Warfare Within

If you've just joined us, we are working our way through the New Testament book of Romans.

Romans, as I said right at the beginning, is one of the most powerful and influential

pieces of literature ever written.

It has been the force behind some of the most significant transformations in society, in

all of history, in fact.

And it's my hope as we journey through this book that we would experience something of

that deep and radical change in our own lives as we journey through it.

The story of Romans so far, as we have been going through over these number of weeks, is

that though we deserve God's judgment, we can in fact be right with our creator God because

Jesus Christ himself, God the Son, bore God's right anger for our sin in our place.

True faith is trusting in God's promises in Jesus Christ and all that Jesus has achieved

on our behalf.

Being made right with God, just justified by Jesus Christ means that therefore that we enjoy

peace with God, peace with God, access to God and even in the midst of hardship and suffering

in this world, a real sense of contentment and joy.

This is all because of Jesus Christ, our representative, that he himself has obeyed God's requirements

on our behalf.

He's done and achieved what we could not achieve.

And crucially, we don't obey God to be made right with God.

That's not how we get right with God.

Religion does not help you.

But because of who we are, it's because of who we are in Jesus and what he's achieved for

us.

That's really the first five chapters of Romans in a very short summary.

Chapters six and seven are a hinge in the book of Romans.

We started in chapter six last week.

There are hinge.

Paul zooms in here in these chapters to show us how God's grace to us in Jesus not only

justifies us, makes us right with God, but also transforms us.

It changes us.

If you like, they answer the question, in view of Romans one to five, what happens now?

What's next?

That's what chapters six and seven do.

That is, these chapters are a theology of change.

God's grace is not just powerful enough to save us from sin, but also to save us to obedience.

In chapter six, last week, Paul says that we are united with Jesus in the most intimate

relationship possible.

And we are now set free to serve God for our joy and his glory.

Why would we not want to obey God after all that he's achieved for us in Jesus?

Why would we not want to treasure him in all of life?

Well, that brings us to chapter seven.

That's where we're in now.

Now, this is a chapter that you can spend five minutes on and give you a brief overview,

or you can spend weeks on it.

For your joy, I will be closer to the five minutes than the weeks this morning, but it

is a deep, deep chapter.

What this chapter tells us, in summary, is that all of life is a battle between two selves.

All of life.

We all have a war going on inside of us between the good and the bad in our hearts.

All of us.

What it's telling us is that before Jesus, we think we're winning that war.

With Jesus, it feels like we're losing the war.

And this is Paul bringing perspective to us here.

When you become a Christian, the point is, when you become a Christian, you don't move

from warfare to peace.

With God you do, but not with the battle within.

You don't move from warfare to peace.

We move from one battle to a new battle.

That's what happens.

We move from a war that we cannot win to a war that we cannot lose.

That's what Romans 7 is laying out for us.

So the three points today, if you've got St. Paul's app, the battle before Christ, the battle

in Christ, and the battle with Christ.

That's how we're going to move through this text.

So verses 7 to 13 is the battle that every human being has got going on inside of them.

It's the battle that we have before Christ.

Verse 7, Paul introduces another question on the back of his argument of the previous six

verses, and in particular, verse 6 of chapter 7.

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve

in the new way of the spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

And so the question in verse 7 is, what shall we say then?

Is the law sinful?

It is the Old Testament law.

God's word, is it sinful?

If we need to be released from the law, which is now referred to here as the old way, doesn't

it mean that the law is sinful?

It's evil.

And of course, the short answer is, certainly not.

And then the long answer comes from verses 7 to 13.

The summary version is, is it sin in us that makes the law ineffective?

It's not that the law is evil, but it's the sin in us that makes the law ineffective.

So the question is, well, what therefore is the law for?

And that's what Paul does here in these verses.

What therefore does the law do?

The main purpose of the law is it shows us the character of sin.

Verse 7.

Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.

The law does that by, firstly, it defines sin for us.

Verse 7 again.

For I would not have known what covening really was if the law had said, you shall not covet.

That is, this means the very concept of covening is outlined by the law.

That is, without that standard of the law, you shall not covet, Paul would not have known

that covening was a sin.

That's what he's saying.

So it defines what sin is.

Secondly, the law reveals sin.

Verse 8.

But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covening.

For apart from the law, sin was dead.

That is, when a commandment of God comes to us, this is what Paul's saying here.

When it comes to us, it aggravates and stirs up sin in our hearts.

It doesn't just show us what sin is in general, but how sin resides in us.

The same idea is stated in verse 13.

In order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good, that's the law, to bring

about my death.

So that through the commandment, sin might become utterly sinful.

What Paul's saying here is the more I tried to avoid coveting, the more coveting grew in me.

The law made sin in my life utterly sinful.

That is, I didn't realize how sinful I was before the law.

The law made sin in his life utterly sinful.

That is, much worse.

Totally inexcusable.

So for the religious person sitting in this room or online, the Old Testament law, or let's

summarize that, the Ten Commandments were never meant as a means to salvation.

Never.

As if you could obey them and somehow be right with God.

Because, and this is Paul's point, it's because it was given to sinners.

Instead, what the law does is exposes our need for salvation.

It helps us to see how sinful we are.

Without the law, we will consistently be in denial about the depth and the nature of our sin.

So the law defines sin for us.

It reveals sin in us.

But thirdly, it provokes sin in us.

Sin is aroused by the exposure to the law.

This points us back to the early chapters of Romans and the bleak condition of every human heart.

That is, what Romans 1 to 3 tells us is that there is a perversity about every human heart.

Perversity being a desire to do something for no other reason than because it's wrong.

That's what perversity means.

It's a joy in wrongdoing for its own sake.

And I had a heap of illustrations, personal illustrations, that I could bring to bear here.

But because of my own children in the building, I decided not to go back into history,

but instead to go way back into history and use St. Augustine instead.

I think we'll throw him on the dock here rather than me.

And the ones that immediately came to mind about my joy in sin.

St. Augustine writes about this in his Confessions.

He describes a time when he stole some pears as a boy.

And then he draws some amazing insights from that experience.

This is, I'll quote him.

Near our vineyard was a pear tree loaded with fruit,

though the fruit was not particularly attractive either in colour or taste.

I and some other youths conceived the idea of shaking the pears off this tree and carrying them away.

We set out late at night, stole all the fruit that we could carry,

and this was not to feed ourselves.

We may have tasted a few.

Then we threw the rest to the pigs.

Our real pleasure was simply in doing something that was not allowed.

I had plenty of better pears of my own.

I only took these ones in order that I might be a thief.

Once I had taken them, I threw them away,

and all I tasted in them was my own iniquity,

which I enjoyed very much.

That's every human heart.

His point is,

there is always a much deeper motive

for the surface sins,

and for every surface sin.

When we lie or steal or impure or cruel,

there is a superficial motive,

and it might be greed,

it might be anger,

it might be loneliness,

but there is a much deeper motive driving the superficial one.

An Augustine study of the Bible,

and experience with the pear tree,

showed him that the ultimate underlying motive

for all sin

is a desire to be God,

to play God.

We have a deep desire

to be in charge of our lives,

and our world,

in fact,

to the degree

that every person exists

for my glory,

for your glory.

And when they block my glory,

anger

is the result.

Point out a problem with anger

is what you get.

We want to be sovereign.

That goes right back to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Every law God lays down in His word,

Ten Commandments,

everything else,

every single law that He lays down

is an infringement

upon my perceived absolute sovereignty in life.

Every one of them.

Every one of them

is a reminder

that I am not God

and prevents me

from living life

the way that I think

life should be lived.

The essence of the very first sin

of the Garden of Eden

was to be like God,

and it's the essence of all sin

from that moment.

So the more

God's word,

His law,

is exposed

exposed

in me,

the more

that that sinful force,

that deep desire

in me

will be aggravated

into reaction

against it.

And this leads

to the fourth thing

that sin does.

It leads to an overwhelming

conviction of sin.

That's Paul's point

in verses 9 to 11.

This is what he says

in verse 9.

Once I was alive

apart from the law,

but when the commandment came,

sin sprang to life

and I died.

Now Paul here

is not referring

to a previous time

in his life

when the law of God

had no bearing

on his life.

That is just not possible

to interpret that verse

in that way.

That's because

the Apostle Paul

was a devout,

he was a Jewish boy

from a devout family.

There was not

a single time

in his pre-Christian

days

when he did not

know the law

or try to obey

the law.

Right from birth,

that was his life.

So I think

he's meaning

that before

he was a Christian,

he did not

know the demands

of the law,

the true,

the deep demands

of the law.

He did not know

what the law

truly required.

He saw a bunch

of rules

but did not

understand

the deep thrust

of them all.

He did not know

what it truly

meant to love

God supremely.

And so when

he says

I was alive,

he's writing

about his own

self-deception,

his own

self-perception.

I'm basically

a good guy.

Look at the rules

that I keep.

He thought

that he was

morally good,

pleasing God.

God was in fact

satisfied with him.

And when he writes

the commandment

came,

he died,

he realised

he was

in fact

spiritually dead

at that moment.

He thought

I'm going along

really well spiritually

compared to everyone else

I'm doing really well.

Felt

better than most.

And then

the law came

and he had

an overwhelming

sense

of his failure

and his condemnation.

That is,

if you like,

the commandment

came home

to him.

The reality

of it

struck me.

I came

under the conviction

of sin.

And verse

eight tells us

that the commandment

that came

home to him

that exposed

his sin

and his failure

was the

tenth commandment.

you shall

not

covet.

Why that

one?

Why that

one?

What's

special about

it?

You see,

as a Pharisee,

Paul would have

thought of sin

only in terms

of external

actions.

As

I go to say,

most people do

think of sin

only in terms

of external

actions.

He would have

thought that if I

didn't commit

an evil act,

I was therefore

not guilty of sin.

You know,

there's no time

I've committed

adultery,

so tick the box.

I've done that one.

You know,

tick the box.

I haven't

murdered anyone.

Tick the box,

tick the box,

tick the box.

Woohoo!

Gone through the

first nine,

tick the box,

tick the box,

tick the box.

I'm a good guy.

But in the

Sermon on the

Mount,

Jesus showed

us that all

the Ten

Commandments

refer not only

to behaviour,

but to much

deeper level

of inward

attitudes and

motives as

well.

And yet,

you can

interpret the

Ten Commandments

superficially as

behavioural rules

relatively easy

to keep.

as did

the rich

young ruler

when he

came to

Jesus and

asked Jesus,

what must I

do to

inherit eternal

life?

What did

Jesus do?

What was

Jesus'

response?

He listed

off the

commandments,

except

Jesus didn't

mention

Commandment

One,

love the

Lord your

God with

all your

heart,

soul and

mind,

and he

didn't

mention

number

Ten,

do not

covet.

Jesus

said go

away and

do that

and you

live,

and he

walked

away sad.

You see,

coveting has

everything to

do with

inner motives.

It has

everything to

do with

heart issues.

It's the

one of

these Ten

Commandments

that you

cannot tick

the box and

say,

I've done

it practically.

coveting

includes

envy,

self-pitying,

grumbling,

murmuring.

Coveting is

not just

wanting,

it's an

idolatrous

longing for

more beauty,

for more

wealth,

for more

approval,

for more

popularity than

you have.

And Paul

had never

understood

sin as a

matter of

inward

longings and

idolatrous

drives and

desires.

He had

never seen

sin as

essentially

coveting

against

God,

failing to

love God

enough to

be content

with God.

He thought

of sin only

in terms of

violating rules.

And so when

the commandment

came home

to him,

he first in

his life saw

the depth

of his sin

right to

the core

of his

being.

He saw

how utterly

evil and

wicked he

was.

And so

the flaw

was not

in the

law.

Verse 12

indicates

it's in fact

quite the

reverse.

The flaw

was in

Paul

and us

not the

law.

Externally

we may be

very good.

Internally

we cannot

be anything

other than

a sinful.

The law

is good

but I

am evil.

That's

his point

in the

first bit

of chapter

seven.

He's

talking about

his pre-Christian

days.

When you

move to

verse 14

there's now

a shift

and he's

now referring

to his

battle

in Christ

as a

Christian.

The first

half is

Paul looking

back before

he's a

Christian

now and

how the

law calls

him to

look beyond

himself to

Jesus for

rescue.

And this

is now

Paul writing

about his

current

experience

battling

sin as

a

Christian.

This

is his

battle

and that

of every

Christian

in Jesus

in Christ.

Now I

need to

disclose here

that this

section

has been

debated

for

centuries.

These

verses here

the second

half of

chapter seven

have been

debated

for centuries.

The issue

is whether

Paul is

still writing

here about

his

pre-Christian

experience

of battling

sin or

his

current

Christian

experience

of battling

sin.

And let me

just say

that there

have been

plenty,

plenty of

thoughtful,

wise,

godly people

on both

sides of

that debate.

Still are

on both

sides of

that debate.

For instance,

some find it

hard to

reconcile

that a

Christian

could

write

as

Paul

does

in

verse

14,

I am

unspiritual

sold as

a slave

to sin.

He also

confesses

that he

sins

regularly

in

verse 15,

I do

not

understand

what I

do.

For

what I

want

to do

I do,

but what

I hate

I do.

And again

in verse

18,

I have

the desire

to do

what is

good,

but I

cannot

carry it

out.

Now,

the reason

I think

he's

writing

about

his

current

Christian

experience

of

battle

with

sin

is

really

four

reasons.

Firstly,

the change

of verb

tenses.

He moves

from the

past in

the tense

of the

verbs

to the

present

tense

in

all

verbs

in.

That

is,

in 7

to 13,

the verbs

are past

tense,

14

onwards,

present

tense,

he's

talking

about

now.

Secondly,

there's

also a

change

of

situation.

Verses

7

to 13

is sin

killing

him,

but from

verses

14

onwards,

it's

him

wrestling

with

sin.

It's

a battle

that he

refuses

to

surrender

to,

but he

is not

dead or

dying or

losing.

Thirdly,

Paul delights

in God's

law in

verse 22,

for in

my inner

being I

delight in

God's

law,

even though

sin is

at work

in him.

Romans 8,

the very next

chapter,

Romans 8

Romans 8:7

verse 7

tells us

that a sinful

mind that is

hostile to

God cannot

delight in

God's law,

cannot submit

to God's

law.

A non-believer

cannot delight

in God's

law.

God's

law.

Fourthly,

Paul admits

he's a

sinner in

verse 18,

and an

unbeliever

is unaware

that they

are so

sinful that

they cannot

save

themselves.

They

cannot

acknowledge

the depth

of their

sin.

That is

why I

think Paul

is here

in these

verses

laying out

his inner

struggle

as a

Christian.

Christian.

It's the

experience of

every believer

in Jesus.

That experience

is that on

the one

hand,

we now see

God's law

as spiritual,

verse 14,

good,

verse 16,

and have a

desire to keep

it in

verses 15

and 18.

Paul says

that in his

inner being,

he rejoices

in the law.

in his

heart of

hearts,

in the

depths of

himself,

he loves

the law

of God.

But on

the other

hand,

his actions

are against

the law.

Sort of

like

Robert Louis

Stevenson's

Dr.

Jekyll and

Mr.

Hyde.

If you've

never read

it, it's a

really helpful

little read.

It's only

really short,

like 80

pages or

something in

the original

form.

Don't

watch a

movie or

just read

the book.

Really,

really helpful.

The premise

of the book

is that

every single

being has

a sense

of two

cells

battling.

Two

sense of

cells,

a sense

of two

cells

battling.

The principle

of the book

is which

one am I

truly?

Which one

is truly

me?

me?

And you

don't want

to end

up at

the, in

case you

never read

it, he

kills

himself.

Because the

evil one

became more

him.

That became

his true

sense.

But that's

what we

wrestle with.

Which one

is truly

me?

And

particularly

as a

Christian?

Am I

a sinner

or am I

a saint?

a saint?

Before he

was a

Christian,

Paul thought

he was

a saint.

Now that

he's a

Christian,

a saint,

right before

Jesus Christ,

he now

wrestles

with am I

actually a

sinner?

His sense

of his

sinfulness

is much

stronger and

more disturbing

to him

now.

So which

one is he?

Which one

is he?

The deepest

desire is

hard.

Am I a

sinner or

am I a

saint?

And the

point of

these verses

is that for

the Christian

that

question is

settled.

It's

settled.

Even

though the

battle continues

to rage,

the question,

the issue

is settled.

Verse 23,

the law

of God

is our

utmost

delight.

There is

still a

powerful

force of

sin and

rebellion

within me,

but those

desires are

not the

deepest

sense of

who I

am.

As

verse 20

says,

if I do

what I do

not want

to do,

it is no

longer I,

my deepest

sense who

does it,

but it

is sin

living in

me that

does it.

As we

saw last

week, a

Christian has

had a

identity

transformation.

A

Christian

really seeks

God and

loves his

law and

holiness.

Even

while sin

remains in

us with a

whole lot of

strength,

whole lot of

strength,

it no longer

controls our

personality and

our life.

That is our

weakness, our

inner conflict.

The strength

of the

remaining

corruption of

our lives

will still

lead us to

disobey God.

Even in

this, and

if this is

you right

now, and

very conscious

of your

sin, the

strength of

the remaining

corruption in

your life, the

sin in your

life, will

still lead

you to

disobey God

even in

the same

ways you

did prior

to you being

a Christian.

But now,

that

behaviour,

that sin,

goes against

your deepest

identity in

Christ.

Many are

puzzled, that

I think the

Paul seems

to write

here as

if he's

defeated.

He writes

in verse

14, I

am unspiritual,

sold as a

slave to

sin.

I think he

is saying

that in

ourselves,

even as a

Christian, we

are still

incapable of

keeping the

law in

ourselves.

Notice that

he uses the

word I

numerous times

in these

verses.

He seems

to be saying

that in

himself,

left to

his own

devices,

he is

unable to

live as

he should.

Even

though there

is a new

identity in

Jesus,

a new

love,

a new

delight in

God's law,

a Christian

is still

incapable in

and of

themselves

of keeping

the law

in its

entirety,

keeping the

law and

all the

expectations

of the

law.

That's the

battle of the

Christian life.

life.

And it's

the battle

of the

Christian

life that

if you

are looking

just to

yourself and

your own

actions and

not to

Christ at

the same

time,

you will

feel

defeated.

You will

feel defeated.

And this

leads the

apostle Paul

and I

believe the

Christian to

the last

point, the

battle cry

that comes

with Christ.

verses 24

and 25.

These verses

here are both a

warning and a

comfort.

The first

warning is

that no one

ever gets so

advanced in

the Christian

life that

they no longer

have sin in

their life.

Get rid of

all notions

of perfectionism.

No, this

is the, I

mean, it's

easy to see

that in me,

but this is

the apostle

Paul speaking

here.

Right?

This is

Saint Paul

saying, I'm

battling with

sin in my

life.

Saint Paul,

right?

Not me,

Saint Paul.

Even he

has not

advanced in

the Christian

life that he

no longer has

to battle with

sin.

If we ever

think that we've

conquered our

sin and are

pretty good

Christians, it's

the first

indication of

self-deception.

if you ever

think that you

are a pretty

good Christian,

then that is

the indication

of self-deception.

The more we

grow as a

Christian, the

more we see

our sin.

The more we

become holy,

the less holy

we will feel.

That's the

battle of the

Christian life.

Even as we

make progress

against many

bad habits

and attitudes,

we will grow

more aware

of the

rebellious,

sinful,

deep roots

in our

hearts.

The second

warning, which

is linked to

that, is

that no one

grows to a

point where

they no longer

battle in.

It is

quite

important

that the

Christian

expects

life to

be an

internal

battle

against

two

selves.

That's

why this

talk is

called

Warfare

Within.

In fact, if

I may draw

upon my

past

experience

and past

profession,

a wounded

feral pig

is more

dangerous

than a

healthy and

a happy

one.

More

dangerous

than a

healthy and

happy one.

And so

it is

with sin.

Our new

identity

in Jesus

Christ

has

mortally

wounded

the sinful

nature

in us.

Killed

it completely

but mortally

wounded it

within us

and it

is stirred

up

to fight

back.

The great

comfort of

this passage

is that the

struggle

itself,

oh and if

you're a

Christian,

you're hanging

on to Christ

and you're

struggling with

your sin,

you hear

this,

the struggle

itself

is testimony

to our

new identity

in Jesus.

Jesus.

When we

struggle

with sin,

it is

typical to

think that

we are

such

terrible

Christians

and how

often people

are quick

to remind

you that

you're such

a terrible

Christian.

It's one

thing I think

to struggle

with it

internally,

it's very,

it's much

harder when

other people

join with

you and

affirm your

internal

struggle.

This

chapter

encourages us

that temptation

and conflict

with sin,

even relapses

into sin,

are not

inconsistent

with a

growing

Christian.

The

acknowledgement

and the

awareness of

the internal

battle

is

consistent

with a

growing

Christian.

You see,

the Christian

heart cries

two things

at the

same time.

There is

the desperate

cry of

discouragement

as we look

at our

own efforts

and our

own failing

and our

own sin.

It's the

cry of the

apostle Paul

in verse

24,

what a

wretched

man I

am.

Who will

rescue me

from this

body that

is subject

to death?

You see,

when we

read God's

law properly

and look

at our

own hearts

honestly,

we can

only conclude

that we are

truly wretched.

God's

and when we

judge ourselves

by God's

standard

rather than

our own,

what a

wretched man

I am

is the

only

conclusion.

When we

stop comparing

ourselves with

other people

and look

instead to

a holy

God,

that's the

only

conclusion.

Without

accepting God's

devastating

critique of

human nature,

our own

hearts,

we will

never,

ever grasp

the glory

of the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

justification by

faith alone.

We will

never grasp

that.

We will

never understand

it as

beautiful and

glorious.

We will

never appreciate

the gospel of

a received

right standing

with God

only through

Jesus Christ,

only through

him.

It is only

when our

hearts truly

cry out

about our

wretchedness,

that we

can know

and experience

the hope,

the liberation

of looking

away from

ourselves to

what God

has done

for us in

Jesus Christ.

And so as

Paul cries

out,

not just

what a

wretched man

I am,

but who's

going to

rescue me

from this

body of

death?

Verse 25,

thanks be to

God.

Thanks be to

God who

delivers me

through Jesus

Christ,

our Lord.

God's

love for

us.

He said,

St. Paul

has got no

hope in

himself.

There is no

hope in

ourselves for

salvation.

No hope even

in our present

obedience.

No hope in

pursuit of

the well-being

of others.

No hope in

giving more

money.

No hope in

any form of

activity.

Everything

that we

have done,

everything that

you have

done,

good and

bad,

everything that

you are,

only merits

judgment.

Only

merits judgment.

That's what

Romans is

telling us.

Don't look at

your good

things and think

they're good.

There's a

deeper motive

that's going

on.

There's a

heart issue

going on

here.

Our only

hope is to

look to

Jesus dying

on the

cross for

us.

Our only

hope is to

rest in

his righteousness,

his right

standing before

God.

You see,

Jesus on

the cross

became

wretched.

He took

my sin,

your sin,

the sin of

this world

in the

depths of

his heart

and became

wretched

so that

you and

I might

receive his

righteousness.

We are

wretched,

but God is

not.

God is

and he

gives us

his right

standing

through

Jesus

Christ.

Jesus is

the one

who has

rescued us

and through

the Holy

Spirit he

is in the

process of

changing

us,

but that's

a battle

that we

will always

wrestle with

and he's

changing us

so that we

can enjoy

him

forever.

And that's

chapter 8

and that's

the next

couple of

weeks.

Thank you.