《The Biblical Illustrator – Romans (Ch. 6b~8a)》

III. Though this law be naturally present with all men, yet it is the distinguishing privilege of some to feel it, and to mourn continually under it.

1. How few are there who are concerned about it! As it is natural to us, so most men are ready to imagine, either that there is no such principle within them, or that if there be, it cannot be sinful, but only constitutional. Others represent it as belonging to the very essence of the soul, and they conclude it is all in vain for any to strive against it. But our apostle clearly distinguishes between sin and the faculties of the soul. The inhabitant must be different from the house in which it dwelleth.

2. If there be such a law of sin, it is our duty to find it out. What will it profit a man to have a disease and not to discover it; a fire lying secretly in his house and not to know it? So much as men find of this law in them, so much they will abhor it and no more. Proportionably also to their discovery of it will be their earnestness for grace.

IV. That they who feel this evil law, ever present with them, will complain most when they aim best. When I would do good, evil is present with me. (J. Stafford.)

Heart, its aberrations

The compass on board an iron vessel is very subject to aberrations; yet, for all that, its evident desire is to be true to the pole. True hearts in this wicked world, and in this fleshly body, are all too apt to swerve, but they still show their inward and persistent tendency to point towards heaven and God. On board iron vessels it is a common thing to see a compass placed aloft, to be as much away from the cause of aberration as possible; a wise hint to us to elevate our affections and desires; the nearer to God the less swayed by worldly influences. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.

Delight in the law

I. Indicates the tendency of the heart.

II. May co-exist with much evil.

III. Has its full expression in a holy life. (J. Lyth, D. D.)

Delight in the law of God

I. Why?

1. Because it is the transcript of the mind and will of God our Father.

2. Because it is salutary and beneficial both to ourselves and to others.

3. Because it is congenial to our renewed nature.

II. How manifested?

1. By studying it.

2. By practising it.

3. By trying to bring others under its acknowledged authority. The word συνήδομαι is a very strong expression, implying real sympathy and inward harmony with the commandments.

You might as well talk of a person without an ear for music delighting in the oratorios of Mendelssohn, as of one dead in trespasses and sins delighting in the Divine law. No unrenewed person ever yet delighted in the law as the law of God, and that too “in the inward man.” A rebel may be able to see the wisdom of the measures framed by the monarch for the guidance of his subjects, but he cannot delight in them in his innermost soul as the laws proceeding from the throne. For this there must be a change in his mind, he must become loyal. (C. Neil, M. A.)

Delighting in the law of God

I. Different senses of the term “law.”

1. That which binds: hence the law of God as a rule of life whether revealed in the Scriptures or in the heart.

2. The law as distinguished from the prophets.

3. The law as distinguished from the gospel.

4. The whole revelation of God as contained in the Scriptures. This is the sense in which the word is often used in the Psalms, and in which we now take it.

II. What is meant by delighting in it. In general this is “to regard with lively satisfaction and pleasure.” But what the expression really implies, depends on the nature of the object. To delight in a landscape expresses a different state of mind from delighting in a friend, and delight in a poem from delighting in the law of God. There is--

1. An aesthetic delight in the Scriptures such as Lowth strongly expresses in his “Hebrew poetry.” Many admire the histories, prophecies, and portraiture of character in the Bible.

2. An intellectual delight in the wisdom of its laws and institutions. The principles of its jurisprudence and government have been the admiration of statesmen.

3. A mere delight in the purity of its precepts. This is exhibited by those who deny its Divine origin. All this is different from what is meant in the text.

III. True delight in the law of God is due to the influence of the Spirit.

1. This influence is--

2. The effect of these operations is--

Delight in the law, a good sign of a gracious heart

1. Of the blessed man the Psalmist says (Psalms 1:1-6) that “his delight is in the law of the Lord,” and therefore doth he meditate in it, day and night. That which is the burden of a carnal heart is the delight of the renewed soul. This was the happy experience of our apostle. In the preceding verse he speaks of a living principle within him, willing that which is good. Here he carries his thoughts further: for to delight in the law of God is more than to will that which is good.

2. The word, here rendered “delight,” is not found anywhere else in the New Testament. The apostle makes use of an uncommon word to express unspeakable satisfaction.

I. It is the distinguishing character of a good man, that he delights in the law of God.

1. The children of God delight to know and do the will of their Father (1 John 5:3).

2. As every child of God hath his measure of light to behold the excellency of the Divine law, so he hath his measure of delight in it.

3. If you love the law of God, you will take pleasure in it, even though it condemns you; you will not wish it were changed for one less holy. You will also meditate upon it, and study conformity to it.

II. A true delight in the law of God is an unspeakable blessing.

1. Such a delight must spring from love; and you know how studious love is to please; preferring the will of the object beloved to its own will. So love to God will turn all duty into delight.

2. This delight in the law of God supposeth some good degree of conformity to the object beloved. In all love three things are necessary. Goodness in the object, knowledge of that goodness, and suitableness, or conformity. These three things united beget love, and, if they increase, they will produce that delight which our apostle professes in the law of God.

3. This delight can never be produced, but by seeing the law as it is in Christ. It was in the heart of Christ: “Thy law is within My heart.” By viewing the law in Christ, the believer unites the law with the gospel, and they mutually embrace each other: while both agree to promote the happiness of the creature, and the glory of the Creator and Redeemer.

III. Although this delight is a proof of our conformity to Christ, yet our apostle would not have us conceive too highly of it in the present imperfect state. There is something, even in believers themselves, which does not, cannot delight in the law of God. So far as a man is sanctified, so far will he delight in the law of God, and no further. There is flesh as well as spirit in the best of saints upon earth. (J. Stafford.)

The opposing laws

I. The conflict.

1. It is a strife between two instincts called laws. The law of God desires to obtain the mastery over the soul. But the law of nature resists its influence.

2. This strife originates the fact of our dual nature. The inner man is the spirit of life which naturally has heavenly instincts and desires. But the “members” composed of the earth naturally desire earthly things. Hence the two desires do pull different ways.

3. The strife exists because the fall of man into sin. Originally man’s higher nature was obedient to God. He sinned through yielding to the outer man. Through his higher instincts yielding to bodily impulses, he cast to the wind all the nobler feelings of the inner man.

II. The nature of this conflict.

1. It is, in a Christian man, a strife between what he loves and what he hates, between what he knows to be right and for his good and what he knows will be his ruin.

2. Although we are conscious of this fact, still we find the law of sin prevailing. In the warfare we find that the spiritual law and desire and knowledge often get the worst of it.

III. What is the moral influence of this inevitable conflict?

1. To teach us not to expect too much in this world. We are not to be cast down by failure. Half of those who go back do so owing to discouragement. They are too sanguine. We are not to look upon life in this world as life in heaven, where it will be without temptation. But--

2. We are not to relax in our struggles. The fact of our having to fight shows that God never intended us to enter heaven without doing something to show that we are worthy of the reward. We may not be able to obtain a victory at present, but we may hold our own and make advance.

Conclusion: We learn--

1. That it is not always knowledge of what is right nor love of what is good that saves a man. The inner man may delight in Divine things, but worldly things may be too strong for him. What are you to do, then? Fight, strive.

2. That we long for that time when our higher nature shall be victorious, and our lower nature purified.

3. How foolish it is to meet worldly temptations with worldly weapons. The arm of flesh can never resist flesh. Arguments, reasonings, etc., are vain.

4. To appreciate the heavenly armour, and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit.

5. Humility, and that victory is not to the strong. (J. J. S. Bird, B. A.)

Why am I thus

?--

I. In every true Christian the ruling power in him delights in the law of God.

1. The new nature cannot sin because it is born of God. We are made partakers of the Divine nature, and therefore delight in the law of God.

2. Now, every Christian that has that desire within his soul will never be satisfied until that desire is fulfilled, and--

II. Where there is this delight in the law of God, yet there is another law in the members conflicting with it. Paul could see it first, and then he had to encounter it, and at length to some extent he was enthralled by it.

1. There is in each one of us a law of sin.

2. And this law in his members “wars against the law of the mind.” There must be two sides to a war.

3. This warring brought Paul into captivity to the law of sin. Not that he means he wandered into immoralities. No observer may have noticed any fault in the apostle’s character, but he could see it in himself. It is a captivity like that of the Israelites in Babylon itself when a child of God is suffered to fall into some great sin. But, long before it comes to that pass, this law of sin brings us unto captivity in other respects. While you are contending against inbred sin doubts will invade your heart. Surely if I were a child of God I should not be hampered in devotion or go to a place of worship and feel no enjoyment. Oh, what a captivity the soul is brought into when it allows inbred sin to cast any doubts upon its safety in Christ.

III. It is some comfort that this war is an interesting phase of Christian evidence. Such as are dead in sin have never made proof of any of these things. These inward conflicts show that we are alive. The strong man while he keeps the house will keep it in peace. It is when a stronger than he comes to eject him that there is a fight. Do not be depressed about it. The best of God’s saints have suffered in this very same manner. Look up yonder to those saints in their white robes! Ask them whence their victory came. The richest consolation comes from the last verse. Though the fight may be long and arduous, the result is not doubtful. You will have to get to heaven fighting for every inch of the way; but you will get there. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Christian warfare and victory

I. A believer delights in the law of God (verse 22).

1. Before a man comes to Christ he hates the law of God (Romans 8:7) on account of--

2. When a man comes to Christ this is all changed. He can say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” “O how I love Thy law.” “I delight to do Thy will.” There are two reasons for this:

II. A true believer feels an opposing law in his members (verse 23). When a sinner comes first to Christ, he often thinks he will never sin any more. A little breath of temptation soon discovers his heart, and he cries out, “I see another law.” Observe--

1. What he calls it, “another law”; quite different from the law of God--“a law of sin” (verse 25); “a law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). It is the same law which is called “the flesh” (Galatians 5:17); “the old man” (Ephesians 4:22); “your members” (Colossians 3:1-25); “a body of death” (verse 24).

2. What His law is doing--“warring.” There never can be peace in the bosom of a believer. There is peace with God, but constant war with sin. Sometimes, indeed, an army lies in ambush quiet till a favourable moment comes. So the lusts often lie quiet till the hour of temptation, and then they war against the soul. The heart is like a volcano, sometimes it slumbers and sends up nothing but a little smoke; but the fire will soon break out again. Is Satan ever successful? In the deep wisdom of God the law in the members does sometimes bring the soul into captivity. Noah was a perfect man, and walked with God, and yet he was drunken. Abraham was the “friend of God,” and yet he told a lie. Job was a perfect man, and yet he was provoked to curse the day of his birth. And so with Moses, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Peter, and the apostles.

(a) Be humbled.

(b) Let this teach you your need of Jesus.

(c) Be not discouraged. Jesus is able to save you to the uttermost.

III. The feeling of a believer during this warfare.

1. He feels wretched (verse 24). There is nobody in this world so happy as a believer. He has the pardon of all his sins in Christ. Still when he feels the plague of his own heart he cries, “O wretched man that I am!”

2. He seeks deliverance. If lust work in your heart, and you lie down contented with it, you are none of Christ’s!

3. He gives thanks for victory. Truly we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us; for we can give thanks before the fight is done. (R. M. McCheyne, M. A.)

Sin--conflict with--victory over

We have here--

I. Paul’s experience.

1. That there were within himself two conflicting principles.

2. That these principles were under the direction of opposing intelligences--“Warring.” The conflict is not a collision between blind forces. In every war there is intelligence on both sides. The “law of the mind” is under the direction of the “Captain” of our salvation. That of “the members” is under the direction of the devil. The “Holy War” in the “Town of Mansoul” is more than a poetic dream.

3. That the tendency of sin is to make men slaves to itself. When sin is indulged in for a length of time the power of resistance is weakened, and man becomes the helpless prey of the foe. Witness the miser, sensualist, opium eater, drunkard, etc. The grasp of sin is a tenacious one. It rallies, too, after many a defeat, and clings with deadly obstinacy oftentimes to those most “valiant for the truth.”

II. Paul’s emotions in the face of his experiences. He felt--

1. “Wretched,”

2. Loathsome. Sin was as hateful as a corpse is to living men.

3. Helpless. “Who shall deliver me?”

4. Hopeless. The whole verse seems a wail of despair. “Who shall,” etc.

III. Paul’s deliverance. “I thank God,” etc. The darkest hour is nearest the dawn. This deliverance was--

1. From God. God alone is able. “Who can forgive sins but God?” It is He only who giveth us the victory, etc.

2. Through Christ. Paul knew of no other way. His good moral life (Philippians 3:1-21), his mental culture (Acts 17:1-34), his zeal for the cause of God (2 Corinthians 11:1-33); in none of these does he hope.

IV. Paul’s inference from the whole. “So then with the mind,” etc. Victory is at hand. The enemy is routed from the citadel.

1. The better part of his nature--the immortal part--was in the service of God.

2. Only the inferior part--the mortal members of the flesh--were in any sense in the service of sin. (R. T. Howell.)

Victory amid strife

1. Such is the weary conflict which Adam’s fall entailed on all born in the way of nature. In paradise there was no disturbance; God had made them for Himself, and nothing had come between them and God. They knew not sin, and so knew not what it was to sin; they could not even fear sin which they knew not. Man lived as he willed, since he willed what God commanded; he lived enjoying God, and from Him, who is good, himself was good.

2. To fall altered the whole face of man. Easy was the command to keep. The heavier was the disobedience which kept not a command so easy. And so, because man rebelled against God, he lost the command over himself. He would not have the free, loving, blissful service of God; and so he was subjected to the hateful, restless service of his lower self. Every faculty became disordered. Yet is there, even in unregenerate man, some trace of his Maker’s bands. He cannot truly serve God, but he cannot, until he has wholly destroyed his soul’s life, tranquilly serve sin. Yet, “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life,” are the more powerful. He obeys, though unwillingly, “the law of sin” which he had taken upon himself; not wholly lost, because not willingly.

3. Such was our state by nature, to heal which our Redeemer came. He willed to restore us; but He willed not to restore us without cost and trial of ours. He wills that we should know how sore a thing is rebellion against God. He willeth to restore to us the mastery over ourselves, but through ourselves; to give us the victory, but by overcoming in us. The strife then remains. To have no strife would be a sign not of victory, but of slavery, not of life, but of death. But the abiding state whereof Paul speaks cannot be that in which a Christian ought to be. “To be sold under sin,” (which is only said of the most wicked of the wicked kings of Israel), to be “carnal,” to “serve with the flesh the law of sin,” to be “brought under captivity to it,” cannot be our state as sons of God and members of Christ. If this were so, where were the “liberty wherewith Christ has made us free”? To what end would be the gifts of the Holy Ghost, the power of Christ within us, His armour of righteousness, wherewith He compasses us? No! the end of the Christian’s conflict must be, not defeat, but victory. There are, says an ancient father, four states of man. In the first, man struggles not, but is subdued; in the second, he struggles, and is still subdued; in the third, he struggles, and subdues; in the fourth, he has to struggle no more. The first state is man’s condition when not under the law of God. The second is his state under the law, but not with the fulness of Divine grace. The third, wherein he is in the main victorious, is under the full grace of the gospel. The fourth, of tranquil freedom from all struggle, is in the blessed and everlasting peace.

4. But however any be under the power of grace, they, while in the flesh, must have conflict still. It would not be a state of trial without conflict. In us, although reborn of God, there yet remains that “infection of nature whereby the desire of the flesh is not subject to the law of God.” “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.”

5. Yet through this very truth some deceive, some distress themselves wrongly. They argue in opposite ways. We have a nature ready to burst out into sin, unless it be kept down by grace. But by grace it may be kept down increasingly. What is evil ought to be continually lessened; what is good ought to be strengthened. Yet this infection within us, although of “the nature of sin,” unless our will consent to its suggestions; and so long as, by God’s grace, we master it, is not sin, but the occasion of the victories of His grace. People distress themselves by not owning this; they deceive themselves if they make it the occasion of carelessness. The one says, “My nature is sinful, and therefore I am the object of God’s displeasure,” the other, “My nature is sinful, and therefore I cannot help it, and am not the object of God’s displeasure, although I do what is wrong.” The one mistakes sinfulness of nature for actual sin, the other excuses actual sin because his nature is sinful. Each is untrue. A man is not the object of God’s displeasure, on account of the remains of his inborn corruption, if he in earnest strive with it. If he strive not in earnest with it, he is the object of God’s displeasure, not on account of the sinfulness of his nature, but on account of his own negligence as to that sinfulness of nature, or his sinful concurrence with it. Nothing is sin to us, which has not some consent of the will. We are, then, to have this conflict; we ought not, by God’s grace, in any of the more grievous sins, to be defeated in it.

6. This conflict is continual. It spreads through the whole life, and through every part in man. Man it besieged on all sides. No power, faculty, sense, is free from it. But though the whole man is besieged thus, his inward self, where God dwells, is hemmed in, but not overcome, unless his will consents. “Sin lieth at the door.” The will holds the door closed; the will alone opens the door. If thou open not the door thyself, sin cannot enter in. Do thou submit thy own will to God, and God will subject this contrary will to thee. Thou canst not have victory unless thou be assaulted. Fear not. Rather thou mayest take it as a token of God’s love, who sets thee in the conflict. He will uphold thee by His hand, when the waves are boisterous. So shalt thou have the victory through His Spirit. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind.--

The dual nature and the duel within

I. There are in all believers two principles.

1. The first in order of time is the old Adam nature. It is born of and with the flesh. Some fancy that it is to be improved, gradually tamed down and sanctified; but it is enmity against God, and is not reconciled to God; neither, indeed, can be.

2. When we are born again there is dropped into our soul the living and incorruptible seed of the Word of God. It is akin to the Divine nature, and cannot sin, because it is born of God. It is at deadly enmity with the old nature, which it will in the end destroy; but it has its work to do, which will not be accomplished all at once.