Archive for the 'Romans' Category

²⁵ 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.

²⁵ I thank God [for deliverance]—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Paul’s thanksgiving to God is for the positional victory already obtained (chapter six). He will elucidate this further in chapter eight.

Here the “who” of the previous verse is answered—“who will deliver me from the body of this death.” Since the believer died federally in Christ we enter into a state of deliverance through Christ. This is a life by faith in Christ’s work and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power. The way of victory in Christian living is to look outside self. We look to Him who resolved the sin issue (Ro 3-5) and gave us the indwelling Holy spirit for power (Ro 8). 

The operating assets that Jesus provides in Romans 6 gives the believer deliverance from the sin capacity (8:2). This verse is preparation for 8:1-4. What Christ did regarding the law shows the deliverance God affords him.

The phrase “through Jesus Christ our Lord” carries the idea of mediation. Jesus does something for us that neither the law nor self-effort could do.

So then,

Paul summarizes verses 13-24 with “so then.” There is an ongoing tension in the believer that struggles between serving the law of God and the sin capacity.

 [on the one hand] with the mind [rational thought] I myself [very emphatic] serve the law of God,

Paul portrays himself with two terms here: “the mind” and “the flesh.” The “mind” is his renewed person while the “flesh” is his sin capacity. His dilemma is that he serves two different laws. One law is the law of God and the other is the law of sin. Paul is caught in a tension between both.

The “mind” is the part of the soul that contains a compilation of principles from God’s Word. Without these principles we cannot apply them to experience.

The word “serve” is in the present tense. There are two laws already present in Paul’s life whereby he serves both God and sin. “Serve” applies to both the law of God and the law of sin. Paul presents these laws as active in his life. Both laws held tension in his life. He loves the Word but he is under the influence of the sin capacity. This tension is irreconcilable until the believer goes to heaven.

but [on the other hand] with the flesh the law of sin.

On the other hand Paul is still a slave to his sin capacity. The inward pull of the law of sin is the frustrating problem for Christians. Sanctification is an ongoing process. We never complete the struggle with sin as long as we live. The temptation to yield to the belief system to seek pleasure from this world system will always be there. The important thing is to know that the temptation will always be there and not to assume that there will be some point of complete victory over sin.

PRINCIPLE: Death to sin does not mean freedom from commission of sin.

APPLICATION: Both the “law of the mind” and “the law of sin” operate in their own sphere. Both seek to influence the soul of the believer every day. The Christian resolves the issue by applying principles of God’s Word to experience and dependence on the Holy Spirit (chapter 8). This is a daily issue.

It is painfully obvious that Christians do not have the resources in themselves to live the Christian life. This chapter has demonstrated that the sin capacity dwells in the believer and his will is powerless against it without Christ. Discovery of the powerlessness to live the Christian life by the self is at the heart of Christian living.

There is nothing blameless in self but there is something worthy in the Savior. This prepares us for chapter eight—God’s answer to the powerlessness of the believer to live the Christian life.

²³ 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.

²³ But I see another [of a different kind] law [principle] in my members,

There is a principle of a different kind than God’s law working in Paul, it is the sin capacity warring against God’s revelation. This law is a propensity to commit acts of sin by violating God’s truth. There is, therefore, a dualism in every Christian. The reality of two capacities warring against each other in the believer is something that we need to acknowledge and deal with. This conflict will be with us until we meet the Lord. We need discernment in this as a reality or we will live in constant defeat.

The law of which Paul speaks here is “in,” not “of” his person.

warring against the law of my mind [reflective intelligence],

The “law of my mind” was God’s law in Paul’s mind in contrast to the law of the sin capacity. The sin capacity mounts war against the new capacity in Christ. The new capacity is “the law of my mind” because it has the ability to perceptively apply God’s Word to experience. It has the ability to make biblical judgments.

The word “mind” indicates that Paul’s war is in his rational being. The “mind” contains God’s Word just mentioned in verse twenty-two. The sin capacity goes to war with biblical thinking. If we begin to operate our Christian life without the principles of the Word we will fall into aberrance spiritually.

Whenever the sin capacity holds us in captivity against proper biblical thought the believers enters into a prison that enslaves the believer to a pattern of sinning. The sin capacity then takes the carnal Christian as a prisoner-of-war. For this to happen, the believer must allow false thinking to enter his mind over a period of time. The believer then develops a frame of reference that is opposed to God and His revelation. This holds the Christian at gun point.

and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

“Captivity” is the defeat of spiritual war in the previous phrase. It is possible that Christians can be taken prisoners in the spiritual war of the sin capacity against them. They did not escape the captivity of the perverse function of the sin capacity against God’s Word. Although this is not a final captivity, it is a captivity for the moment in Christian experience nevertheless. The sin capacity cannot permanently incarcerate the believer. The war between two laws brings believers into capacity to one of the laws.

PRINCIPLE: The sin capacity can take Christians spiritual prisoners by taking love for the Word from them.

APPLICATION: There is a war against our desire to obey the law of God. The sin capacity seeks to subjugate biblical thinking to itself. When this happens there is a shutdown of the soul in relation to God.

There is a raging battle between whether we let God’s Word dominate our thinking or whether we allow the sin capacity to influence us. Do you see the importance of studying to show yourself approved unto God in this? In order to do build approval to God we have to rightly divide the Word of truth.

2 Ti 2: ¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

¹⁸ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. ¹⁹ For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. ²⁰ Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Verses 18-20 reiterates the previous argument but with the purpose to specify the problem of the sin capacity as a pervasive one. Not only is the sin capacity at home in the soul but it pervades every room in the house.

¹⁸ For

Verse 18 builds on the conclusion of verse 17. The “I” cannot keep God’s standards so the “I” is held captive to indwelling sin.

I know that in me (that is, in my flesh)

The phrase “in me” means in Paul’s sin capacity. “Flesh” here is not physical flesh but sinful capacity; the old Adam still lives in the Christian.

nothing good dwells;

No good dwells in the believer’s sin capacity and it is unable in itself to live a spiritual life. There is nothing essentially good in the sin capacity; it is totally corrupt. “Nothing” means absolutely nothing. There is no improving it or changing it; it stands incorrigible. That is why trying to improve the sin capacity by self-effort is hopeless. So long as we revert to allowing the sin capacity to control our lives nothing good dwells in us.

for to will [constant desire] is present with me,

The desire to practice the will of God was an ongoing choice in Paul from his new life in Christ.

but how to perform [carry to an effect] what is good I do not find.

Paul has difficulty in executing the law in his life even though there was a volition in him to live the Christian life. He has a problem with how to apply this problem to his life.

¹⁹ For

Verse 19 reiterates 18b in another way.

the good that I will to do, I do not do;

The believer does not practice the good from his volitional desire.

but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

There is a distinction between the two “I”s here. The one “I” wants to follow God’s will and the other does not do the will of God. Paul wills to do good but does not do it while, on the other hand, he does not will to do evil but in fact does it.

²⁰ Now

Verse 20 is a conclusion from verses 18-19.

if [and it is true] I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Since the “I” does what it does not desire to do, it is not the “I” doing evil but the sin capacity that does it. Paul is not a careless sinner but he stands in opposition to his sin. The issue here is not that the individual is free from guilt but that the sin capacity takes the “I” captive. The sin capacity makes itself at home (“dwells”) in the life of Paul.

PRINCIPLE: If the believer reverts to allow the sin capacity to control his life, failure is on the horizon.

APPLICATION: The sin capacity is so pervasive that if the believer rests on his own resources he will fail to live the Christian life. It is impossible to train or improve the old man. Operation bootstraps will not resolve spiritual defeat because of the overwhelming power of the sin capacity.

The person of the Christian is powerless if he yields to the sin capacity. Trying to obey the law to counteract the sin capacity will fail. It is sin that allows the flesh to gain control. The battle between the person and allowing the sin capacity to take control rages on. This can bring a sense of futility to some Christians yet Paul will give an answer to this in chapter eight. Life in the Spirit will give the power to overcome the sin capacity.

We never fail more than when we think we can live the Christian life in our own power. There is no power in a decision itself but in the content of the decision. No man is so spiritual that he is beyond defeat.

¹⁶ If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

¹⁶ If [and it is true], then, I do what I will not to do [do not want to do],

There is an import to the struggle between the old Adam in us and the newness of life in Christ. If the “I” does not do what it wants, then it agrees that the law of God is good. There is a tragic irony in that we can agree with God’s standards but at the same time violate them.

The “if” states a fact in the Greek. It is a fact that Paul does not want to do what he does. There is something in him that does not want to do battle with the law. Paul violated his best intentions.

I agree [concur] with the law that it is good [noble, excellent].

The law moved Paul’s conscience in agreeing that sin is sinful. He concurs with the standards of the law completely and approves that the law is right in judging what he did. If the law were not good then he would have no conviction about his sin. His highest intention was to agree with the law that it is good. The idea that Paul does what he does not want to do shows that he does not fundamentally oppose the law. He views the law as “noble,” as something essentially good.

PRINCIPLE: The Christian must be faithful to God’s Word no matter how much he may be tempted to justify his actions.

APPLICATION: Christians must acknowledge sin to be their own and not rationalize them. If we are not honest with ourselves we cannot be honest with God. To cast blame on God’s Word to justify sinful actions is a strategic mistake in Christian living. Ownership of guilt is basic to dealing with the sin issue. If we modify the nature of sin we can justify our aberrance with God. That is to operate on an experience-oriented basis of fellowship with God. However, true spirituality rests on revelation, not experience. We need to say the same thing as God says about our sin. We need to confess sin as the first step in spirituality.

1 Jn 1: ⁹ If we confess [acknowledge] our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The point of 1 John 1:9 is that God has released the believer from condemnation, or previously forgiven him. This forgiveness means that we do not pay for our guilt but that Jesus paid for it. That is why God is faithful to forgive us.

¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Beginning with verse 14 and moving through 25 Paul makes the transition from the role of the law to the struggle of personal sanctification. Every Christian faces their ongoing conflict with the indwelling sin issue although they have new life in Christ.

The change to the present tense through verses 14-25 in the Greek demonstrates clearly the struggle Paul faces as a existing reality in his life.

¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual [divine],

The law is “spiritual” because it comes from God who is a “spirit.” Whatever comes from God must relate to that spirit—His attributes and character. The law originates from the Holy Spirit and reveals how eternally and absolutely holy God is. That is a divine standard to which no man can measure up.

but I [Paul the person] am [present tense] carnal [fleshy, make of flesh],

In antithesis to “spiritual” Paul was “carnal.” When the Bible speaks of the unregenerate man, it calls him “soulish;” he is simply body, mind, emotions, and will. That is man as in the old Adam, that which is subject to sin and death. This is an inheritance that we receive from the epoch of Adam. However, when the Word speaks of the believer’s Adamic nature, it refers to him as “carnal” (sarkinos) or fleshly. “Fleshly” is not the physical body but the fallen aspect of Adam that remains with the believer after becoming a Christian or his sin capacity. This is when the believer lives as a non-Christian.

There is a sense that the individual Christian belongs to both the epoch of Adam and the epoch of Christ. The epoch of Adam is represented as the sin capacity and the epoch of Christ is represented as newness of life.

Carnality here is someone under the control of their corrupt sin capacity. The carnal or fleshly man is dominated by the old capacity from Adam. This is not our physical flesh but the nature of fallen Adam or sin capacity. Paul is describing his condition after becoming a Christian. It is important for the believer to recognize the reality of this condition. The strongest Christian on earth is not free from the influence of their sin capacity.

sold [trafficked] under sin.

The tense of the word “sold” indicates the idea of “had been sold and remains in the state of being sold” under sin (perfect tense). This condition of influence by the sin capacity was still in effect in Paul’s life. The “I” or person can be taken into captivity either by indwelling sin or by Christ. The old Adam still resides in the believer; everything about indwelling sin in the believer seeks to control the Christian.

The word “sold” means trafficked. This metaphor was taken from trafficking in slavery so common in the first century. Captives in war were usually sold as slaves. Paul has a carnal dimension called the sin capacity which enslaves him to acts of sin.

PRINCIPLE: There is a duality in every Christian that triggers spiritual struggle.

APPLICATION: Before the fall Adam was body, soul, and spirit. He had a body, had a spirit, but was a soul. After the fall his “spirit” died and only the “soul” remained. That is why 1 Corinthians 2:14 calls the non-Christian “soulish.”

1 Co 2: ¹⁴ But the natural [soulish] man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The non-Christian is pure soul without the capacity to relate to God. He is unspiritual. When a person becomes “born again” he or she receives a capacity to relate to God (Jn 3:6; 2 Pe 1:4). There is a clear difference between the regenerate and the unregenerate persons. The result of new capacity in Christ is that the Christian can fellowship with God.

Now the believer has two capacities which war against each other. Carnality is a condition after a person is born again but out of fellowship with God.

Ga 5: ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

The true believer deplores both the sin capacity and the practice of sin. Even with this, the Christian holds in tension what he has positionally and what he is practically. Failure to lean on the Spirit for resource in our spiritual lives will put us back in the cycle of inviting defeat spiritually.