportunity by the commandments: Paul describes the dynamic where the warning "don't do that" may become a call to action because of our sinful, rebellious hearts. It isn't the fault of the commandment, but it is our fault.

Once God draws a boundary for us, we are immediately enticed to cross that boundary - which is no fault of God or His boundary, but the fault of our sinful hearts.

Apart from the law, sin was dead: This shows how great the evil of sin is - it can take something good and holy like the law and twist it to promote evil. Sin warps love into lust, an honest desire to provide into greed, and law into a promoter of sin.

Oh Dear Lord, you know my sinful and rebellious heart and how the boundaries that you draw can make sin more enticing to my sinful heart.  This nature makes me so much more aware of the fact that I am dead in my sins and unable to save myself.  Thank you so much for saving me into eternal life with you!