In his sermon, Scott Brown delves into Romans Chapter 7 to explore the intricate relationship between sin and the law, as illustrated through the Apostle Paul's personal struggles. The sermon highlights that the law, while spiritual and good, reveals and intensifies the sin within humans, leading to an internal conflict where individuals desire to do good but often fail. This conflict is not unique to immature believers but is a reality even for mature Christians like Paul, who, despite years of faith, still grapple with sin. Brown emphasizes the importance of understanding repentance, which involves recognizing, confessing, and turning away from sin, as outlined by theologian Thomas Watson. The sermon challenges the notion of sinless perfection, asserting that acknowledging one’s sinfulness is crucial for spiritual growth. Ultimately, Brown underscores the necessity of relying on the grace of Jesus Christ for sanctification, encouraging believers to take action against sin while trusting in God’s sovereignty.

If you'll open your Bibles to Romans chapter 7, we're going to start at verse 13. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not, but sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, souled under sin. For what I am doing I do not understand, for what I will to do that I do not practice, but what I hate that I do.

If then I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that sin in me, that is in my flesh, nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do I do not do, but the evil I will not to do that I practice.

Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we're so grateful for your word and its efficiency in our life. We are just so excited that it instructs us, it directs us, it leads us each day. We thank you that you delivered us from this body of death and that we have done nothing to deserve it but that it is by your grace alone. Lord, I lift up Scott today into the message and that he would deliver the word boldly and accurately, that we would have ears to hear. Lord, it's in Jesus Christ's name I pray, amen.

We have this grace toward us from our shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He would always put His finger in the wound. How He's faithful enough to us to identify what's really going on. That's what he does. And it's love, it's in his faithfulness, that he does all this. And here in this passage, he does put his finger right in the wound.

He puts his finger in the wound of every husband and wife who weep together because of the things that they said to one another that they shouldn't have said or done. He puts his finger right in the wound of the little boy who just said what he never should have said to his father or his mother. He puts the finger in the wound of the man who shot off his mouth like he never should have done. He puts his finger in the wound of the person who made the stupid financial decision based on greed or lust or some other some other thing that was so contrary everything that God God has said. Here The apostle puts his finger right in the wound, right in the wound of every single person here in this room.

And of course he begins with his own wound and he explains it from his own experience. Now before we begin to develop this, I want to make sure we understand where we are in the book of Romans, because the book of Romans is an argument that continues on and on. If you just think of just these little sections, you can't see what's really being said. So I want to just step back for a moment and try to play before us, where we've been, that brings us right up to this very last question that he asks in chapter 7. Chapter 1 makes it so clear that all have sinned and that the wrath of God is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness.

That's the truth about the world. Chapter 2, that even the religious are condemned. Even those who say they keep the law, even those who understand God's commandments, they too stand condemned. Chapter 3 is that we are justified by faith alone. It's not by the deeds of the law that any of us are justified, but it is by faith alone.

And all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And then in chapters 3 and 4 there are five questions that the apostle asks And then he answers them in chapter 5. And in chapter 4 we have the illustration of what faith is in Abraham. That Abraham was justified by faith alone. That Abraham believed God.

He wasn't perfect, we know that. We know that He didn't keep every point of the law, we know that. But He was, He believed God and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness. And then in chapter 5 we see exploded the beautiful doctrine of justification by faith alone. Then now we've moved into chapters six and seven.

In six and seven there are five more questions about law and grace. And they're answered in chapter eight. And so we've gone through chapter six, which talks about sanctification, death to self, and Paul is defending the doctrine of grace in chapter 6. Now in chapter 7 he continues to ask the questions, but now he's defending the law in his argument here. And in chapter 7, he's showing the battle of the law in the soul of man.

And that's why I've titled this sermon, the conflict of sin and the law in the soul of Paul, because Paul winds up this discussion of this battle of the law and how it inflames sin and identifies sin and makes sin mad, so it rises up and cusses him out. That's exactly what happens. That's what the law does. It comes in and it inflames the sin in our souls. And we literally want to rise up and curse the light that has come into our souls.

And Paul, he explained this in this last section that we were in last week. And so now we are really in the description of the pinnacle of the battle. Paul, after he's been speaking theologically about all these things, now he comes right down and he speaks very incredibly personally. And he is, he's really bearing his soul about the personal effect of sin in his own life. And through his own personal explanation here, You can see what the theological issues are in much clearer form.

And so now Paul, he's defending the law and he's also condemning himself under the law. But that's not all that he does and we'll see later what that means. So now Paul is answering the fifth question of the series of five questions in 6 and 7. And this question is in verse 13. If you could look at your text with me.

Here's the question that he's going to be answering. Has then what is good become death to me? And what is good? He's talking about the law. Is what is good become death to me?

Certainly not. But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful." Okay, so everything that comes from there on is an answer to that question is this the good thing now bad no no it's not at all and here's why it's not bad and Now now we come to this this place where there is this this personal testimony of the struggle of sin in a man's life. So here's what I think is really critical that we know about this. This is the testimony of someone who's very experienced in the Christian faith. And He's speaking of the law of sin and grace.

Paul wrote this here when he was on his third missionary journey in right around 57 AD. Paul was born about 2 AD and he was saved in around 32 AD. This is a testimony about sin from a man who has been a believer for around 25 years. This is not an immature believer who's just having a bad day. Absolutely not.

This is a mature believer who has engaged in the struggle of sin for 25 years under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has received grace, he's received help, he's received wisdom as all believers do as they grow and grow in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a testimony of an unbeliever. This is not the testimony of somebody who's immature in faith, but someone who's been a believer for 25 years. He's not being oversensitive to sin.

But He is making us aware of the daily struggle that we all engage in. And, you know, He's making it clear to us That daily we carry about these imperfections. And the law comes and condemns us of our imperfections. But why? It's to drive us to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so one thing we have here is clear thinking about mature saints. And that is this. We must understand that even the greatest of all saints experience inward struggles. We should not overvalue the faith of a great saint as much as it's important that we respect those who are older and who are older in the faith. Yes we should do that, but we should never forget that every single soul of man is subject to the ravages of sin in his soul, just like the apostle Paul here.

How much more? All of us who are not nearly as mature as the apostle Paul are subject to this sin. But here we have this brother who has been a believer for 25 years and he is struggling and it should help us also in our struggle. Another thing that we should be very clear about is that we should not think that we're unsaved when we cry out, wretched man that I am. We should not do that.

Now, it's quite possible that someone could not be saved and cry this out and need to be saved. But this is a man who is saved, who is crying out, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death. So Paul, he's now explaining his own personal struggles with sin, and he's speaking very personally about it. And this should help us also think clearly about our own sins. You know, we all have developed habits of thinking about our own sins, And we often end up growing wrong ways of thinking about our sin.

But here, we can sort of get recalibrated by these words here to help us think rightly about sin. And so it's really a very refreshing personal testimony about sin. Isn't it refreshing when there is honest communication about the realities of life? And that's what Paul does here. He is speaking very, very clearly and tenderly.

And you know, he sets an example for all of us as believers to think rightly about ourselves so that we wouldn't end up self-righteous, so that we wouldn't end up pompous about our faith or anything like that. And in some ways, there's much revealed here about repentance. I was reading this week a short section in a book by Thomas Watson called the Doctrine of Repentance. And he says that repentance has six ingredients. One is there's the sight of sin.

And you see all these here in this passage. There's the sight of sin. There's the sorrow for sin. There's confession of sin. There is shame for sin.

There is hatred from sin. And there's turning from sin. Well, all those things bring about the refreshment of the soul. And so that's what we get here in this passage. Is the Apostle Paul expressing all of these things to help us in our own struggle with sin.

And then the last thing I want to say about this before we dive into the text is that Paul is putting sin in its true light. Paul is, again, like I said at the beginning, he's putting his finger in the wound. And he's telling us why our problems are the way they are. And, you know, what's the source of my problems? Well, is it poverty?

Is it lack of education? Is it repressed anxiety? You know, is it my oedipus complex that's my problem? Is it my parents? Is it the way my parents raised me?

Is my struggle today because my father wasn't a good father to me? Is it like what that comedian said, you know, the devil made me do it. Is that why? Is that why I have these problems? Is it like the modern, apophysicologists who say that your problems are because your love cup is not full enough.

As you were growing up in life, not enough love was poured into your love cup. And your poor love cup is only half full. You can go get this psychology on the Christian bookstore. And that your problems are because your love cup was not filled quite full enough. And so what you need to do is get your love cup filled.

By the way, your wife can fill your love cup. Perhaps might even be able to fill that love cup by learning what your love language might be. And fill that love cup up to overflowing so Now you can be a whole person and you can deal with these terrible problems that you have because your problems really are rooted in the fact that you just didn't get enough love in this world. And Paul speaks of none of these. Your problems and my problems have very little to do with these sources.

They have to do with indwelling sin. And we often mislabel our problems and try to put the wrong words on them. And we are terribly misled, and we are not healed. But here, the Lord Jesus Christ puts His finger on the wound, and He puts the sab that will heal it. Not the fakeries of our modern psychological culture that we live in, but the true Word of God.

And the real problem is my sin. The real problem is my sin. It's not the sins of others. Did you get that? I'll just say it again because I think so much of what we are misled about rests on this issue.

Our problems are not because of other people. Our problems are because of our own sin. And that's what the Apostle Paul is saying. His problems are related to his own sin. And so the law comes into my sinful heart and it causes a disturbance and it causes me to rise up, it inflames me and it makes me uncomfortable and the law is at war with my sin.

And Paul says, I would not have known sin except that I had the law. I would not have known covetousness unless I was told, do not covet. And so there's this arousal of sinful desire. The law is holy and the commandment is just and good. And that's the answer that Paul gives in this section.

Okay, let's look at verse 14. Paul identifies this explosive situation. He's already spoken about it, we've already talked about it, but he talks about it again. He isn't going to let us forget what's really going on here, that there is dynamite and fire in the soul of every man and woman. He says, for we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, souled unto sin.

Paul is explaining an explosive situation. He's explaining a mismatch. He's explaining that there's his nature and the law that's coming together. And it's like oil and water. It just doesn't fit together very well.

There's a conflict in it. So that's the explosive problem that is in his soul. There are these two forces at work in his life. There's the law, and he says, we know that the law is spiritual. So he's given many very clear statements about the law.

Here's another one. The law is spiritual. If you want to know what the Bible says about the law, here's one thing right here. The law is spiritual, but he's making a contrast. Do you see that?

He says the law is spiritual, but, and then He explains his own nature. So he's putting these two things in the balance and he's comparing them. And he's saying the law is spiritual, and so he's defending the law. He says he delights in the law. He talks about the goodness of the law.

Now he says the law is spiritual, and then he speaks about how it relates to himself. Now in chapter 7, the word law shows up 27 times in 25 verses. Chapter 6, He defends grace. Chapter 7, He defends the law. 27 times in 25 verses, the word laws is in this text.

What is the subject of this text? He's trying to help us get it. What to think, how to think rightly about the law and how it relates to our struggle with sin. So, Paul is comparing these two things, the law on the one hand and Himself on the other hand. And the law is spiritual, but He says, I am carnal, I am fleshly, I'm a mere man, and I'm sold under sin.

That means that He's under the constant effect of sin. We never, as long as we are alive in this world, will step out from under the effect of sin in this world. We're always subject to it at every second in our lives. It only takes one second for us to sin with our mind or our tongue and it happens all the time. That's what Paul's talking about here and he's saying that here is something spiritual and there's also something carnal and there's a conflict and these substances are completely different in proximity to one another and they grate against one another and one causes the other to rise up.

And, you know, It's almost like, how do you explain this? Is it like when you have a mass, a front of cold air coming against warm air, and you have lightning and thunder, and you have rain? Is that what it's like? Possibly. The law and the spirit are like that.

They come in there in conflict with one another, and they hit up against one another. So something spiritual comes up against something that is carnal. And you know, it's interesting, you know, when we talk about men gathering together, we say, you know, iron sharpens iron. But when we get the law and the flesh together, we have diamond that just cuts through the iron. That's what we get here.

And the law comes in, and Paul is identifying this problem with his flesh, his incompleteness, his insufficiency, and his blemished, deformed flesh. And then this law, which is perfect, which is faultless, which is precise, it's worthy in every way, and it comes in conflict with this thing called the flesh. And So Paul is identifying this great but conflicting force in our lives, and that is the law as it comes to us. You know, we saw in the ministry of Jesus an example of how the law came and did an amazing work when there were some men who wanted to stone a woman for adultery. The scribes and the Pharisees were rejecting the law of God when they did this.

And the text says that those who heard of it being convicted by their conscience went out at once, one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone with a woman standing in her midst, in his midst. And it was the law of God that caused them all to go their own way. They finally woke up and saw that the law of God had condemned them and they had to leave. And that's what the law does to the flesh.

It's constantly challenging us. And this is a good challenge for us. So, Paul has a tender conscience toward the law, not a seared conscience." So then, let's move on. Paul then confesses the inconsistent living that sin creates. Do you see the really real personal nature of this testimony, how Paul is?

He's really bearing his heart. He is talking about himself. And there's, of course there are many beautiful theological terms in here, but this is a very personal sharing of his own conflict with sin. And so then he confesses the inconsistent living that sin creates. And here again he takes his finger and he puts it right in the wound again, of inconsistent behavior.

And he says in verse 15, for what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice. So he says, I want to do something good, and then I don't do it. That's the first category. You got that?

I know what kind of person I want to be. I want to be a great dad. I want to be an exemplary daughter. I want to be a wonderful wife. Oh, don't you desire that?

That's what he's saying. You know, all of you wives out here who want to be the picture of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ In your home and in your world you you fathers who want to be the best father, whoever walked in your family history. That's what he's talking about. The good that I will, oh, I want that. That's the cry of a true believer.

I want to do the right thing. He says, the good that I want to do, I don't." That's what he says. Now that puts all of us on notice here in this room that we have a problem. The wife that wants to be the very best wife, the husband that wants to be the very best husband, the man who wants to be the very best friend, the best worker, the best governor of his own tongue. He has all the best intentions.

We do so desire it, but what do we do? Spew comes out of our mouths. We do the wrong thing. We mismanage our time and we do the wrong thing. That's what he's saying.

It's happening right here. This is the wound, and here the Apostle Paul is taking it and putting his finger right in the middle of the wound. He exposes the truth about all of us and that is that we're hypocrites. We think one thing and we say one thing and we do another. Of course we are honest hypocrites just like the Apostle Paul.

The Apostle Paul, in all the honesty of his heart, says, what I am doing, I will to do the good thing, and then I don't practice it. And then he says, but I hate, I hate it when I do that. I hate it when I misuse my tongue. I hate it when I dishonor my wife. I hate it when I do these things.

I hate it when I mismanage my time. That's what the Apostle Paul is saying. His conscience is activated by the law of God that he falls short. So he wants to do the good and then he doesn't do it. And then he says, And what I hate, I do.

If then I do what I will not to do, I agree that the law is good. Isn't that interesting? Here this big old mean bad law comes up and says, you're a sinner. And Paul still says, oh, he says, I agree with the law. The law is good.

It's still good. You would think that if somebody was condemning you, you would start to hate them. Not Paul. And we don't do that either. Does anyone hate what God has said about anything, honestly?

If God said, here, I'll give you one sin. You can just go run wild on that one sin. Would you really want to do that? I don't think so. A true believer doesn't want that.

Here, I'll give you adultery. You can keep away from all the other nine commandments and keep all those, but I'll give you one. Run wild with it. No, you wouldn't do that. You would hate that.

You would end up just like Paul. You'd say, I hate that. I hate it when I do that. No matter how much license you might have been given by anyone. And this is what Paul is saying.

He said, Oh, the law is good. This struggle just proves the goodness of the law. You know, if you're struggling with sin, In one way, you're just proving the goodness of the law. Your hatred of your sin proves your love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if your conscience was hard, it might be that you're not a true believer.

But if you do sin and you hate the sin and you love the law even more in your sin, it's a sign. It's a sign that you're converted, just like the Apostle Paul is here. And so here we have these amazing thoughts coming out of the Apostle Paul, where he struggles, he hates what he does, but he still ends up praising God for the law. He loves the law of God. He says, no, this law is good.

Now, he does have the right response. He says, I hate that what I do. This is important. You know, The hatred of sin is important. We must hate sin.

This is a loathing of sin, not just a blithe, casual acceptance of the infirmities of our souls. This would be the wrong thing to do. In our flesh we might want to cover up and justify ourselves for all of our behavior. There's nothing more self-justifying than the soul of man. And all of us are in this same boat.

And this is what the apostle Paul is saying. He says, I want to do it, but I don't do it. But here he comes back around and says, no, no, I hate these things that I do. So we should not stop hating sin. That would be the wrong conclusion.

And, you know, on the one hand, we should not stop hating sin, but we should also understand the infirmities that exist, not only in ourselves, but also in those around us. It's far easier to notice the infirmities in someone else than to admit them in yourself. That's one of the weaknesses of our flesh, is that we so far easier, we so far more easily can be very distinct and clear about someone else's sins. But then we don't have that same clarity about our own. But Paul here is saying, I hate what I do.

So we must hate the sin. But how do we think about that when we hate the sin in ourselves, but we also see sin in others? What do we do with that? Well, here, we come to the end of this text and we come to the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our only hope and it's also the only hope of those who are with us. So it should always lead us to mercy.

We like to think better of ourselves than we are. And here this passage deals a death blow to self-righteousness. Spiritual pride is challenged with a 20 megaton bomb here of the Apostle Paul at the end of chapter 7. So we see that Paul confesses his inconsistent living. You see that?

He's confessing inconsistent living. The people who come into the church and say the church is full of people who live inconsistently are in agreement with the end of Romans 7. Because it is true. We want something and then we don't do it. And then number three, he exposes the core problem.

And that is in dwelling sin, verses 17 and 18. He says, but now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me, for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, that how to perform what is good I do not find. So he says, nothing good dwells in me. I think that's the operative controlling principle that he's trying to communicate here.

And there are a number of things around it that we don't really have time to develop. That this reality of indwelling sin, nothing good dwells in me. We have a song that we sometimes sing around our dinner table. And there's a part of this song that always raises ire in us, and often people who are with us when they sing it, and it's been actually criticized. The song goes like this, I will serve thee because I love thee.

You have given life to me. I was nothing until you found me. You have given life to me. Now what is that? I was nothing?

Does that mean that I had no worth? No. But it meant that my soul was so polluted with indwelling sin that I was worthless. I was a cast off. I was a refuse.

But God, but no, God did desire to rescue. And nothing good dwells in me. That's what he's saying here. And so he's exposing the nature of his own being and declaring it. And of course, this dark soul that we all possess only has light by the law of God and the love of God.

And it's that law that comes in as a light and shines on the infirmities and then begins to expose it so that there can be sanctification and help. And then he explains the war within, verses 19 through 23. You can see it on your outline. He explains this great war and it's interesting he goes back and says pretty much the same thing again. He repeats himself.

Does any... I don't know if you're ever accused of repeating yourself. Here the Apostle Paul sort of repeats himself. He says, for the good that I will to do, I do not do. But the evil that I will not to do, that I practice.

Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." And so you see that the power of sin here at work in his soul. He says that it's a war. Do you see this in verse 23? I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind. Now, again, remember earlier we saw the law, which is good, and the carnal flesh, right?

Now we see the law of the mind, which is good, and the law that wages war against it. There's another law, and it's the law of sin that's waging war against the law of the mind. You think you want to do right, but this law, this other law is waging war. So Paul's giving us another image. These two things are waging war in our souls.

And there are, There's a desire to avoid evil, verse 19, and then the practicing of it. And here we find, again, this distinction of the old man and the new man, and this war that is engaging in our souls. There is a law within, verse 21. Do you see that? And there is a delight also within.

See verse 22. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. The war is waging, but he delights in the law of God in that war. And that's his only hope. And So here we find this description of the inner workings of our souls.

And it's really the fertile soil that allows for us to understand the gospel. You have this war going on in your soul. And what does Christ do? He breaks the curse of the law. He breaks that curse in your soul so that you can begin to move forward.

He has broken our marriage to that bad spouse. Remember how we talked about that a couple weeks ago? We have a new spouse, and that spouse is the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have this law that exposes sin, and then we have this fact that we've been justified by faith alone. This war calls forth every point that we've already read about that explains the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so in this war, God has justified us through His death and resurrection. And He has stopped the power of sin to condemn us forever, even though that war continues to be waged in our souls. That's the reality of the Christian life. The war is raging, but we've been justified. Those are two things that are hard to understand together, but that's what the Bible teaches.

Now, fifthly, We find Paul communicating his sorrow for sin. Again in this long text where he's sharing many personal things about sin, he now communicates his own sorrow for sin. And he says, oh wretched man that I am, Who will deliver me from this body of death? And here is every man's cry, and it makes it clear that we are incapable of making ourselves righteous, that there is really nothing to work with, no good dwells within me, and that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, there is none righteous, no not one. And so we cry out, oh Lord, wretched man that I am.

It's appropriate to cry that out. Again, that's not the cry of some messed up person who has repressed anger or repressed feelings. His problem isn't that he's been in denial, and now he just explodes like this. No, that's not it at all. He's telling the truth about how he should feel about his sin, wretched man that I am.

It's appropriate to feel that way about your sin. It is appropriate to feel bad and to cry out for your sin and not to deny it and not to push it aside. And then finally, Paul expresses his confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, so then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. And so Paul ends this explanation of his battle against sin with a note of hope.

He ends with the authority, the lordship of Christ. He ends with the vanquishing power of the cross and the resurrection. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our only hope and our struggle against sin. And it's only in Him that times of refreshing, that cleansed consciences can be achieved. And Paul here has given us a healthy view of sin.

A good, balanced, helpful view of sin and his struggle with it. And he ends it with this thanksgiving to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. So a healthy view of life and sin and the law goes like this. Are you ready? Three things.

I love the law of God. I hate what I do. And I thank God through the Lord Jesus Christ, who has set me free from the law of sin and death. That's a healthy view of life, right there. Okay, now I want to give you a number of applications, just to wrap this whole thing up.

Number one, don't be deceived about your problems. Okay? It's not your parents, it's not your background, it's not, sin is the problem. The problem is Not that you've just been holding it down, and now it needs to explode. No.

That's not our problem. The problem is indwelling sin. That is our problem. And let's don't let the world deceive us and fake us out into all these insane views of life. Why is the world so messed up?

Because people think their problems are because of someone else. Instead of looking to ourselves and dealing with God personally on the level of our own sins. Jesus said, take a log out of your own eye. And there is a gigantic log of sin in us that is the root of our problems. And number two, so First of all, don't be deceived about your problems.

Our problems are exactly as the apostle has explained them here in this passage. Number two, beware of two traps. I think Paul is arguing against two really, really big issues here. One is, he's arguing against the pride that sees no sin. The pride that sees no sin.

And he's also arguing about, arguing against the defeat that has no hope. And he provides answers to both of those here in this passage. There are, you know, there are two things that we need to be careful of and that is that we have not seen our sin and secondly that we have not seen any hope in the midst of our sinfulness. I think the Apostle is trying to touch us there. And there you know there may be different ones of us here who have a problem on one side or the other of this fence.

You may be one of those people who has a hard time seeing your own sin, but you also may be one of those people who has a hard time seeing anything of value in you, and that you only see condemnation. Those are two distortions of the soul that the devil would work in us. You know, when I think about this principle, I think about family life. Because you know, what is God's purpose for family life? Well, there are a number of purposes for family life.

And I would just like to suggest that There are two really critical things that parents need to make sure are in operation in their households. And the first is that they're constantly driving away pride. And secondly, that they're driving away hopelessness. Those are two things. And the Apostle is dealing with both of them here.

So fathers and mothers, make sure that you are dealing with pride in your households, starting with yourselves, and secondly, that you're also driving out hopelessness. That there is the Lord Jesus Christ who is capable, and the only one capable of dealing with any of these things. And then number three, The third application is this. We are free, but we are not finished. We're free, but we're not finished yet.

We have many miles to go in this sanctification that is ahead of us. You know, God has broken the power of sin, but we will struggle with sin in this life. The Bible teaches both. And this is just a statement of reality. The power of sin has been broken, but you are free." This just gives a realism, I think.

We should have realistic expectations as we go about our lives in this world. We're free, but we're not finished. We should have that same attitude with those that were around in the church and in other places. Now, we've talked a couple of times about the doctrine of sinless perfection, okay, and how people get there, how people have gotten there through Romans chapter 6 and chapter 7. I was humored this week when I was reading a sermon by Charles Spurgeon when he was chiding those who believe in the doctrine of sinless perfection.

He says, I've known people who have claimed that they've not sinned for three or four months, but they are the touchiest, most despicable people I've ever met. Well, we wouldn't go so far, honestly, but Let's just say that as far as it goes here, we don't believe in sinless perfection here. We don't. We believe in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the broken power of sin.

But we also agree with the Apostle Paul, who can say rightly, Ratched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death. And there are particulars. There is good that I want to do and I don't do it. Let's just admit that. Let's don't be people who are pretending that any one of us has arrived at all.

We've not arrived. All of us are in the same boat. It's the human boat. That you think something in your mind, but there's a disconnect with your deeds. Everybody in the church is that same way.

And let's don't pretend any other way. I honestly think the doctrine of sinless perfection is one of the stupidest, most unbiblical doctrines that people can speak of in the church. And you know what it does? I think it totally messes up the church. It makes the church full of a bunch of proud people who think that they're sinless.

The Bible doesn't, I just can't find that in Scripture at all. We are sinners. We are despicable. We can say with honesty, wretched man that I am. If we can't say that, I just don't know how we can come into Into coordinates with this with the scripture that's before us here So let's let's let this drive out pride.

Okay in us. We are not seamlessly perfect We don't have it all together there You know There are some people in the church that have a too high view of other people, and it messes up a lot of things when they do. Because when someone is so wonderful, so good, so mature, and then there's one imperfection, then somebody's whole disposition turns sour. Well, that's not right. And that's what happens in the church all the time.

And so we should absolutely, with all of our hearts, reject this silly doctrine of sinless perfection. And it's contradicted as roundly as you can possibly contradict it here in this passage. Here is a brother, 25 years in the faith, the apostle Paul no less, and he says wretched man than I am. Okay. We are free, but we're not finished.

And we won't be finished until we die. Okay, the fourth application. Trust God for sanctification, but take action. Paul teaches both human responsibility and human inability here in this passage. He teaches that God is, you know, he's been teaching that God is sovereign over all things, but he also calls us to action.

How do you reconcile these two things? And you don't reconcile them. They're not reconcilable. Spurgeon said they're friends. You don't reconcile friends.

You take action and you also realize that God is sovereign in all action. But you just believe both of them at the same time. Because it's far more wondrous, it's far greater than our own ability to think commands. And so we must trust God for sanctification, but take action against sin. Those two things we must do.

We don't blithely take our sin lightly. We take action against it. At the same time, we know that a man can receive nothing unless it's given him from heaven. We know that our sanctification is also God's complete responsibility. We have no hope without Him.

Unless He takes us one step ahead, we'll never get one step ahead. We are completely dependent upon Him for anything. Paul said, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And we need to understand that. On the other hand, we need to understand that He's called us to action.

So, let's take action against sin. Has the finger been in any wounds here this morning? Any husbands or wives? Has the finger gone into the wound here at all? You children, Has the finger gone into the wound here at all?

You children, has the finger gone into the wound of your soul at all? If so, identify it, name it, confess it, repent of it, and move forward and beg for God's help to go farther in that area. And that's really what we should do. Trust God for sanctification, but take action. And then lastly, the last point is this.

All is not lost with sin. All is not lost with sin. All is not lost with sin. The condemnation for our sin has been vanquished at the cross. And The cross has destroyed all of our reputations.

This passage of Scripture has belittled all of our self-righteousness. And the truth is that all is not lost with sin because of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and He is Lord. He's delivered us from this body of death. He's broken the power of sin not making us sinless but giving us opportunity for sanctification. And so there are two laws at war in this soul of mine, and there's also the law of the power of God, and it will succeed.

And the law of captivity will be taken captive by the Lord of glory, who will complete the work that He began in us. Jesus Christ is Lord. And so we can so appropriately give thanks for this indescribable gift towards sinners. And here in Romans 1-8 we have been reading what God says about sinners and what God plans to do with a sinner. And what He plans to do with a sinner is to break the power of cancelled sin, to give Him the double cure, To save from wrath and to save from guilt.

Forevermore. Would you pray with me? And so Lord, we are so grateful for this rescue job toward us. We are wretched, but you are holy and you are faithful. Thank you for this law which is so good.

We hate the sin that it exposes. And now we pray for help of the Lord Jesus Christ, which we know will succeed. Amen.