Romans 7:13-25

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="097285a1erlcgo.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Grace Evangelical Church</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grace Evangelical Church"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>    </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id206.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Romans 7:112"><U>Romans 7:1-12</U></A>   |   <B>Romans 7:13-25</B>   |   <A HREF="id204.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Romans 8:12"><U>Romans 8:1-2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id203.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Romans 8:35"><U>Romans 8:3-5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id202.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Romans 8:611"><U>Romans 8:6-11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id211.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Romans 8:1217"><U>Romans 8:12-17</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Romans 8:1825"><U>Romans 8:18-25</U></A>   |   <A 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<I><B>Romans 7:13-25</B></I></div> <bR> <div> Galatians 5:16-18</div> <div> <B>Why does life have to be so hard?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>You have a sin nature producing death 7:13-14</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> James 1:14-15 </div> <div> Romans 7:7  </div> <div> Luke 22:42 </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Your sin nature produces hardship7:15-21</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Romans 6:22.  </div> <div> Romans 3:12-16 </div> <div> Galatians 5:16-18</div> <div> Ephesians 4:22-24</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>You need freedom from your body of death 7:22-25</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> 2 Corinthians 5:9 </div> <div> Galatians 5:6-18</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The sin nature produceshardship, </B></div> <div> <B>but God's Spirit is your solution.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>How?</B></div> <div> <B>Choose to let the Spirit control Gal. 5:16-18,19-21,22-23.</B></div> <div> <B>Set your mind on Christ Col. 3:1-4</B></div> <div> <B>Let the Word richly dwell Col. 3:15-17    </B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Biblical Teaching on the Sin Nature</B></div> <bR> <div> We've already studied the sin nature in Romans 5.  Paul wrote, <I>Therefore, just as through one man sin (the sin nature) entered the world, and death (spiritual)  through sin (the sin nature), and thus death (spiritual)  spread to all men, because all sinned (when Adam sinned).  </I>The sin nature reflects the total depravity of man and explains why there is great suffering in the world.  The sin nature explains why man is separated from God - because God cannot be associated with sin (Heb. 3:13).  </div> <div> The sin nature is composed of two areas of function - an area of weakness and an area of strength.  The area of weakness produces sins as the writer to the Hebrews relates, “<I>Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the </I><I><U>sin</U></I><I> which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”</I>  We lay aside the personal sins, because they weight us down from fulfilling God's will.  The sin nature also has an area of strength, at least from the human perspective.  This means the sin nature operates independently of God's Spirit doing what mankind would say are good things, like giving to secular charities or using talents apart from God's Spirit to develop a great name for the individual person.  This would be called human good or human righteousness.  Isaiah wrote about this, “<I>But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags”</I> and Paul writes, “<I>So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”</I>  They can't please God, even though they may be doing great things, but God only blesses dependency on Him.  Human good is an action independent of God's Spirit.  </div> <div> Adam acquired his sin nature the moment he ate of the fruit in the Garden of Eden.  He aroused his area of weakness when he listened to Eve and ate of the fruit - personal sin.  He aroused his area of strength, when he decided the solution was to make leafy clothes - human good.  Most likely Satan who provided the temptation to sin, also supported the idea to put leafy clothes on, because it “seemed like a good idea, rather than Adam running to God, confessing his sin, and accepting the divine solution of full clothes.  The sin nature produces personal sins in the three areas of thoughts, words and actions.  We sin with our mind - mental attitude sins; with our tongue - verbal sins; and with our actions - overt actions.  The sin nature produces human good, which is all the things man does apart from God's will and Spirit.  It includes altruistic practices that do not give God glory, good deeds done for personal or organizational gain, and efforts to change the world for the sake of man rather than the sake of God. </div> <div>      The sin nature is called different things in Scripture.  Some times it is the singular use of “sin” as in Romans 5:12; 7:14; 1 John 1:8.  Often the word “flesh” is used as in Gal. 5:16; Eph. 2:3; 1 John 2:16.  Paul uses the term “old man” to refer to the sin nature in Eph. 4:22, because it refers to what started back in the Garden of Eden.  Paul also uses the term “fleshly” to refer to the sin nature's control of the believer's life as in Rom. 7:14; 1 Cor. 3:1-3. </div> <div>      The sin nature also has “body” descriptions.  For example, the “body of sin” in Romans 6:6 emphasizes that the sin nature resides in the human body.  It permeates the body and is headquartered in the inner being - in the heart - that must be transformed (Jer. 17:9; Matt. 15:19; Rom. 12:2).  Paul uses the term “body of death” in Romans 7:24 describing the decaying action from the sin nature.  This, Paul also describes in Romans 1:24, with the term “corruptible man.”  Man is corrupted physically, morally, emotionally, socially, personally, and spiritually.  That's why we must put on incorruption at death (1 Cor. 15:53) to pass into heaven.  And the “corruptible” term also explains why the sin nature is passed down through the man 1 Peter 1:23; cf. Rom. 5:12.  Another term is the “lowly body,” which must be transformed to enter heaven Phil. 3:19-20.  </div> <div>      God dealt with sins on the cross.  Every sin has a consequence and a penalty.  When God poured out sins on Jesus, while on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18), the sins of the whole world were judged and the righteousness of God was propitiated [satisfied according to His justice] (1 John 2:1-2).  The solution for dealing with personal sins is to accept by faith Christ's work on the cross Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8; Rom. 3:28.  After salvation, the solution is humility, confession, and restoration of God's Spirit 1 John 1:9; Rom. 12:1-3; Eph. 5:15-20.</div> <div>      How does God deal with the sin nature?  At the moment of salvation, the baptism of the Spirit positionally cuts off the power of the sin nature from the believer's life.   This provides the way for the believer to choose for life empowered by the Spirit rather than life empowered by the sin nature.  The sin nature is removed at death with the new resurrection body.  More in Romans 8. </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id204.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Romans 8:12"><U><B>Next Page</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grace Evangelical Church"><U><B><IMG SRC="0c740400.gif" border=0 width="64" height="64" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grace Evangelical Church"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>