So, welcome back to Dangerous Heretics. Last time we talked about how Romans 7 is not for you, if your are born again, and I promised you a bunch of scriptural support for that idea, which is still forthcoming.
But first, one more little thing:
Romans 7 begins with: “Or do you not know, brethren, (For I am speaking to those who know the law)…”
In other words, this whole argument is addressed to those who are living under the law. Unless you are a Jew under the Old Testament law, then this chapter does not apply to you. Paul continues “the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?” Paul is simply setting up the argument that the law only applies to those who are alive.
We are not alive. That’s the whole point. Paul even uses the illustration of a marriage, and the accepted fact that when a woman’s husband dies she is no longer constrained by the laws of marriage and she is free to marry again if she pleases. In the same way, the law does not apply any longer to those whose old man, or sinful nature, has been killed and buried.
Even if it did still apply to us, the law is not adequate to lead us into this new and rich life of Christ that is being provided to us through the sacrifice He made for us. So Paul is using Romans 7 to illustrate what life is like under the Old Testament law – where there really was an evil being inside, trying to war with the desire to keep the law of Moses and be good – and he will then juxtapose that against the new life we have in Christ under the new “law of life” (Romans 8:1).
As long as a person lives in his old self, he is subject to the law. But the whole point of the verses above and of Romans chapter 8 is to say that we no longer live. We have been released from the law specifically because of the new law of life that Jesus brought:
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:1-2).
This is an incredibly freeing way to live. The new law has nothing to do with what we do, but with who we are. We can no longer say that we are nothing without Christ because we are not without Christ. We can no longer say that there is a sin nature inside me warring against the Spirit, because that sin nature was crucified with Christ and therefore I am no longer subject to a law of rules and restrictions.
So why the continual battle with sin and temptation?
Two reasons: because what we have is a habit leftover from the way we lived when the old man was calling the shots, and we have an enemy lying to us and tempting us like he did Jesus in the wilderness.
So how can we get rid of these distractions?
Paul anticipated this question coming, which is why Romans 12 begins with this: “Do not be conformed to this world” [do not continue in the habits that you learned when the old sinful man was in charge], “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” [rise above those old habits by changing the way your mind works, the way you think, what you allow your mind to dwell on].
He recognized that all spiritual warfare is staged in the mind. Lust, evil intent, anger, the decision to purposefully disobey the Spirit of God, selfishness, these are all decisions made in the minds of people, decisions that precede the evil actions that ultimately come from those who “are according to the flesh” (Romans 8:5).
So why does this matter at all? Is it not enough to simply realize there is a battle going on? Do we have to dwell on whether the source of conflict is an evil nature inside me or whether it comes from habit or temptation?
Yes, I think it makes all the difference in the world how we view this particular truth. Because if we believe there is still a sin nature living inside me, then a few nasty consequences come to the surface:
1. If we believe that we still have a sin nature, then we simply refuse to acknowledge what the bible says about the sacrifice Jesus made. It is clear that we are crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6-7) and therefore we must acknowledge that our source of life is the work Jesus did in our place.
2. If we believe that we still have a sin nature, then we have a very convenient excuse for the wrong things we do. We can simply say (often with travail in our voices) that we are simply struggling with our sin nature and therefore cannot really be held responsible. After all, doesn’t Romans 7 say that it’s not me but sin living in me that does these evil things? It might be an easy excuse, but excuses aren’t healthy..
3. If we believe that we still have a sin nature, then I am convinced that we will never experience the true power of life in Christ, and we will miss out on the true depth of the incredible kingdom existence he is holding out to us. This is because we simply can’t function with such a heavy weight hanging around our necks. If we believe we are saddled with the extra baggage of a sin nature which is constantly fighting the life of Christ within us, then we will never fight effectively. Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us.” In other words there is the sin which entangles us, AND there are these other “encumbrances” that also entangle us. We need to be lean and strong in order to run the race marked out for us.
4. If we believe we still have a sin nature, then we miss out on the most powerful source of strength available to us to help us live life in the Spirit: “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). A life of struggle with the old nature is not a life of faith.
Next time we’ll weight the typical interpretation of Romans 7 against a bunch of other scriptures, and put it all in the correct context.