Join speaker Colin Cook as he candidly addresses an error made in a previous sermonic discussion, leading to a deeper understanding of the relationship between human nature and spiritual law. Through an analysis of key biblical texts, this episode unveils the powerful grace through Jesus Christ that absolves condemnation for those who believe. Unpack the spiritual warfare of the mind and the transformative power of faith, bringing reassurance and hope to our everyday struggles.
Well, now, I made a mistake yesterday in telling you what a certain verse means. Well, I’m sure I’ve made hundreds of mistakes, but this is one that I am aware of. And I can’t understand why I made the mistake. I can’t understand why I told you that unless I was in a state of anxiety and not concentrating on what I was saying. So let’s go to Romans 7. And I was quoting verses 24 and 25. This is regarding, remember, the law, that we are dead to the law, that we are delivered from the law. And Paul said at the end, the conclusion of it all, well, a semi-conclusion, because actually the whole theme goes right into Romans 8 as well. But at the conclusion of chapter 7, Paul says, “‘O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?’ Now remember what he’s talking about, this problem that all humanity has, which is described in verse, let’s see, chapter 7, verse 14 onwards. Let’s read that first, shall we? “‘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. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do. But the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law.” of God according to the inward man, 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. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 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. Now, you see, what I said yesterday, well, you understand the problem, right? These are words spoken by Paul, who is talking about what happens when he dedicates himself to the law. Now, some people have argued that this is Paul before conversion, and others have argued that this is Paul after conversion. That argument entirely misses the point. The context is the issue of the law. If we go with the law, what happens? Well… Excuse my language, but all hell breaks loose. The cat is thrown among the pigeons. There is fur and feathers flying all over the place, because the moment we try to harmonize with the law, that moment, the law excites all manner of desire and lust and sin in us, because we are fallen, broken human beings. Now, as Paul said in verse 22, I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. In other words, he’s talking about himself as a man of God. The world doesn’t delight in the law, of course, but Paul does. I delight in the law according to the inward man, the converted man, the newborn again man, the man with the new heart. Yes, I delight in that. But I see another law in my members, in my body, in my human nature, which wars against the law of my mind, notice my mind there, and bringing it into captivity. So he says, who’s going to deliver me from all this? And he says, I thank God through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Now, not in the sense that we no longer have any trouble with the human nature so that it stops warring against the law of God. No, human nature will constantly always deliver. War against the law of God, because it is a fallen, broken human nature, and we need to accept and recognize that. Otherwise, we get all stressed out about our imperfections and our sins and our temptations and our failures, and those failures bring us down, or that stress, rather, over our failures brings us down and depresses us. We mustn’t do that. Because Paul is introducing something of a reality here, that now that we’re in Christ, there is no condemnation for all this mess. But what was the mistake I made? Well, you see, I was referring to verse 25. The latter part of it, well, let’s take the first part as well. I thank God, 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. And I said to you yesterday that Paul is saying then that with his mind he serves Christ and therefore the law of God. But with his flesh, he serves the law of sin. That was a mistake. I’m sorry. Because the clear context, and I don’t know why I said it, because I haven’t taught that way in the past, except when I didn’t understand what I was reading. What he’s saying is, with my mind, with my intellect, with my logical understanding of things, I acknowledge that the law is good. Do you see? He says that for the good that I will to do, I do not do, but the evil that I will not to do, that I practice. So he has a will to do the good. That’s the mind. He wants to do good. But he can’t do it. And so he says, I delight in the law of God according to the inward man, according to the mind. We all agree with the law of God as Christians, don’t we? Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet, and worship the Lord your God with all your might and soul and strength. Yes, we delight in that. We recognize that’s true. But we also are faced with this human nature of ours. So that is the mistake I made referring to my mind as if it were the mind of Christ. That is the mind that now knows that Christ has taken all the judgment. No, that’s not the mind he’s talking about. He’s talking about the mind that wants to do right, wants to conform to the law, wants to dedicate itself to obedience, but finds itself doing the very opposite. So forgive me for my mistake. And then comes verse 8, verse 1, Therefore, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now you see, being in Christ Jesus is not an aspect of the mind. It’s an aspect of faith. Faith is a gift from God. The mind is our logic, our rationality, our intellect, our willpower. That does not save us. But faith in Christ does. It is Christ who saves us and gives us faith to believe it. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And so you and I live before God knowing that Christ has taken the judgment for our sins. The mind doesn’t tell you that. The gospel tells you that. The mind only reminds you that you want to do this good, but your whole body, that includes the mind as well, doesn’t do it. So you live by faith. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The next part of the text, by the way, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, doesn’t find itself in the most original manuscripts, the most original manuscripts, the earliest manuscripts. It comes in later, mind you, so don’t worry, we haven’t missed anything. It comes in later. It comes in in verse 4, that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. So let’s continue in verse 2. Let’s get verse 1 again. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Now, do you see how that enormously contradicts the mind? The mind tells you very much so that there is condemnation, that you’re constantly failing, falling short, that you’re not making it. Listen, I’m not telling you that we cannot overcome a problem and a sin. That comes by faith in Jesus Christ. But when we have overcome it, there’s always a thousand other things to overcome. The human nature will never declare itself to you finished, perfect, all good. Let’s move on. No, it never tells you that. Don’t look for confidence in your human nature. You look for confidence in Jesus Christ, who is your atoning sacrifice for your sins, and who has risen to justify you, to declare you innocent in him, because you are going to be resurrected just as Jesus Christ was resurrected. So we don’t look to our human nature. But you understand what an enormous conflict this has introduced to your mind. What conflict, you say? Well, the conflict that there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For your mind is telling you the very opposite. Your mind is filling you with guilt and shame and fear. And that guilt and shame and fear overwhelm you without faith. Without faith, your mind will beat you to death, psychologically speaking. It will just so overwhelm you that you will be discouraged, you will be depressed, you will be just astonished at the problem of living a godly life, and you will walk away from Christ. I tell you, so many Christians who first came to Christ walked away because they listened to the logic of their mind. And their mind was telling them, you’re no good. You won’t make it. You don’t measure up. What’s wrong with you? You never seem to do anything right. God doesn’t love you, this kind of thing. And on the mind will go, condemning you, especially in the night when you wake up and you get all worried and stressed. That’s the mind talking to you. And so you see how the mind is in conflict with faith. Faith has set up a resistance to the mind in your mind, in your body. And you must accept that conflict. You must rejoice in it. You must say, Lord God, my mind totally disagrees with me, but I thank you that in Christ I am whole and accounted righteous. You see, this is where faith introduces a new force entirely into your being, into your mind, into your body. That new force of faith will take you in a new direction ultimately. But accept the conflict now, because Christ has done something that your mind could never have dreamed of. Well, thank you for joining me today. Colin Cook here and How It Happens. This is the broadcast you’re listening to. You can hear it on your smartphone any time of the day or night. By the way, that will give you loads of archives of other programs too. That is when you go to it online. So you go to soundcloud.com or podbean.com and you key in How It Happens with Colin Cook when you get there. 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