Bobservations' Column
Titled - "Paul's Conundrum Is Ours"
Written By: Pastor Bob Lawrenz
“Conundrum”: A riddle, enigma, brainteaser, or problem.
In the days of silent films, the entertainment world included the comedy team of Laurel & Hardy. Stan Laurel was the straight man, and Oliver Hardy played the victim regularly. Stanley Laurel played the quiet simplistic man, and Oliver Hardy was always figuring out how to get out of their messy situations. A familiar line in many of their skits was Oliver’s:
“Well, Stanley, this is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into!”
Their plots were then, how to get out of the mess. But Oliver always over complicated things, and over-thought their next moves, while Stanley usually chose a more direct and less twisted path, but went along with the “smarter” Oliver. Stan always trusted that justice would prevail, regardless of what Oliver would do. It was slap-stick humor at its finest! Their popularity lasted from the 1920’s to TV in the 1950’s.
Impossible problems were overcome. Can that apply to us also? Stan put his faith in justice and simplicity. Our faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, of Who the scriptures say, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
God has made it simple and direct for us to be made righteous. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Put your faith in Christ for He is faithful and just.
On the Spiritual level, we are to count ourselves as dead to sin, and alive in Jesus Christ. Being lead by the Spirit will always work out to our good, and therefore God’s best for us.
From Hebrews 10:10 -
"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the Body of Christ once and for all.”
Sunday Morning Message:
Romans 7:14-25 - "Paul's conundrum Is Ours"
Summary/Additional Commentary & Definitions:
The desires of the believer’s spiritual nature pull him in the direction of good while the flesh in which he lives pulls him in the other. He wants to do one thing but has something within him that does the opposite. So how do these evil desires differ from those of an unbeliever? Simply put, the believer hates the evil flesh in which he lives and desires to be freed from it, whereas unbelievers have no such desire. So strong is Paul’s desire to live godly and so frustrated is he that his flesh wars against his spirit that he finally cries out in desperation, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Of course, the answer is Jesus Christ our Lord (verse 25). One day believers will be completely freed from the body of death in which we live when we are glorified with Christ in heaven, but until that day we rely on the power of the Spirit who indwells us and gives us victory in the ongoing battle with sin.
In Romans 7:14–25, the apostle Paul puts into practical language the fact that he is a redeemed sinner who still has a carnal body, the flesh that wars against the indwelling Spirit. In another place the apostle says, “That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). The personal pronouns in these passages are not just an artifice but a statement of reality and the honest evaluation of a man who examines himself in the light of who he is and who our Lord Jesus is and comes to the conclusion that he is a wretched man in need of deliverance. This is not the deliverance from the penalty of sin—that was paid for on the cross—but deliverance from the power of sin.
As a faithful teacher, the apostle Paul in Romans 7:14–25 uses his own experiences and what he has learned through them to teach other believers how to use God’s provision and our position in Christ to overcome the struggle with our carnal nature. Praise God that we have such a wonderful thesis that not only truthfully exposes the struggle between the spiritual nature and the flesh in which it resides, but most importantly presents us with the tremendous hope and confidence in our salvation: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
Salvation begins the moment we receive, by faith, God’s offer of forgiveness through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus (Ephesians 2:8–9; John 1:12). Jesus called it being “born again” (John 3:3). In repenting and giving up our old life, we receive the new life Jesus purchased for us with His blood (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). We are washed clean, and God chooses to remember our sins no more (Psalm 103:12). But we soon notice that our propensity to sin is still part of us. How can that be, since we are new creatures in Christ? We still sin because we, though forgiven, are still fallen human beings.
Salvation breaks the power that sin once had over us. We were slaves to sin and served it willingly (Romans 6:20–23, 7:14–15). While slaves to sin, it was impossible to please God (Romans 8:8).
Upon surrender of our lives to the lordship of Jesus, we became God’s sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15). But just as children sometimes disobey their parents as they grow, God’s children sometimes disobey Him. We rebel, get angry, or doubt for a while; the difference is, we can no longer live lifestyles of sin because our nature has changed (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 3:4–10). A fish may long to live on the beach, but once it has flipped itself onto the sand, it wants nothing but to return to the water because its nature is not designed for dry land. A fish was created for the water. So, it is with us. The nature of those indwelt by the Holy Spirit is to live in righteousness. We may flip ourselves into sin at times, but we can’t survive there. The new nature thrives in righteousness and obedience to God. The degree to which we allow the Holy Spirit access to every area of our lives is the degree to which we live as God intended us to live.
First John 1:9 tells us that we can confess our sin and be forgiven. Confession means we humbly agree with God about how bad sin is. We admit we were wrong and ask His forgiveness. The awareness of our sin and the confession of it should be a regular practice.
As we “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), we overcome besetting sins (Hebrews 12:1). Peter lists steps we can take in developing our new nature and ends with the promise that, if we do these things, we “will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:3–10). Our holiness is the goal, but John acknowledges that we still sin: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).
God’s desire for us is that we not sin, and one day our sanctification will be complete (1 John 3:2). But, until that time, we still inhabit fallen bodies in a fallen world, and we struggle with the flesh and sometimes lose the battle. But we will not be lost; Jesus Himself intercedes for us as our High Priest (Romans 8:34).
Sunday Morning Audio Message:
Key Words and Definitions with Reference:
The Law Is Spiritual (7:14) - It reflects God's holy character
Carnal (7:14) - Meaning "of the flesh." This means earthbound, mortal, and still incarcerated in unredeemed humanness. Paul does not say he is still "In the flesh" but the flesh is in him.
Sold Under Sin (7:14) - Sin no longer controls the whole man (as with an unbeliever; cf. 6:6), but it does hold captive the believer's members, or his fleshly body (v. 23; cf. v. 18). Sin contaminates him and frustrates his inner desire to obey the will of God.
I Allow Not (7:15) - In other words I "understand" not. This refers to knowledge that goes beyond the factual and includes the idea of an intimate relationship (cf. Galatians 4:9). By extension, this word was sometimes used to express approving or accepting (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:3). That is its sense here, i.e., Paul found himself doing things he did not approve of.
I Consent with the Law that it is Good (7:16) - Paul's new nature defends the divine standard - the perfectly righteous law is not responsible for his sin (v.12). His new self longs to honor the law and keep it perfectly (v. 22).
No Longer I Who Do It (7:17) - The Greek adverb for "no longer" signifies a complete and permanent change. Paul's new inner self no longer approved of the sin that was still residing in his flesh, like his old self did (cf. v. 22; Galatians 2:20), but rather, strongly disapproved. Many have misconstrued Paul's comments as abdicating personal responsibility for his sin by embracing a form of Greek dualism (which would later spawn Gnosticism). Paul has already acknowledged personal guilt for his sin (v. 14; cf. 1 John 1:10).
Sin that Dwells in Me (7:17) - His sin does not flow out of his new redeemed innermost self, but from his unredeemed humanness, his flesh "in me" (Galatians 5:17).
My Flesh ... Dwelleth No Good Thing (7:18) - The flesh serves as a base camp from which sin operates in the Christian's life. It is not sinful inherently, but because of its fallenness, it is still subject to sin and is thoroughly contaminated. The part of the believer's present being that remains unredeemed. Paul, before his conversion, could boast that he was, as "touching the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless" (Philippians 3:6). But then he came to see that all his "righteousness [were] as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) and accepted "eternal life through Jesus Christ" (6:23). If such a man as Paul would have to confess that in his flesh there was nothing good at all, then surely every Christian must say the same.
Law (7:21) - Not a reference to God's law, but to an inviolable spiritual principle.
I Delight in the Law of God (7:22) - The believer's justified, new inner self no long sides with sin, but joyfully agrees with the law of God against sin (Psalms 1:2; 119:14, 47, 77, 105, 140; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16; Ephesians 3:16).
Inward Man (7:22) - The "inward man" is evidently here the same as the "new man," for the "old man" (6:6) could never "delight in the law of God."
Another Law (7:23) - A corresponding spiritual principle to the one in verse 21. But this principle, which Paul identifies as "the law of sin," operates in the members of his body - that is, his unredeemed and still sinful humanness - waging war against his desire to obey God's law.
Law of My Mind (7:23) - Equivalent to the new inner self (2 Corinthians 5:17), which longs to obey the law of God. Paul is not saying his mind is spiritual and his body is inherently evil.
Law of Sin (7;23) - The "law of sin," which is in our members, is the sin-nature inherited from Adam.
Wretched Man (7:24) - In frustration and grief, Paul laments his sin (cf. Psalms 48:14; 130:1-5). A believer perceives his own sinfulness in direct proportion to how clearly he sees the holiness of God and perfection of His law.
Deliver (7:24) - This word means "to rescue from danger" and was used of a soldier pulling his wounded comrade from the battlefield. Paul longed to be rescued from his sinful flesh (8;23).
Body of Death (7:24) - The believer's unredeemed humanness, which has its base of operation in the body.
With the Mind...I Myself...The Flesh...Law of Sin (7:25) - The first half of this verse answer the question Paul has just raised (v. 24) - he is certain that Christ will eventually rescue him when He returns (cf. 8:18, 23; 1 Corinthians 15:52, 53, 56, 57; 2 Corinthians 5:4). The second half summarizes the two sides of the struggle.