Slaves Serve Their Master

Transcript

GR 2228
02/02/2020
Slaves Serve Their Master
Romans 7:20-25
Gil Rugh

We’re in Romans 7 in your bibles, in a very key section of Romans. Probably most commentators would say that this is the most challenging section of the book of Romans. Doesn’t mean there aren’t other doctrines. We get to the doctrine of election a little later, as a challenging doctrine. But as far as working through the details, Romans 7 presents a challenge. As Paul has moved through, he has explained our problem, which is sin, putting us under condemnation. God’s solution, the providing of Christ, so that through His death and resurrection, justification could be provided. The righteousness of God could be credited to us, because the penalty for our sin is accounted as paid when we place our faith in Christ. His death is credited to our accounts.

Then, we talk about the doctrine of sanctification. The Mosaic Law has come up through this. We saw it when we talked about condemnation. In chapter 2, Paul addressed the issue of the Jews and the Mosaic Law. It is an issue. He’s addressing it more fully here as he talks about our death with Christ in Chapter 6. And our identification, we died with Him, we’re buried with Him, we’re raised to newness of life. Our death provides freedom from slavery to sin. We talked about it this morning, and we talked about it in previous studies here, the issue of a Lord and a Master. There are two Lords, two masters. There’re two realms of slavery that we all live in. We were in Romans 6 a little bit this morning, and we’ve been in that in our studies up to this. It’s our death with Christ which frees us from slavery to sin. In Romans 6:6, we have been identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. The end of verse 6, “…that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” And when we were set free, it was not to pursue our own desires, but we were set free from the slavery to sin, so we could be enslaved to God and His righteousness. So, verse 18, “…and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Down in verse 22, “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God...”

I can’t stress this enough, there are only two realms in which you live. Both are realms of slavery. One is a slavery to sin, the other is a slavery to righteousness. There are no other options. There are no other categories, if we could put it that way. Everyone on the face of the earth is either a slave to sin, or they are a slave to God and His righteousness. And the only way to move from slavery to sin, to a slavery to righteousness and to God, is through faith in Christ. Because the only way to get free from your sin, and its mastery over you, is to die. Because “…the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. That realm of slavery is called freedom in John 8. Jesus talked about the religious leaders of His day that were slaves of sin and the devil. But He came to set us free. For we were created for a relationship with the Living God, our Creator. So, true freedom is the ability to function in the relationship for which you were created. And we were created for that relationship with God, as Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden before their sin. Then that relationship was broken and necessitated a sacrifice.

So, when we came to chapter 7, Paul’s been talking about relationship to the Law, because the Jews kept bringing this back in. The Law is necessary for our salvation or our sanctification. In other words, the Jews thought the Gentiles should now that they’ve believed in Christ, complete God’s work by committing themselves to the Law. We talked a little bit about that this morning. The first 6 verses really answer that. We not only died with Christ to sin, when we died with Christ, we died to the Law. Now that means all relationship to the Mosaic Law was over. Gentiles never were under the Mosaic Law, but the Jews were. And some of those, we saw this morning, the Judaizers who claimed faith in Christ, thought the Gentiles now had to come under the Law. They had to realize that the Law served its purpose. As Galatians said, it was just a function as an overseer, a guide to keep Israel on the tract to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. With the coming of the Messiah, the Law has fulfilled its purpose and it never was a way of salvation for the Jews. Paul had elaborated on that as well. So, what he’s explaining here, is how we are related to the Law or not related. Well, if we died to it, any responsibility to it is over. We not only died to the Law, now we were attached to another, married to another in the analogy he used, to Christ. The former relationship was ended by death. That becomes important, because when we get to the last part of the chapter, we don’t want to forget the first part. Paul can’t be a believer trying to live under the Law. He’s made clear that we don’t live under the Law. Paul could use himself as an example, and he does. I was a Jew, living under the Law, obligated to the Law. But I couldn’t keep it. But in Christ, that issue has been dealt with. All requirements have been met, because I have the righteousness of God credited to me by faith. That was the only way to ever be saved anyway, by faith in God’s provision.

Abraham was used as the example of that earlier in Romans. The key here, when you come down to verses 5 & 6, of Romans 7, is, “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.” In the flesh, in our unredeemed state, having not believed in Christ, having not been set free, we were under the control and domination of sin. And that meant, when God set forth a standard of righteousness, all that did was stir up the sin that controlled us, to move us to do what God said don’t do. And that still is true today and we see it. It’s inbred. Children start to grow up and there is a tendency, you tell them not to do something, and they begin to test you. That’s the point here, you died to the Law. That obligation is over. Verse 4, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead…” In chapter 6 we saw that we were raised to new life with Him, so now we bear fruit for God. We’re no longer in the flesh. When you get down to chapter 8, you’ll see in verse 8, “…and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit…” We’re in a new realm, we have a new life. We have a new relationship, Paul is saying. When I say we, he’s talking as a Jew and the background he had. Now what he does in chapter 7:6, he says, “…we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”

Now he’s going to talk about that release from the Law. In verse 7, as we saw, down through the end of the chapter, he’s elaborating that. Now, the end of verse 6, “…we serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” He’s going to explain that in chapter 8. So, if we keep all of this together, it should flow for us. Down in verse 14, “…the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.” I said I don’t think that describes Paul. The issue here is, we talked about, is Paul writing as a believer or as an unbelieving Jew, identifying with the unbelieving Jews? Talking about what it’s like to be in that condition, a condition in which he was in. He uses that present tense as we mentioned as he sometimes would do. I am a sinner, I am under condemnation, I’m on my way to eternal hell. Well, I’m talking about that in the present tense, although it’s not the present reality for me. I follow that up by, I’ve trusted Christ and now I have been made new. That’s what Paul is doing here. It identifies him with the Jews. This is crucial, think of how much of Romans deals with Jewish issues in a Gentile church. Because that’s how the devil was working to try to corrupt the church from within. As Paul said in Acts 15, these false brethren have snuck in to spy out our liberty in Christ. He doesn’t say that they are genuine, so we don’t want to get confused. When he says, “…the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold in bondage to sin…” Sold under sin, which would be a way of expressing, under the control of sin. But we saw in chapter 6, that’s not true of a believer. The mastery of sin over us has been broken. It no longer has control of us. That’s why I think it’s important that we not get confused here.

Paul is talking about, as a Jew striving to keep the Law. Some go back to the opening chapters of Romans and try to say, well see, people never did try to be righteous. But later, we looked at passages where Paul says, I bare the testimony on the Jews behalf, they have a zeal for God, not according to knowledge. We’ve talked about religious people and so on. Paul is a Pharisee, he tried his hardest, his best to keep the Law, but he couldn’t. The problem was, down in Romans 7:17, “So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” That doesn’t mean Paul didn’t have responsibility. But remember there are only two masters, sin and righteousness. There is not a third here. Even Paul’s will is controlled by his master, which is sin. The sinner thinks he’s free. Thinks when you present Christ, well, I don’t want to lose my freedom. He doesn’t understand, he is enslaved to sin. Jesus said, he that sins, is the slave of sin. It masters you. You are of your father the devil. You do his will. Oh no, I make my choices. No, you just think you do. You make responsible choices, but you are under the control of the master, sin and the devil. Just as righteousness and God go together in the other realm of slavery. So, in a sense, I’m not the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. My master rules me and even controls my decisions, is the picture he’s drawn. Verse 18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh...” All I could do is desire it, but I can’t do it. That was Paul’s condition as an unsaved Jewish Pharisee. It was true of the other Jews who prided themselves in the Law and thought that they were doing the best that could be done to keep the Law. But there’s no good in them, their heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. It’s a heart filled with sin that bubbles and flows out. Why? It controls the person.

Verse 19, “For the good that I want, I do not do...” People say, well, that has to be a believer. No, it doesn’t! It’s why Roman Catholics have confession. I use them as an example. That’s why the Jews had sacrifices of various kinds, for various situations. Various sins are covered in various ways. They want to do good, but they realize they don’t. So, I offer the sacrifice that the Law required. Verse 19, “…but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” Again, he’s not removing responsibility for the person. But remember there are only two masters. We end up creating a third category out here, just my own will. I have a will, but understand, I’m not free. I live in one realm or the other under one authority or the other. Christians seem to forget this. Since I’m responsible for my decisions, I think I have a freedom that’s not there. The unbeliever has no freedom. Until the Son sets you free, you’re not free. That’s the only way to get free from the total, complete, absolute mastery of sin. There’s no other way.

There is no such thing as a free, unredeemed person. Now, there is accountability for that person, but he serves his master. Want to be careful, if this isn’t true, the scripture begins to unravel. What Jesus was saying wasn’t true. These Jewish Pharisees, He said, you are of your father the devil, you do his will. Oh, no we have Abraham as our father, we’re not enslaved. You just think you’re not. So, that’s what he’s talking about here. Verse 20, “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” My master is controlling me. Paul knew that sense of frustration because what? He had to bring the sacrifice. Why? Because he did sin. He was acknowledging, I’m guilty again. That’s a constant reminder. I don’t get into politics in the pulpit, but one of the political leaders was accused of hating an opponent, and the response of that person was, ‘I’m Catholic, I don’t hate people.” I thought, if you’re catholic, are you saying you don’t sin? Why do Catholics go to confession? Why are they required to go to confession? Why does even the Pope have someone he confesses to? People go in these circles that make no sense. One side says, this is my religion, I wouldn’t hate someone. Oh, you don’t sin? Why do you have to go to confession? I guess it’s you and the virgin Mary. No! This is the position of the Jews, they’re stuck. Paul knew he sinned. What are all the sacrifices for? Why are there specific sacrifices for sins here? Sin dwells in me, I’m not in control. That’s the point he makes. As a Jewish Pharisee, he wanted to be perfect. Of course, his pride drove him in that as well. They end up being proud of what they didn’t do.

Now we’re ready to wrap this up with verse 21, “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good.” So, what does that mean? Well, up to this point, what? I want to do good, but evil is present in me. Note he said at the end of verse 20, “…sin which dwells in me”, is the one doing it. I find this principle, this Law, not just the Mosaic Law here and now, but that which is controlling me, ruling me. “…evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.” It’s the principle here, he’s contrasting the desire and the doing. Remember, Paul has already dealt with this back in Romans 2. It’s not the person who has the Law, that would be righteous, but the person who would keep the Law. But built into the Mosaic Law is what? The very fact that people won’t keep it. And so, you need to bring the sacrifice. You need to have the Priest to represent you, stand between you and God. And so on. It’s the fact. So, what he’s doing is, showing as a Jew, where I was. The reality of this is still with me, although it’s changed. “…evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

Verse 22, “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man…” Now again, some people say that only a Christian would joyfully concur with the Law in the inside. That’s just not true. Want to be careful that we take the fullness of scripture. We looked in Philippians 3 for example, where Paul said as a Jewish Pharisee, I strove to keep the Law, I was blameless. He doesn’t mean by that, that he was sinless. But I did as good as could be expected and could be done, under the law. I did it. He offered the prescribed sacrifices according to the Law, so that he could meet the requirements. Problem is, he couldn’t meet them, and the Law couldn’t take it, because he had sinned. The penalty for sin is death and the blood of bulls and goats couldn’t take away sin. This is where the Jews missed the connection. And that’s why Paul spent so much time talking about Abraham back in chapter 4, as the example that you could only be saved by faith.

The Law never was given as a way of salvation or satisfying the requirements of a holy and righteous God. That was a provision, the sacrifices there, was to remind Israel constantly that the wages of your sin is death. It was not until John the Baptist could say, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of sin of the world and introduced Christ to the nation. Here is the sacrifice that we need and can solve the problem. So, yes, “…I joyfully concur with the Law of God….” The Jews give their life for the Law. I agree, this is God’s Law. They prided themselves in that. I concur, he’s reflecting his desire. He’s an unbelieving Jew, but in his heart, yes, this is God’s word. He didn’t deny that. I think it’s telling us what God wants us to do. That’s why they wouldn’t even eat with the Gentiles. It even carried over into the starting of the church. The Apostles had to learn some of this reality, that the Law is done. Why did you go eat with a Gentile in a Gentile place? What are you thinking, Peter? Remember Acts 11, after he went to the Gentiles house, Cornelius in Acts 10? The Jews concur, it’s a Law of God; they agreed with it. “…but I see a different Law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.”

Let me read you a quote from Acts 22:3, where Paul said he had a zeal for God. Here in Acts 22, he’s presenting his case to the Jews. “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.” Paul could identify with these unbelieving Jews he is addressing. And he credits them with a zeal for God, as he will again. As we move a little later in Romans he says, that was me. That’s the picture here. But now he sees the conflict, the law here. Romans 7:23, “…but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.” Wait a minute, don’t think we want to go back as a prisoner of the law of sin. We’ve been set free in Christ. We need to be careful that we keep our categories clean, clear, clear cut. Rule of sin in the life, the rule of righteousness in the life. The rule of the Devil, the rule of God. Those are the two realms. “…I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin...” In other words, something is going on in my mind as an unbelieving Jew. I’m committed to do the right thing, to keep the law. There’s some other thing going on, it’s taking over and overruling my desire to perfectly keep the law. Now, this is the unbelieving state, because the believer can’t keep the law and isn’t called to keep the law. When we died with Christ, we died to the law. How could this be Paul’s testimony? That he’s a prisoner of the law of sin, because he can’t keep the law? We died to the law. We have to go back to the opening verses. That’s why we spend so much time reviewing, because I think some of the commentaries I read, they seem to forget that. We died to the law Paul says, we Jews. And the Gentiles never were under it. But when Paul became a believer, he died to the law.

In chapter 6, he died to sin. Now, how can you be made a prisoner of sin when you’ve been set free from sin? It’s in my members. I’ll use an example and talk about that if we have time a little later, or next time. This is “a different law” in verse 23. He concurs “with the law of God” in verse 22, but now “…I see a different law”, using this controlling. The Mosaic Law controlled the life of a Jew, but he couldn’t keep it, so he availed himself of God’s provision, for failing to keep it. But there was an indication he was a sinner and he wasn’t doing what the law required. Now, I have a different law “…waging war against the law of my mind...” I wanted to keep the law of God. But there’s something else controlling me, that overrules my desire. Which is what? Sin! That’s why we need to come back to these two masters. There’s one master that wins in the unbeliever’s life. You see the control of sin in some things, like alcohol and drugs, that manifests itself in a visible way and the slavery that comes out of that. Well, that does reveal what sin is like. It is a total controlling master.

Remember, Jesus told the Jews, who prided themselves, we are the descendants of Abraham. We’re the ones who have the Law. You do the will of your father, the Devil. That’s the ruling master, sin and Satan, for the unbeliever. So, in this physical body, which Paul was in, he’s still in it. But here he’s talking about this law in the members of my body, is waging war. The control of me, here’s what I want to do, I want to keep the Law perfectly as a good Jew. But the reality is, there’s some other master in me that overrules even the good intentions of my mind to keep the Law. It’s the law of sin and I become a prisoner. Well, the only way to get free of this is what? To be set free in Christ when you die. There’s a war going on in the unbeliever’s life, that’s why they are all religious. That’s why that one political leader would say, I’m a catholic. Which means what? Well, I don’t sin. At least I don’t do bad sins. I would not hate anyone. Well, you must do some sins, because you go to confession. Don’t you? Well, of course, but I don’t do the bad sins. Which are anyone, you are accrediting me now? That’s the way people are. If you go to confession as a Catholic, you’re good to go. Do this, hail Mary’s. Do this, and this, and you’ll be good. Protestants have their own way. And then people think, well, I’m not bad enough to go to hell. I’m not a perfect person, but I’m not that bad a person. All these things, and we’ve got multitude of religions in the world, and all for what? What do these religions do? Somehow, to bring us into a relationship with God. And they have some way of making it right. Even the secularists and the atheists. I saw that in Romans 1. They wanted to deny God, but they worshiped the creation, themselves, and their own ideas. And I don’t need anything else.

This is what Paul is talking about in verse 23, “…making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.” It’s sin which dwells in me, verse 17, “So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” Verse 18, “…nothing good dwells in me…” All I can have is good intentions. But I’m not able to do it. Verse 20, the end of the verse, “…sin which dwells in me.” It’s what’s doing it. So, you have this, I was controlled as an unbelieving Jew, I’m controlled by my sin. It’s sin doing it, it’s sin doing it! The law, verse 21, “…the principle that evil is present in me.” The desire, but the doing of it can’t be, this war going on within. I think we ought to be careful, some of the commentators say, this has to be a believer, because unbelievers never have a desire to please God. Well, there’s an element of truth in that. Because it never comes from that attitude of submission to God, bowing before Him, acknowledging our guilt. And even in the best of actions, from a human perspective, don’t come out of a desire to honor God and manifest His righteousness in what I’m doing. We can have wealthy people who give large sums of money to help the poor. But God says they aren’t doing something good, because it doesn’t come from a heart that has recognized Me, bowed before Me, and acting out of obedience to Me, to bring honor to Me. Sin corrupts everything, even the philanthropic works which supposedly manifest our love for man. Come to verse 24. This wraps up what he’s saying. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” That can’t be the cry of a believer. Because according to chapter 6, the believer has been set free. Set free from slavery to sin and has become a slave of righteousness and of God.

We have to keep in mind what just went before. Verse 22 of Romans 6, “…having been freed from sin and enslaved to God…” Verse 18 of Chapter 6, “…having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Can Paul, as a believer, be talking about this constant, losing battle with sin, as he strives to keep the law, which he died to, when he died with Christ, as a Jew, wretched man that I am? Well, how does Romans 6 fit into this then? And in the first part of Romans 7, where we died to the Law when we died to sin with Christ, it can’t be that I’m a wretched man. “Who will set me free from the body of this death?” You’ve already been set free! Now some try to make a distinction, well, we have this physical body and it’s still not free. You need to talk about that. We want to be careful, and I use some examples for you, but we can’t create a new center for sin. Sin is the old man in me. If you want to call it the old man, the old nature. It was called, back in chapter 6, our old man. Verse 6, “knowing this, that our old self…” You see in the margin, it’s anthropos, the old man. “…our old man was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin...”


That’s where this power was broken. You want to know who set me free from this body of death, this death of this body? The wages of sin is death. We’re set free! If we’re not careful, it seems like I’m going in a circle here. Some of the writers keep telling me, well, the answer to this is in Chapter 7 and verse this, go back to chapter 6 and verse this, and I go back there. But what they’re saying now in chapter 7 is not in agreement with chapter 6. Now when I get to chapter 6, they tell me to look ahead in chapter 7, and the reality of it is, you never answer it! “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” What’s the next statement? “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” There’s my answer! He can’t even wait. The answer is Christ! Of course, that’s what we have. You have to die. That frees you from the mastery of sin. It’s no longer your master. When you die with Christ, as a Jew, you were set free from any obligation to the law, which could never save you anyway. The question comes, then why does he say, Romans 7:25, “So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” Really, he blurts out this statement, when he says, “Wretched man that I am, who will set me free from the body of this death?” I can’t wait, I have to say it, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

If you don’t understand that, go back and read the provision of Christ, beginning in chapter 3:20. He’s the propitiation for our sins. And then chapter 6, how when we believe in Christ, we’re identified with Him in His death. It sets me free! Wonderful! Before I go on and talk about that glorious freedom we have, let me wrap this up again. Verse 25, “So then,” it’s like an explanation of the wonder of it, that I am set free in Christ. But let me wrap up what I’m saying about life as a Jew, “…on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving…” That word, serving, I am serving, Greek word douleuo. Now it’s just one of the forms of the word doulos, it’s the word for a slave. “…with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” This word “serving” or acting like a slave, well, that’s not as a believer. You’re set free. You’re not serving the law of sin. We’re set free from that slavery. “…with my mind am serving the law of God…” I’m acting as a salve to the law of God. That was his desire as a Jew, to keep the law. That was the pride of the Jews. They were meticulous, they expanded the law to add all their details, so that they could protect you from breaking the law. By adding all these steps and all these other things that would stop you, before you got to the point of breaking the law. Jesus said, all you’re doing is adding burdens on people. You couldn’t keep the law as it was, and then you add all these things on top of it. So, on the one hand, my mind. You have this dichotomy. He could say, I am going to keep the law, as Paul did. He has his zeal for God in that sense as an unbelieving Jew. You could say, yeah, my mind, my desire, yeah, but I’m serving as a slave, the law of sin.

That was the conflict. “Wretched man that I am!” verse 24, “…Who will set me free from this body of death?” Verse 25 just gives you the answer that you almost can’t wait to give. Paul says, I can’t wait! I’ve got to give thanks to God, it’s through Jesus Christ! That’s what he said, you died with Him, you die with Him. And understand, when you die with Him, you’re not only free from slavery to sin, you’re free from all connection and obligation to the law. That only applies to Jews. The Gentiles, these Romans, they didn’t come out of a Jewish background. They come out of the Polytheism of the Roman Patheon of Gods. And since Paul had died when he believed, to the law, why would he be striving to keep the law? Why, in his mind, would he be working on keeping the law of God? Paul is the one who explains to us, you died to the law. It’s like a marriage, you died to that spouse, you’ve been married to another, Christ.

That’s where he’s going to come in chapter 8. That’s why I say we have, back in verse 6, of chapter 7, “…we have been released from the Law, having died to that which we were bound…” Verse 7, from there, he talks about the rest of chapter 7, the Jews’ relationship to the Law. His relationship to it. Now, in the last part of verse 6, he’ll talk about, “…that we serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” And he just gave us a little glimpse. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Then why would he be struggling to keep the law? You’ve been set free from the law in Christ. So, chapter 8, is talking now about our new law in Christ. So, that’s why we said, verses 7 through 25 in chapter 7, are something of a digression, as Paul wants to explain the issue of the Mosaic Law. The law is not sin. The law is spiritual, there’s no problem with the law. The law is me. I am enslaved to sin. If we keep those categories clear, it helps put this in perspective.

Let me bring you over to Galatians. There were some questions on Galatians and there is some parallel here. In Galatians, Paul is writing about the Law. This was the current issue, as I had mentioned this morning. These Jews who claim to believe in Christ, were just agents of the devil to infiltrate the church and bring confusion and try to lead believers away from that clarity and loyalty to Christ. So, in chapter 3 of Galatians, verse 19, “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions. . .until the seed would come…” And it says the same thing in verse 22, “But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” And all the law did, was to keep under custody. Verse 24, “Therefore the Law has become our tutor...” that overseer to Christ. And some, as reformed people say, that’s why you preach the Law. But verse 19 makes clear, the preposition “until” is there. It was “…until the seed would come…” Now that Christ has, that the Law was our tutor, until Christ came, as he says in verse 24. That’s the Law.

Now come over to chapter 5, verse 1. He starts out, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free…do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” That’s going back under the Law, that’s the context. Same argument, this is the issue of slavery. You were set free from the slavery to the Law. And if you go back under the Law, you cut yourself off from Christ as the means of salvation. You can’t mix this. You’re simply indicating you’ve never really trusted Christ. That’s why he accuses those who are promoting the Law as required for believers as we saw in Acts 15 as really the agents of the devil who have snuck in to spy out our liberty and bring us into bondage. Verse 4, “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace.” On he goes. What’s going on? Circumcision is nothing, verse 6. Doesn’t matter whether you are, or you aren’t. It’s not an issue. “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.” This didn’t come from God. Verse 11, they’re trying to remove the stumbling block of the cross. It’s offensive to tell people you are saved by grace through faith and that’s all. They’re offended. You are saying my religion is wrong. I’m saying God’s right. If you’re not where He is, you’re wrong. That’s right!

Verse 13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Remember we are set free and enslaved to God. That’s true freedom. Now we bear fruit for righteousness as Romans 6 ended. Verse 16, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” The authority and power of flesh, the old man, has been broken. He hasn’t ceased to exist, but his power over us, his authority has ended. Now here’s where sometimes there’s misunderstanding. This was where we had a question. Verse 17, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh…” Now note the two opposing powers here. They are the Spirit and the flesh. “…the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another…” Those are the two warring powers. The end of the verse, “…so that you may not do the things that you please (that you will).”

Why? This is the same thing Paul said in Romans 7. Why? Because my master overrules my will. He’s not talking about the conflict going on in a believer particularly. Not saying that believers can’t sin, that they are not tempted to sin. The devil tried to tempt Christ. Peter sinned, and we’ve got records of this. But what he is saying here, you have this war going on, but you are set free from the power and control. Really, we have two realms. Now you are not free to do whatever you want, as Paul said in Romans 6 and also in Romans 7. It’s not my desire. Now, I fulfill my master’s desire. The two warring powers are the Spirit and the flesh. They don’t insert another, a third option here. So that’s why you walk by the Spirit and you won’t carry out the desire of the flesh. You’ve been set free to do that and if you’re truly a believer you will. Now there’ll be stumbles in the walk. That happens. But your walk will determine what you are. 1 John teaches us that if you say you love God and you hate your brother, you’re a liar. John talks about if you walk in darkness while you claim to belong to God, God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If you’re walking in the darkness, you don’t belong to God.

So here there’s a war going on. That’s why I say keep the two powers separate. Where’s the battle taking place? “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another…” How do I fit into this? You’re not in control. Well, sometimes I choose to sin. I do and I resist the Spirit. But remember what we talked about this morning a little bit also? You were bought with a price. You are not your own, therefore glorify God in your body. He said why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? We are to live new lives. Lives of righteousness because we are slaves of righteousness. Now there are times I may stumble. So that’s what I take verse 17 of Galatians 5 is talking about.

The war is between the two masters. The two controlling powers. The two Lords if you will, the flesh and the Spirit. That’s why he said walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the desire of the flesh, its authority over you. It has no demand on me, I don’t belong to it anymore. Now it keeps trying to assert itself. The devil works with it, but its power, katargeo, and its authority over us has been broken. Its power has been broken so we can now live new. In Romans, we died with Christ so we would no longer be slaves to sin, remember that? I think the word translated “please” here in verse 17, it’s the word thelo, your will. “…so that you may not do the things that you will (please). Because why? My will is now subjected to the Spirit. If it’s not subjected to the Spirit, then I’m still living under the power of sin. I’ve not been set free. When I do sin, then I grieve the Spirit, I resist His will. But that’s not the realm in which a true believer lives.

Alright. Let me just say a couple more things. I want to use an example. I’m going to use John MacArthur as an example. Not because John is such a bad guy but he’s the one most of you are familiar with. If I talk about I. Howard Marshall, you’re going to say, who is he? This is like from the notes from John’s study bible. Charles Ryrie, some of you use his study bible which is very good. But he also takes that Romans 7 is a believer. John does, but I can’t understand him, what he’s saying. “The old man is the believer’s unregenerate self. We have been removed from the unregenerate self-presence and control so we should not follow the remaining memories of its old sinful ways as if we were still under its influence.” Now somehow, we’ve moved. Remember sin, the old man, the heart, which is deceitful, where sin originates? Now he moves the control of sin from the heart, the old man, to “…we should not follow the remaining memories of the old sinful ways….” Well, the reason Christians sin is because they follow the old memories. What does that mean? If you create a new center for sin you have more theological problems. The center of sin was the old man. It’s crucified. It died to that. That relationship is over.

You try to talk about sin because he doesn’t believe you have two natures. He doesn’t believe you have the old man anymore. “Although the old self, the old man, is dead, sin retains a foothold in our temporal flesh or our unredeemed humanness with its corrupted desires.” You see we have moved the source of sin in the life of a believer to a new realm, our temporal flesh. I take it that would mean our physical flesh, but he says it doesn’t mean that because he doesn’t want the dualism, “…our unredeemed humanness with its corrupted desires.” I thought it was the heart that is deceitful. In Mark 7, Jesus said, out of the heart come all sins, and he lists some examples there. “The believer does not have two competing natures, the old and the new. Rather one new nature is still incarcerated in unredeemed flesh.” Well, that sounds like now sin is in my physical flesh. But his next statement is, “…but the term flesh is not equivalent to the physical body.” Well then, what is temporal flesh where sin is? But it’s not our physical flesh. That’s why I say I couldn’t make out really what he’s saying. If you have a “MacArthur Study Bible”, these are just the notes from it. “Our mortal body, the only remaining repository where sin finds the believer vulnerable.” That’s our mortal body. “The brain and its thinking processes are part of the body and thus, tempt our souls with its sinful lusts.” Well, it seems to me he’s moved it back into the physical body, hasn’t he? He says the brain, well that’s a physical thing, that’s not the mind. “The brain is the physical grey matter. And its thinking processes are part of the body, this physical body. When I die, they’ll put my brain, what’s left of it, in the grave with the rest of my body. That’s where we get temptation.” Well Jesus said, it’s out of the heart, out of that immaterial part of man. It’s the heart which is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. It concerns me that he’s moved this somehow. For a believer now, we don’t have two natures. The old man is dead and gone, but we have a source of sins in our lives. It’s in our memories. It’s in our physical body, which is not our physical body, it’s our temporal body which is our brain. He goes on, “some interpret this chronicle of Paul’s inner conflict that describing his life before Christ. However, it is correct to understand Paul here is speaking about a believer.” He’s adamant on that. “Paul has already established that none of these attitudes ever describe the unsaved” and he takes you back to Romans 1 as though the believer never would have a desire to please God. “The Jews never had a desire to keep the Law and do good.” I just don’t think that’s a valid interpretation. And others do that. I’m just using MacArthur as an example because he’s the one you probably would be most familiar with. “Paul has already established that none of those attitudes describe the unsaved. For those reasons it seems certain that chapter 7 describes a believer. Paul must be describing all Christians, even the most spiritual and mature, who when they honestly evaluate themselves against the standard of God’s Law, realize how short they fall.” But Paul’s talking about the Mosaic Law primarily in this chapter and that believers and believing Jews have died to that Law. So, we’re not measuring ourselves by the Mosaic Law. We don’t even try to keep most of the 613 commandments of the Mosaic Law. We’ve given some examples. “The Law is spiritual. It reflects God’s character. We are carnal, of flesh, this means earth bound, mortal, and still incarcerated in unredeemed humanness.” Now he wants to use a title like humanness because he doesn’t want to say the flesh is evil because that gets to be too much like the Gnostics and those who made a separation, the flesh is evil, but the spirit is good. So, he’s created a new term, our humanness. “Sin no longer controls the whole man as with an unbeliever but it does hold captive the believer’s members or his fleshly body.”

Now we’re back to what he said he didn’t hold, that sin isn’t in our fleshly body, but it’s in our memories. “It’s in our physical brain and it’s controlling. It holds captive our bodies.” Well, that’s the very thing the end of Romans 6 says doesn’t happen. We no longer yield the members of our bodies to sin because we’ve been set free. Now we yield them as slaves to righteousness and as to God bearing fruit by using our bodies. It’s not, he just got confused. He’s written a book where he’s got a chapter on this. It’s in his commentary as well, if you want more details. He says, verse 16, where Paul says I agree with the Law that it is good. “…his new self longs to honor the Law and keep it perfectly. I thought we died to the Law. That’s why Paul started out chapter 6, we died to the Law. How can Paul now say as a new creature in Christ, I long to honor the Law and keep it perfectly? I married somebody else, in the first part of Romans 7, didn’t we? Shake your head yes. So how can you say you long to keep it? That relationship is over. Paul’s new inner self, the new I, no longer approved of the sin that was still residing in his flesh, like his old self did.” And I just think the word flesh has become confusing for him because sometimes it means the physical body. “It can mean the physical body. It can mean the old man. But it can’t mean my physical body is the source where my sin is.” It’s in the inner man, the old man, the heart. You can’t create a new center of sin. You’ve really got a problem. Is Christ going to come and die now for this new source of sin? You’ve just moved it. It’s like we corrected the cancer in one part of the body, but it moved to another. The source is the heart. His sin that dwells in me, Paul talks about here. He quotes that verse 17 of chapter 7, “…sin which dwells in me.” “His sin does not flow out of his new redeemed innermost self but from his unredeemed humanness, his flesh, in me Paul says.” Now again, I can’t make any sense out of this. His new redeemed innermost self, that’s not the source of sin. But his unredeemed humanness, his flesh? Well, humanness, flesh, that’s where I say, I find in other writers, I don’t know if he got this from Martyn Lloyd-Jones, but I’ve had the same problem with his explanation. “The flesh serves as a basecamp from which sin operates in the Christian’s life. It is not sinful inherently.” That’s where I say we’re going around the circle here. The flesh, not meaning the inner person, the old man, the heart, but your flesh, your humanness, but not your physical body, but your physical brain, the part of the believer’s present being that remains unredeemed. “Paul is not saying,” later he goes on here come down to verse 22, “is not saying his mind is spiritual and his body is inherently evil.” See note on verse 17. I didn’t read you all of these. Well what is he saying? He’s not saying the mind is spiritual and the body is inherently evil. Well, where is my sin coming from? It’s just floating around there. The believer’s unredeemed humanness, which has its base of operation in the body. Now he’s back in my physical body again. And it’s the humanness in my physical body. What is that? What is the humanness in my physical body? I have no idea! I appreciate much of what John MacArthur does, but this is the kind of problem I have with this kind of reasoning and thinking. I can understand they’re problems associated with believer and unbeliever, but I think you have more problems if you try to make this a believer. Then you try to maneuver where sin comes from. It can only come from one place. The heart which is deceitful and desperately wicked. The old man, the flesh, referring to the old man, not the physical body. The physical body manifests the work of the flesh, but its power and authority has been broken. It just hasn’t been totally removed. Sometimes it wants to assert itself again, but we have been brought into a slavery relationship with God and righteousness.

Alright, let’s pray. Thank You, Lord for Your Word. Thank You for its riches. Help us as we sort through these matters which are challenging. But You have presented there with the clarity that is necessary for us to understand them, as we come to them, and study and mull over them. Pray that our thinking will be clarified so that we can handle accurately Your word. Lord, bless the rest of the evening. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.