Living Without Sin While Still Living in Our Fleshly Bodies—Part Three
What of Romans 7:14-15? How do we explain this portion of Scripture in the light of our theme?
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold 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. (Romans 7:14-15, NKJV)
We know that the law is spiritual, but I am not. I am so human. Sin rules me as if I were its slave. I don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do the good I want to do, and I do the evil I hate. (Romans 7:14-15, ERV)
We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am a creature of the flesh [worldly, self-reliant—carnal and unspiritual], sold into slavery to sin [and serving under its control]. For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled and bewildered by them]. I do not practice what I want to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate [and yielding to my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. (Romans 7:14-15, AMP)
To understand Romans 7:14-15, we must look at chapters and verses before and after.
In Romans 5, through Paul, the Holy Spirit establishes that our salvation came through Jesus' obedience to God in going to the cross at Calvary, as a counter to Adam's disobedience in the Garden of Eden, which made all human beings sinners.
In Romans 6, the Holy Spirit then tells us that we should no longer live in sin because we died to sin when we came to Christ and were baptised. He states that when Jesus died on the cross, all the sins of mankind were upon Him, including our sins. Indeed, we were in Christ at Calvary, spiritually speaking, such that when He died on that cross, we also died along with our sins. And when Jesus was raised back to life, we were also raised back to life, but without our sins, unto a new life—a spiritual life! This new life is devoid of the sins of the past. We are then told to live in the understanding of what had taken place through Jesus in our lives, and no longer allow sin to have dominion over us.
Ignorance may be bliss, but it is enslaving
There are spiritual truths which, if we are oblivious of, shall not benefit us. For example, the Holy Spirit tells us that we were raised from death with Christ and are seated together with Him to rule in heaven (Ephesians 2:6), a spiritual truth that would see us continuing to live earthily, if not appropriated and acted upon.
As long as the heir is a minor, he has no advantage over the slave. Though legally he owns the entire inheritance, he is subject to tutors and administrators until whatever date the father has set for emancipation. (Galatians 4:1-2, MSG)
As long as an heir remains immature, he will be under tutors and servants. But when he comes to maturity, he will rule over those tutors and servants. When we knew no better, sin dominated our lives, and we could do nothing about it—that is, those of us who were Gentiles. But when we came to the knowledge of salvation, we became aware of sin's tyranny and dominion over us and came to Christ for our salvation. Thus, we became free from sin's stranglehold over us. Sin can no longer tyrannise us, so we must not live as though we are still at sin's mercy.
We are now born again; we must grow to maturity in the Lord so that we can take our rightful place in heaven and live above sin.
Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved. (1 Peter 2:2, GNB)
As long as we are spiritually immature, our salvation is at best academic because we would still be subject to the tyranny of sin and men wielding the Mosaic Law as a means to salvation. But as we grow in the knowledge of God's word, we become mature and can live above sin.
Romans 7:14-15 addresses Judaizers
Earlier I spoke about Gentiles being dominated by sin. Romans 7, however, addresses Jews and proselyted Gentiles, who were under Mosaic Law, aka, Judaism. Judaizers were not just under dominion to sin but were also under the Law. Unfortunately, all the Mosaic Law could do was tell them what to do or not to do; it could not help them do or not do! So, in Romans 7:14-15, Paul states that the Mosaic Law is not the problem because it is holy and spiritual. The problem is that Judaizers are carnal, like everyone else, and governed by the desires (in man) that delight to sin.
And so, sin finds the carnal nature an ally in making those who choose to live by the Mosaic Law do its bidding. Hence, Paul notes that even the Jews and their proselyted converts who knew the Law could not keep the Law because of the weakness of their carnal nature. He averred that seeing one's abject helplessness in the face of a desire to live right but not being able to, seem like a hopeless situation. But then, hope arrived in the form of Jesus Christ, who brought them freedom!
Freedom from sin is in Christ, not the Mosaic Law
In Romans 8, the Holy Spirit, still speaking through Paul, lets us know how Jesus frees us from the tyranny of sin. He begins by telling us that once you are born again and living by the power of the Holy Spirit, there is no condemnation even when we fall into sin. Why? Because your falling into sin was unintentional, the Holy Spirit immediately notified you of the sinful act, and you immediately repented and repudiated that sinful act.
But then, some people who are born again do not listen to the Holy Spirit. Such people are condemned already because they refuse to listen to the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is an Enforcer who keeps sin in check and deals with it when it attempts to wreak havoc in our lives, thus, ensuring that we live above sin (Romans 8:2). Some people claiming to be born again refuse to appropriate the crucifixion of the flesh by the way they live. Yes, the crucifixion of the flesh is a spiritual truth, but if we are ignorant of this truth, we will act as though it never happened in our lives. It is the same thing with people for whom Christ died, denying His crucifixion, and thus condemning themselves to an eternity in hell (John 3:16-21)!
Let me give an illustration here. Let us assume that a Governor has pardoned a criminal. Technically, the criminal became free the moment the Governor signed the papers. Yet, he remains in prison until the prison officials receive the documents and process them to effect his release. If there is no one to communicate the release to the prisoner, the prison officials may choose to delay his release longer than necessary. The Holy Spirit is our Enforcer, making sure that sin's stranglehold over our lives is broken. He also informs us through ministers of the gospel and principally, by the written word of God, that sin's stranglehold over us has been crushed. This is one reason why we are admonished to study the word of God for ourselves.
What if the prisoner is informed about his release but does not believe the news? He will live as he has always lived, being at the mercy of the prison officials, though he has, technically, been freed. But if he believes what he has been told, he will walk with a spring in his steps and start making arrangements to leave the prison house. So, even though all human beings were set free when Jesus died on the cross, many are still in captivity to sin either because they are ignorant of it or refuse to believe when told. Hence, Jesus commanded that we go into all the world and tell everyone of the good news of their release from sin's prison unto God's salvation (Luke 24:46-47).
Who is a Christian?
Still discussing Romans 8, the Holy Spirit tells us that the carnal man (one whose sinful nature remains intact because he refused sanctification) cannot obey God! Even if he wanted to, he could not obey God because the carnal nature is hostile to God (Romans 8:5-7). So, when a person confesses Jesus, as Lord, but disallows the Holy Spirit to do His work of sanctification, that person's old sinful nature remains active and not be crucified. Such a person remains the same; no change occurs. All he did was recite some words, but it did nothing for him, neither did God accept it—for God knows those who are sincere and those who are not!
Then, the Holy Spirit makes two crucial statements about this carnal man:
1. He cannot please God (Romans 8:8). As a result, the wrath of God remains upon him. Also, he cannot live by faith; otherwise, he would be pleasing to God (Hebrews 11:6).
2. He is not a Christian (Romans 8:9). That is, the Spirit of Christ is not in him, and therefore, he neither belongs to Christ nor is he a Christian!
Therefore, a Christian is not the person who says they are one, but the one in whom the Spirit of Christ (also the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit) indwells, sanctifies, and leads daily (Romans 8:14).
In Galatians 5:19-21, the Holy Spirit tells us of people who refuse to be led by Him and how they behave and the things they do—the works of the flesh. Those who claim to be born again but have not allowed the Holy Spirit to indwell them, live no different from the people of the world and cannot, therefore, be Christians.
In conclusion
I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20, AMP)
The Christian's life is lived by faith in Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. He has died to a life of sin and cannot intentionally sin or habitually live in sin. He is quick to repent and repudiate sin once it is brought to his notice by the Holy Spirit. Such is the life of the child of God. He is dead to the world, and the world is dead to him (Galatians 6:14).
Romans 7:14-15 speaks of the challenge of living above sin under the Law. The Holy Spirit reveals how we can live above sin apart from the Law (by His power), an action that occurs because we have yielded to His work of sanctification in us. Thus, if you have been sanctified and continue to be sanctified, then you cannot willfully sin.
Sin may, through craft or in a moment of weakness, sneak in, and we fall, but the true test of whether or not we are sanctified is how we respond when the Holy Spirit brings to our consciousness that what we did is a sin before God. If we immediately repent and repudiate that action, we are born again and Christians indeed. But if we seek to justify our actions, we are not Christians at all, though we may have said the "sinner's prayer".