Studying His Word and His Works

Listen to the study here: Romans 7:19-8:2

Read here: Romans 7

Review

• Calvin on the theme of Romans: “Man’s only righteousness is the mercy of God in Christ, when it is offered by the Gospel and received by faith.” Romans 1:17 and elsewhere.
• IMPORTANT: Paul wrote the letter to the saints (1:7), and the letter is about the gospel, which is a reminder we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily. 
• Luther: Simul iustus et peccator = At the same time, righteous and a sinner! Romans 3:23-25
• In Ch. 1-3 Paul shows us our unrighteousness, and God’s wrath against that, and the switches to Christ’s righteousness as our covering, the propitiation of our sins (Romans 3:25) as the final sacrifice for sin, fulfilling the promise to Abraham, who had faith before any works
• Faith being “counted” or “credited to our account” as righteousness is mentioned 11 times in Chapter 4! If “none are righteous” as Paul wrote in Romans 3:10, then this saving faith must be a gift from God.
• Ch. 5, We now have peace with God, access to God, and hope, because of what Christ did for us while we were weak(v. 6), sinners (v. 8), and enemies (v. 10). Christ did this “at the right time,” (v. 6), connecting Christ’s work on the cross and God’s plan of redemption to real history (not just a myth or legend).
  • Atonement(5:6-11): Jesus satisfying God’s wrath for us through His sacrificial death on the cross.
• Ch. 5 and 6 describe federalism, this idea of one man making a difference, for righteousness (Jesus) or wickedness (Adam). 
• Ch 6 ended with lots of words pointing to the new road we are now on with Christ, the sanctification road.
  • Service is the key word, “slaves” used 8 times
  • “Present yourselves”(5), “Leads to”(5)
• Sproul: “our regeneration, our rebirth was the work of one Person, God. It was not a joint venture; but from the moment we take our first breath of regenerated spiritual life, it  becomes a joint effort.” the work of one Person is what salvation is about. The joint venture is what sanctification is about. Ch.6 ends and we continue into Ch.7 describing what this “sanctification road” looks like to walk down. We were on the sin road that leads to death, but now we are on the grace road that leads to eternal life.
• The middle of Ch. 7 shows us the importance of including the law in any gospel presentation. We don’t take sin seriously enough unless we take some time to think about the law, with Paul specifically referring to the 10 commandments here (coveting). Knowing the law is not supposed to bring us slavery, but freedom. It’s not about what we can’t do, but what we can do. Like, if once we know what F=ma is, we don’t focus on what we can’t do, but what we can do, like build a lighter jet engine with more thrust, which increases acceleration. Likewise, instead of coveting, we can share. Instead of murder, we can forgive. Instead of adultery, we can work towards loving one person well and having kids that we train up in the way they should go, followed by grandkids, etc. 

Intro

• Key words: do/doing (5), do not (3), Jesus Christ (3)
• A key verse in the last study was verse 15. Even Paul didn’t understand his own actions. Even Paul struggled with sin, which doesn’t give us an excuse, but comfort in knowing this reality is normal for Christians. If there is no struggle are we really born again?
• When we are born again, we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Again, that’s peace with God, not Satan! Peace with God is infinitely greater than peace with Satan of course. Before we were born again, we were “sin only, no guilt, no shame, no repentance”. After we are born again, we have sin + guilt+ shame + repentance.” But we have upgraded software that can handle it! Satan wants to deceive us with our guilt and shame, keeping us focused on ourselves and our inability to overcome sin. But God wants that guilt and shame to remind us Who owns us now, who our new Manager is! That guilt and shame is something believers can hand over to God and be free of. But it’s also there to drive us to repentance and to drive us further down the sanctification road. The sanctification road is the glory road, the road of freedom, and that is what today’s verses are meant to remind us of. 
• Verses 19-20
  • For I do not do the good I want.
    • Sproul: Paul is not trying to absolve himself from the responsibility for his own actions. He is just describing his current human condition, born again but born a sinner. He is describing Luther’s simul iustus et peccator.
      • It’s important to understand that if Paul (or any human) were still on the sin road, there would be no conflict. This is an interesting thing, it’s like people who maybe “turn back to sin,” probably because it is easier since there is no conflict. But that also could mean they were never really born again, because their “turn from sin” was self-centered, not Holy Spirit driven. It’s like they were “getting saved” to fit in with cultural standards or maybe family or friends. The alternative is that they are saved but they are forgetting Who is in them now, and Who they are identified with now, which is exactly where Satan wants them. Jesus has the wheel, but Satan is on the outside trying to grab it. With Christ we CAN fight and will defeat Satan and our flesh. Without Christ, we have no ability at all to fight and win.
      • The it is no longer I who do it that Paul is referring to is that his true nature is now in Christ. Now, his identity is as a Christian. That’s who he truly is now, but he was still born with a sin nature. It no longer enslaves him, but it is a part of his natural body, and can trip him up. We have to work with Jesus, to relate to him, if we want to avoid getting tripped up. But we also have to humbly acknowledge the old man is still hanging on, not quite dead yet. 
• Verse 21
  • In the last study we named this Paul’s Law: When I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. That “want to”, we described as Holy Spirit-driven, it’s a feature of our new “salvation software.” The “want to” to do things that bring Him glory, versus the dying sin nature coupled with Satan’s temptations. The Romans 5 peace, access and hope is not given to believers in order that they may have a less complicated life. No, that is there to help them fight well.  
• Verse 22
  • Only a Christian would delight in the law of God in their inner being. In the last study we discussed the weird “sinless perfectionism” idea, that some people think they can become sinless this side of Heaven. It is clear (or should be) here that Paul is talking about his current battles, not some former battle.
    • Sproul:” No unregenerate person delights in the law of God in the inward person.” Paul may be connecting this to verses like Psalm 1:2 and 112:1 that describe people as “blessed” who delight in God’s commandments.
• Verses 23-25
  • God is mighty to rescue from the body of death!
    • Sarx is Greek for flesh. Paul uses this word to refer to our fallen nature, but it is also used in the New Testament to refer to our physical, earthly existence. Like in John 1:14, Jesus’s “flesh” was not corrupt.
    • Soma is Greek for body, our physical body, which is usually, but not always the way the word is used in the New Testament. Soma or somatos is used here in v. 24 for body of death.
    • Sproul makes some philosophical and theological connections here.
      • He said Plato and other Greeks believed in salvation from the body, while Christians believe in salvation of the body.  The Greek idea influenced early church fathers, who began to teach that the way of salvation is denying the body all earthly pleasures. This is still an influence today, and yes, of course there are times when our physical bodies are connected to sin, but it is the sin nature that is the ultimate issue here. 
        • I wonder if perhaps, Paul is appealing to Greek minds with this request to be rescued from this body, because if you continue reading, Paul doesn’t keep asking for rescue, he just starts praising God instead!
      • Sproul says that what Paul is talking about here is the struggle between the sarx and the pneuma, the flesh and the spirit, the old man and the new man, the fallen and corrupt nature vs. the renewed inner person in Christ.
        • I think also it is about, in Christ, using our physical bodies to glorify Him instead of glorifying ourselves or Satan or something else. 
      • For the vast majority of times we see a New Testament comparison of spirit and flesh, the term sarx is being used to describe our fallen nature, not our physical bodies. 
    • Wretched man that I am! The Christian life and walking the sanctification road is a spiritual war. And one battle in that war is to balance not taking sin too lightly, but also not wallowing in past sins. There are two ways we can over-focus on self instead of Christ. One is by wallowing in guilt and shame instead of remembering Christ’s work for us. The other extreme is pride, which is more common. Church as a whole talks much less of the weightiness of our sin and much more of “our” accomplishments. This is why communion is so good for us, it does help us remember our sin and the requirement of Jesus sacrifice for our sins. 
    • Paul is drawing a conclusion here, saying to us: “You have bumps in your sanctification road? So do I. But Jesus delivers!”
• Verse 8:1
  • No condemnation. Such an important phrase, even more important when we include in Christ Jesus. What v. 1 is saying is that there IS condemnation for the unbeliever, but no condemnation for Christians. As believers, our response to v. 1 should be gratitude, coupled with a zeal to spread the Gospel.
  • Therefore is always a concluding statement, connecting what Paul just discussed about sin and the flesh in Ch. 7. Remember that Chapters and verses are manmade separators. Originally, this was one long letter.
    • And it is not just therefore, but therefore NOW, so in the midst of the battle we have victory. As Christians, God sees us because of Christ’s righteousness in us right NOW. 
    • It is SO important to remember we have this victory in Jesus not because of, but in spite of our understanding. It is SO important to remember what Paul just wrote in v. 7:15, that I do not understand my own actions. And he very clearly means he does not understand his continued sinning in spite of being born again.
      • Who saves us, do we save ourselves or does Jesus save us? Who made us righteous in God’s sight, did we make ourselves righteous or did God make us righteous by imputing Christ’s righteousness to us? Where did the faith to repent and believe come from, was that our faith or was it a gift from God? If you can’t answer, go back and read Ch. 1-7 again! 
    • You might know a man who overcame a drug addiction, but they don’t believe Jesus saves. Think about it, what did that man actually overcome? Is he aware that drug addiction is a sin, a 2nd Commandment idol? How did the addiction start, was it because he thought “I’ll take some drugs so I can glorify God?” 100% not why! He took them for himself, and then they weren’t pleasing him anymore, so he fought the drug addiction for himself. And maybe he fought the addiction because of the social pressure, but as an unbeliever, saving self was the main motivator.
      • Please don’t get me wrong. Overcoming a drug addiction is good. Always. Humans can do good in this way, but without Jesus, it is a works-righteousness, and its end is still eternal separation from God. Condemnation. That is a hard thing for us to consider, but I do think that is part of Satan’s deception, he wants us to focus on the works and the striving and the overcoming. All things worthy of celebrating, but then we forget that the unbeliever is still an enemy of God. Giving the unbeliever time to overcome an addiction is evidence of His patience with us amidst the struggle. A kindness and patience that is meant to lead unbelievers to repentance(Romans 2:4), not mere survival for a bit longer. 
    • So, all that to say, as you walk the sanctification road, imagine two ditches of self on either side. Avoid those ditches of self, on the one side the “I did it” of pride, and the other ditch of self-loathing, of guilt and shame. 
• Verse 8:2
  • Believer, you are going to get in both ditches at different times, but look up! In Christ Jesus you are a saint, set free! In Christ Jesus you can pull yourself out of the ditch. In Christ Jesus you can fight the flesh. “Paul’s Law” of v. 7:21 is reality for believers. But it is no match for the law of the Spirit of life! And for the unbeliever, the law of sin and death is also no match for the law of the Spirit of life that sets believers free in Christ Jesus.
  • To conclude, this idea of being set free in Christ is not to keep us from fighting. Rather, it is what causes us to fight. To fight sin. And win. For believers, being set free in Christ should be like this YouTube of a grizzly bear being set free. Believers are the bear, and the cage is our former self, trapped and dying to sin. Christ is the gate opener, setting us free. But what are we free to do now? To flee slavery and fight! And the camera in this video is sin and Satan, the “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). We need to look at that “camera of sin and Satan” the same way the grizzly bear does, and come out of the cage swinging against sin, and stay swinging! In Christ we are set free from sin slavery. In Christ alone we can fight and defeat sin.
• Coming soon, Romans 8:1-11.