The problem we face in the church today is self-denial of the radical character of sin. We don't hate sin the way we should hate it. We don't abhor. The disobedience that we Manifest. in our lives.
Paul looked at himself. Oh, what a wretch I am. When I look at my sin. The Apostle Paul did hate the remaining sin that he could see in his life, abhorring any disobedience.
So what was his response? What hope is there for a Christian battling the flesh? Welcome to this Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind, where each week we feature the preaching ministry of R.C. Sprawl. Over the past few weeks, you have heard Dr.
Sproul preach through Romans 7, and today he'll conclude that chapter and bring us the wonderful news of the opening words of chapter 8. Today's sermon will also conclude our time in Romans.
So that means that today is the final day to request R. C. Sproll's entire commentary on Romans when you give a donation at renewingyourmind.org. Make your gift before midnight tonight and we'll send you this popular hardcover volume. But be quick as this offer won't be repeated next Sunday.
So who will deliver Paul? Who will deliver us? from our bodies of death. Here's Ductus Brawl. For the good I will to do.
I do not do. But the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Now, if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it. But sin that dwells in me. 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. O wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me?
From this body. of death. 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. 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. What I really want to look at here in these last few verses of chapter 7.
Is this ongoing war? that the apostle describes between the spirit or the mind in this case and the flesh. Where he says, If I see another law in my members, warning against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity, the law of sin which is in my members, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then he concludes chapter 7 with these words: So then, with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, The law of sin.
Do you see that contrast there between the mind? and the flesh.
Well, in the last verse, he talks about the flesh. And just immediately before that, he said, who will deliver me from this body? of death. And so he speaks about body. And then in the next verse about...
Fly.
Now if we would look closely at the text, we will see that in the Greek there are two distinct words that are used there. One is translated by the English word Body. The second one by the English word Flesh. And the Greek there is the word soma that is translated by the word body. You've heard it in the English language when we hear about people who have psychosomatic illnesses.
That is, they have bodily diseases and bodily aches and pains that are prompted not by some organic infection or disease, but are prompted by. Mental Issues. And then we have the word sarks. In the last verse, That is translated by the English word. Flesh.
If you look at the Latin. You will see the different words are translated in the first instance by the word corporeal. or the Latin word from which we get the word corporeal. And then, secondly, flesh then is translated in the Latin Bible by a word that derives from the word carnal.
So you have corporal, carnal, soma. Sarks. Body Flesh. But this has caused no small amount of confusion, this distinction here that we find in the language between. Body and flesh.
And part of the confusion is linguistic. And the other part of the confusion is philosophical or theological. The term sarks is used again and again in the New Testament, particularly by the Apostle Paul, not to refer to our physical nature, but rather to describe our fallen nature. That the sarkical nature is that nature that is controlled by original sin. The sarks.
Describes the old man, the man who has no inclination towards the things of God, the man who is a slave to sin, who is dead in sin and trespasses. That condition of radical corruption is described by Paul with the use of this term sarks. And when he uses the term soma, he's almost always. describing the physical aspect. of our Humanity.
But here's the problem linguistically. Not every time that the word sarks is used in the New Testament does it refer to our fallen, corrupt nature.
Sometimes it does simply refer to our physical corporeal Firstly, Existence.
So therein lies the problem linguistically, because you can't just say every time the word sarx appears in the Bible, it refers to fallen sinful corruption, and every time the word soma refers to the physical. Because there are times when this is simply not the case.
Well, what's the theological? Problem here. The theological problem is the influence of ancient Hellenistic philosophy, as well as Oriental dualism, into early Christian thinking. We remember Plato. who saw the highest dimension of human experience being found in the mind.
And that he saw the flesh, the body. as the prison house of the soul. And it is the physical aspect of our humanity. that blocks the mind's ability to penetrate Ultimate Truth. And it is the mind or the soul that is eternal and free.
And in touch with Ultimate reality. But the obstruction to that vision of truth is found in the body. The body is something to be redeemed from. Which is quite different from the biblical view of the body, where we believe in the salvation of the body. The Greeks believed in salvation from the body.
But there grew up in Oriental mysticism this idea that anything that had to do with the physical aspect of our humanity was base. Imperfect. Again, Plato said, anything physical is at best an imperfect copy of the ultimate idea. And so the physical was seen as inherently imperfect. Or Evil.
Now that penetrated heavily. The early Christian fathers. who began to teach that the way to salvation was denial. of the body. Go into the desert, climb up on a flagpole or on a pillar like Simon Stylides, and Deny yourself all physical pleasure.
You don't eat, you don't drink, there's no sex, none of that thing. Anything that is involved with the body. Is inherently evil.
So the goal or the method of gaining sanctification is by. Subduing bodily appetites.
Now, beloved, we know that physical appetites can be the occasion for human sin. but not because the physical is inherently evil. It was God who made our bodies, and when he made them, he pronounced his benediction upon them and said, That's good. It was God who made Marriage? and the means of sexual procreation that also received his benediction.
But there arose in the early church and has persisted down through the century that the kingdom of God is in eating and drinking. And it has to do with physical appetites. Yeah. the misuse of physical appetites, indeed is an occasion for sin. But we Radically oversimplify things when we think that the struggle that Paul is talking about here in Romans 7 is a struggle between the mind.
And the body. Is that what it's about? It's between the Sarks. An enumer. It's between the old man.
And they knew me. Between A fallen, corrupt nature and the renewed inner person. that is created. by the supernatural intervention. of God.
the Holy Spirit.
Now one key linguistically that helps us over this hurdle. Is that almost any time that you see the apostle or anybody else in the New Testament? contrasting Spirit and flesh. or mind and flesh. Then the term sarks is used not to describe the physical body.
But the corrupt nature of the whole person. Because the corruption of sarks is not just. A sinful corruption of physical appetites. Sarx refers to the body, it refers to the soul, it refers to the spirit, it refers to the mind. All of the person who is unregenerate is in a state of flesh.
By nature, we have a mind of flesh, a soul of flesh. A spirit of flesh. But anytime you see Paul contrasting flesh with spirit or flesh with mind, Now he's talking about the distinction. between the old man the flesh, and the new man, the inner man, that has been made alive. By the Holy Ghost.
Well, let me just back up. He cries out, O wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me? From this body. of death.
And we have in the first place an exclamation That declares A condition of misery. Where Paul cries out in anguish after just relating to us this ongoing struggle, this death struggle with the weighty burden of sin pressing against the inclinations that he has. Toward obedience. In the midst of that struggle. He cries out.
Oh. Wretched. Mayon. that I am. What's wrong with this picture?
Paul is using the very language here in this text. That is as politically incorrect. as language can be in the contemporary church. In our contemporary church, we have become so narcissistic, so preoccupied. With self-esteem.
And self-worth, that the last thing we should ever do in preaching. is to engender feelings of guilt. or worthlessness among Our people. We are not. to discourage you.
From experiencing everything that God has made you to be. That's the mentality that we have in the church today. Yeah, we still like to sing. Amazing grace, don't we? Amazing grace.
How sweet the sound. Who saved such a creature of self-esteem? As I am. Huh? Who saved A wretch.
Like me. The Saints of the Old Testament. catching one glimpse of the radiant glory of God. The manifold Holiness of God. would cry out.
in the loathing of themselves, saying, I am a worm. And not a man. Woe is me. I am undone.
Now, there is a sense, ladies and gentlemen, in which we can so wallow in our guilt and be so preoccupied with our failure. That we almost Take delight in some form of masochism, of self-flagellation. But that's not the problem we face in the church today. The problem we face in the church today. is self-denial.
of the radical character of sin. We don't hate sin the way we should hate it. We don't abhor the disobedience that we Manifests in our lives. Paul looked at himself. Said, I'm a new man.
I delight in the law of God in my inward man. The sin that dwells in me, that's not who I am in the final analysis. Oh, what a wretch I am. When I look At my sin. And what he's expressing here is an apostolic state.
of misery. The Latin sheds some light on it. where the text in Latin speaks of being in a state of infelicity. A state without happiness. A state without blessedness.
That when I look at my sin, I see my wretchedness. I am threatened and overwhelmed by the power of this misery. I see nothing in which to put my delight. Who will deliver me from that? He asks.
But he doesn't leave us hanging. waiting for the answer. He knows. in whom he had believed. And he knew.
Who his deliverer was. O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. The answer is, who will deliver me?
God. How will he deliver me? Through Jesus Christ. our Lord. We have.
A redeemer. We have a deliverer. who promises to deliver us fully and finally From this body. Of death from this awful burden this substantive Yeah. that plagues us.
All our lives.
So then. He says with The mind I myself Serve the law of God. But with the flesh. with the ongoing power of the Sarks. I serve.
The law of sin. It concludes this section. After he's poured his heart out to his readers, Saying, if you think you have problems in walking the Christian life, if you think that there are inconsistencies in your pilgrimage. Look at me. I have them too.
You don't hear Paul writing to his people and saying, Well, from time to time I repent of my sins. Comma, if I have any. There's none of that triumphalism found in the pen. of the Apostle. He was keenly in touch.
with who he was, both who he was in and of himself and his fallen condition. But he was keenly in touch with who he was in Christ Jesus. who had rescued him from that principle that resides. In the flesh.
Now, I said we'd start chapter 8, and I'll just get a brief little start on it. Where we read again that magic word that I ask you to notice every time it occurs in the text, the word therefore that signifies a conclusion from what has come beforehand. And here it comes. There is therefore Now. There is therefore When There is therefore now.
No. Condemnation. Let me just stop there for a second. Therefore Does that mean just in light of the last few verses? I don't think so.
I think Paul. When he says the therefore now is referring to everything that he's laid out before them, to the whole doctrine of the grace of justification that preceded his charge to sanctification and the struggle that he recounts in chapter 7. I think the therefore calls attention to everything that he set forth to the Romans about the redemption that is ours in Jesus Christ, so that the conclusion of the matter. Of justification is that now. No condemnation.
I'm stopping in the middle of a sentence here. For just a second. There's no condemnation. It doesn't mean that now. God has promised never to judge the world.
It doesn't mean that there is no condemnation left in the justice of God. for a fallen humanity. No. But there is the end of condemnation. specifically and particularly to a designated group.
And let's look at that designated group. 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. If you're a Christian.
You have moved already. Beyond the The condemnation of God. Not only have you moved beyond the condemnation you deserve from God by the sins that you have stored up against the day of wrath. and that you have escaped that wrath which is surely to come. But there's no condemnation for what you're going to do tomorrow.
or the day after tomorrow. or the day after that. This is one of the most beautiful texts in all of scripture. for the assurance of salvation. The threat of condemnation is removed forever.
from you, if it is so. That you are in Christ Jesus. Is it thinkable? Beloved. After what God did to his son on the cross, where it pleased the Lord to bruise him.
When Christ became a curse, For his sheep on the cross, receiving the full measure of God's condemnation for the sin of those people. Can you imagine after that? After Christ pays the perfect price of satisfaction for the righteousness and justice of God. That six years later, He will visit more wrath upon his son. Or do you think now, in this day and age, that the father will say to the son, go back to Gethsemane, let's do it again?
I have another cup for you to drink. No. He drank the cup. of the condemnation of the Father. For his sheep.
Forever. There is no condemnation left. Any more? for his Son. And if you are in the Son, You were in the cleft of the rock.
You're in the shelter of the rock of ages. You're covered. You're hidden. You're safe.
Now And forevermore. Remember the story that John tells of the woman caught in adultery? dragged in her shame by the Pharisees to the feet of Jesus. and in the midst of her public humiliation, The Pharisees begin to test Jesus whether he will fully enforce the law of Moses that required the death penalty. You remember what our Lord did?
Knelt down in the sand and began to write. The only record that we ever have of Jesus writing anything. We know what he wrote. I can guess. Maybe you wrote in the sand embezzler.
and looked at one man, Who dropped a stone? and walked away. And then he wrote, Judy. and looked at another one of them and he dropped his stone. and walked away.
One by one. The accusers dropped their stones and walked away. Leaving Jesus alone. With this woman. You remember what he said to her?
Yeah, sure question. He looks around and he said, Yeah. Excuse me. Where Are those Who condemned you? Remember?
She looks around and All of those who had been part of this kangaroo court had disappeared. And she looks at Jesus, she said, No man, Lord. Remember, he said he was without sin cast the first stone. Was there anybody in that group who was out sin? Jesus was without sin.
He had every right to pick up the stone and execute her. But he didn't have a stone in his hand. And he looked at her and he gave her the most comforting words that that woman ever had heard in her life and ever would hear thereafter. Neither. Do I?
Condemn you. Go. And sin no more. How much would it mean to you if you heard Jesus speak those words to you? We'll look at you and say.
From this day forward. I will not condemn you. You never have to fear. Condemnation. from me.
The world may condemn you. Even the church might condemn you. But if you are in me, you're safe. For now. There is no condemnation.
for those who are in May. Only Paul. can take you from the wretched misery Of the ongoing struggle and failure with temptation and sin. to the glorious conclusion that despite the struggle. We've passed beyond the threat of death.
We've passed beyond the threat of judgment. And there is no condemnation left. for us. Because actually Even though we still stumble? Our lives are described as those people who walk according to the Spirit.
Not according to the flesh. We are not. enslaved by the flesh. anymore. Who will?
Rescue us. from this body of death. God. Through Jesus Christ our Amen. What good news that is And what a great way to conclude this series in Romans You've been listening to R.
C. Sprawl on this Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind? I'm your host, Nathan W. Bingham. If there's one book of the Bible I would like to know inside and out, it is the book of Romans, rich gospel theology.
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