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Sermon #73 — Romans Series

 

      Title:                                 The Warfare

 

      Text:                                  Romans 7:14-25

      Subject:               The Warfare Within

      Date:                                Sunday Morning — December 6, 2015

      Reading: Psalm 73:1-28

      Introduction:

 

There are certain things which characterize every man and woman in this world who is born of God. The new birth is a radical change wrought in us by the power and grace of God the Holy Ghost. It is a spiritual resurrection from the dead.

 

New Birth

 

We were dead in sin, spiritually dead, dead with regard to God and all things spiritual. In the new birth God the Holy Spirit has raised us from the dead, made us new creatures in Christ Jesus, and made us “partakers of the divine nature. He has created life where life did not exist before. And this work of regeneration is altogether the work of God’s free and sovereign grace (John 1:12-13; Romans 9:16; Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

(John 1:12-13) “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

 

(Romans 9:16) “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”

 

(Ephesians 2:8-10) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

 

·      The new birth was promised by God in the Covenant of Grace to all his elect from eternity (Jeremiah 32:38-40; Ezekiel 36:25-28).

 

(Jeremiah 32:38-40) “And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: (39) And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: (40) And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.”

 

(Ezekiel 36:25-28) “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. (26) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. (28) And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

 

·      The new birth is the direct and certain result of Christ’s sin-atoning sacrifice (Isaiah 53:10-12; Titus 2:14).

 

(Isaiah 53:10-12) “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

 

(Titus 2:14) “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

 

·      The new birth is accomplished by the sovereign will, irresistible power, and omnipotent grace of God the Holy Ghost (John 6:63).

 

If you are born again it is because God chose to save you, Christ redeemed you and the Holy Ghost called you from death to life. That is a radical change! And such a radical change is not done in secret. It cannot be hidden. The Word of God plainly declares that certain things always characterize those who are born of God.

 

Five Characteristics

 

Let me give you these five characteristics of one who is born of God. If these things characterize us, we are born of God. If they do not characterize us, we are not born of God.

 

1.    The first characteristic of the new birth is faith in Christ. — The Apostle John says, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (1 John 5:1). Do you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your only, all-sufficient Savior? If you do, you are born of God. If you do not, you are not.

 

2.    The second characteristic of one who is born again is the hope of eternal life. — Peter tells us that God, “according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:4). Do you have a good hope through grace? If you have a good hope, a hope based upon the Word of God and the work of Christ, a hope that causes you to anticipate heaven, eternal life, and eternal glory, you are born again. If you have no hope, or have an ill-founded hope, you are not born of God.

 

3.    The third characteristic of the new birth is love for the people of God, love for Christ and his people. — “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha” (1 Corinthians 16:22). — “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:14). Love, or the lack of it, tells all. God’s people love Christ and love one another, not in word only, but in deed. They do not pretend to love one another. They love one another.

 

4.    The fourth thing that characterizes all who are born of God is commitment, submission, and obedience to Christ as Lord. — God has “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). By nature, we were ruled by and committed to darkness, sin, and self. In the new birth we are brought under the rule of Christ, our Lord and King. Who rules you? What governs your life? What motivates you? Answer those questions honestly, if you can, and you will know whether you are born again.

 

5.    The fifth mark of a person who is born of God is the inward, spiritual warfare that goes on in his soul between the flesh and the spirit. “The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17).

 

Read Romans 7:14-25.

 

(Romans 7:14-25) “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. (15) For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. (16) If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. (17) Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (19) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (21) I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. (22) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (23) 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. (24) O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (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.”

 

Proposition: Every believer is a person with two distinct natures, which are diametrically opposed to one another and constantly at war with one another, the flesh and the spirit.

 

That man who is born again is two men in one. Inside him, in his soul the company of two armies are at war. There is within him a man of sin, the flesh, and a holy man of righteousness, the spirit, Adam and Christ. And these two men are at war with one another. They never agree. And there is no possibility of a truce between them. Today, if God will enable me, I want to talk to you as plainly and honestly as I can about — THE WARFARE. That’s my subject — THE WARFARE.

 

Divisions:

1.    Every believer is a person with two opposing natures.

2.    The flesh and the spirit are constantly at war.

3.    As long as we are in this world, the flesh brings us into captivity.

4.    Our constant warfare causes us to look to Christ for all things.

5.    Soon we shall be free.

 

Two Natures

 

1st — Every believer is a person with two natures. In our text Paul speaks of these two natures as “I,” the new man, and “sin,” the old man, “another law in my members,” the principle of nature, and “the law of my mind,” the principle of grace. In Galatians 5:17 he calls these two natures “the flesh” and “the spirit.” In both places he is telling us that every converted man is a new man in Christ Jesus, but that the old man of nature remains with him.

·      All that I am by nature is the old man, Adam.

·      All that I am by grace is the new man, Christ.

 

Every child of God in this world is still a child of Adam. When we talk about “the flesh,” we are not talking about these physical bodies, or even those things that are necessary for physical life and happiness. We are talking about the old Adamic nature that is in all men. By birth, we have this evil nature of sin. And the new birth does not destroy the old nature, eradicate the old nature, or improve the old nature. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” It is always flesh, and nothing else but flesh.

 

I do not say that sin lurks in the flesh, but rather that sin is the flesh. I do not say that the flesh is prone to sin, but rather that the flesh is sin. Some foolishly imagine that the flesh gradually becomes spirit, but it never shall. The flesh is not be cured, but crucified. It is not to be sanctified, but slain.

 

Illustration: “Sanctification is ever increasing holiness that grows until the believer is ripe for heaven and breaks forth in glorification.” Not so!

 

But, thank God, there is another nature in every believer. In regeneration, God does not repair the old man and dress him up. He creates a new man within us. He has implanted within us the incorruptible seed of the Word of God which lives and abides forever making us “partakers of the divine nature,” “new creatures” in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 3:1-10).

 

(2 Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 

(1 John 3:1-10) “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (3) And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (4) Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (5) And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (6) Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. (7) Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (8) He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (9) Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (10) In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

 

1.    That which is within us, which is born of God, is the very nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4).

2.    That “new man created in righteousness and true holiness,” that holy nature created in us, cannot sin, because it is born of God. It has no tendency toward sin, no appetite for sin, or taint of sin. It is holy. All its appetites are heavenly. All its thoughts are holy. All its desires are toward Christ.

3.    That new nature, the new man, created in us and the old nature, the old man, are diametrically opposed to one another.

 

There is within me two natures, two hearts, two wills, and two principles that are mutual enemies. The old man and the new, sin and holiness, Adam and Christ.

·      The one hates God; the other loves him.

·      The one hates the law of God; the other loves it.

·      The one is of the earth, earthy; the other is of heaven, heavenly.

·      The old man of sin no longer rules and controls the believer (Romans 6:6, 11-20).

·      But the old man of sin is constantly in the believer (1 John 1:8-10).

 

And be assured of this: — All believers do have a new, holy, righteous, heavenly nature. — “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (v. 22). Grace does make a difference in a person. The man who is born of God is not the same as the man who is dead in sin. He has an entirely new nature within him. And this new nature is what he truly is.

 

Illustration: “It is no more I” (v. 20).

 

That new nature may be weak and seem to struggle for existence, but it is there, and it reigns over the passions of the flesh. The passions of the flesh are as great as ever; but they no longer control the believer. Grace has made us kings over the enemies that dwell in our hearts.

 

Every believer has two natures, the flesh and the spirit. And these dual natures have an unceasing duel in us.

 

Constant Warfare

 

2nd — The flesh and the spirit are constantly at war with one another. In our text, Paul says, “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind.” “The flesh lusteth against the spirit.” The lion will not lie down with the Lamb in our hearts. Fire will not be at peace with water. Death will not sign a truce with life. Sin will not submit to holiness. — “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

 

Though Satan has been bound and Christ enthroned in our hearts, Satan’s loyal servants within us, though they are under the sentence of death, put their heads together and constantly plot to recapture the throne of our hearts. The lusts of the flesh are the traitors who live within us.

·      The flesh will wait until you are quiet, peaceful, secure, and then suddenly lay hold of you with all its power, flooding your soul with every evil imagination!

·      The flesh will give you great ease, comfort, and security in the outward deeds of religious service, and make you content with the mere form of religion!

·      The flesh loves law and seeks to turn us to legal works.

·      The flesh is never more dangerous to your soul than when it appears to be completely subdued!

 

So far as I know, no one here has a great struggle with outward crimes of wickedness, but do not imagine that the sins of the flesh are only outward acts of indecency. Most people act and talk about sin as though it is measured by deeds of drunkenness, adultery, murder, and profanity. Paul’s struggle was a matter of immeasurable inward evil. — “That which I do, I allow not!” (v. 15). That is to say, I do evil without thought, without consent, and even without knowing what I am doing!

 

This is what I am saying. — Those very things which we most loathe and despise in the actions of others, we are constantly guilty of doing. And the believer loathes and despises these things in himself more than in anyone else.

·      So far as I know, none of us are guilty of idol worship; but we have plenty of idolatry.

·      None of us are guilty of drunkenness; but we are intoxicated with materialism.

·      It may be that none of us are guilty of outward adultery; but we are so full of lusts that we cannot describe them.

·      None of us are thieves; but we are all thieves, full of covetousness.

·      None of us are notorious liars; but we are all full of pretense and hypocrisy.

·      None of us are profane swearers; but we are all impatient and prone to fits of temper.

·      None of us are legally guilty of murder; but we are all easily stirred to anger, malice, and revenge.

 

Blessed Warfare

 

It know these things are in you and in me. I know it both by bitter experience and by the Word of God. This is the nature of man. But if there is a warfare in your soul, because you hate the sin that is in you, that warfare is a blessed warfare! Many men hate the results of sin, the penalty of sin, and the legal guilt of sin. But only one who has seen and knows the living God hates sin itself, because it is sin. The ungodly know nothing of this warfare. Where there is warfare in the heart because of sin, God is present, grace is present, Christ is present.

·      This struggle between the flesh and the spirit is a real and a bitter struggle.

·      It is a lifelong warfare.

·      But it is a blessed warfare.

·      It is an evidence of grace.

·      It makes the believer kind, sympathetic, and patient with his brethren. — Wounded soldiers are not blamed, but helped!

 

Our Captivity

 

3rd — As long as we are in this world, the flesh brings us into captivity. — It is true, in Christ we are free. Thank God for that! We are free from the penalty of sin, and free from the dominion of sin, free from the law, and free from condemnation. — “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” (v. 23). There is a very real sense in which sin holds every believer in captivity.

 

Illustration: A soldier on the battlefield is the citizen of a free country. He has all the rights and privileges of freedom. But he is still held in captivity by the war he is fighting.

 

What does Paul mean when he speaks of sin “bringing me into captivity?” Many of you know, by painful and long experience, exactly what he means.

·      We would love God with all our hearts, but sin brings us into captivity and we love him so very little.

·      We would “pray without ceasing,” but sin brings us into captivity and we find it often impossible to utter a word of true prayer.

·      We would hear God speak to us by his Word, but sin brings us into captivity and the Word of God is so often to us only a dead letter.

·      We would be content, but sin brings us into captivity and we grumble at God’s providence.

·      We would be weaned from this world, but sin brings us into captivity and we find ourselves loving the world.

·      We would be bold in holding up the banner of Christ before his enemies, but sin brings us into captivity and makes us timid cowards.

·      We would be a blessing to all under our influence, but sin brings us into captivity and we are a terrible hindrance to them!

·      We would be holy and live entirely without sin, but sin brings us into captivity and defiles even our desires after holiness.

 

Illustration: The Caged Eagle

 

 

Look to Christ

 

4th — But there is, even in this warfare, that which God makes good for our souls (Romans 8:28). Our constant warfare with the flesh causes us to look to Christ alone for all things (vv. 14, 24, 25)!

 

(Romans 7:14) “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.”

 

(Romans 7:24-25) “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (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.”

 

It is by God’s grace that we are like we are in this warfare. He could at this moment make us entirely free from sin. But he has left us in this condition, so that we might always look to Christ alone for everything. The best, most proper, safest, and most fitting place for us is the place of penitent sinners at the foot of the cross, looking to Christ alone.

·      Oh, my God, let me never take the Pharisee’s place.

·      Give me the place of the Publican!

·      (See 1 Corinthians 1:30-31; 1 John 2:1-2).

 

Nothing in my hands I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked come to Thee for dress,

Helpless look to Thee for grace!

 

(1 Corinthians 1:30-31” “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

 

(1 John 2:1-2) “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

 

These are the things I want us to learn. May God the Holy Spirit engrave them upon each of our hearts.

·      Every believer is a person with two opposing natures.

·      The flesh and the spirit are constantly at war.

·      As long as we are in this world, the flesh brings us into captivity.

·      Our constant warfare causes us to look to Christ for all things.

 

Free Soon

 

5th — Now, I send you home with this blessed word of comfort and assurance. – Soon we shall be free (vv. 24-25; 1 John 3:1-2).

 

(Romans 7:24-25) “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (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.”

 

(1 John 3:1) “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not”

 

·      Free from the presence of sin!

·      Free from the consequences of sin!

·      Free from the being of sin!

 

Illustration: The Broken Egg Shells

 

Illustration: The Preacher and the Business Man —— “I am in business with my father.” —— “We go all over the world seeking and collecting jewels.” —— “We only deal in the rarest of jewels.” —— “I am going now to meet my father.” —— “I sure do hope my father is pleased with what I have done.”

 

Amen.

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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