"Sin the Dwells in Me" (Romans 7:14-25)

The Sin Problem

"Sin that Dwells in Me"

Romans 7:14-25

 

If you have any awareness at all of what's going on in and around you as a Christian, then you are well acquainted with the sin problem. How else do we explain what has happened and continues to happen in human relationships, the presence of evil, wars, violence, the breakdown of the family and that's just the big stuff!

 

That doesn't even begin to calculate things like being unkind and lying and disobeying traffic laws and things that go on everyday in millions of ways. The only solution is a nature of sin that is bred into the life of every human being. And as we've learned, that sin nature roots all the way back to Adam and his disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

 

And while that is bad news, the good news is that just as one man's act of sin tainted the entire human bloodstream, the obedience of Jesus on the cross makes possible the forgiveness of sin. In fact, so powerful is his sacrifice, you can be transformed into a human who is viewed by God as if you had never sinned.

 

What Christ did on the cross, not only allows forgiveness of our sin so we can go to heaven when we die, it frees us from the bondage and slavery of sin while we are living on the earth and eventually changes us to be just like Jesus so we are equipped to live in heaven with God forever! That is the amazing miracle of salvation made possible by transforming grace of God!

However, as great as that is, the challenge of the process is how to deal with the daily presence of sin while we are awaiting our home going. Yes, we have been delivered from the slavery and bondage of sin, but we still have to deal with it.

 

In fact, the more you try to live for God and do what you're supposed to do, they more difficult it is to do that. The intensity of the battle and the temptation actually increases the closer you get to God.

 

Perhaps the most articulate description of this battle in Scripture is given to us by Paul in the book of Romans in chapter 7. His own testimony is included there are a part of his presentation to the Romans regarding the sin problem and what God has done in regard to that.

 

in chapters 1-3, he talks about everyone being a sinner. Beginning in the middle of chapter 3 and extending through chapter 5, He introduces Jesus as the only hope for deliverance from sin. Then as we saw last week, he takes the theology of the doctrine and applies it to practical life. Here is how we are to live because we've been set free.

 

  1. then, in chapter 7, he peels back the covers on his own life a little bit and uses his own personal struggle with sin as an illustration for the truth he wants to present.

 

Listen to what we read in

 

Romans 7:14-25

 

 

 

Read that, and you might be convinced that Paul is a spiritual schizophrenic! This is not just Bible talk, This is not psycho babble or imaginary situations. This is reality. It is the very poignant description of somebody who deeply cares about the Word of God and living his Christian faith and yet, struggles with sin.

 

On the one hand, he desires with everything he is to obey God's law, but is disappointed with himself because, in spite of what he desires, he winds up doing just the opposite. And the result is the personal conflict of a soul in turmoil. In fact, the conflict is so intense and so strong and so real that it dominates the life of Paul. And by the way, if you really try to live for the Lord, it will dominate your life also.

 

You might say, "Well wait a minute preacher. Last week, and just a few minutes ago, you said we have been set free from sin. We are no longer slaves of sin. And that's true! We as believers are no longer dominated by sin. However, it is also true that we are not fully dominated by righteousness either.

 

The truth is, we are dominated by a conflict between good and evil. In fact, even this text itself causes conflict. Most everyone agrees that Paul wrote this, but some say this is his testimony before he was saved.

 

They maintain that, as a faithful Jew, he knew God's law. He just couldn't keep it. They support their arguments with the statements found in verses 14 and 18 and 24 where Paul says he is "of the flesh, sold into bondage to sin" and "nothing good dwells in him." He is, in fact, a "wretched man".

Obviously, this can't be a believer. After all, he's the same one who teaches that we are free from sin and we have a new life and all that. These verses could never describe a saved person.

 

But on the other hand, chapter 6 indicates very clearly that our battle with sin will continue, even after salvation. That's why we are told not to let sin reign and that we are to present ourselves to God instead of giving sin an opportunity to mess things up.

 

Those who are saved understand the gravity of sin and from a new heart, understand that the Law is good and righteous, as Paul writes in 7:22. That doesn't sound like a lost man!

 

He talks about how he is serving the law of God on the inside, indicating a changed heart, but at the same time, he doesn't do what he knows he's supposed to do.

 

Deep down inside, there is this powerful desire to honor and obey God, which is what you would expect to find inside a saved person.

 

So the case can be made that this is a non-believer by looking at all of those elements of the text. And a case can be made that this is a believer by looking at the text also. But the bottom line is, whoever this is has both elements operating. It is the very conflict itself that defines this soul. The battle here, says Paul, is between what he delights in, what he loves, what he approves of, what he desires and what he does.

 

There are two forces at work inside, righteousness on the one hand, and sin on the other and they are in constant conflict.

 

And the more sensitive he is to the demands of God's Law and the demands of Scripture and the demands of God's holiness and righteousness, the more he will see the contradiction existing in himself. And the more he grows in grace, the more sanctified this person becomes, the more painful it is for him to see what he really is in spite of what he wants.

 

That's why he bursts out in verse 24, "Wretched man that I am." That is an honest expression of pain over this inability to fulfill your deepest longings. This can only occur in a believer. This is the tension that is inevitable and it doesn't help to ignore it or write it off. And as Paul shares his heart with us, he gives us some insight into why it is that even though we are saved, and even though we have been set free, we keep on sinning.

 

What God has done in His gracious work of salvation is complete in every way. We have been recreated and made new. Satan has been overcome, in fact, overwhelmed, by the grace of God. What we once were is dead and what we are is raised to walk in newness of life.

 

But the problem is we still have the characteristics and appetites and desires and weaknesses of that come with being human. We have a new birth from God but we still have the reality of the first birth from our parents.

 

 

So with that in mind, let's see if we can't make some sense of this text. In reality, what we have in verses 15-25 is a pretty simple section of Scripture.

 

In fact, you only have to understand one section of it to understand the entirety of it because it is really just one primary principle that is repeated three times. In fact, it is something of a funeral dirge or a lament that the Apostle expresses as agonizes over the presence of the lingering sin in his life.

 

In each of these three examples there are three components. First, he describes his condition, he then gives proof of it and then identifies what causes the condition.

 

The first lament is seen in

 

verses 14-17

 

1. Example #1

 

As I said, he begins with

 

- The Condition

 

The language Paul uses here is very significant. He begins with his condition, which is the Law is spiritual. And by the way, there is no argument about that. The Law came from God, therefore it is holy, righteous and good. So that understanding of the Law is the backdrop that reveals his condition. The Law is spiritual, but in stark contrast to that, I am carnal.

 

In other words, I know the Law is good, but I also know that I'm not.

 

I know the Law is good but I also know that I am sinful. When he says the Law is spiritual, he means that it comes from God and it reflects the very nature of God Himself.

 

On the other hand, Paul says, "I am carnal." And that doesn't mean he is carnally minded. Rather he's talking about his human body. God's law is spiritual. I on the other hand, am human.

 

By the way, that is true of every human. We receive "flesh" from our natural birth. And even though we have been freed from the dominion of sin, we still live in a human body. Therefore, we must actively, aggressively fight so that we do not let sin reign in us.

 

That is the battle that every Christian has to fight. By the way, that is where Satan targets with temptations. He wants us to do things in a human way rather than a spiritual way. We are spiritually new creations, reborn by the Spirit, but I am still human and I must resist those human urges and desires and appetites.

 

And he even takes it a step further at the end of verse 14 when he says he is "sold under sin". That means that even though he has been delivered from the bondage and rescued from the prison of sin, he still sells himself back into that sin.

 

That doesn't mean he loses his salvation. It just means we have been delivered from the bondage of sin by the grace of God, and we choose to go back into that lifestyle voluntarily.

We're just like the ancient Israelites in that regard. Moses shows up one day and delivers them from Egyptian bondage, leads them out of captivity and heads off toward the Promised Land, and before very long they're wishing they were back in Egypt.

 

Listen: As a child of God, we've been freed from sin and enslaved to God, but even though sin no longer has dominion over us, from time to time, we can still allow it to reign. And even though we are no longer slaves to sin, we can still be enslaved by it.

 

  1. that's why Paul is expressing this lament. He feels the pain of his remaining flesh. any Christian who takes seriously his walk with God and his relationship with the world can understand his battle. He is burdened by the never-ending struggle and battle with sin.

 

There was a time when Paul, like everyone else, was a exclusively a sinner. Then one day on the Damascus Road he was confronted by the resurrected Christ where he was saved by the grace of God. That means that there will come a time when he will exclusively be a saint.

 

But in the middle, he was a sinner/saint. A saint with a new nature fit for heaven, but still a sinner. And this is the tension, the struggle which we all experience that he describes as being sold under sin.

 

That's how Paul describes his condition and ours. Next, he offers

 

- The Proof

 

verse 15

Do you need any more proof than that? He finds this frustrating inconsistency in his life. There is this deep and abiding desire to be like Christ and do the right things and make spiritual decisions. But instead of doing those things, he winds up doing just the opposite.

 

That's the way it is for the child of God. Growing believers want to triumph over sin. They want to please God. They want to guard their testimony and learn to control their emotions and desires.

 

There is something on the inside that deeply desires holiness and righteousness and freedom from sin. In fact, this is the forthrightness of a very mature believer. What he does, he doesn't understand because it's not what he wants to do. Instead, it's what he doesn't want to do. And what he doesn't want to do, he ends up doing.

 

This is a real inner conflict. And it is magnified by this inner voice, this sanctified conscience that reflects the heart and mind of God. We have in us, because of God's indwelling Spirit and His new nature, this spy who is constantly observing our hearts.

 

And any time we head in the direction of sin, this voice begins to speak and warn us that danger is ahead! Bells and whistles begin to sound! Alarms are blaring!

 

At the same time, there is this human voice that is saying, "Did God really say that? God didn't say that! God doesn't mean that! You go ahead and do what you want to! You'll be like God!"

 

We have a good will but we also have an evil will and an evil want. And from time to time, the evil one wins and when it does, it is so frustrating! Once again, we fall miserably short of God's holy perfect Law. It is a reminder that we have not yet arrived. We have not yet learned to control our sin. We are not yet what we should be.

 

So Paul describes the condition. We are carnal. He gives the proof in verse 15. We don't do what we what to do. And then, he gives

 

- The Reason

 

verses 16-17

 

I find that last phrase very intriguing. Paul says the fact that I wind up doing what I don't want to do is foreign to who I really am. In fact, it's not really "me", it's the sin that dwells in me.

 

What does he mean by that? Let me tell you how Satan manages to keep people enslaved in sin who have been freed from its dominion. He convinces you that you're nothing but a sinner, always going to be a sinner and there's nothing you can do about it.

 

But that is not who we are in Christ. If justification is true and our position before God really has been changed so that He will never again see us as a sinner, and if it is true that we have been set free from the slavery of sin, then we are no longer sinners. We sin, but that is not our nature.

 

Instead, we have a new life, we have a new Master and we have a new nature.

And Paul understands that. And in the deepest part of who he is, there is a heart that loves God, loves the law of God and longs to obey. That is the truest and purest expression of who he is in Christ. And that's why he says, "When I sin it's not the real me that is doing it. It is this foreign presence of sin, a carryover of who I used to be that is still living in me that is doing it.

 

And the key to understanding that is found in the first two words of verse 17. "But now". It is a time reference. He is making a distinction between what he once was and what he now is. And he makes this distinction by saying, "Since the time of my salvation forward, sin has been alien to who I really am because who I really longs to do what is right."

 

Now no doubt, sin is in there. It's just not consistent with the new creation. So where is it?

 

verse 18

 

It is in "my flesh." That's simply a word for my humanness. But human life, natural life is foreign to eternal life. And because of the new birth, we are now supernatural people living in a natural world in natural bodies.

 

My home is in heaven. My name is written there, my Father is there, my life is there, hid with Christ in God, my heavenly life. But for now, I'm living in a human body in a fallen world and that's where the sin within me dwells.

 

That just means my salvation is not yet complete. I haven't had the redemption of my body. I've not been changed to have a body like that of Christ.

I'm still in process and persevering until the day when that hope is realized. Now what that means is I have to deal, not with reigning sin, but surviving sin.

 

So that's the first lament. I live in a condition of being carnal instead of spiritual, the proof is I don't what I want and wind up doing what I don't want to do, and the reason is I have this ongoing battle with sin as long as I'm living in a natural body.

 

The second lament follows the same path.

 

2. Example #2

 

verse 18a

 

There again, we find

 

- The Condition

 

"I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh."

 

There is nothing good in my humanity. That doesn't mean people don't do good things. It means there is nothing humanly speaking that can deal with sin. We can't overcome sin naturally. It takes supernatural involvement.

 

- The Proof

 

verse 18b-19

 

Even though I try to live for the Lord and desire to do right, and even though that is the pattern of my life, it is not an unbroken pattern.

And what he's saying is what we've all experienced. We get up and decide to turn over a new leaf and do better and live for the Lord, then we get up and get out of bed, and we fail to keep our promise.

 

And again, the proof of the condition is seen in what we don't do that we want to do and doing what we don't want to do.

 

And it breaks Paul's heart to know that it's that way. He understands how he should be grateful for what God has done for him. He understands how he should be living a life of unbroken holiness. He understands how important it is to live a life of praise and thanks to God, and when he doesn't do that, it hurts.

 

And once again, he offers

 

- The Reason

 

again.

 

verse 20

 

He says it for the second time. It's not really me. It's not who I am. And notice, he again uses this time qualifier of "Now". Since salvation, things are different. This is not the real me.

 

Then, just to be sure his hearers don't miss what he's saying, he repeats it all again beginning in verse 21.

 

 

 

 

3. Example #3

 

-The Condition

 

verse 21

 

There is this operating principle at work at it is the same thing he's said twice already. There is this power and presence at work within me and even though I will to do good, and it is responsible for sin in my life.

 

- The Proof

 

verses 22-23

 

This inner man, who he really is, has not argument or disagreement with the Law of God. But there is a different law, a different principle, a different operating power, a different presence that I inherited from my human birth and it wages war against the principle, or the law, or the operating principle of my redeemed mind and makes me again a prisoner of the principle of sin which is in my members.

 

It's the same thing all over again! My condition is I am in conflict. The proof is I don't do what I want to do, I don't do what I love to do. And the reason is because there is this alien of sin living in me and he has great power. But understand, that is not the truest and purest expression of who I am. But it's in me.

 

And by the time he gets the cycle through the third time, he's deeply moved. This is a genuine lmaent of soul. And his response to that is

 

verse 24

 

This question is asked with a deep sense of overwhelming disappointment. It is asked with a grief and groaning, with a heart that longs to be free of sin.

 

Who is going to disconnect me from my flesh? Who is going to separate me from this body which is subject to sin?

 

The history from areas around Tarsus, which was the birthplace of Paul, tells us about times when those who committed a murder were sentenced to having the corpse of the person they'd killed strapped to them, shoulder to shoulder, back to back, thigh to thigh, arm to arm. The murderer would them be exiled from the community and left to carry this rotting corpse.

 

So tight were the bonds he couldn't free himself, and eventually the murderer would be consumed by the rot and a few days after the death of the victim would come the death of the murderer.

 

That's how Paul sees sin. He's alive, but he's attached to this burden of sin and he finds it impossible to free himself.

 

And when he says, "Wretched man that I am," he is reminding us that we are prefect in our position before God because we have been declared so by God Himself. But our sanctification is still a work in progress. And the longer he's walked with the Lord and the more he's learned and grown, the more aware he has become of the awfulness of sin.

He sees sin for what it is and he longs to be free from it and he tries and wills and does everything he can to do the right thing and not the wrong thing. But he winds up doing just the opposite and he can never find full and complete victory over the sin problem and it leads him to cry out, "Who will set me free from this body of death? How do I get this rotting, stinking, decaying burden of sin off my back?"

 

And then, with a shout of victory, he declares the answer:

 

verse 25a

 

Some day Jesus Christ is going to deliver me from this. This is our hope. This is the assurance of ultimate deliverance. This is the promise of a resurrection. This is assurance of glory. This is assurance of Rapture.

 

This is what Paul had in mind when he said, "This perishable will put on the imperishable. This mortal will put on immortality and death will be swallowed up in victory. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Jesus Christ."

 

This is the time when we'll get rid of these bodies and will receive a glorious body like unto His body.

 

Now, we might be tempted to think that solves the problem, and ultimately it does. But then, he snaps back to reality.

 

verse 25b

 

"So then"

Again, we have this time reference. And this time, he's talking about right now, Here's the way it is until the time comes and Jesus unloads the burden,

 

With the mind, and that is a reference to the new and eternal person that we become in salvation, the real me serves the Law of God. And on the other hand, the old part of me, my humanity serves the law of sin.

 

I am anticipating the coming of the Lord and the ultimate release that His coming will bring from sin, but I'm not glorified yet. That means, I've got to keep fighting. And here's how I choose to go forward.

 

On the inside, I know who I am and what I want. The real me loves to serve and honor God. But I also know there is another part of me that is operating in the power of sin.

 

That means as a believer, I am a person who is , in terms of my most essential nature, my deepest self, the bottom of my heart, the inner man, the new man, a creation of God that does not sin. I am righteous, not only by declaration of God, but by nature, delighting in the Law of God.

 

This new man is not simply a capacity. It's not simply an idea. It's the real me. I am not the person I was, that person is no more. I was a child of wrath, that is now dead and gone and buried. I am now a child of light. If I die right now, my inner person doesn't have to be changed, it is prepared for heaven.

 

Even though all that is true, even though I am in the inner man a saint, I am still inseparably linked to unredeemed flesh. Not just my bones and muscles and my glands and my senses, but my mind and my emotions as well.

 

The vast reality of my humanity with its intricate chemical electronic components and all the influences that find their way into that humanity is a residing place of sin. And I will never know the full deliverance until this body is transformed. But until then, the battle goes on.

 

Let's pray.