The Believer and Indwelling Sin, Part 2

Even as a believer, the law continues to have the function of demonstrating to the Christian the exceeding sinfulness of sin. When he sees the law of God, which his heart longs to fulfill, and in comparison sees the sin in his life, he loves the law and loathes the sin. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur.

I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Winston Churchill once said, Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts. That's a good thought to keep in mind as you battle against sin. Sometimes you will defeat it, and other times sin will batter and bruise you. But the question is, do you have the drive to keep fighting your sinful flesh? Because if you don't, what does that say about your spiritual condition? Those are questions to keep in mind today as John MacArthur continues his current study from Romans chapter 7 titled, Why Do I Still Sin?

And now here's John MacArthur. Now you need to remember that in the seventh chapter of Romans, Paul is basically talking about the place of the law. And he is pointing out that even as a believer, the law continues to have the function of demonstrating to the Christian the exceeding sinfulness of sin.

When he sees the law of God, which his heart longs to fulfill, and in comparison sees the sin in his life, he loves the law and loathes the sin. And the testimony of his own struggle spiritually with indwelling sin is given in three laments. It's a very... it's a very sad passage. It's a very remorseful passage. It's a very poignant passage because it isn't often that we get this kind of deep insight into the apostle Paul's struggle.

And each lament has three parts, the condition in which he's finding himself, the proof of that condition, and the source of that condition. Look at the first lament, verses 14 to 17. The condition is in verse 14. We know the law is spiritual, but I am fleshy, soul under sin. The law is spiritual. That is, it proceeds from the Holy Spirit. It is energized by the mind and the heart and the will of God.

It is holy, just and good, says verse 12. But I am, in contrast, unspiritual. The law is spiritual and I'm unspiritual.

This is his condition, condition of struggle. After giving us the condition in verse 14, he gives us the proof in verse 15. Here's the proof that he's still not all that he should be, that he's unspiritual. For that which I do, I understand not, or I know not, or I don't love, or I don't choose to do, for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that I do. Now, that's the proof. Then he talks about the source, because if you say, well, Paul, you're saved, you're redeemed.

I mean, where's this coming from? Verse 16 and 17 give us the answer. If then I do that which I would not, I consent under the law that it is good.

Nothing wrong with the law, because I can't keep it doesn't mean it's wrong. What's your problem, Paul? Now then, it's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Now, my condition is I'm in a struggle. The proof of it is that I can't always do what I want, and I do sometimes what I really don't want in my deepest self, and the source of it all is sin that is in me. Let's look at the second lament. Verse 18, he says, the sin dwells in my flesh, so it's not really me, not the new me, not the recreated me, not the divine and corruptible nature planted in me, not the eternal seed which cannot sin. It's not that me, it's my flesh, so that in me that is in my flesh dwells no good thing. Here's the proof, middle of the verse.

For, in other words, here's how I'm going to demonstrate it. To will is present with me. In other words, there's something in me that wants to do what's right, but how to fully perform that which is good, I find that. Then he comes to the source again in verse 20, the condition, the proof, and the source.

Now, if I do the things I don't want to do, it is no more I that do it, but what? Sin that dwells in me. Let's look at the third lament, and it's just like the rest. But this is one way to get the point across, isn't it, of how sorrowful he is, so that he goes over it and over it and over it. And here come the same three things. First, the condition, verse 21. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Now, here we come back to the same condition. He says, I find a law, and by that he means a principle. He's using the word law.

It's a literary device again, so he stays with that term. There's the law of God, and then I see another law, he says, another principle, another standard that makes demands on me, another inflexible law that drives me to conformity. I see another law in me, another principle operating, another source of commands, another standard that when I would do good, evil is present with me. Literally it says, evil lies close at hand.

It's right there. It's battling every good thought, every good intention, every good motive, every good word, every good deed, every good act. It isn't way away.

It isn't far off. It has never been eradicated, as some theologians would tell us, that you get to the point where your sin nature is eradicated. And then they say, from then on, you don't sin, you just make mistakes. Paul says, it's right there. It's right at hand.

It isn't the real me, but boy, it isn't far away. And the condition is one of conflict again. And then the proof, verse 22. How can you prove this again? Well, I delight in the law of God after the inward man.

That's one side of the conflict. In his inward man, he delights in God's law. And again, I would draw you to Psalm 119, which I think is the best Old Testament parallel to Romans 7.

I don't know if anybody's ever said that before, but I'd like to suggest that. Psalm 119, 77, let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live, listen to this, for thy law is my delight. And it may well have been that Paul had in mind that very passage. And when he says I delight in the law, in the inward man, he's affirming the heart of the psalmist. In Psalm 119, verses 111 and others, but just look at 111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart.

Again, his delight. In verse 20 of that same Psalm, just one other, my soul breaks for the longing that it has unto thine ordinances at all times. Oh, what a tremendous verse.

My heart actually breaks at the longing that it has to thine ordinances at all times. And what is the mark of the truly spiritual man in Psalm 1, 2? His delight is in the what?

Law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. The regenerate man is marked by a love of the word of God, a love of the law of God, a delighting in that law after the inward man. Now, I want you to notice that phrase, after the inward man. It really says, from the bottom of my heart.

That's the meaning. From the deepest part of me, and the deepest part of him, the bottom of his heart, the inward man, the inner man, the real inside guy hungers and longs and delights and loves the law of God. The deepest joy, the truest expression of personhood is to delight in God's law. I believe the inner man or the inward man is that renewed, redeemed nature. And even though, Paul says to the Corinthians, even though the outer man is perishing, the inward man is being what? Renewed day by day, 2 Corinthians 4.16. And we are strengthened with might by his spirit, Ephesians 3.16, and the spirit does his work in the inner man. That's the area of the new creation. That's the real self, the center of redeemed personhood. But then the proof of the conflict takes us to verse 23. But I see another law, another principle. And where is this one?

Where is it? In his what? In his members. And what are we saying the members are? They are the human factors, the bodily factors, the flesh, humanness, unredeemed mortality.

And his use of terms is completely consistent. So he sees in verse 23 another law, and this law isn't in his real self, his deeper self, his inner man. It's in his outer man, isn't it? It's in his members.

It's in his humanness. And it is warring against the law of my mind. And the law of his mind is the same as that which is the law of God, that which is the inner man. So the mind is equated with the inner man. And he sees the war. And sometimes he confesses the law in my members, wins against the law of my mind, and thus brings me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

And he makes a very clear distinction. Listen, beloved, if this were an unbeliever here, the law of his mind would be just as rotten as the law of his members. For the carnal mind is enmity against God. But his mind, which is his inner man, his truest self, his redeemed creation, longs for the law of God and is warring against the law of his members which, of course, as we said, is his humanness. And notice again, verse 23, sometimes the battle goes in favor of the law of his members and, watch this, brings him into captivity. Listen, Dad, it would have to be a redeemed person because unredeemed people can't be brought into captivity. Why?

They're already there. But when sin wins the victory in the spiritual struggle, then the believer is brought into captivity to that sin and becomes captive to that sin. And so he demonstrates again the condition, verse 21, and then proves it. The conflict between the law of his mind which is his inner man longing for the things of God and the law in his members.

And keep in mind that consistently through chapter 6, verses 12, 13, 19, chapter 7, verse 5, and all through this part of it, in all those places he always puts sin in the members. The bodily parts is what it refers to. That does not just mean the flesh. That means the mind, the thoughts, the emotions, all that goes with our humanness.

And there is a war going on. What's the source? The proof is in first part of verse 23 where he says, I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into the captivity of the law of sin which is in my members.

What is the source? Well, it's right there in that same verse. Bringing me captivity in captivity to the law of what? Sin which is in my members. Why do you sin? Why do you sin? Because God didn't do a good job when he saved you? Because your new nature isn't complete? Because you're not prepared for heaven yet and you still got to earn your way in? No. Why do you sin?

Because what? Sin is still there in your humanness. And this has to be a believer because unbelievers aren't brought into the captivity of sin.

They're already there. And your members, your humanness includes your mind and your emotion, your feeling, your body and all those things. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 3, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

I love that. He says, you know, though we have to walk around in this flesh, when you get to the real us, it's really not flesh at all, is it? The weapons with which we fight are not fleshly. They're spiritual. Three laments. And they emphasize the condition of the believer. It's a condition of conflict. They emphasize the proof of that inability to do God's will to the extent we know we ought to. And they emphasize the source of that indwelling sin. The true believer, the spiritual believer, the godly believer cries out for deliverance from this. And as if three laments aren't enough, he lets out a wail in verse 24. A wail that exceeds the other laments.

A wail that goes beyond anything he said. He just cries out in the distress and the frustration and says, oh wretched man that I am. And you say to yourself, can this be the apostle Paul? Can this be a Christian? And the wonderful and God blessed commentator of years and years ago, Haldane says, men perceive themselves to be sinners in direct proportion as they have previously discovered the holiness of God and His law. And he's right. This is a believer who says, oh wretched man that I am.

He wants to be all that God wants him to be. The psalmist cries out in Psalm 6, oh Lord rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, oh Lord, for I am weak. Oh Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed. My soul is very vexed.

Terrified it means. But thou, oh Lord, how long? Return, oh Lord, deliver my soul. Save me for thy mercy's sake. For in death there's no remembrance of thee and Sheol who shall give thee thanks. I am weary with my groaning all the night. Make I my bed to swim.

I water my couch with my tears. And what the psalmist is saying is I'm so sick and tired of not being everything I ought to be. And David is saying little else than what Paul is saying, oh wretched man that I am. My heart panteth. My strength faileth me. He wanted to be more than he was.

And he found himself debilitated by his humanness. In Psalm 130, out of the depths of I cried unto thee, oh Lord, Lord hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, oh Lord, who shall stand? But there's forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord. My soul doth wait and in His word do I hope. Here again, crying out of sin by one who is godly. This is the way of the redeemed, oh wretched man that I am. And then he asks a question in verse 24. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Would you keep in mind again? Where is his problem? It is in his what? His body. And it is a body of what? Death. The word deliver is the word rescue.

It's used to denote the act of a soldier who runs to his comrade in the midst of a battle and he rescues him from the enemy. And the body of death is very interesting. It literally refers to the body which is subject to sin and death. It is the unredeemed mortality again.

And again, the terms are consistent. It's the body, the members, the flesh. It has been reported that near Tarsus where Saul was born, there was a tribe of people who inflicted a terrible penalty upon a murderer. When a person murdered someone, it was their custom to fasten the dead corpse to the murderer.

So tight were the bonds that he could not free himself. And a few days is all it took for the corruption of death to pass to the living and take his life. And Paul looks at himself and he sees that in his own case and senses that he is face to face, chest to chest, thigh to thigh to something that is dead and corrupt and killing and cries, O wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me?

Is there any hope? There's hope. Verse 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. That sounds like triumph to me, doesn't it to you? That is assurance. What are you saying, Paul?

Is this a mystical kind of thing? How do you get deliverance from the conflict? Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What would he have in mind? I believe what he has in mind is expressed in the 8th chapter of Romans. Let's start at verse 18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. And then he talks about the creation waiting for the full manifestation.

Drop down to verse 23. And not only they, that is not only the creation groans and travails waiting for its glory, but ourselves also who have the first fruits of the Spirit. In other words, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have the new creation, we have the eternal seed, we have the divine nature and it's there in us. But we also groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption, that is the redemption of our what?

Of our body. You see, we're waiting for the final phase of salvation, for we are saved in hope. We're still hoping for that day when we fully are freed and redeemed in body as well as soul. And I believe that's what Paul's looking forward to in verse 25 of chapter 7. I thank God, he says, that the end of the conflict is going to come through the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's going to come when He appears and when we are glorified or when we enter into His presence and are glorified. That's when the end comes, the end of the battle. You want to hear it in the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15?

Here it is. When this corruptible shall have put on what? Incorruption. And when this mortal shall have put on what? Immortality. That's when he says in verse 57, thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Almost the same phrase that he uses in Romans 7.25. And here he says, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And it's the same day that he sees when this mortal shall put on immortality and this corruption shall put on incorruption. So he's looking ahead at the time of redemption and he says, I see it and it's coming and I'm living in hope that indeed it will come. It's the same thing he had in mind in 2 Corinthians 5.4 when he says, we that are in this tabernacle do groan.

Why? Because we're burdened with our humanness and we would like to be not unclothed but clothed upon when mortality is swallowed up by life. Great truth. We look for that day. It's the same day that he had in mind in writing to the Philippians. When we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our lowly body, that it may be fashioned like his glorious body. That's a triumphant hope, isn't it? Meanwhile, verse 25, until then with my mind, I serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.

You know what he's saying? Until that day, the battle, what? Goes on and it goes on as long as we remain in the flesh and we continue to cry with Tennyson, oh, for a new man to arise within me and subdue the man that I am. So the battle isn't going to be over until Jesus gives us immortality and incorruption. Full deliverance awaits glorification.

That's the point. Let's bow in prayer. Dear Father, we thank you that you've led us into the heart of this beloved apostle and into the heart of the psalmist, for both of them have articulated the cries of our own hearts. We want to be so right. We want to be all that other people need. We want to minister the way we should.

We want to love the way you love. We want to be always dedicated and committed. We want always to speak the truth, always to have integrity, character. We want to have the purity and the gentleness and the meekness. We want to have the strength of character.

We want to always say the fitting word. We always want to bring strength to weakness. But, Lord, so often we just don't. We're indifferent to people. We're selfish, self-indulgent, critical, unfaithful to promises made.

We just fall short. And as we lament that power of indwelling sin, help us to know, Father, that even in such admission, we're saying more. We're saying that we know you're a holy God who has given us a just and holy and good law. And so even in our sensitivity to sin and even in the sense of sorrow that we have, there is a hope, for it speaks of one redeemed. It speaks of one moving along in spiritual growth, seeing sin for what it really is and the law of God for what it is. And it's even comforting, Father, to know that we hunger for those things that are holy, just and good, even though we don't always perform them. Thank you for that reverse effect that in our sorrow we find a measure of joy. Help us to have our hearts filled with hope for the coming of Jesus Christ and in the meantime to be delivered from defeat by the power of the Spirit in us.

Amen. That's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary, wrapping up a study here on grace to you that he calls, Why Do I Still Sin? Now, John, back to what you said about Paul's ability to obey God, how it doesn't match his desire to obey God. A few days ago you talked about the struggle with sin, and you said that until the glorification of our bodies, we are going to have a constant struggle with sin. It's a constant frustration for all of us this side of heaven.

So here's my question. Will the battle against sin ever get any easier? We will always battle sin.

That's always going to be an issue. The fact that we grow in grace, that we become more righteous, doesn't mean sin disappears. Nor does it mean that we treat sin any differently. We have to be vicious in the way we deal with sin. The language of Scripture is kill sin, kill sin. And there is an Old Testament illustration of this that's been very, very graphic in my thinking for many, many years.

You remember Saul in 1 Samuel 15 was not obedient to the Lord. He was told to kill the pagan king Agag. That's a very graphic illustration of what you need to do with your sin. If you allow your sin to live, it will continue to do greater and greater and greater damage. You need to attack it with a kind of viciousness that was symbolized in the slaughter of Agag.

Your sin has power to do great damage in your life, and you have to deal with it in a very, very aggressive way. And that wonderful story about Agag is now available to you in a booklet. We've titled it, fittingly, Hacking Agag to Pieces. And the story itself is riveting, but when it's applied to how you deal with sin in your life, this booklet can make a difference in your life.

Here's the good news. We'll send it free to anyone who requests a copy. Just ask for the booklet, Hacking Agag to Pieces.

That's right, friend. If you are frustrated by the day-to-day struggle with sin, you really need to read this booklet. It will equip you to deal with temptation that's sure to come. And again, we will send you a free copy. Just ask for it, Hacking Agag to Pieces. Our number here, 855grace, and our website, gty.org. John's booklet, Hacking Agag to Pieces, will show you how to live in the spirit, and the dangers of partial obedience, and how to tear sin out at its roots. Again, for your free copy of Hacking Agag to Pieces, call 800-55-GRACE or go to gty.org.

And when you finish reading, Hacking Agag to Pieces, let us know how it helped you in your battle with sin. We'd also love to know if you've been strengthened by John's teaching on the radio, or by an article that you've read on our website. And especially if the Lord has used this ministry to bring you or someone you know to faith in Christ, please email us at letters at gty.org. That's our email address. Once more, letters at gty.org. Or if you prefer regular mail, you can write to Grace to You, Box 4000, Panorama City, California 91412. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson, encouraging you to be here tomorrow when John looks at the marks of true salvation. He's starting a series titled Examine Yourself with another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time, on Grace to You.