TUG OF WAR
Romans 7:14-25
There was a cartoon which showed two friends standing before a Minister and one asks, "Why is it that opportunity only knocks once but temptation beats on my door every day?!" Can you relate to that? Marc Anthony is quoted as saying, "I can resist everything but temptation." Temptation is an everyday challenge Christians are faced with. Paul knew this struggle and he transparently elaborated on that in the passage we'll be looking at today.
1) I don't get it. (14-16)
"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good."
Paul starts out by showing the contrast between God's law, which is holy, and man, which is unholy. Some have thought that Paul must be referring to his pre-Christian state-in speaking of himself as 'unspiritual' and 'sold as a slave to sin'. But Paul uses first person present tense narrative. And the way Paul describes the struggle along with Vs. 22 which talks about his inner being delighting in God's law, it shows he's speaking of his current, born-again state.
And I'm glad this is here. It shows us that struggling with sin doesn't mean we're not saved. If Paul, being the strong Christian that he was, could have these struggles and still be saved and still be used by God then it gives us hope. We are able to identify with Paul's struggle because we've all been there. We've all dealt with this spiritual tug of war. And we've all been frustrated with ourselves for giving in and doing that which we really don't want to do.
And in Paul's frustration he says, 'I don't understand'. How is it that we have the desire to follow God's commands but then we find ourselves doing the opposite? We agree that God's law is good that we should be carrying it out and that it benefits us to do so but we find ourselves giving into temptation and doing what we know is bad, against God and destructive to us. It makes no sense and is totally illogical-yet we do it-over and over.
It's not only what we know we should do. Sometimes we know what we should do but we don't want to. Paul is saying he wants to do good. And that's what is so confusing to him. Why when we want to do good do we do the opposite?
One reason is that we're deceived into believing Satan's lies. He tells us this is what we need, it'll be different this time, God's not moving fast enough, he doesn't care anyway, etc. Another reason is just plain pleasure. We know it will make us feel good so we do it. Even though we know it will only last a moment and the after effects will not really be worth it but in the moment we block all that out and chase the high. And then, after it's over we shake our heads and say, 'I can't believe I did it again'.
And Paul says all this shows the law is good. We need the law to show us what is good and what is not good. The law itself doesn't give us the power to carry it out-that comes from God. In fact, as we all well know, whenever we're told not to do something our natural inclination is to do it. Not that this means we can blame the law; Paul made that clear in vs. 7-13.
The law is perfect and holy, it shows us the stark contrast between what is good and what is evil-we needed God to show us the difference, otherwise we would conclude that whatever we wanted to do, whatever made us feel good is good. But since the contrast is given we can see how unholy our actions are when they are the opposite of what God says is holy and good. And when we who have been born-again go back to what we know is bad it's like we sell ourselves as a slave to sin all over again. It's a frustrating mess.
2) It's not me. (17-20)
"As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."
Paul's not trying to say he isn't responsible for his actions he's simply stating a reality-"it's not the new me doing this it's the old me". "Nothing good lives in me". If we don't like ourselves we think there's nothing good about us but the reality is that's true only in regards to our sinful nature. There is nothing good about our sinful nature.
But the reality is we have another nature inside of us-our holy nature. That's how we need to see it. It's so easy for us to conclude that we are altogether rotten and despicable because of what we think and do; especially when it's on a repetitive basis. So because of this ongoing struggle we conclude that there is no way we are truly saved.
I sin, therefore I am a sinner-that's my identity. That was true before we came to Christ. Our identity was 'sinner'. We were still loved by God and counted worthy enough to die for but we were sinners nonetheless.
Now, as a Christian with the Holy Spirit taking up residence in us we have a new nature-a new identity. We are no longer identified as 'sinners' but 'saints'. We still sin but that's not our identity anymore. This is the point Paul's trying to get across. I sin but I can distinguish that it is my sinful nature, but that's not all of me. The sin part of me is what I'm in the process of putting to death but that's not the whole of me.
I have the Spirit of Christ living in me now and I'm in the process of allowing that Spirit to take full control of me. Before Christ we had one nature-the sinful nature. But now, as a Christian, we have a new nature. The old one is still there; it doesn't disappear, unfortunately, but now it isn't in control unless we allow it.
"But I cannot carry it out". This doesn't mean that it was impossible for him to; otherwise what good is the power of the Holy Spirit? Instead, this indicates his failure to carry out the good he knows he should do. In his book on temptation, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power, desire seizes mastery over the flesh.
All at once a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference what desire it is. At this moment God is quite unreal to us, the only desire is for the creature. Satan fills us with forgetfulness of God. The lust thus aroused fulfills the mind and will of a man in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us."
Once we entertain temptation we are in dangerous territory. I'm not saying there's automatically a point of no return where it's inevitable that you will sin but it's a possibility. We can't stick our finger in the flame and expect to not get burned. Like playing around with fire is dangerous, playing around with temptation is too. Mark Twain once said, "It's easier to stay out than to get out." We know the good we ought to do but we play around to where we become trapped so that we cannot do the good we want to do.
3) Tug of war. (21-23)
"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members."
I think we can all relate to this principle. Whenever we have the desire to do the right thing Satan comes rushing in with the desire to get in the way of it. He tempts us to not follow through. He tries to give us reasons not to do it. "Don't help that person or they'll always think they can get something from you." "Don't bother; it won't do any good. Besides, you have better things to do." When we talk ourselves out of doing the right thing that's Satan.
When we want to do good regarding our spiritual disciplines Satan is right there to pull us away. He tempts us to stay in bed instead of go to church. He gives us something else to do instead of going to bible study. He lures us away from reading the word. He distracts us when we pray. When we have the desire to do the godly thing, Satan is right there-dangling his carrot. That's the tug of war.
Gal. 5:17, "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."
The battle wages on for our allegiance. We start moving in a godly direction and Satan tries to pull us back down. Often times it feels like we are in a literal battle. We're weary; feeling physically drained. We're mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. We dread having to go back out to the front lines but we know we don't really have a choice.
But we also know we have a never-ending source of strength and wisdom in Christ. But we need to be prepared for battle. We know that when we are moving in a godly direction Satan is going to do everything he can to pull us away from it. We are a threat to his regime.
So we watch for obstacles; anything he tries to do to get in the way. We don't give up when there's a setback. We try to plan for surprises. We put our armor on. We get prayed up. We get prepared to enter the war zone and do battle.
4) Rescue me. (24-25)
"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."
Paul feels so badly about how he does what he doesn't want to do he calls himself a wretched man. Wretched means-pitiful, shameful, despicable. That's a bad way to describe yourself but this is how miserable Paul feels about his struggle. But he also knows to differentiate between the natures. He says in his inner being he delights in God's law but there's another law at work that wins out too often. So he cries out for rescue.
And Paul isn't asking, 'who will rescue me' as if he doesn't already know the answer; he's being rhetorical. He knows he can't rescue himself for he has no power in and of himself to do it. He knows the law can't rescue him because the law is there to show him what sin is, not give him the power to resist it. So he cries out to the only one who can deliver him-Jesus.
When we were saved we were rescued from the power of sin. From then on, we need rescuing from the presence of sin in our lives. Jesus wants to rescue us from the dominion of darkness, even when we put ourselves back into it after we're saved.
We shouldn't take that grace for granted but it's encouraging to know that we have a Savior who doesn't reject us because we've sinned. Instead, when we come to our senses and turn back to him in repentance he runs and throws his arms around us like the prodigal son's father did. There may be consequences to our actions but there is love, forgiveness and restoration also.
Does that mean in our struggle with sin we can't do anything about it until the Lord rescues us? Before we are saved-yes. But after we're saved we have the power of Christ that enables us to overcome. Paul isn't saying he's powerless to resist temptation. When we try to fight with our own strength we will fail every time. But when we look to the Lord and rely on his strength we will succeed.
Christ is the one who rescues me whether through complete deliverance or through me utilizing his power to overcome. We can't make the mistake to think this means we don't have the ability to fight-the Lord has to do it for us.
I've come across people who think they cannot have victory over sin unless the Lord rescues them by removing the temptation. That's not true. While God does free us from certain temptations, sometimes he wants us to deal with the temptation by fighting through it-using the tools he has given us to win the battle.
James 4:7 tells me to resist the devil and he will flee. This involves action on our part. God gives us the power but we have to resist. 1st Cor. 10:13 says that God provides a way out of every temptation. God gives us the way out but we have to take it. Many verses deal with us resisting temptation. There are times when God removes temptation but sometimes he doesn't; he empowers us to resist it.
Thankfully, we don't have to deal with the severity of this tug-of-war struggle 24/7. But there will probably always be something we have this element of struggle with. But this passage isn't meant to indicate the frequency or the longevity of the struggle, just the reality of the struggle.
Paul finishes by talking about the difference between the mind and the flesh. "In my mind". In my conscience, in my understanding, in my purposes and intentions I serve God but then in my fleshly passions I obey the law of sin. The war is waged against the devoted mind and heart.
My mind has been convinced of God's love, forgiveness and truth. My mind has been won over to agree with God's law as being holy. Yet my flesh wants no part of that allegiance. It won't let go; it pulls on me to enslave me all over again. The sinful nature wants to captivate me and take me prisoner. And all too often I fall for it.
One of the implications of Paul being thankful for the Lord's rescuing him is meant to be taken futuristically. Paul struggles and fights and is exasperated and cries out for rescue. We cry too. "When will this be over?" We are tired of the struggle; tired of the agony of giving into temptation. We just want it to be over-we want to be rescued from it all.
We look forward to the day when temptation will cease to be a part of our lives. We yearn for our heavenly dwelling where the only thing we will be able to do is worship God in complete obedience and love without the threat of resistance from our enemy. Amen! Oh, Happy Day!
