John 8:1-11 Go and sin no more - Roly v N

A controversial passage.

Why?  It looks like it has been added to the gospel.  It is its own complete little story, and it kind of upsets the flow of the story already going on. 

So, it looks like what bible critics call an insertion, but at the same time critics also recognise that it is very authentic.  So, there is some confusion there.

The resolution

1. Is to recognise that this passage is an interruption, but we don’t need to assume because of this that it is not inspired by the Holy Spirit, or that John didn’t write it.  It is a deliberate interruption.

Why deliberate?  Because John wanted us to think about another place in the scripture where there is a very similar story which is also an interruption to a bigger story - the story of Tamar in Genesis 38. 

John 8		Woman in John 8	Story of Tamar
1	The story appears as an insertion or interruption	Interrupts the story of the Pharisees rejection of Jesus	Interrupts the story of the rejection of Joseph by his brothers
2	Woman as main figure	An unnamed woman	Tamar
3	Accusation is sexual sin	“a woman caught in adultery”	“Tamar has played the harlot”
4	Guilt undeniable	“in the very act”	“she is with child by harlotry”
5	Penalty indisputable: death	“…Moses commanded us to stone such women”	“Bring her out and let her be burned!”
6	Male offender not present at trial.	Unnamed offender	Judah
7	Hypocrisy of accusers exposed	Pharisees leave, older ones first	Judah recognized them (i.e. his signet and staff)
8	Accusation dropped	Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”	“She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.”
9	Offending stops	Go. From now on sin no more.”	And he did not have relations with her again.

2. The first thing to recognise is that the details of the story of Tamar are extremely similar to that of the woman caught in adultery.

3. The second thing to recognise is that the details of the story that gets interrupted are also very similar.  In Genesis, the story of Tamar interrupts the longer story of the rejection of Joseph by his brothers.  In John, the story of the woman caught in adultery interrupts the longer story of Jesus’ rejection by his own people. 

4. John wants us to think back to Genesis, and recognise that Jesus is re-living or embodying the life of Joseph.  Joseph had a very close relationship to his father, he was favoured by His father, and God spoke to him personally in dreams, and for these reasons he was hated by his own brothers.  In the story, they rejected him completely and threw him into a water-less pit, intending to kill him.  As a result of their rejection Joseph suffered, but as a slave in Egypt later rose to become a great king, second only to pharaoh.  The parallel should be plain: Jesus is being despised by His own brothers on account of his close relationship to his father, and his claim to speak and act for God.  They will sentence Him to death, but John wants us to see what God planned long ago - that Jesus will go on to be exalted and rise to kingship.

5. All of this is simply to recognise that, odds on, this interruption is deliberate.  The whole passage is authentic, it is part of John’s gospel.  Just because it is an interruption, that does not have to create a problem with its authenticity.  It is an interruption on purpose, to make us recognise what is going on here in terms of the bigger picture of the wisdom of God.

Exposition

John 8:1-6

What we have here is a situation orchestrated by the religious leaders to put Jesus in a very tight spot:

They wait till a large audience gathers. 

They bring a woman unquestionably charged with sin.

They put Jesus on the spot to see if he will say something against the law.  “In the Law of Moses it is written...But you, what do you say?”[1] 

Pressure!  If he supports the Law it will seem like He is condemning her to death; if he doesn’t, they will have him. 

Note, there is no compassion for the woman, she is just a tool.

[1] He said he didn’t come to abolish the law - let him prove it in a pressure situation.

What is the background here?

It is satanic.  The religious leaders are possessed by a satanically-driven hatred for Jesus.  Jesus knows it: “You are of your Father, the devil.  He was a murderer from the beginning.”  (Note that the word for accuse and Satan are the same in the Hebrew tongue.)  Satan is the main player here; the religious leaders are his puppets.  This is his show.

6a Jesus does something odd

But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

What does Jesus write on the ground?  Why does he do so?  John does not tell us, and hence there has been a lot of speculation on this point.  I am not going to try to guess what, but look at the things John has told us to try and understand why he did so.

- stoop – this word indicates a bent posture of humility (NT x2; LXX x19[1]).

- finger – (lit) “with the finger” Jesus was writing in the earth.  This signifies the finger of God, which in scripture (with the definite article) refers only to God’s finger when He wrote the 10 commandments on two stone tablets (Exod 31:18; Deut 9:10). 

- Lastly, here is “the finger” writing in the ground – or “earth” – which is what people are made of.

 If we take these ideas together, we have a rather vivid picture of Jesus as the God-man.  On the one hand he is the law-giver and judge of all the earth, but here he is stooped down, having humbled himself, to take on flesh.  Like the word written in the earth, he is the word embodied in earth, or human flesh. 

Why does this matter?  Because the religious leaders have just said “In the Law of Moses it is written.”  Now John is reminding us who Jesus actually is - the one who gave us the seventh commandment, the one that wrote “Do not commit adultery” in the first place. 

[1] Often includes the idea of “to the ground” e.g. at Exod 34:8; Num 22:23; 1 King 24:9; 28:14; 3 King 1:31; 18:42; 2 Chron 20:18; etc.

There is a definite irony here.  Jesus knows all about the Law, every jot and tittle.  This is the point John is making, and he is making it without putting any words in Jesus’ mouth.    

John 8:7-8 Jesus responds: “Fire away!”

7     But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

8   Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Jesus’ response is to invoke the Law.  He is not excusing her, as many think, but he is actually saying, “Go for it” - but at the same time he is reminding them of something else: a point of procedure: “The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people” (Deut 17:7).  The witness must throw first.

What gives Jesus the confidence to say this?  Answer: he knows another verse:

If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.’ (Lev 20:10)

The Pharisees have tried to put their case beyond doubt by saying the woman was caught “in the act.”  But if she was really caught in the act, then the witnesses must also know who the other party is, and even though they know who he is, they have chosen not to bring him before Jesus.   

9 The effect

When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.

The clear implication: they know that Jesus knows that they know who the guy is – and that they are unwilling to see him stoned along with the woman.  As soon as one or two of them picks up a stone, Jesus will say to him: “Since you are the witness, where’s the guy she was with?  Since you are without sin, you had better go fetch him too.”

That’s hypocrisy, in that they are acting innocent, but actually breaking the law by protecting the other culprit.  They solve the problem by avoiding it - sneaking off – before he asks them directly.  Jesus has exposed their hypocrisy.

10-11 The outcome

10     Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

11     She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

Jesus is left alone with the woman in the center of the crowd.

He says “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”  This is not to say she is innocent; it is just to say, no one is there to condemn her.

She says, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

How could Jesus not condemn her, when she was indeed guilty?  Under the Law, she has no-one to condemn her, so it is perfectly legitimate for Him to say “Go.”  Does He know she is guilty?  Of course, because He says “Stop sinning, from now.”  Which shows He is concerned about that aspect.

To Sum Up:

Jesus finds Himself in a stitch-up involving a woman caught in adultery.  The religious leaders put him in a position where He will either look bad, or break the law. 

Jesus stoops down and writes on the ground, which is John’s way to remind us that He is the God-man: God, the law giver, stooped down, in human form.

Eventually Jesus says: let the one without sin start the stoning, which is a reminder to them of how the law says you go about stoning someone.  He knows that this will identify the witnesses, who will be able to explain who the other guilty party is.  This is exactly what the woman’s accusers don’t want, so they start leaving. 

This leaves the woman without anyone to condemn her.  This leaves Jesus in a position where He too can legitimately say “Neither do I condemn you.” 

Jesus has found a way to rescue this woman without breaking the law.  He is giving her a second chance.

Application

This is a story about something that happened in Jesus’ life which shows us God’s attitude towards sin.  How do we interpret and apply it?

How not to apply this passage.

It would be a mistake to interpret this story as showing that Jesus showed a lenient attitude towards sin because He knew that everyone has sin, so it is just hypocritical for us to judge others for their sin. 

The reason is the teaching in the NT is the exact opposite - we are instructed to judge sin both in ourselves and in the church.  If you have read the New Testament you will know that there are many verses that state this plainly, or assume it. 

So, yes, we all make mistakes, we all have a sinful flesh, we all have a log in our own eye - but as believers we are not slaves to sin.  God has made provision for us to escape continual sin and he expects us to seek Him out on that.  So we cannot take Jesus’ words here and apply them in this way to the church. 

How to apply this passage

The point of the Gospel of John is given at the end of the book:

“…these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” (20:31)

That is the point of the Gospel.  To believe in Jesus, and to have life in His name.

What we have here is a microcosm of the whole world, of every human.  We are in the centre of this drama.  In front: God, the law-giver and judge; beside us Satan, the accuser.  The problem we face – and everyone faces it – is sin.  Like the woman, we are guilty, we deserve to die.  Satan knows it, so he is accusing us before God, claiming the right to have us.

Now this story tells us to believe in Him, and have life in His name.

1. Believe in Him.

As John the Baptist puts it, the one who does not believe will not see life, the wrath of God rests on them (3:36).  That is the position of the unbeliever.  But God had provided an escape – he has stooped down, taken a position of humility, taken upon himself the form of sinful flesh, and died in your place.  Your choice is either to accept that gift, or reject it.  If you receive that gift, you escape death and hell.  That’s why we call it “getting saved.”

2. Have life in his name.

We tend to think of sin as what we do.  But sin is also what we are.  We do what we do because we are what we are – sin comes out of our hearts.

How do we escape that?  Is it really possible to “go, and sin no more”?

The answer is, yes, bit by bit, that is exactly what Jesus had made possible for us.  That’s part of the gospel.  Jesus did not just stoop down and take on flesh to die for us, but also to live a perfect life for us.  And he wants to do that today.  When we believe on Him, he plants His life in our hearts by His Spirit, like a little seed, and we have the privilege of yielding to that life, and watching it grow. 

Now, we need to remember that we have an adversary.  Satan can and does seek legal grounds to bring death into our experience of life, and our sin is his entry-point.  

This is not about losing your salvation.  God sets limits on what the devil may do, but it is still a fact that he accuses us, and he does not do so for no reason at all.  His goal is to see you in a waterless pit, like Joseph.  Water is life, and sin will allow him to take it from us.

So, this means we have to take sin seriously.  We can’t make excuses for it in ourselves or others.  We have to engage with what the bible teaches about being united with Jesus in his death and in his life.  We have to yield to him on every point that He brings to our attention.  That is the only way to “go and sin no more” like Jesus said. 

Romans 15:4-13 Our Hope - Roly v N

In this message Roly asks what is our hope? It is not just vague concept. He encourages us that it is real and tangible. He considers the relationship between perseverance and hope and how unites believers together. How do the scriptures encourage us in confirming the truth of our hope?

The context: living to please God, not ourselves. This is the model that Jesus gives us. The goal is unity, a tremendous and very humbling challenge, if you know anything about the church.

What we move into now (up to verse 13) is a discussion that has at its centre the idea of hope. Notice verse 4:

Rom 4:3 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

What this verse is saying is that the point of scripture – the OT scriptures - is to gain two very important things, perseverance and encouragement, and how the point of both of these things is to gain hope. In the verses that follow, Paul will demonstrate how this is true.

1. What exactly is our hope? (A necessary recap).

2. How perseverance gives us a hope of sharing in Jesus’ glory

3. How our journey into hope unites us.

4. How the scriptures encourage us by confirming the truth of our hope.

1. What is our hope?

We back-track here to chapter Rom 5:1-2

v1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

v2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

1. Justification is only our introduction to faith, not the walk itself. We’ve only got our boots on and have not begun the journey.

2. The thing we are actually hoping for is entry into the glory of God – into a share of the glory of Jesus himself (i.e. “glorification”). What is His glory? God’s glory is that which is completely true of him, or owing to him, in terms of his essential being as God. If I share in his glory, I share in what is owed to his essential being, in terms of honour or splendour. That, we immediately see, is a very deep and rich thing that will carry many aspects to it in terms of both relationship and function in His kingdom.

2. “…through perseverance we have hope” (5:3-4)

The Christian’s hope is particular, not vague. Paul goes on to clearly spell out the relationship between perseverance and hope:

v3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

v4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope

1. There is a sequence that follows Justification:

Tribulation, i.e. the normal circumstances of trial on account of our faith.

Perseverance, i.e. patience to bear up under trial.

Proven character, i.e. character tested and approved. Not ours, but Christ’s in us.

Hope. The end-point of the process.

How does proven character bring about the hope of participation in the glory of God? The extent to which we now become conformed to the character of Christ in us is the extent to which we possess a legitimate hope of then receiving of the glory of God.

There are degrees of this – some saints go further than others and will receive a greater glory.

Matt 13:33 “…this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

1 Cor 15:41-42 “…For star differs from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.”

God will judge us fairly. The extent to which we have denied Him and lived for ourselves is the extent to which he will deny us. Not salvation – He cannot deny Himself - but the degree of the reward of glory he will give (2 Tim 2:11-12).

3. Our hope brings us together as one (5:5-7)

Now we know the context Paul is speaking into here – acceptance of each other (Ch. 14). Unity. Preferring others. Not pleasing ourselves. How does our hope bring unity?

v5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

v6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

v7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

What Paul is saying here is tremendous

1. But God himself gives perseverance and encouragement. As Christ is formed in us, as we conform to Him, perseverance and encouragement are mediated to us, as a person (Jesus), not as qualities per se.

2. This is an incredibly unifying thing in the church. We are unified not to a religion or an idea of church, or to anything but, in Jesus, a person.

We are not even united by our own idea of what service to Jesus looks like, but to the endurance which leads to Jesus being increasingly formed in us. Try to unite Christians - good luck! We are very independent in our minds – in our idea of what we think is most important.

There are a lot of non-essentials that can divide us ( Rom 14 ). But Paul is saying, recognise this, that we are united to the extent that we are intentionally committed to the endurance that leads to conformity to Jesus.

In this, we are all together – as one voice - bringing glory to the Father, as Jesus did in his life, and now He is doing in his life in us.

For this reason we have strong encouragement to accept each other, in that everyone here has been accepted, though unworthy, into the same school.

To sum up

Having been justified, there is a degree to which all of us must persevere in order to bring Jesus into the experience of our character - who we are. As much as we are conformed to Jesus, this is the extent of his glory we may hope for, and will enter into, and thus we have a sure hope – “treasure in heaven.”

We are unified in this. There is no other path, and no divine help – perseverance and encouragement - for any other path.

4. “…through encouragement of the scriptures we have hope.”

Paul has talked about perseverance giving hope – a share in the glory of God. Now he will demonstrate how the scriptures also give us that same hope.

To sum up what is coming:

• Paul wants to show us how the scriptures give us encouragement leading to hope.

• He first shows that God’s faithfulness to Israel was for not purely for Israel’s own sake, but the purpose of showing his mercy to Gentiles also.

• He quotes four scriptures which all describe the Gentiles in some way participating with Israel in the hope that Israel has as God’s people – praise, glory, joy.

• These are all prophesies which must refer to the eschaton – post the coming of Messiah.

• What these scriptures show is above all else encouraging – they show that God’s plan for salvation is indeed great - the nations have a redemption to look forward to.

God’s faithfulness to Israel was to show his mercy to the Gentiles

Paul makes the point:

v8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers,

In other words, Jesus as Messiah became a servant to the Jews so that the promises God made to the Fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) might be made secure. That is, God demonstrated in Christ that there was no problem with His ability to do what He promised, and what he said was, “I have set apart one nation for Himself, Israel, to bear My glory.”

Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, ( Isa 43:6–7 ).

the Lord has redeemed Jacob and in Israel He shows forth His glory ( Isa 44:23 )

And I will grant salvation in Zion, and My glory for Israel. ( Isa 46:13 ).

He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in Whom I will show My glory” ( Isa 49:3 )

But wait, there’s more:

v9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy;

Jesus became a servant to the circumcision so that the Gentiles also might glorify God. Just as God’s promises to Israel are made secure by Jesus’ coming, in the same way, His promises to bless the nations through Israel are also made secure, which is encouragement for us.

The scriptures show that God’s hope extends to Gentile nations

Paul will now quote four different portions of scripture, all of which demonstrate the same thing, namely, that the Gentiles will be brought back into the family of God, and will share the blessings of the family of God with Israel, the firstborn.

To understand the meaning here, we need to bear in mind that these verses are not about the church. What they describe can never be achieved in this dispensation. They refer to the future. Presently, the Gentile nations are in a state of ever-increasing hostility against Israel – which is really against God.

The culmination of this is Zech 12:3 “all the nations of the earth will be gathered against her” (also 14:2-3).

The only place and time where this will end is in the eschaton, in the kingdom of God, after the return of Jesus. Both in the millennium and after that (Rev 21:22).

as it is written,

“THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES,

AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME.” [Ps 18:49: praise and singing]

v10 Again he says,

“REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE.” [Deut 32:43: joy]

v11 And again,

“PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES,

AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE HIM.” [Ps 117:1: Praise for the love of God]

v12 Again Isaiah says,

“THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE,

AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES,

IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE.” [Is 11:10: Hope]

Paul is going big picture here. What he has spoken of up to now in Romans is the salvation of individuals – saving individuals from the effects of the rebellion in Eden. But that’s not the only fall that is reversed by the work of Jesus Christ. There is also the saving of collective humanity from the effects of the rebellion that began at Babel, when God separated people into (Gentile) nations, establishing their boundaries according to the “gods,” and setting apart Israel for himself (Deut 32), and this rebellion continues today.

So, there is an even bigger hope of which we are a part, the restoration of every nation, tribe and tongue to glorify God at the coming of Christ, and we in the church play a part in displacing those principalities which presently rule in rebellion against him and which rule over the nations of the earth. That is a very encouraging picture. (Cf Rom 11:15). God can do anything.

Abounding in hope.

v13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul ends up here where he started. God is the journey and the destination, both the thing we hope for, and the means by which we are strengthened and encouraged to attain to it. It is His earnest desire for us to abound in hope – in conformity to His Son, by the power of His Son made available through the Spirit.

To sum up:

• Our hope is a definite thing – the hope of sharing in the glory of Christ.

• We gain hope through 2 things: perseverance, and the encouragement of the scriptures.

• Perseverance means committing to the process of being conformed to Jesus.

• To the extent that this happens, we possess the hope of sharing in Jesus’ glory.

• This means, when we are judged, our conformity to Jesus is the standard by which He Himself will judge us.

• The scriptures give us hope in that they confirm a bigger picture.

• This picture is the restoration of all humanity to the glory of God – the truth of who God is.

• In terms of sharing the glory of God, the church as the bride of Christ has a part to play in the administration of this bigger picture – that is our hope.

Romans 7: 13-25 The Purpose of the Law - Roly v N

Introduction

In our Christian life experience it is really hard to overcome sin but we keep on failing. We keep having a cycle of defeat and confession, failure and confession. Chapter 6 tells us that we are no longer slaves to sin but this is not our experience. Roland presents this critical message today on how we can overcome sin by recognising our sin nature.. You will not beat your sin-addiction by becoming stronger, but by admitting you can’t beat it.

Sermon Notes

The early part of Romans talks about sins as transgressions - things we have done wrong, offences against God.  Justification is the word we use to describe how God dealt with sin in this sense.  As a gift of his grace, by the shedding of His blood, he forgave sins (plural).

By the time we reach Romans 5 we are starting to see sin as “the sin” - the principle at work in our hearts that makes us sin - which is different.  This tells us, God wants not only to deal with sin, but with the sinner. 

The question Romans 6 poses is, are we to continue in the sin, now that we are justified and experiencing the grace of God?  The answer is, emphatically, no.

Romans six gives us the good news that God has not only dealt with sin, he has dealt with the sinner.  Through our union with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection, we have died to sin, and risen to newness of life, meaning that sin is no longer our master. 

Main point: WE DO NOT HAVE TO SIN.

It seems like a happy picture - but there is trouble ahead.

What is this trouble ahead?  A cycle of defeat followed by trying harder to be good.  This is eventually the experience of every new believer in Jesus.  They have been saved, they realize their sins are taken away.  They are very happy about that.  They are filled with the desire to do what is right, and avoid what is wrong.  But it does not take long before they discover that being good just doesn’t always work out as easily as they thought. 

Do you recognize this?  (I do!)

So, what is the problem?

4 points by way of introduction:

• There is no problem with Romans 6 as such.  Every word it says about our union with Christ and freedom from sin is absolutely true.  But chapter 6 does not go far enough to explain how to live in greater and greater victory as a Christian.  In particular, it does not go on to give one vital bit of information - that is the believer’s deliverance from law.  Until we thoroughly understand this, internalize it, we cannot be free of sin, and the truth of chapter 6 will not manifest itself in us. 

• The burden of chapter 7 will be to say that we have died to the law.  But that does not mean the law serves no purpose in our lives – the opposite is true.  We can outline the purpose of the law in the life of the believer as follows:

1. The law shows us where our sin lies. 

2. The law makes us sin even more.   

3. The law forces us to admit that in our flesh dwells no good thing. 

4. Finally, the law drives us to a spiritual walk with God.

• This is an intensely personal chapter for Paul, a psychological exposé.  From verse 7 to the end, the word “I” is used x 30; “me” x 12; “my” x 4; and “myself” x 1.  That is 47 uses of the personal pronoun, and it is very significant that that passage, which shows the most utter human defeat, combines this with massive use of the personal pronoun.

• What the chapter amounts to is a series of personal realizations that Paul comes to by revelation from the Holy Spirit.  They come quite quickly here, but I would what we read is a condensation of many years of internal struggle.[1]  These are tough ideas.  We can expect to wrestle like Paul did.

Exposition

The first 6 verses of chapter 7 tell us about the believer’s relationship to the law.  The metaphor is that of a wife to her husband.  The main point here is that position of the believer has changed: through their union with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection they died to the law, and are now joined to Christ.[2]

What does this mean?  Before answering that, we need to clarify - what is law?   Well, if grace is what God does for us, then simply put, law is what we must do for God.  So what does it mean, to “die to the law”?  It means we are dead to any obligation the law might put on us.  Dead, as if we were a corpse!  We are completely without obligation, because we are dead.  Any rule that might dictate to me in that state what I should do to serve God, no longer applies.   This is the big idea of chapter 7, which sets the stage for the rest of the chapter.

In verses 7-11, Paul talks about the effect the law had on him.  2 points:

First, the law identified sin in him.  When he was given the commandment not to covet, that brought out all sorts of covetous feelings in him.  That is the first function of the law - to show Paul exactly where his sin lies.

Second, just because the law did that, that doesn’t mean there was a problem with the law.  The problem was what the law had to work with – Paul.  There was sin in Paul.  What the law did was bring to life the sin that was already there in Paul’s carnal being. 

This gives rise to another question:

13  Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me?

Paul is thinking of the many places where the bible says: “These are the commandments of God, by them you will live!”[3]  But now he is asking, if these good commandments are obviously too good to keep, can we blame them for bringing death upon us?  In other words, if the law is too good to keep - does it exist simply as something that condemns us to death?  His answer:

May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

Paul recognizes something important about the nature of how sin works. 

Sin uses what is good – the commandment - as a base of operations to make sin in Paul’s flesh more sinful.  Again, there is no problem with the commandment not to covet.  It is good.  What sin did though was use the commandment to create more and more coveting in Paul.  The second function of the law is being achieved – sin is increasing in Paul. 

14   For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

1. Realization: there is a gap between what the Law represents and what Paul is able to achieve that cannot be breached, and the gap is a qualitative one.  The law is spiritual, produced by the Holy Spirit, perfect, blameless,[4] but Paul is of flesh, of a kind that is sold into bondage to sin; he is a lifelong slave, inherently sinful.  Whether or not Paul recognizes goodness or not, he cannot produce it in and of himself.  To get Paul’s flesh or carnal man to not covet would be like dressing up a monkey trying to get it to read poetry - it just cannot be done, no matter how much effort you put into the monkey!

2. This is an admission of defeat by Paul.  He accepts, he cannot win.

15  For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

16  But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.

17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

Paul has admitted defeat.  He has given up trying to keep the law.  What this allows him to do is zoom out from himself and see his situation in a new way.  He recognises that there is a horrible part of him that is a law unto itself, doing what he actually hates.  He doesn’t even understand this part.  But at the same time, he realizes that there is another part of him, a part he understands very well, and even agrees with – that is in tune with the perfect law of God.  So what Paul begins to do is make a separation within himself.  There is the “I” who agrees with God, and “sin which dwells in me.”  For the first time, he sees his sin as separate to his core identity.  The pennies are beginning to drop for Paul. 

18  For I know[5] that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.

19  For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

The third purpose of the law has been achieved - “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.”  This realization is worth a million dollars to Paul, and to us all.  Here is the point where Paul makes a definite separation between “me” and “my flesh.”  His flesh has a will, and it is a will to be good, but the result is constant frustration - an inability to do the good that he wants, and a remarkable ability to do the evil that he doesn’t want.  Paul however doesn’t trust this part of himself – he has pulled out of it, in terms of identity.  He recognizes that sin in his flesh is causing that failure.

21  I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good[6].

 22  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,

 23 but I see a different law in the members[7] of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

Here we see him explicitly realize, and identify, that there are actually two Pauls working one against each other.  There is the Paul “who wants to do good”, and Paul, who is “the inner man.”  The one who wants to do good is the fleshly Paul who is blind to the fact that whenever he wants to do good, evil is present right there inside him.  The inner man is the label Paul gives to the spiritual Paul who not only joyfully agrees with God’s (spiritual) law, but who now also recognizes the whole picture for what it is.[8]  The sun starts to break onto the horizon for Paul at this point.[9] 

There is a war going on, and Paul recognizes it at last - not with the eyes of flesh, but with the eyes of the Spirit.  The war is between two laws, and the battlefield is Paul’s mind. 

 The great prize of this war is life itself. 

The war is his struggle to break free of one paradigm or set of principles and take on board a completely new one, one that seems counter-intuitive in every way.  On the one hand there is “the law of sin which is in my members,” which is Paul’s default or fleshly setting, all he has ever known.  Under this law, Paul sees gaining life as trying hard to energize the good part of himself, to beat that bad part of himself.  On the other hand, the new law of Paul’s mind recognizes that he cannot gain life this way.  The war is not the struggle to be good, but the struggle to recognize his new ontology/wineskin and understand how it bears on his current predicament. 

By way of analogy, this battle is not like the American Civil War, the war against slavery, where north fought against south, “good against evil.”  The battle for Paul is a more like the mental conflict of a man who has lived all his life as a slave in the South: the war is over, he is technically free, but is struggling to understand what that looks like.  His default setting is to continue in the role of a slave, but he must learn to live under the new constitution.   

24  Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

25  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! [So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.][10]

First he expresses the conclusion of his previous thoughts.  He is a wretched, or miserable, man!  The law has served its purpose very well. 

The law made him aware of sin, it increased his sin, and it forced him to admit that even in that part of him that wants to do good for God dwells no good thing. 

 He asks, who can set me free from this “body of death”?[11]  Here is Paul’s final realization, the last thing he needs to know before he can embark upon the spiritual life that God has in store for him.  

Paul’s answer reveals his final conclusion.  God, through Jesus Christ has set him free!  He will always live in the covering of flesh.  The nature of his flesh will not change.  Nevertheless, he can serve the law of God. 

This sets the stage for an explanation of the final function of the law, which is next week’s topic, to drive us into a spiritual walk with Christ.

Summary

Romans 6 tells us we are not the slaves of sin but we have all found this to be untrue in our experience.

Romans 7 answers the question of why this is so.

Romans 7 teaches that we have died to law.  Nevertheless, the law still acts in us to identify sin in us, to make us sin more and more, and to destroy any confidence we might have in our flesh to overcome it.

This pushes us to the point where we begin to see our core identity as spiritual, though shackled to a body of flesh.  

As the law does its work in us we come to recognise the difference between flesh and spirit, and this lays a platform for the spirit-led life (chapter 8).

Application

The Romans 7 picture seems uncomfortable - we all want to live in victory, and no one wants to admit defeat - but we need to be honest.  The picture is one of frequent defeat.  We can go through a cycle of defeat and trying harder that just repeats itself.  We can stay in that place for a long time.  I have.  So, this is an extremely important message for our time.  We live in a time where temptation and addiction to sin is off the scale. 

3 points:

• The good news is, believe it or not, that if you are in a painful cycle of defeat and trying harder, you are exactly where God wants you to be.  This scenario, which I have described, is exactly what the scripture anticipates will happen to the new believer.  That may sound wrong, but it is right.  We all start off at 100% flesh; God wants to set you free by helping you recognize the dynamics going on in you, so that you can take on a spiritual mindset.

• God wants to set you free - but he will only set you free His way.  His way is for you to fully understand what it means to be dead to the law.  As long as you see yourself as not so, you will keep banging your head against the brick wall of your own sin.  His way is counter intuitive - to make you more sinful, so you will lose all confidence in your own ability to defeat it.  A word about strength:  you have been asking God to make you stronger, but God’s way is to make you weaker and dependent on him.  In fact, God wants you to be weak to the point of death. That is what the law is trying to achieve in you.  You will not beat your sin-addiction by becoming stronger, but by admitting you can’t beat it.

 • God doesn’t intend to leave you there, admitting defeat.  You’re saying it to your carnal man, not your inner man – but you have to stop fuelling the old before you can fuel the new.  Trust in God to give you his strength to go forward, now that yours has failed.  Then commit yourself to seeking understanding.  Don’t waste time.  Be urgent in seeking to learn and understand the language of the spirit-led life.  Read “The Normal Christian Life” by Watchman Nee.  Read anything by Major Ian Thomas.  Be patient, God will help you get it. 

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[1] Possibly his three years in Arabia (Gal 1:17).

[2] “...you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” Ro 7:4

[3] E.g. Lev 18:5; Deut 5:33; 8:1; 16:20; 30:16, 19; Neh 9:29; Ezek 18:9; 20:11.

[4] Psalm 19:11 “Who can understand his errors?  Cleanse thou me from secret faults” - the only response of flesh to a revelation of the spiritual nature of the law.

[5] “Know” here is better understood as recognise or perceive.  In terms of morphology, the verb οἶδα is the perfect of the obsolete εἴδω, which means see.  In terms of meaning, the Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (2000) includes the definitions “(1) as having come to a perception or realization of something know, understand, comprehend (MK 4.13); (2) as having come to knowledge through experience know (about), recognize, understand (EP 1.18)...” etc.  Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament notes οἶδα in 7:18 as following the pattern of classic Greek usage, “...knowledge, based on observation...”  (2:494).

[6] τὸν νόμον (“the law”) here is used in the sense of “principle.”

[7] What does Paul mean by members?  The word means body parts, think “dismembered.”  In scripture it is used of the parts of a body dismembered for sacrifice.[7]  Paul means here his physical being, the parts of his body. The point is, they are dead in and of themselves, they have no will, but are obedient to whatever law is governing his mind.  When he is thinking carnally, sin will spring to life in his body, and his members will act out that sin.  Where Paul adopts a spiritual mindset, recognizing that he is dead to the law, his members will serve Christ.

[8] Principle: The flesh cannot recognise what is spiritual; only the spirit can recognise what is flesh.  Rom 8:7.

[9] But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Pr 4:18

[10] […] Belong to chapter 8

[11] This probably recalls Virgil’s reference to King Mezentius in the Aeneid Book 8, written within a century of Romans, and probably known to them.  To torture his condemned prisoners:

“He even tied corpses to living bodies, as a means of torture, placing hand on hand and face against face, so killing by a lingering death, in that wretched embrace, that ooze of disease and decomposition.”