The spiritual war between good and evil in the body of a believer
is not a sign that he is not saved or has lost his salvation,
but an assuring fact that he is saved.
After the initial joy and euphoria of being saved, it doesn’t
take a new Christian very long to realize that there is something
inside him that didn’t get changed or removed. That something
is “the law of sin which is in my members,”
with all its evil desires, anger, lustful thoughts, etc. Often
this sin presents a distressing dilemma for the believer. Yet
there is hope.
God’s gospel not only saves from the penalty of sin but
also from the power of sin. And someday it will save us from
the very presence of sin in our bodies. The book of Romans reveals
how by doctrinal explanation. The Old Testament shows how through
historical picture illustrations of the children of Israel.
This chronicle (#4) will look at the doctrinal truth in Romans
and #5 will look at the pictures of the OT.
Romans presents three aspects of God's salvation.
Justification- Salvation
from sin's penalty chapters 1-5
Sanctification- Salvation
from sin's power chapters 6-8
Glorification- Salvation
from sin's presence chapter 8
Romans chapters one through five deal with the sinner being
saved from the penalty of sin which is death. It is the death
of God’s Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, that fully paid that
penalty for the one who trusts Him.
For example, a son gets a traffic ticket and then joins the
military and goes overseas. The father sees the ticket and, rather
than ignoring it and letting the law prosecute the son, pays
the ticket by sending in his own money on his son’s behalf.
Now that the law has received the money, it has no desire or
power to judge the son for his violation. The penalty of his
crime was paid in full by another. He is free from judgment.
Believers in the resurrected Christ are told, “being
now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through
Him” (Rom. 5:9). His blood paid the penalty.
Romans 8:16-39 also teaches that the believer will be glorified
with a new body at resurrection day. That body will not have
sin in it and will be incorruptible and immortal – like
the Lord Jesus. Then the believer will be free from the very
presence of sin.
However, until that happens, the believer does not only have
Christ in him, but also has a dying body because of sin (Rom.
8:9,10). As Paul discovers in Romans 7:21: “sin that dwelleth
(lives) in me.”
Overcoming sin is the subject discussed in Romans 6-8. Here
we learn how the gospel provides power over sin in our daily
lives. Not power to eliminate its presence yet, but power to
overcome its deeds now.
The death of Christ
deals with sin's penalty. The coming of Christ deals with sin's
presence. The Spirit of Christ deals with sin's power to control
a life.
It is the truth of winning the war over sin (6-8) that we
want to consider in this chronicle.
Romans 6-8 is a trilogy of thought.
Chapter 6 - why we shouldn't
sin
Key question: “shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound?” (6:1)
The subject: the Christian’s life-style
– not destiny
The purpose: to give the logic of “why”
a believer should not sin – not how to overcome sin
Dominant thought: Christ is our representative,
not substitute – Christ as me, not for me
The Negative: “our old man,” not our
lower self but our former self. Here sin is a master
Logic: judicial – not experiential
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Chapter 7 - what activates sin
Key question: “Is the law sin?” (7:7)
The subject: the discovery of indwelling sin
The purpose: to vindicate God’s law. Law
is good – but we (the flesh) is bad.
Dominant thought: we cannot keep the law because
of indwelling sin. Law arouses sin. Why?
The Negative: “sin that dwelleth in me”
(7:17). Now it is our lower self (the flesh - natural body).
Here we will see what drives our indwelling sin.
Logic: a civil war – inside the believer’s
body
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Chapter 8 - what overcomes sin
Key statements: “no condemnation ... in
Christ,” and “Christ in you” (8:1,10)
The subject: Christian victory – not only
from our body of death (future), but from sinful deeds (now).
The purpose: to show means of righteous living
Dominant thought: fleshly mind = death / spiritual
mind = life. Christian has the “Spirit of God”
The Negative: “body is dead because of
sin” (8:10). Sinful deeds need to be put to death –
and can be.
Logic: two opposite spiritual laws and mind-sets
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Romans 6
Why We Shouldn't Sin
6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound?
There are a variety of answers to the question of verse one:
why a “Christian” shouldn’t continue in sin. Some
say so you don’t lose your salvation. Others, so you don’t
burn in purgatory. (These would certainly produce a fear to hinder
sinning, one would think). Others will say it doesn’t matter
because God is love. But none of these are the answer that Romans
six reveals.
Romans six sees the believing sinner as already justified
before God (1-5). Romans six explains to the saved the doctrinal
machinery of sanctification (6:19): living righteous in overcoming
sin. Romans seven deals with what causes the machine to malfunction.
Romans eight reveals what causes the machine to function properly.
For example, one that previously only owned a horse is now
given a car. In order to use the car to its potential, he first
needs to understand its principles: how a car operates (ch. 6).
Secondly, he needs to understand what won’t make it work;
water and oats in the tank will damage the car, not help it (ch.7).
Thirdly, he needs to know what will make it work; gasoline is
what causes it to function properly at full power (ch. 8).
Romans 6, in presenting the doctrinal machinery of the Christian
life, will take us into a judicial setting of heaven’s courtroom.
Here one must think in terms of legal authority – what is
binding.
Two authorities with legal
rights are presented.
1. the dominion (rule) of master
SIN (14,16,20,22)
We are legally bound to sin’s dominion; condemned to judgment.
The source of our status of sinnership is from being ‘in
Adam’ in chapter 5. It is called “our old man”
(in contrast to being in Christ) in chapter 6. This is our former
position not our lower self.
2. the master
of righteousness: GOD (13,18,19,22)
Those who are ‘in Christ’ are looked at as being legally
joined in union with God and His rule of righteousness. This
is called “newness of life” (in contrast to being in
Adam) in chapter six. It is not our higher self but our new position
before God.
The logic of Romans six is, the dominion or master you are
legally joined to or connected with is the one that reason would
expect you to obey (6:11-14).
For example, you legally terminate your employment with company
A and sign a legal contract making you a member of company Z.
Company Z now tells you to go to Siberia for a project. But company
A calls and tells you to go to Hawaii for a project. Who will
you obey? Reason will tell you that you now have a position with
Z not A. Therefore, you are to obey Z. There certainly might
be a tug of passion but it’s who you are joined to that
will determine who is to be obeyed. And if company A threatens
to withhold your paycheck if you don’t go to Hawaii, you
then realize that this is an empty threat. Why? “A”
doesn’t control your pay because they are no longer your
legal authority.
Romans six reveals that the believer is connected to Master
God and no longer to master Sin. Therefore, one simply obeys
whoever they are bound unto.
“... Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto
sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not
sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey
it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments
of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments
of righteousness unto God” (Rom. 6:11-13).
How did it happen?
The question that Romans six answers is this: How does the
one in Adam under the dominion of master sin where all die, get
joined to the dominion of Master God? The answer is the death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not rituals or
asceticism, but Christ. Keep in mind the legal meaning of the
work of Christ:
Death = a legal separation
from authority. Such as when a husband dies, the wife is now
legally free to be remarried (7:1-3). She wasn’t before.
Burial = a formal putting
away, out of sight.
Resurrection - Life =
a union to an authority. Such as when a baby is born. The possession
of that family’s life brings the babe into a legal
union of that family with all its assets.
Romans six points believers to two areas to help us understand
our new legal position and different authority to obey: the logic
of baptism and conversion.
The logic of our baptism 6:2-14
Baptism symbolically identifies us with what we are being baptized
into. The believer is baptized into Jesus Christ: His
death, burial and resurrection.
Since Christ “died unto sin,” He is free
from sin’s dominion and power – never to die again.
Since the believer is in union with Christ, the believer is also
dead (legally separated) to sin (its dominion or authority).
Since Christ was buried, so all that the believer was “in
Adam” is separated and out of God’s sight.
When the Lord Jesus arose to life, “He liveth unto God”
and is in union with Him. Likewise the one in Christ is alive
unto God: a new position and authority.
In summary, the good news concerning our “old man”
(what we were in Adam) is: In co-crucifixion (death) with Christ,
our old man has already received the judgment he deserves and
his existence has ended. In co-burial with Christ, God sees our
old man no more. In co-resurrection with Christ, God sees us
only in Christ: alive unto Him and righteous. Praise the Lord!
Crucifying our old man or being dead to sin is not something
we do now, but a position we have. We simply are to yield to
our new authority: God.
Is our God a grave
digger? We are buried with Christ. God doesn't see our old man.
By faith let us no longer live in self debasement.
The logic of our conversion 6:15-23
Now logic is brought before us that a slave in the Roman world
could especially relate to. Master-servant is a legal bond. When
a person offered himself as a slave to a master, he was bound
to obey his authority.
Paul reminded the Romans that they were converted by having
“obeyed from the heart” (6:17). By the act of obeying
God’s gospel doctrine of faith alone, they had confessed
His authority and therefore it is logical to now obey Him. Furthermore,
master sin provided the fruit of shame with the wage of death,
while Master God provides the fruit of holiness with the gift
of life.
Romans 7
What Activates Sin
7:5, 6, 7 ... The motions of sins, which were by the
law ... But now we are delivered from the law ... What shall
we say then? Is the law sin?
7:1-6 Here we learn that we are also legally separated
from the authority of the Mosaic law by death: the death of Christ
Jesus. Likewise we, by life (resurrection of Christ), are in
a legal union with another authority: the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is so we can “bring forth fruit unto God” in “newness
of spirit.” And this fruit did not exist when we were in
the flesh because the passions of sins were aroused by the law.
But now we are not in the flesh, but in Christ or the Spirit.
So why does it matter if we operate by the law in our new life?
How can the letter of the law, with all its rituals, holy days,
dietary regulations, customs and required commandments, hurt?
If it does, is it because God’s law is somehow sin? The
answer is in the rest of chapter seven. Following are key truths
revealed.
7:7-14 God’s law is good and holy – alone.
However, to mix it with something fleshly (natural sin) produces
a negative reaction. Fire can be very helpful alone, but mixing
it with gasoline can be destructive. For something sold under
sin (self, the flesh) to be told it can’t do something or
must do something, or else incur a penalty (this is law), suddenly
arouses lust for its rights and freedom. At that point sin is
revealed, by the law, for what it truly is: rebellion. And then
that same law demands the sinner must die. (Isn’t is tremendous
to be delivered from the authority of law?)
7:15-25 Here an active spiritual law is discovered
which many have since experienced. A Christian has indwelling
sin. It’s our lower nature, here called “sin
... in my members” or “ my flesh” or “the
body of this death.” Therefore, a Christian cannot live
under or by the law. Paul discovered his inability to do
so, as well as the source, when he tried to live by the law principle:
a command must be done or a penalty is incurred. He found the
principle of sin in his very body alive with its full
desire to rebel against God’s holy law.
And so this present civil war between sin in him and his new
mind caused him to realize his wretchedness and need for deliverance
outside himself: Christ Jesus.
Romans 8
What Overcomes Sin
8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
This chapter contains not one direct command but victory principle
after victory principle in Christ.
– though sin is in us, we are in Christ so there is no
condemnation (judgment).
– we are not connected to the principle of law: disobedience
(sin) = penalty of death, but in Christ we have the Spirit Himself
which is life.
– when we walk after the Spirit in us (not law, religious
rituals, self-confidence, isolation from society, etc.) we fulfill
the righteousness of the law: its right goal of love to God and
man.
– through the Spirit (with His power and holy desires)
we can put to death “the deeds of the body.”
Not the body (flesh) of sin can be put to death, but its actions.
That is all God asks. The sinful desires live and will continue,
but they can be stopped before a deed is carried out.
So grace does not
constitute sin, but gives the means to overcome sin.
– the full solution for our body of sin and death: since
we are in union with Christ Who rose from the dead, then the
same Spirit that gave Him life will raise us up with new bodies.
In one sense the war is already won. We are already alive
unto God and can never be separated for we are in Christ Jesus
our Lord (8:39). Yet there are daily battles with the flesh,
but we have the Spirit which, when followed by faith, overcomes
sin’s desires. Isn’t it wonderful to be in Christ:
under grace and not law?