O WRETCHED MAN
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty)
Recommended reading - Romans 7:14-25.
A question has been debated as to whether or not Paul
was referring in Romans 7, to the pre-converted Christian or the
post-converted Christian, (the believer or the unbeliever). These passages
are crucial to an understanding of the real gospel of Jesus Christ. A
proper understanding helps us in our daily walk as a Christian, and
creates a total and complete change in our lives. We do not have to walk
around with fear thinking that, we are going to loose our Christianity. We
should not put our ideas into the Word of God; we need to let the Word of
God control our ideas. There is no light in those who do not preach from
the Word of God, as we see explained in Isaiah 8:20.
I. The Law is Spiritual, we are carnal.
· The key
statement Paul makes in this section of scripture is in Romans 7:14;
the Law is spiritual and Paul is carnal.
· The personal
pronoun I, that appears in this verse, appears 25 times in the passage
of verses 14-25. The impression that you get is that Paul is speaking
about himself. We need to remember that Paul wrote this in Greek and
that he had a Middle Eastern mind. Paul was not referring to himself.
Look closely at Verse 14; Paul says he is carnal, sold under sin.
· The statement
is not only true of Paul it is true of all mankind. Paul has already
covered that all men are guilty of sin.
· The word I,
does not refer to Paul as an individual, it refers to all of man or
corporate man. The issue is not whether Paul is talking about the
believer or unbeliever because the statement in Verse 14 covers
all men. Paul has one thing in mind, and that is the person who tries to
live a good life independent of God.
II. The Law is good.
· The Bible
plainly says that the Law is in force, and the Law is good.
· The question is
whether we earn salvation by the Law, or lose salvation when we fall and
don't obey the law. To be delivered from under the Law, means that a
Christian is no longer depending on his performance in regard to the Law
for his salvation.
· Paul is not
dealing with Christian living; rather, he is going to lay the foundation
for Christian living. Romans 8 deals with the life in the Spirit.
· If we do not
understand Romans 7, Christian living will become futile and
meaningless. There is hope and peace in knowing that Christ has secured
our eternal life.
III. The Holy Law and sinful flesh are always incompatible.
· Paul proves in Romans
7:15-25, that a Holy Law and sinful flesh are always incompatible.
The prior statement of incompatibility is true whether it is before or
after conversion. The two will never be able to live in harmony.
· There is no
change that takes place in our human nature, when we experience the
begettal of the Holy Spirit. There is a change in our mind and attitude,
but not our nature. The nature of a believer and an unbeliever is
identical.
· When we study Romans
8, we understand Paul, as he says, that we are groaning and waiting
for the redemption of the body. Our nature is the same no matter how
long we have been converted. We have to wait until the second coming of
Christ, until this corruption puts on incorruption. Then we will be free
from this continual struggle.
· Paul makes a
number of key statements in Romans 7:14-25, regarding what occurs
when Spiritual and carnal are put together. We may choose to do good,
but how to perform good we do not know.
· Paul shows our
dilemma and conflict in Verse 15. There is a conflict between the
mind which wants to do good and the will which has chosen to do right,
with the nature which will not comply. Paul is referring to his current
converted state in these verses.
IV. Paul delights in the Law.
· In Romans
7:22, Paul says that he delights in the Law of God according to the
inward man. There are two items, which are important to study in
reference to this verse.
1.) Paul uses the phrase "inward man",
only when he is referring to the believer. Christ in us imparts
righteousness, so that we can obey Him. The believer has a renewed
mind. Repent means to turn away from former wrong beliefs, and then to
believe the gospel. Notice in Acts 26:20, they were to repent
and turn to God.
2.) Paul does touch on his pre-converted experience
in several scriptures throughout his writings. When Paul discusses
pre-conversion, he never mentions a struggle; only after becoming a
Christian does he refer to a struggle. To prepare us for the life in
the Spirit which is discussed in Romans 8, Paul must do
something that is extremely important. The believer must destroy every
confidence that he may have in his natural ability. There is only one
formula, which we have discussed several times, Not I, but Christ.
· We need to also
understand imputed and imparted righteousness. In Romans 4:6-11,
22-25, we see what imputed righteousness is. The righteousness of
Christ is imputed to us, as we see in James 2:23. Works do not
bring righteousness; they are a result of God being in us. Righteousness
we perform in our lives is called imparted righteousness. Imparted
righteousness is through the Spirit of God. It is not our righteousness,
it is Christ's.
V. We are not good and evil.
· Paul reveals
what we are in Romans 7:18. We are not a mixture of good and
evil. There is nothing good in us.
· We may will to
do good, but we do not know how to perform good. Paul clearly states
that sin dwells in him. Paul repeats that fact over and over again.
· Sin dwells in
us. Sin is not only what we do, it is what we have in us, as Paul states
in Romans 7:22-23.
VI. There is good news for us; there is no condemnation for those in
Christ Jesus.
· We are sinners
but our hope is in justification by faith. The fruit comes naturally, if
the tree is right. We need to focus on the tree.
· The tree in the
gospel is justification; the fruit is sanctification. Justification is
what Christ has done for us through His life, death, burial, and
resurrection. We have been justified. Sanctification is the growing of
the fruit, of Christ being in us.
· If the tree is
wrong, it is guaranteed that the fruit will be wrong. When we finally
get to the point that we understand and believe that it is not I who
produces any righteousness, but Christ, the fruits will come.
· When God looks
at Christian living, He does not look at it as man does. Man looks at
the outward performance; God looks at the motivation. God looks at our
heart. Paul wants to destroy any idea that we can make ourselves
acceptable before God, by our performance. Salvation is totally a gift
from God. We should rejoice in this.
VII. We cannot conquer the law of sin; It is a constant force.
· In light of
this Paul cries out in Romans 7:24, "O wretched man that I
am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Look at the word
wretched; that word appears only twice in the entirety of the New
Testament. Each time it is used in an opposite sense. Paul is saying
that the individual who has Christ in him, recognizes that he is
wretched and wants to overcome that wretchedness. The same word is used
in Revelation 3:17. Christ is speaking in this verse to the
Laodiceans. Christ states that they do not know that they are wretched.
· There is only
hope, if you know what you are. We must come to the point that we
recognize in our hearts, we are wretched.
· We must say as
Paul said in Verse 25, I thank God. We need to destroy our
confidence in ourselves. Paul concludes at the close of Verse 25,
he by himself, and without Christ, can only serve the law of sin.
He can keep the Law only in terms of desiring to keep it, delighting in
keeping it, and choosing to keep it. On his own, in actual practice, he
cannot keep it. We will see in Romans 8, that the righteousness
of the Law can be fulfilled in us, if we walk no longer in the flesh.
Have we come to the conclusion to which the Apostle Paul
came? Have we come to the position that there is nothing good dwelling in
us? Are we willing to openly confess, as Paul confessed? We need to
understand that Paul is talking about every single one of us. If we want
Christ to be our righteousness, we must say good-bye to our confidence in
ourselves. We need to let Christ be our righteousness. When we walk in the
Spirit, the desire to live for the self will go. Every one of us from
young to old, needs to say that Christianity is not do's and don'ts.
Christianity is Jesus Christ and He is everything to us. We have the
Savior who redeems us, and who also delivers us from the sin that dwells
in us. We have the complete Savior in Jesus Christ! |
O Wretched Man 