TEACHING Daryl Wood www.DarylWood.net

Verses 14-25 of the seventh chapter of Romans ranks, in my mind, as one of the most misunderstood passages in the New Testament.  Sandwiched between two portions that are rich in unequivocal declarations of victory and freedom, the words here would seem to argue against everything that precedes and follows it.  Here are a few statements from that section that, at least at first glance, appear to smack of contradiction to the letter of Romans as a whole:

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.  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 (vv. 14-15, NKJV).

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 (vv. 21-23, NKJV).

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 (v. 25, NKJV).

A most depressing state of mind and heart, indeed!  If lifted from the broader context of Paul’s discourse, these statements could provide a platform for excuses.  “If Paul, the great apostle, found himself powerless to overcome sin within, what hope have I to expect more?  We won’t find real freedom from the old man until we escape these flesh bodies,” goes one argument that I have heard.  “We’re destined to carry the putrid carcass of that old man on our backs until the day when we’re finally liberated from him through physical death.”

Some suppose that the Christian experience on this earth is defined by two natures—an old and a new—militating against one another and raging within a child of God, al a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Not exactly a picture of victorious living.  Yet, if this is not to be deduced from Paul’s exposition then what is his point?  Do these verses reflect his experience with God?  In what sense are they compatible with the rest of what he wrote in Romans, not to mention with the Scriptures as a whole?  How are they to be reconciled with other portions of the Bible?

The display here is undeniably one of a man snared in a suffocating quagmire, from which his best efforts prove powerless in securing his escape.  Further, Paul writes in the first person and in the present tense—seeming to suggest to the reader that this mirrors the reality of his current condition.  Could this actually be the case, as some maintain?   It has been said that one can make the Bible say nearly anything that he wants it to say by utilizing the “cut-and-paste” approach known as proof-texting, and by applying that technique a reader could certainly arrive at that conclusion.  Admittedly, these verses are problematic in the sense that they provide more than a cursory allusion.  They present a vivid description of a horrible situation, and, yet, one for which virtually every Christian can probably identify at one or more times in his life.  Who hasn’t struggled to wrest himself from the vice-grip of sin, and found the exertion of one’s own will to be utterly ineffective in the cause?

Without a doubt, Paul had “been there and done that.”  This Pharisee of Pharisees testified that, concerning the righteousness that is in the law, he was blameless.  Through his own grit, determination, and strength of resolve he had achieved what most Jews would consider to be religious and moral success.  He kept the law.

Still, the victory was hollow.  His life paralleled that of the rich, young ruler who kept all the commandments from his youth, but still inquired of Jesus as to what more he lacked in order to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17-22). For both individuals there was an internal void that even a flawless legal performance was incapable of satisfying.  Though his life may have been clean on the outside there was a gnawing awareness of the bondage within that remained.  Looking back, he made the following remarks:

. . . though I might have confidence in the flesh.  If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:  circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.  But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.  But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. . . (Phil. 3:4-8, NKJV).

Notably, the politely softened translation, “rubbish,” (translated from the Greek word, skubalon, in verse eight above) fails to capture the force of Paul’s disdain for all that he achieved in his own strength.  A more precise rendering of this word might be “animal excrement.”  The sum total of everything that he had been able to accomplish on his own amounted to a pile of dog poop!  It is a reasonable assumption that as Paul began to clearly see his inability to be “a good person” via self-effort, the revelation contained in Romans 7:14-25 came into focus.  This account is doubtless reminiscent of some times in his life prior to his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road and, perhaps, even for some seasons that followed that initial encounter with Him.

However, this story is not indicative of his state of heart at the time he authored Romans.  Consider these proclamations by Paul concerning the full scope of deliverance through Christ Jesus:

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin (Rom. 6:5-7, NASB).

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!  Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?  But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.  I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.  But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life (Rom. 6:14-22, NASB).

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:1, 2, NKJV).

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:13-15, NKJV).”

When Paul penned this epistle the Lord had established him in the grace of God.  He was not writing about a theoretical experience to which he had not attained.  He wrote of a settled reality that had been wrought in him by the Spirit of Christ.  He was no longer striving in his own energy to bring forth the sacrifice of Cain.  Rather, he was resting in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone.  To conclude otherwise is to suppose Paul to have been completely fickle and unstable.  It is utterly inconceivable that the experience chronicled in chapter seven is, or ever could be, simultaneously lived concurrently with chapters six and eight.

 It is also impossible for one to casually flit from one state to the other, or practice ricocheting back and forth between freedom and bondage.  Some might protest that the ups and downs of a yo-yo accurately depict their typical Christian experience.  Perhaps, for them, it does.  Yet, I would respond that those who live in such a way have not yet tapped into the New Covenant revelation of the gospel that Paul released in his letter to the Romans.  While I recognize the fact that people can and do ride spiritual roller coasters, I object to the supposition that such a ride is in any way consistent with the experience of one who has truly embraced the liberty that is available as a new creation in Christ Jesus.  (These kinds of “ups and downs” are not to be confused with occasional missteps, which James says plague all [Jas. 3:2]. Stumbling is one thing; an ongoing state of enslavement to sin is quite another.)  Either an individual has laid hold of the deliverance promised by the gospel or he has not.  There are two contrasting conditions described in chapters six through eight, and these two states are diametrically opposed to one another.  Their differences could not stand, side by side, in more glaring contrast:

1.  Being in bondage to the flesh vs. being dead to the deeds of the body.

2.  Being captive to the law of sin vs. being free from the law of sin and death.

3.  Being a slave of sin vs. being free from sin, and a slave of righteousness.

The dissimilarity of these states establishes what Romans seven is not saying.  Its apparent incongruity with the rest of the epistle proves that Paul is not claiming this as his contemporary experience in God—present tense usage, aside.  The explanation for what he did have as a vantage point still remains unresolved, at least to some extent.  Here are at least a couple of possibilities:

1.  Some suppose that verses 14-25 can explain Paul’s state at any given second in time when he has slipped in sin since coming to Christ.  To me, the depth of bondage depicted in this passage is much too profound and pervasive to be considered in the same context with some momentary error from which one quickly finds restoration.   

2.  Paul’s account describes his previous experience prior to be enlightened as to the breadth of gospel liberty in Christ.  He has essentially recorded for the reader a vivid flashback, which was indelibly burned in his memory.  Since his past life was consumed with the pursuit of being “right with God,” the feelings associated with his struggle before he trusted Christ were not soon forgotten.  Again, the first person usage is a helpful literary technique that serves to punctuate the desperation of his past condition and contrast it with the glorious freedom found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Actually, which of these scenarios (if either) Paul had in view when he wrote this, a question yet unanswered, is academic.  The fundamental matters are that 1) unregenerate man is held captive by the law of sin and death, 2) this condition can remain, to some degree, the experience of each of us, to whatever extent we lack, or fail to maintain, a revelation of and solid grasp of the gospel and 3) the power of the law of sin in one’s members truly is completely cancelled as he embraces the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

But, if the old man no longer exists along with the new, how can occasional sin, when it occurs in a Christian’s life, be explained?  First of all, to walk in freedom from sin one must know that the work of Christ has actually provided for his freedom.  Unfortunately, much erroneous teaching has reinforced the exact opposite thought, with debilitating results.  If I believe that I am imprisoned I will remain in a cage, even when the door has been blown off the hinges.  Many today do not walk free because they don’t believe that that they really are free.

Secondly, occasional sins do not prove the existence of dual natures—both old and new—within a believer.  They merely prove that we all have freedom of choice.  In an instant of temptation and distraction I have the capability, through my own free will, to turn back to what was my old way of life.  This does not mean that I carry the old along with the new.  Contrary to that notion, the Scriptures are quite plain that one cannot partake of the new life in Christ without first laying aside the old:

But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:  that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:20-24, NKJV).

Do not lie to one another, since you have laid aside the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him . . . (Col. 3:9, 10, NKJV).

The schizoid notion of one’s new identity in Christ somehow coexisting with to his old nature makes no more sense than one donning new, fine wedding apparel . . . over top of filthy, smelly work clothes.  The garments simply don’t mix and match.  A person could wear either one or the other, but certainly not both at the same time.

The effect of such dualistic thinking is a self-fulfilling expectation of defeat and failure.  Instead of realizing the spiritual potential that God has intended and which empowers saints to walk in His steps, a belief in this illusion guarantees that one will continue to struggle needlessly and live far beneath his calling.

I am reminded of a story that I once heard regarding circus trainers, and a tactic that they employ to keep their animals securely in their possession.   Soon after baby elephants are born they are roped to a small stake peg so that they will not wander away.  The young ones quickly learn that they lack sufficient strength to pull free and go where they would.  Long before they grow and mature, they cease testing their familiar hitching posts.  As a result, there are rumored to be cases where full grown elephants, beasts that could easily uproot their fastenings or snap the spikes that held them like a toothpicks, tragically burn to death during circus tent fires.  Why?  Because they still believe themselves to be incapable of running free.   How we see ourselves—chained or free—has a telling impact on how we live our lives.            

The same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to all who come to Him.  Accompanying that power is an ability to walk free from all the elementary things to which one was bound before.  It is not as though the world, the flesh, and the devil no longer exert any influence or carry an ability to tempt.  To the contrary, Jesus was tempted in all points—just as we are—so, temptation will continue to remain a common, fairly constant occasion for all who would follow in His steps (Heb. 2:14, 4:15).  What has changed, though, and what has been broken forever, is the power of sin—that insurmountable, enslaving force that is so aptly described in Romans seven.  For those who dare to believe the freedom proclamation, the old man depicted there is dead.

But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter (Rom. 7:6, NKJV).

The old man is only revived if, and to whatever extent, we allow him to be.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Cor. 5:17, NKJV).

The marvelous promise of the New Covenant is that Jesus Christ has paid for our release from the prison of sin--NOW.  The sentence against us has not just been suspended; it has been cancelled altogether.  We are not merely emancipated from the penalty of sin, but also from its power.   Receiving this reality leaves that miserable creature in Romans seven, with whom we used to so painfully identify, buried six feet underground.  Let’s not resurrect him with an excuse!

WORK OUT WHAT GOD WORKS IN?
 
Oswald Chambers – Devotional for June 6, 2009
 
"Work out your own salvation." Philippians 2:12-13

Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a disposition which renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord is presented to the conscience, the first thing conscience does is to rouse the will, and the will always agrees with God. You say - "But I do not know whether my will is in agreement with God." Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. The thing in you which makes you say "I shan't" is something less profound than your will; it is perversity, or obstinacy, and they are never in agreement with God. The profound thing in man is his will, not sin. Will is the essential element in God's creation of man: sin is a perverse disposition which entered into man. In a regenerated man the source of will is almighty. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." You have to work out with concentration and care what God works in; not work your own
salvation, but work it out, while you base resolutely in unshaken faith on the complete and perfect Redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposed will to God's will, God's will is your will, and your natural choices are along the line of God's will, and the life is as natural as breathing. God is the source of your will, therefore you are able to work out His will. Obstinacy is an unintelligent 'wadge' that refuses to be enlightened; the only thing is for it to be blown up with dynamite, and the dynamite is obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Do I believe that Almighty God is the source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.