16.  THE CHRISTIAN'S EXPERIENCE WITH SIN - Romans 7:13-25

 

Paul has shown by means of an autobiographical account just what happens when a sinner is exposed to the Law with spiritual understanding (7:1-12). All manner of self-righteousness is exposed as sham and awareness dawns on the sinner that salvation must come from some source other than himself.

The Christian is no longer in slavery to sin, yet sin has not left him completely - there still remains a principle of sin within the Christian. The Christian is engaged in a constant battle with this remaining sin principle and though he sins, he does not live in sin. The Christian wants to live for God, yet is often frustrated by falling into sin.

NOTE INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY QUESTION HERE: In what state (saved or unsaved) is Paul thinking of in Vv 13-25? How did you come to this conclusion?

 

In the remainder of this chapter Paul describes by means of his autobiographical account, the believer’s great struggle with sin. Note, from verse 14 on Paul speaks in the present tense, indicating that this struggle is current and ongoing in his life. This therefore is a picture of true Christian experience, of his continuing struggle with the remaining sin principle and his longing for glory where he will finally be free of it (cf Gal 5:16-26). But there is here in this passage another longing and that for God Himself who will enable him to rise up over the sin principle in victory.

Every Christian has this experience, an experience that can sometimes drive a Christian to despair, until he again looks at the Lord Jesus Christ with the eyes of faith, while drawing his ability to persevere from the Holy Spirit and not himself. For though He has already begun to live in the eternal kingdom, he has not yet left this present evil age entirely - he therefore lives in an in-between state. The Christian must wait for the full realisation of His redeemed life before he is completely free from sin, yet by the power of the Spirit he can gain present victory over the sin principle active in his life.

Other points to think upon in this connection is that in the experience of Paul recorded in Romans 7:14-25, Paul hates sin (7:15), wishes to do good (7:19,21), delights in the Law (7:22), expresses abhorrence of his sin ((7:15,18-24) and thanks God for his deliverance in Christ (7:25).

 

Please Read Romans 7:13-25

 

Verse 13: Paul asks the question, ‘was the Law, which is holy and just and good, the cause of death within me? Is it the Law itself that brings death?’ The answer is certainly not!

It is the transgression of the Law that causes death and not the Law itself. Sin uses that which is good in itself, and makes it the means of producing evil (7:8). Therefore the standard of the Law makes sin to stand out all the more clearly, pointing the sinner to his need of a deliverer. The Law gives no ability to perform what it requires, it only explains what obedience is.

Verse 14: Believer’s know that there is nothing wrong with the Law, for it is ‘holy and just and good (7:12),’ for it is that which comes from the Spirit of God as its Author (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:21), therefore it is ‘spiritual.’ It is in fact a reflection of what God is like, for its origin is God Himself.

Rather, it is the believer himself that is the problem, for he is carnal, the opposite of the Law. Being carnal does not mean in the flesh or the old man, in the sense of still being a slave of sin (6:16) and controlled by the sinful nature, but that he is not yet perfect (7:18,25; 1 Cor 3:1,3). It indicates that Paul still had an ongoing problem with remaining sin. When contrasted therefore with the Law and its Author, Paul is indeed carnal and does not measure up in himself to the Law or God.

Being ‘sold under sin,’ at first seems to indicate a person who is still unsaved. However, when seen in the context and light of Romans 7:22-25, this clearly does not mean a person still living in his sin (6:22), but one who hates sin and rejoices in Christ his Deliverer and Hope. This verse shows that the Christian (Paul) is in an ‘in-between’ state, as not living in the flesh and not yet in glory. He is saved but yet a sinner and is therefore still in conflict with sin.

The phrase indicates a believer who has come under the power of sin, despite his desperate struggle against it, yielding to the sin principle that remains within. As he strives against sin without an active reliance upon the Spirit of God to resist, he finds himself unable to say no to the remaining power of sin within.

Verse 15: Paul is writing here as a converted man who is struggling with sins that he has no interest or delight in. The better translation for ‘understand’ here is approve. With conscience condemning all sinful behaviour within the believer (2:15), the believer also refuses to approve or recognize such sinful behaviour and practices as right.  The believer in fact longs to fulfil the duties that belong to a bond slave of God, but finds himself unable to do so. Rather, that which he recognizes and hates as sin, is what he does. This the believer does not understand, for his desire is for God and His ways.

QUESTION: Are you able to relate to what the apostle is here describing? Give an example if possible.

 

It would be a useful exercise at this point to reflect on not one individual occasion, but any given day in your life at this point. Each day of your Christian life bears testimony to the believer’s frustration as expressed in this verse (Gal 5:17). ‘I have wanted to live for Christ, but again I find I have failed.’ In theory the Christian is able to say no to sin, but in practice self-reliance is often the catalyst for continued falling into sin.

Verse 16: Even though the Christian does what the Law forbids, it does not mean that the Law is evil, for the Christian does not approve of his ungodly behaviour (7:15). By condemning such practices, his conscience continues to approve that the Law is good, holy and just (7:12).

Verse 17: The best rendering of this verse is ‘now then’ - now then, because of what is said in verse 15, this now follows. Because the real inner me disapproves of the sin I do, it is no longer I who does it, but the remaining corruption within me. I find myself unable to resist the power of this force, for it makes me the unwilling slave of sin.

Verses 18-20: These verses actually present a re-statement of the previous verses, and therefore they are given to further explain and confirm the truth of them.

The basic thrust is that the believer (in this case Paul) is unable to perform the good, just and holy requirements of the Law. This is so because of the remaining corruption of sin that indwells him. The believer affirms the goodness of the Law, desiring to fulfill all that God commands him, yet finds that this is impossible of himself. The believer recognises that he is still a sinner, incapable of obedience in himself (Gen 18:27; Job 40:4; 42:6; Isaiah 6: 5; Dan 10:8).

To be sure the desire is most certainly there for obedience, but the desire alone cannot bring the necessary obedience.

Therefore it is no longer the real Christian who breaks the Law, but the remaining corruption of sin within the Christian. While the believer is still in this body, his nature remains corrupted by sin and apart from Divine ability there is no ability to perform the requirements of what God says. The believer has become the unwilling slave of sin when he does what he neither desires nor approves.

QUESTION: Explain the Continuing Presence of Sin Within You. Are There Two People In You? Explain.

 

Verses 21-23: These verses provide a summary statement of the preceding verses. The believer delights in the Law of God in the inner man, the one whom he really is by grace, but another principle also operates within him, opposing him at every turn, influencing him to sin so that he cannot do what he desires to do (Gal 5:17). This is the remains of the sinful nature. All his faculties are subject to this continual corrupting influence of sin, which brings him into unwanted and unwilling slavery whenever he relies upon himself and not the Spirit of God. Paul has discovered that within him, even after conversion, is the willing ally of Satan, the sin principle that remains.

The governing principle of the believer’s life, however, is the Law of God. The Christian orders his life according to the Word of God. When a Christian seeks to obey this governing principle of God’s Word, he finds the remaining sin principle rising up to oppose him and it in this way serves as an ally to Satan. It is here that the battle is lost or won.

QUESTION: How is the battle lost or won at this point?

 

Verse 24: The apostle cries out greatly distressed for he is unable to serve God as fully as he desires. It is the cry of one who has tried so hard and still failed. He is weighed down under the burden of his still polluted nature and longs for total deliverance from it (1 Cor 15:51,52). Paul was unable to produce the Christian life that he so longed to produce and so he cries out for help in the midst of his inability. He has strived to be what he should be and failed.

Paul is not saying that the body itself is death or evil here, but that the body in its present condition is still subject to sin and death, and therefore incapable of yielding the service required of a holy God.

QUESTION: When and Where Will Deliverance from Sin Occur (7:25)?

 

Verse 25: It is important to note once again that Paul acknowledges and thanks the Father as the Source of every blessing (Jn 3:16; Rom 8:32; 2 Cor 9:15). This deliverance longed for (7:24), comes through Christ (1 Cor 15:56,57; 2 Tim 4:8) and will be further explained in chapter 8.

Paul’s concluding summary (of 7:14-24) is that in this current ‘in-between’ state, he served the Law of God in so far as he acknowledged it to be good, delighted in it and strove to be conformed to it. Paul served the governing principle of sin in his members, that remaining indwelling corruption, in so far as he was still under its influence (7:15,16,19; 2 Cor 4:16; Eph 3:16; Col 3:9,10) and yielded to it. This is how things were for him when he sought obedience from within himself.

QUESTIONS: How Should a Christian Regard any Sin in His Life (7:13-25)?

 

How Does Sin Continue to Affect You?

 

INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY

How are we able toprevent indwelling sin from controlling the way we live?

 

What is it to be carnally minded (8:6)?

 

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23/07/2007

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