Grace Bible Church

4000 E. Collins Rd. P.O. Box #3762 Gillette, WY 82717 (307) 686-1516

“Preaching the Living Word through the Written Word (2Tim 4:2)”

THE STRUGGLE WITH THE FLESH

(Rom 7:13-19) 11/11/07

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

I. THE LAW IS GOOD BUT EXPOSES THE FLESH (13, 16)

A. Having answered that the Law is not sin, Paul addresses another question. Did the Law (which is good) cause my death? Once again he answers with an emphatic, “May it never be.”

B. Paul explains that it was not the Law that caused his spiritual death, but sin. The Law exposed sin and brought it to light (phaínō). Sin effected (katergázomai) Paul’s spiritual death.

C. The Law did not just expose sin, rather it exposed that it was utterly (huperbolê - lit. throw over, i.e. over the top) sinful.

D. In vs. 16, Paul teaches that his own sinfulness affirmed how holy and good the Law was.

II. BELIEVERS STILL POSSESS THE FLESH (14)

A. Views on Paul’s Experience

1. This section of Scripture has been one of the most debated passages since the first century. The debate rages on several fronts.

2. Some suggest that this passage is not talking personally about Paul, but rather of Adamic man in general. Though this view is possible, there is not much in the way of context to indicate that Paul is speaking of anyone other than himself.

3. Others promote the idea that this section is personally about Paul, but it refers to his pre-converted days. There are some plausible arguments by good men that lend themselves to this view. However, this view has to overcome interpretive hurdles pertaining to grammar and context.

4. The view that is taken here is the view that Paul is not only speaking of his own personal experience, but an experience that he must contend with as a believer.

B. Arguments For Paul’s Post-Conversion Experience

1. When Paul spoke in the previous section (7-12), it was apparent by his usage of the aorist tense (and imperfect tense) that he was speaking of his pre-conversion experience (“I would not have known,” vs. 7; “produced in me,” vs. 8; “I died,” vs. 9; “resulted in death,” vs. 10; “deceived and killed me, vs. 11).

2. In this next section (7:14-25), Paul redundantly speaks in first person in the present tense, which is a strong argument that Paul is speaking of his present regenerate experience.

3. First he says, “I am” (egō eími - pres. act ind. “to be” verb)...of flesh” indicating not only present time but also continuous duration.

4. Then, what appears to be for emphasis sake, he monotonously uses the present tense to depict the present ongoing struggle with the flesh (“I am doing,”… “I am not understanding,”… I am not practicing,”…”I am doing,” vs. 15; “I am not wanting,” vs. 16; “I am not doing it,” vs, 17; “the willing is present (parákeimai - to be near at hand or present),”. etc.).

5. Even as an apostle of Jesus Christ he possessed a remnant of the sinfulness that characterizes all human beings, including those who, in Christ, are saved from its total mastery and its condemnation. (MacArthur, in loc.)

C. The Believer and the Flesh (14)

1. Paul states that the Law is spiritual (pneumatikós - pertaining to the spirit), but that he is presently, “of flesh” (sárkinos - consisting of flesh - “belonging to the realm of the flesh in so far as it is weak, sinful, and transitory.” - BAGD)

2. Paul consists of the material flesh. But the material flesh has been tainted by sin and consists of weakness and sinfulness. That flesh is “sold under bondage.” (Note the perfect tense: “having been sold and continuing to be sold into bondage to sin.”)

3. This means that the flesh will always carry with it sin and the sin principle while the believer will always consist of flesh.

III. BIBLICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BELIEVER’S FLESH (15-19)

A. It is Not Understandable (15)

1. Paul first describes his struggle as something he does not understand. Here, “understand” (ginóskō - to know, know by experience) has the same meaning as it does in Rom 7:7a, namely, experiential knowledge. Paul does not understand his experiential struggle with sin.

2. What is it that the believer does not understand about his experience? He does not understand that what he desires or wishes (thélō) to do, he does not always produce it.

3. The believer in and of himself, in his flesh, is not able to produce (katergázomai - work out, produce cp. 7:8, 13) righteousness.

4. Paul uses three verbs in this section synonymously to describe “doing;” poiéō - one’s action; prássō - one’s practice; and katergázomai - one’s end product. The believer’s struggle is with all three.

5. In addition, Paul utilizes the strong term, “hate” (miséō - LXX. Ps 119:104; Rev 2:6) to describe those things which are in opposition to the Law.

6. The believer can find himself doing things that he hates or has a strong dislike. Such behavior leads the believer into intellectual frustration.

B. It is Contradictory (19)

1. Vs. 19 is similar to vs. 15 but it clearly presents how the believer’s actions can appear contradictory.

2. When Paul wants to do good, he ends up doing evil. This is not the entirety of his Christian experience, but it is a real and present struggle for him (Gal 5:17), and is a frustrating contradiction within him.

3. “Want” or desire (thélō) is used twice in this verse. It demonstrates that Paul has desires from the new nature, but that he will still struggle in the flesh.

4. Paul’s struggles to perform in the flesh deals with not doing what is good and upright (agathós) and with practicing evil (kakós - opposite of good - kalós)

C. It is Affected by Indwelling Sin (17-18)

1. Paul arrives at a conclusion (“so now”, nuní de) that it is no longer himself that is sinning but sin which dwells in him.

2. Paul is not shirking any responsibility for his own sin. Rather he is stating that sin stems not from his new nature but from indwelling sin in his flesh.

3. The use of “no longer” (oúketi - no longer, no more) describes that there has been a complete change. This positional change was taught in Rom 6.

4. The “I” (emphatic here, egō) represents who Paul really is in his new nature. But sin still “dwells” (enoikéō - to dwell in, reside ) in him, that is, in his flesh.

5. Though believers are a new creation in Christ, they are still “of flesh” with the capability of being fleshly (Rom 7:15).

6. Furthermore, Paul knows (oida - perceives) that nothing good dwells in him. He clarifies that when he says, “in me,” he means in his flesh (sárx - used figuratively here of fleshly impulses).

7. Again Paul is not removing responsibility for his own actions (1Ti 1:15). Neither is he espousing a Gnostic view that the material is evil while the spirit is perfect. Rather Paul is emphatically describing the flesh in and of itself and that there is “nothing good” or upright residing in it.

8. The “willing” (or better, “desiring,” present infinitive of thélō) is present in him from the new nature, but the flesh is incapable of producing it.

IV. APPLICATION

A. The believer’s experience is not Christian schizophrenia, but a struggle between the flesh and the new nature (Gal 5:17).

B. What steps should the believer take to have victory over the flesh?

1. Know your new position and victory in Christ (Rom 6).

2. Confess your sin when you fail (1Jo 1:9).

3. Forget what is behind and press forward (Phil 3:12-15).