AT A GLANCE

There is no two-class Christianity. Every single Christian has to fight the flesh and depend on the Holy Spirit every day. If there were a two-class system, the Apostle Paul would definitely be in the elite status. Yet, in this passage he shares his own experiences with fighting the flesh. If Paul had to fight the flesh, how can any of us imagine we don’t?

INTRODUCTION

The preacher has a precarious task. Share his heart, be vulnerable, be real…just don’t be too real. And the congregation will tell you if you were too real after you’ve shared your heart. Good luck! 

Today I want to share a story from my life that happened just a few years ago. My wife and I were in a low spot in our marriage. We just could not figure out how to have a conversation without it turning into an argument. One evening we were in the middle of a conflict when I got frustrated and walked out of the room. I grabbed my keys and headed down the stairs. I was leaving without knowing where I was going or how long I’d be gone; or if I’d come back. It was a terrifying moment for me. 

A few weeks earlier a friend who had experienced a similar marital crisis shared with our Connect Group that the Lord showed him he had to humble himself before God and before his wife. There I was halfway down the stairs on my way out and I heard that man’s words in my mind. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I had a choice to make, and I knew this was a decisive moment for me and for my family. I could continue to walk out, which I knew was a fleshly thing, or I could respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction and humble myself. 

I am thankful for His intervention and for the warning He issued through my friend. I turned around, went back upstairs, and sat on the floor in front of my wife. “I’m listening,” I said. And I meant it. That was the decisive moment for my wife and me. Through all the hardships we’ve faced in life, the loss of a daughter, several cross-country moves, a couple deployments with the Army, nothing tested our resolve to never divorce like those several months a few years ago. Praise the Lord that turned around that night. 

I tell you this story because I want to dismantle the idea that there is a class of Christian who no longer has to confront sin and kill the flesh. I think a lot of Christians imagine their pastor is beyond sin, doesn’t have to resist his flesh, and isn’t utterly dependent upon the Holy Spirit. While elders are called to be above reproach, it’s dangerous to think we are beyond sin. It’s dangerous for the pastor who is put on the pedestal and it’s dangerous for the church member. 

One of two things happens when we imagine there is a two-class system of Christianity – pretense or resignation. The first is pretense. People pretend to be in the first-class category, portraying the idea they are beyond the capacity to sin. They’re elite. And those who buy into two-class system believe their pastor better be in this class with them! The other is a resignation to the reality that they’re not elite and therefore they settle for a mediocre Christian life. 

What is clear from today’s passage is there is no two-class Christianity. Every single Christian has to fight the flesh and depend on the Holy Spirit every day. If there were a two-class system, the Apostle Paul would definitely be in the elite status. Yet, in this passage he shares his own experiences with fighting the flesh. If Paul had to fight the flesh, how can any of us imagine we don’t?

Romans 7:21-25

saltato 21 Bad Aibling So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.  22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

I mentioned this last week, but I approach Romans 7 from the interpretation most widely held by the church throughout history, and reiterated by the protestant reformers. That is that Paul was describing his present personal experience as a follower of Christ who still had to wrestle with his flesh, and therefore, a picture of the struggle of all Christians. 

At the same time I want to be gracious in acknowledging the compelling arguments for interpreting Romans 7 as Paul’s description of his life as a zealous Jew before Christ thereby painting a picture of religious people who try to please the Lord without the aid of the Holy Spirit.   

I DELIGHT IN THE LAW

Verse 21 begins I find it to be a law, a rule of thumb, a fundamental truth, like Murphy’s law, that when I want to do right, when I’m trying to live right, think right, speak right, and please the Lord, evil lies close at hand. It’s never far from me. 

Verse 22 expounds upon the first part of 21 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being. This is reflective of a man of faith. This is what David described. Let’s begin in Psalm 1. It says of the blessed man, “…his delight is in the law of the Lord” Psalm 1:2 

If we go to Psalm 119, over and over again we read David’s words, “I delight” in “your testimonies,” “commandments,” “in your law,” “I long for your precepts.” He summarizes his sentiment in verse 97, “Oh how I love your law.” Psalm 119:97

One might argue, “Ah, but the Jews delighted in the law of God! Paul is describing his life as a zealous Jew.” The zealous Jews loved something, but it wasn’t the Lord or His Law. Jesus said in Mark 7, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.’” Mark 7:6 

What they delighted in was the praise of man, not the law of God. Jesus explains the heart of the zealous Jew in Matthew 23, “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.” Matthew 23:5

Jesus saw through their façade and called them out in the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’” Luke 18:9-12 

Theirs was not a delight in the law of God in their inner being. Theirs was pretense. The inner being is the regenerated heart, the renewed mind, the new creation in Christ, the man after God’s own heart. 

It stands in contrast with the flesh, or his members as Paul describes next in verse 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  

WARRING LAWS

This conflict is between the inner being – the regenerated heart – and the flesh, which is characterized by a predisposition to sin. As much as Paul delighted in the law of God in his inner being, he observed another law, another foundational truth. There was an impulse that waged war against the law of his mind – against the inner being – making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 

How can Paul refer to a regenerate man being taken captive to the law of sin? What about Romans 6:7? “The one who has died has been set free from sin?” Look a few verses down at verses 11-12. In the same line of reasoning, Paul exhorts these people who have already been set free from sin, “You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey it’s passions.” Romans 6:11-12

Paul exhorted believers to remind themselves every day that they are no longer bound by sin. You have to decide that you have died, and because you’ve died, you’ve been set free from sin. 

Because sin still dwells in our members, in our flesh. That old self is still there. Left unchecked, if we do not determine each day that we have a new identity in Christ, that we’re going to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh, we’re prone to respond to life’s trials and temptations in a fleshly way. 

A CRY OF DESPERATION

Once again, we’re in the tension of the already-not yet and Paul was pretty expressive about how that felt to him in verse 24, Wretched man that I am! 

Sin leaves you broken, ashamed, exhausted, and isolated. It’s no wonder there are so many popular songs that depict this very sentiment. What comes to mind is a pop-country artist named Jelly Roll. I want to share some lyrics from three of his songs. I think you’ll see they capture this sentiment tragically, Wretched man that I am! 

Save Me 

“Somebody save me, save me from myself…I’m so damaged beyond repair…I’m a lost cause.”

Need a Favor

“I only talk to God when I need a favor…and I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer…So who the h*** am I too expect a Savior if I only talk to God when I need a favor? But God I need favor!”

Son of Sinner

“I’m just a son of a sinner, searching for new ways I can get gone…Cause I’m only one drink away from the devil…These pills pretend to be my friend. I’m done for the last time…I’m lying to myself again…Mistakes I made, I paid for them in cash…Walked a million miles on broken glass…I’m feeling like I’m fading…My heart’s been slowly breaking, Might pop a pill and smoke and maybe drink, Talk to God and tell Him what I think, At first He’s gonna hate me, But eventually He’ll save me.”

This breaks my heart. I am no pop-culture expert, but no one expresses the heart of a lost sinner who sees the destruction of his life like Jelly Roll. I know he’s just singing songs, but I pray for him all the time, because I get the sense these are more personal for him than just songs.  

He sees his brokenness and he sees his hopelessness and the death caused by his lifestyle. Obviously his message resonates because he’s one of the most popular artists today. There’s this collective awareness that sin destroys; that it’s empty and unfulfilling. 

If Paul is describing a pre-Christian experience here in Romans 7, we would expect the discourse to end right here; a cry of desperation. Wretched man that I am! This is where the lost person stops. They can see the destruction. They can feel the anguish. They know they’re wretched. But that’s the tragic end of the unregenerate man. 

“Who the h*** am I to expect a Savior?” You’re exactly who Jesus came to save! “At first he’s gonna hate me, but eventually he’ll save me.” No, Jelly Roll! He’s offering salvation today! He’s inviting you to call to Him today! 

Observe, though that Paul didn’t stop with the cry of desperation like an unregenerate sinner would. He asked a question. He didn’t ask, “What do I need to do to get out of this mess?” Instead, he asked, Who will deliver me from this body of death? 

This is the difference between religion and relationship. The solution is not a what but a who. The solution is not what do I do, but who will do something I cannot. This is the cry of a man who has understood poverty of spirit, knowing he can do nothing to deliver himself. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:3

The unregenerate, religious or not, sees his wretchedness and imagines he can do something about it himself. You tell me what to do and I’ll do it. No, wretched man! You cannot do it. But Jesus can!

Praise the Lord for verse 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Paul asked, “Who will deliver me?” And He answers, thanks be to God – God will deliver me, through Jesus Christ our Lord. That’s the answer. 

Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Jelly Roll and every man, woman, and child who resonates with his message, Jesus came for you! He came to give you life and life abundant. 

Notice the solution is Jesus Christ our Lord. An unregenerate man will never look to Christ in genuine faith for deliverance. He may look to Jesus as a means of delivering himself. You can find that in just about any church. Plenty of people see Jesus as something they do to deliver themselves. Specifically, in Jesus’ name, they do all kinds of religious things. But there’s a fundamental difference between doing something in Jesus’ name to deliver yourself and trusting in Jesus to deliver you. 

Only the regenerate can trust that Jesus Christ is Lord and deliverer; that He is the Christ. Anyone who gets to this place sincerely is regenerate. Anyone who truly believes that Jesus Christ is their deliverer is saved. 

Now let’s say for the sake of argument, that up to this point Paul has the pre-Christian experience in mind in Romans 7, that he’s not describing himself or the normal Christian experience here, and that the Christian experience is reflected in Romans 8 because the “I” in chapter 7 has discovered that Christ is his deliverer, the discussion would certainly end here. Deliverance in Christ!

If that were the case, you’d assume Paul would begin Romans 8:1 right here. “Who will deliver me?” asks the lost soul. Then the enlightenment, “God will deliver me through Jesus Christ!” Salvation! Deliverance from sin! Then the new life in the Spirit, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 

The old life of failure and sin and death and frustration is over if Paul had the unregenerate in mind in Romans 7. But this is not where Paul concluded his thought, and this is hugely important. If he has unregenerate people in mind in Romans 7 and regenerate in mind in Romans 8, this next statement is oddly out of place because he didn’t conclude with a crescendo of victory. He concluded with a reality check. 

Let’s look carefully as what he says next. So then, in conclusion to what I’ve just said, I myself, which is synonymous with “I Paul,” serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. I think it’s clear what he means when he says I serve the law of God with my mind. It means I delight in the law in my inner being. I love Jesus. I love the Father. I love His Word. I want to do what pleases Him. But what does he mean by with my flesh I serve the law of sin. 

Here’s what I believe he means. When I let my guard down, when I am not yielded to the Holy Spirit, I tend to give in to sin. I don’t do the things I want to do and I do the things I hate. When I am not walking by the Spirit as I know I need to, I am walking in my flesh. One thing is clear, regardless how you interpret Romans 7, this chapter depicts life apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. 

When I’m in the flesh, I am not relying on the Holy Spirit and I can count on one thing – sin. In the flesh I’m going to return to the things that rob me of life and things that hurt other people. I’m going to think, reason, speak, act & react in ways that do not edify me or anyone around me, nor do they honor the Lord. That’s my default setting. And I know that there’s no limit to my depravity. Wretched man that I am! Don’t you ever get there? God, why must I still fight against my flesh? I love you with all my heart. Why is this still such a fight? Why is it even a fight at all? 

Paul’s point here is no one should ever imagine they can let their guard down, that they’ve conquered their flesh and it’s no longer a threat. He said to the Corinthians, “Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

In Romans 7, Paul is not portraying the Christian life in some futile, defeatist way. He’s speaking as a realist. Here’s the reality – you are a new creation in Christ; you have a new identity. But you have to walk by the Spirit of God constantly or you’re going to sin. Romans 7 is a caution against thinking you’ve got sin beat. It’s a sober warning that left to our own devices, not yielded to the Holy Spirit, we’re a disaster waiting to happen. 

We’re forgiven. We’re set free. But sin lingers and it can lead even Christians down some dark paths. But that’s not the end of the story! As we’re going to see in chapter 8, Paul tells us that there’s a victorious, God-honoring life available to us. It is one in which we depend upon the Holy Spirit of God continually; every moment of every day. 

What does that look like? It looks like walking by the Spirit, which is exactly where Paul is going to take us next. He begins where we have to begin, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Begin by reminding yourself you’ve already been made right in God’s sight! You then fight from that place of spiritual victory. You begin the day in prayer and submission to the Holy Spirit and you stay in prayer and submission to the Holy Spirit. 

This week a woman from our church posted on Facebook that in this fight we don’t focus on sin. We don’t focus on what we’re not supposed to do. Instead, we focus on Him and remember who He has made us. We keep our eyes on Jesus, our deliverer. 

“Lord without you animating me today, I know I’ll fall into old habits. I’ll do things I regret today. Without You, Lord, I will fail. So, I give you this day. I give you my life. I come to You for guidance, for strength, for ability, for everything I need to live my life to the glory of the Father today. In Jesus name, Amen!”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bruce, F. F. (2008). Romans: An introduction and commentary. Inter-Varsity Press. 

Doriani, D. M. (2021). Romans. P&R Publishing. 

Hughes, Kent R. (1991). Romans – Righteousness from Heaven. Crossway. 

Kruse, Colin G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans. W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Longenecker, Richard N. (2016). The Epistle to the Romans. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 

MacArthur, John. (1991). Romans 1-8. Moody Publishers.

MacArthur, John. (1991). Romans 9-16. Moody Publishers.

Moo, Douglas J. (2018). The Letter to the Romans, Second Edition. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Mounce, Robert. (1995). Romans. B&H Publishing.

Schreiner, Thomas R. (2018). Romans, Second Edition. Baker Publishing Group. 

Sproul, R. C. (2019). The Righteous Shall Live By Faith – Romans. Ligonier Ministries