THE BOOK OF ROMANS MADE CLEAR-20

liThe Mysterious Man Identified"

by Desmond Ford

law at war with the law of my mind and making mecaptive to the law of sin which dwells in my mem-bers. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver mefrom this body of death? Thanks be to God throughJesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:14-25 RSV)

Paul's Gulf of GriefThe next part of the verse is a stunner, because it

doesn't say what we expect. "So,then, I of myself serve the law ofGod." That's what we expect,what we'd like, but it's not likethat."50 then, I of myself serve thelaw of God with my mind, butwith my flesh I serve the law ofsin" (Romans 7:25). What ashocker! What does Paul mean?

Let me tell you first whatPaul doesn't mean. He doesn'tmean that he's stealing, lying,committing idolatry and adul-tery-and all of those things.No, no. Here's a man whoseview of behavior and duty is solofty that the slightest diminu-tion of love and praise fills himwith condemnation. This is aman who is so intent on the willof God that a single wrongthought fills him with self-loathing.

This passage is talking aboutthe gulf between ideals and per-

formance. Stars are good to plot your course by, butno one can touch the stars. Browning said, "A man'sreach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heavenfor?"

Controversial VersesWe know that the law is

spiritual; but I am carnal,sold under sin. I do notunderstand my own actions.For I do not do what I want,but I do the very thing Ihate. Now if I do what I donot want, I agree that thelaw is good. So then it is nolonger I that do it, but sinwhich dwells within me. ForI know that nothing gooddwells within me, that is, inmy flesh. I can will what isright, but I cannot do it. ForI do not do the good I want,but the evil I do not want iswhat I do. Now if I do what Ido not want, it is no longer Ithat do it, but sin which dwells within me.So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right,evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God,in my inmost self, but I see in my members another

The person Paul confesses about in Romans 7 is a mystery to many.Some say the wretch is Paul before his conversion. Others say it is Paulwho has not yet learned the secret of victorious living. Our study revealsthat it is who Paul says it is. It is the mighty apostle Paul himself, theexperienced Christian, still struggling with his sinful human nature.

IN Iow we approach the storm center ofRomans chapter 7. Theologians wrangleand wrestle-and have for hundreds of

years-over the next few verses.I have good friends who are divided over chapter

7. A husband and wife very near to us here at GNUdon't agree. The wife has taken one interpretation,the husband the other. The last time the husband sawme, he said, "I think I'm winning her over." Fromverse 14 on is the section com-mented on when Romainessaid, "Blessed be God for theseventh chapter of Romans."

7

Three Views of One ManLet's talk about this warmly contested passage. Does itapply to the unconverted person? Does it apply to theconverted person who hasn't yet learned the secret ofovercoming? Or does it apply to the deeply spiritualperson who knows all there is to know in this lifeabout the gospel? These are the issues.

Most Wesleyans believe it is about the unconvert-ed person. John Wesley [1703-91] is one of my heroes,but not at this point of exegesis.

The vast majority of modern evangelicals say,"The passage is about the converted person, whohasn't yet learned how to overcome. When this persongets into chapter 8, he'll be OK." (That's becausechapter 8 speaks about the Holy Spirit 20 timesinstead of always referring to "1," "my," and "mine.")That's all this person needs to do: Move into Chapter 8.

The third view is the one that John Calvin [1509-64] taught. In my prejudiced opinion, it's the one thebest exegetes still teach. This interpretation is that thispassage is the confession of a person such as Paul.Long after his conversion, desiring to glorify his Lord,he still knows and feels he constantly falls short of thegoal.

Three ReasonsLet me give you three reasons for taking this position:

The first reason is it's in the section on sanctifica-tion. It's not in the section on justification. It's not inthat first parenthesis, where Paul's talking about theunconverted. It's in the section that follows the fivechapters of freedom from the wrath of God.

You have been justified. You have the verdict andthe status, because that's what justification is. It's averdict and a status. You are declared righteous forChrist's sake. You are declared 100 percent righteous(not 99 percent), and that arches over you all yourdays like a rainbow. So, number one, this comes inthe section on sanctification.

The second reason is that when we get to this cru-cial section, the language passes from the past tenseto the present tense. When we were in the precedingverses-verse 5 for example-they were in the pasttense, talking about Paul's pre-Christian experience.Now, beginning with verse 14, he shifts into the pre-sent tense: "I am carnaL .. " (v. 14), "1 do .... " (v. 20),"I find .... " (v. 21), "I see .... " (v. 23).

It's present tense. And it's first person. He doesn'tsay, "Peter ... " or "John ... " It's "Me, Paul ... " First per-son, present tense.

It's farcical to suggest that Paul's cry, "Wretchedman that I am!" (v. 24) means he is writing aboutwhat Paul was 15 years before. If the theory that thepassage refers to the unconverted person is correct,then that's where these verses would fit. They pointback to 15 years ago, when he was unconverted,before his Damascus Road experience. Reasonably,the expression can only mean, "Wretched man that Iam-today." Paul is saying that the law can no moresanctify us fully than it can justify us!

8

A Converted PersonFurthermore, the third reason is that the person in thispassage has a will always directed to the good. Everyplace where he expresses what he wants, it's alwaysgood. You can't say that about an unconverted per-son. When Paul says, "I delight in the law of God" (v.22), that doesn't fit with an unconverted person's atti-tude. The unconverted don't delight in the law of God.Paul himself writes later, "The carnal mind is enmityagainst God: for it is not subject to the law of God,neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7 KJV).

This passage has to be about a converted person.He writes, "It is no longer I that do it" (v. 20). The "nolonger" here is a translation of the Greek word"ouketL" It means "it once used to be me."

So, what Paul is saying here is, "My will is nowset on God's will. I do so want to please him now ineverything. I love his law. It's my meditation all theday. I want to run in the way of his commandments.But there's a negative principle in me that dogs myfootsteps and pulls me down. I become slow to praiseand slow to trust."

Caught in CrisisDear friends, all of us in the Western world prettymuch live in the fast lane. We're all caught up in thematerialistic struggle-and many other kinds of strug-gles. Crisis in modern life is not asymptomatic. It'ssymptomatic. The only hope for any of us is to recog-nize that it's very difficult to trust God while in crisis.Very, very difficult. We can trust only when every-thing's fine, when the weather is good, and the billsare all met, and the family is well.

We don't find it hard to trust God at such times.But such times are the exception, not the rule. Ufe is acrisis-time for most of us, and we find ourselves verydefective in faith at the moment we need it most.

I want you to see the picture Paul is painting withwords. (And we need to remember this is still in thesection on sanctification.) Here is a person whodelights in the law of God. This person's will is alwaysin harmony with the will of God. This person speaksusing the present tense, first person. Yet still, afteryears of being an experienced and mature Christian,he struggles with sinful human nature. That's becausesin remains, though it does not reign.

Surely Paul is painting a picture of himself-now!That is why our peace is ever, only, always, found inthe imputed righteousness of Christ. As sinful beggarswe can accept and take that righteousness only withempty hands!

For the righteousness of justification is 100 per-cent-but not inside us. The righteousness of sanctifi-cation is inside us-but not 100 percent. At glorifica-tion, and then only, will righteousness be 100 percentinside us!

Blessed be God! .:.