Galatians 5 gives us a partial list of the production of the sin nature associated with spiritual death. Galatians 5:19-21, “Now, the works [actions] of the flesh [sin nature] are plainly seen such as [a representative list of sinful passions leading to sins] fornication [pornea: including adultery], mental and moral defilement from wrong doing [akatharsia] and sexual sins related to abnormality and criminality [the Greek word aselgeia: extreme indulgence in sensual pleasure related to alcohol, drugs and sexual perversions including sexual sins related to idolatry and human sacrifice]. (20) Idolatry, sorcery [witchcraft; drug users], antagonisms [hostile feelings and actions toward others related to pettiness], strife [discord, contention for superiority], jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition [rivalry, competition], dissensions [trouble makers such as the Judaizers], religious factions [self-seeking, contentious groups; heresies], (21) envies, drunkenness, carousing [orgies], and similar things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you, that those who keep practicing [throughout their lives] similar things as these shall not inherit [the rewards in] the kingdom of God [the eternal state].”

​

Romans 7:6

 

But now [at salvation] we have been released from the Law [as the marriage counselor of first marriage] through having died to that by which we were bound [divorced from sin nature], that we might serve in a new marriage [to Christ] by the Spirit and not in the old marriage by the letter [of the Mosaic Law].

 

νυνὶ δὲ κατηργήθηµεν ἀπὸ τοῦ νόµου, ἀποθανόντες ἐν ᾧ κατειχόµεθα, ὥστε δουλεύειν ἡµᾶς ἐν καινότητι πνεύµατος καὶ οὐ παλαιότητι γράµµατος.

 

A few points for clarification:

 

1.  The Law counselled that mankind has a bad marriage in relationship to the old sin nature. The Mosaic Law counselled that as unbelievers, we

needed to divorce that bastard.

 

2.  The Law also points to the solution by revealing salvation through the Levitical offerings, the various articles of furniture in the tabernacle, the holy days, the modus operandi of the Levitical priesthood.

 

3.  Once mankind has believed in Christ the Law can do nothing further as a marriage counsellor since the believer is married to Christ through Current Positional Truth and the new marriage counsellor is God the Holy Spirit.

 

4.  Therefore, the believer has been released from the Law as the marriage counsellor of the first marriage as per Romans10:4, “For Christ is the termination of the Law [The Christian is under a higher law namely the spiritual life as found in New Testament epistles taught through the Filling of the Spirit] with reference to righteousness to that one because he believes.”

 

Romans 7:7

 

Therefore, to what conclusion are we forced?  Is the Law sin [Is there anything wrong with the marriage counselor]?  Definitely not!  On the contrary, I was not cognizant of the sin nature except through the Law; for instance, I did not understand the lust pattern except the Law kept on saying, "You will not lust."

 

Τί οὖν ἐροῦµεν; ὁ νόµος ἁµαρτία; µὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ τὴν ἁµαρτίαν οὐκ ἔγνων εἰ µὴ διὰ νόµου, τήν τε γὰρ ἐπιθυµίαν οὐκ ᾔδειν εἰ µὴ ὁ νόµος ἔλεγεν, Οὐκ ἐπιθυµήσεις.

 

Literally, the phrase of the first three words is translated, “Therefore what shall we say?” But this is an idiom and you do not translate idioms literally. The idiom actually means, “Therefore to what conclusion are we forced?” Doctrinal teaching leads to a correct inference, but there is always the danger of coming to a false conclusion through poor workmanship namely that the Mosaic Law is no good. Paul uses the rhetorical debater’s idiom in asking the question “is the Law sin?” to refute a distortion that there is something wrong with the Law. The rhetorical question in the Greek is used to introduce a false assumption in order to set it up as a straw man and then knock it down. In asking this question Paul recognizes the believer’s failure to rightly divide the Word of truth, and it also indicates a certain prejudice against the Law as having no value of any kind when in fact it is a gift from God; an instrument created by God.

 

A few points for clarification:

 

1. In Romans chapter 6 the writer, the apostle Paul states that the believer is dead to the old sin nature and death is tantamount to divorce. When a divorce occurs between two people, they are dead to each other. In Romans 7:1-6, Paul emphasized the believer’s death to the Mosaic Law. Once the advice of the Mosaic Law is followed, namely to believe in Jesus Christ, then the divorce of the sin nature has occurred and also death to the marriage counsellor. 

 

2. Since both the Mosaic Law and the old sin nature are placed in the same category of being dead to the believer a misconception on the part of some has arisen. Paul, in dealing with this misconception that the Mosaic Law is no good. 

 

3. Many of the believers in Rome to whom this was originally addressed erroneously assumed that the Mosaic Law is evil since it is associated with the old sin nature. However, they failed to remember that it is the Mosaic Law which exposes the old sin nature. So, it is not evil, but necessary for our instruction.

 

4. Therefore, Paul demonstrated that the Law is not evil and not in any way related to the sin nature. That which exposes or reveals sin, human good and evil is not evil. As the marriage counsellor, it revealed that our marriage to the sin nature was hopeless.

 

Romans 7:8

 

But the sin nature, having grasped the opportunity through the 10th commandment [you will not lust], produced in me every category of lust [Paul understood that he functioned under many lusts after studying the Mosaic Law]. For apart from the Law, the sin nature is dead [unknown].

 

ἀφορµὴν δὲ λαβοῦσα ἡ ἁµαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς κατειργάσατο ἐν ἐµοὶ πᾶσαν ἐπιθυµίαν· χωρὶς γὰρ νόµου ἁµαρτία νεκρά.

​

Verses 7, 8, the function of the Law in exposing the old sin nature: All of the genius of the unbeliever cannot discover the old sin nature with its trends toward sin, good, and evil. Only the revelation from God provides this information. And revelation from God in God’s Word, specifically the Mosaic Law, reveals the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life ruling through spiritual death. Satan is the sovereign of this world but the old sin nature is the sovereign of human life. Mankind is blind to the status quo of the first marriage apart from the function of and ministry of the Mosaic Law. Specifically, then, the Mosaic Law is the marriage counsellor indicating a bad first marriage and presenting the solution related to the Lord Jesus Christ in Codex 2.

 

The tenth commandment as literally translated from Exodus 20:17. “You shall not lust for your neighbour’s house; you shall not lust for your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbour.” The tenth commandment not only deals with the subject of lust but it emphasizes the importance of human freedom in terms of property, privacy, and modus vivendi. In other words, you have a right to your privacy, your property, to a way of life that suits you.

 

1. Lust implies an origin or source and that source is the sin nature.

 

2. Since lust is prohibited by the 10th commandment the obvious conclusion is that lusts which bring about the trends of the old sin nature are to be restrained or inhibited.

 

3. Of the Ten Commandments only the 10th commandment mentions lust and obviously is the missing link between the source, the sin nature and the actual sin or function of sin, good, evil.

 

4. The genetically formed old sin nature constantly has desires which are inordinate. The old sin nature throws out impulses. Some of them are directed toward good, some toward evil, some toward sin.

 

5. The old sin nature desires or lusts what belongs to others, whether people, property, possessions, authority, power, recognition, or approbation.

 

6. Having discovered lust through the Law, the marriage counsellor, Paul became cognizant of the first marriage to the old sin nature which marriage took place at birth.

 

Romans 7:9

 

Now at one time, I lived apart from the Law; but when the 10th commandment came [into my consciousness] the sin nature was activated, [became known to me] and I realized that I was spiritually dead. [The Greek is found at the beginning of the next verse.]

 

ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόµου ποτέ· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἡ ἁµαρτία ἀνέζησεν,

 

A few points for clarification:

 

1. The old sin nature used the prohibition of the 10th commandment to assert its authority over mankind through sponsoring disobedience to the 10th commandment.

 

2. The Law as a marriage counsellor says to mankind, ‘Do not lust,’ but the first husband, the old sin nature says, ‘Lust in every category.’

 

3. The Law, by prohibiting lust, was a good marriage counsellor.

 

4. The husband, the old sin nature, by demanding lust was an evil husband ruling through spiritual death.

 

5. Every category of lust refers to the trends of the first husband, the old sin nature.

 

6. The old sin nature indwells the body, being genetically formed in the cell structure of the human body, including the brain.

7. The old sin nature is aggressive and belligerent. Using the 10th commandment as an opportunity to flaunt its sovereignty over life, the old sin nature produces in the human being every category of lust.

 

8. You cannot solve a problem until you are aware that there is a problem. The sin nature was dead in the sense of being unknown as a problem until the Mosaic Law came along.

 

9. The Mosaic Law and the 10th commandment caused mankind to become cognizant of the problem of the old sin nature and spiritual death.

 

A few points regarding Paul:

 

1. Paul, like all of us, acquired the old sin nature at birth.

 

2. Paul, however, was ignorant of the marriage or the presence of the old sin nature until the Law revealed it.

 

3. When Paul’s ignorance was dispelled by the Law, he became aware of the residence of the old sin nature and the resultant problem of spiritual death. He could not solve the problem of spiritual death and the function of the sin nature until he became aware of that problem.

 

4. Ignorance must be replaced with cognizance. This can only occur through the communication of the Mosaic Law to the unbeliever and the communication of pertinent Bible doctrine to the believer via the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit. 

 

5. This is why the Mosaic Law is the marriage counsellor of the first marriage and the Holy Spirit is the marriage counsellor of the second marriage. Both marriage counsellors are perfect. One marriage counsellor is from God, the other is God.

 

Romans 7:10

 

And that commandment [the Mosaic Law], which points to life [as found in the Christology and Soteriology of Codex 2 of the Mosaic Law], the same was discovered by me pointing to spiritual death [as found in Codex 1 namely the decalogue].

 

ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπέθανον, καὶ εὑρέθη µοι ἡ ἐντολὴ ἡ εἰς ζωὴν αὕτη εἰς θάνατον·

 

Romans 7:11

 

For the sin nature, having seized the opportunity through the 10th commandment, deceived me and through the same [10th commandment] killed me [made me realize that I was spiritually dead].

 

ἡ γὰρ ἁµαρτία ἀφορµὴν λαβοῦσα διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἐξηπάτησέν µε καὶ διí αὐτῆς ἀπέκτεινεν.

 

A few points of clarification:

 

1. The deception includes the fact that marriage to the sin nature from physical birth means spiritual death to God.

 

2. Before man can be alive to God, he must be dead or divorced from the old sin nature.

 

3. This is accomplished at salvation through the Holy Spirit identifying the Christian with Christ on the cross in Retroactive Positional Truth.

 

4. Man is deceived by the old sin nature’s trends toward good and evil into the delusion that the old sin nature can actually produce what is pleasing to God.

 

5. Hence, the old sin nature whose function is good and evil deludes the human race into thinking that lust and gratification of that lust is justifiable.

 

6. This is the foundation for every system of good and evil, including socialism, the welfare state, communism, plus all of the Marxist theories.   

 

7. While man thinks that he is accomplishing the greater good for the greater number he is in reality creating evil to satisfy his lust pattern and to serve Satan as the ruler of this world.

 

8. This religious rationalism is the basis for the terrible evils which have come into existence in contemporary history.

 

9. Human good is a deception, a delusion, a rationalization, the function of the lust pattern of the old sin nature.

 

Romans 7:12

 

As a matter of fact, therefore, the Law is holy, also the 10th commandment is holy, righteous, and absolute good.

 

ὥστε ὁ µὲν νόµος ἅγιος, καὶ ἡ ἐντολὴ ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή.

 

1. This verse concludes that the Law is not the culprit. It did a perfect job as the marriage counsellor of our first marriage. In fact, it not only states the problem of our first marriage to the sin nature, but also points out the solution as found in Codex 2.

 

2. Because the Law as a marriage counsellor points out the problem of spiritual death, it does not follow that the Law sponsors spiritual death nor condones it.  Regarding condemnation, God does the condemning through the Law His instrument of condemnation.

 

3. Because the Law as a marriage counsellor points out that the first husband is sinful it does not follow that the Law is sinful.

 

4. In fact, man is sinful because he possesses the sin nature from birth. Man is spiritually dead because Adam’s Original Sin was imputed to his sin nature at birth.

 

5. Man is sinful because he possesses the old sin nature and commits personal sin, not because the Law says he is sinful.

 

Romans 7:13

 

Therefore, did that which is good [the Mosaic Law] become a cause of death to me [spiritual death]? Definitely not! But the sin nature, in order that it might be revealed through the good [the Mosaic Law], made spiritual death a reality to me, in order that the sin nature might become utterly sinful by the commandment [the 10th].

 

Τὸ οὖν ἀγαθὸν ἐµοὶ ἐγένετο θάνατος; µὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ ἡ ἁµαρτία, ἵνα φανῇ ἁµαρτία, διὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ µοι κατεργαζοµένη θάνατον· ἵνα γένηται καθí ὑπερβολὴν ἁµαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁµαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς.

 

The Mosaic Law is good to us because it reveals to us that we have a problem as an unbeliever in the status quo of spiritual death. The rhetorical question, “Therefore, did that which is good become a cause of spiritual death to me?” is designed to reflect the thinking of those who distort the teaching of the apostle Paul. The rhetorical question is a debater’s technique for anticipating and refuting the erroneous conclusions made by those listening to Paul’s teaching. Obviously then, the intrinsic good in the Mosaic Law did not produce spiritual death in mankind. Something that is intrinsically good cannot suddenly become something that is evil. Good can be turned into evil but not intrinsic good. The function of the Mosaic Law is to reveal the problem and to reveal the solution. Furthermore, the utter sinfulness of the old sin nature is revealed by the Mosaic Law.

 

A few further points for clarification:

 

1. Personal sin is not the basis for condemnation of the human race.

 

2. Only one sin is the basis for the condemnation of the human race namely Adam’s original transgression in the garden. This original sin of Adam is imputed to each one of us at birth resulting in spiritual death and subsequent condemnation from the integrity of God.

 

3. Here a contrast begins. God creates soul-life at birth which he then imputes to biological life resulting in man having a soul possessing human life as per Genesis 2:7. Simultaneously, Adam’s original sin is imputed to its genetically-prepared home, the old sin nature resulting in spiritual death.

 

4. Therefore, personal sin is a manifestation of the old sin nature’s sovereignty over human life, but not the means of condemnation from the justice of God.

 

5. Therefore, the true ministry of the Mosaic Law is to reveal the existence of the old sin nature through the perfect norms and standards of God stated in the Mosaic Law.

 

6. These standards reveal both the lust pattern of the old sin nature and the status produced by the old sin nature namely spiritual death.

 

Romans 7:14 

 

Certainly, we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly [the sin nature residing in the cell structure of Paul’s body] when I have been led astray under the authority of the sin nature.

 

οἴδαµεν γὰρ ὅτι ὁ νόµος πνευµατικός ἐστιν· ἐγὼ δὲ σάρκινός εἰµι, πεπραµένος ὑπὸ τὴν ἁµαρτίαν.

 

1. The Law is spiritual because it comes from God and fulfils the divine purpose in human history related to the angelic conflict.

 

2. The Law is a counsellor of the first marriage to the old sin nature which it exposes as tyrannical and evil.

 

3. At this point comes a great shift of emphasis. Up to this point the emphasis has been on the culprit, the old sin nature. Because of the transition from the first marriage to the second marriage, a new emphasis is placed on the wife. Will the wife in her second marriage to Christ be faithful to Christ her new husband or will she go back to her Ex? 

​

4. Since the former husband, the sin nature has tremendous influence over the Christian who is now in his second marriage, the only power strong enough to deal with this influence is the spiritual life. Only when the Christian functions under the two power options will he ever be able to resist the influence of the sin nature on a consistent basis.  ***

 

Romans 7:15

 

For what I accomplish, I do not understand, because what I desire to do, these things I am not accomplishing; but what I detest, these things I keep doing.

 

ὃ γὰρ κατεργάζοµαι οὐ γινώσκω· οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω τοῦτο πράσσω, ἀλλí ὃ µισῶ τοῦτο ποιῶ.

 

When Paul wrote the book of Romans, he was either in spiritual maturity or very close to it. However, for our benefit, he writes in retrospection regarding his difficulty as a new believer. Paul represents himself as resolving to advance spiritually, desiring to please Christ and wishing to take in doctrine in order to achieve the objective, but all these good intentions were neutralised by the machinations of the first husband, the old sin nature, with its trends toward sin, good and evil.

 

The new believer has very little power in his soul to resist the sin nature. The only power more powerful than the sin nature is metabolized doctrine in the soul and this takes time to accomplish. The more the Christian advances in the spiritual life, the more power he has available to him to defeat the sin nature.

 

1. This verse indicates the successful attack of the first husband in the realm of volition.

 

2. The Sin Nature has overcome the determination of the believer by leading him into a modus operandi which he does not understand, which he often despises, but nevertheless continues in it.

 

3. Therefore, the attack of the first husband succeeds apart from the believer’s use of the Recovery Procedure and advancing spiritually.

           

4. To do things you do not desire to do and to keep on doing them is an obvious warning of the inner conflict between the two husbands.

 

5. The first husband is the old sin nature, and though divorced through retroactive positional truth, he desperately continues his activity inside of every believer. He is trying to seduce the believer by bringing him under his authority and under the trends of sin, good, and evil.

 

6. To experientially place yourself under orders to the second husband requires spiritual growth and patience.

 

7. There is no way for the believer to break out of this dilemma apart from the Filling of the Holy Spirit and the daily perception of the Word of God.

 

8. Only the Filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine resident in the soul can break the power and the influence of the old sin nature in life.

 

Let’s briefly review the Spiritual Life which alone is able to defeat the sin nature.

 

1. The use of the Recovery Procedure to enter the spiritual life.

2. The Filling of the Spirit.

3. The Faith-rest Drill.

4. Grace Orientation

5. Doctrinal Orientation

6. Personal Sense of Destiny/Spiritual Self-Esteem

7. Personal love for God the Father

8. Impersonal love

9. Sharing the happiness of God

 10. Occupation with Christ

 

Romans 7:16

 

Now, if I keep on doing this thing which I do not desire to do, and I do, I agree with the Law that it [the Law] is noble.

 

εἰ δὲ ὃ οὐ θέλω τοῦτο ποιῶ, σύµφηµι τῷ νόµῳ ὅτι καλός.

 

1. There must be a standard to break through the gloomy enigma of contradiction in the life of the believer namely the old sin nature versus our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

2. Once the solution has been accepted namely faith in Christ, then the battle between the two husbands begins namely between the Christian serving the new husband or the ex.

 

3. In this battle we have a new marriage counsellor in God the Holy Spirit, but we never disagree with the content of the old marriage counsellor, the Mosaic Law. We still recognize the Mosaic Law for what it is: from God, perfect, having a perfect design, a limited design in its function but nevertheless a perfect design.

 

4. Therefore, we do not reject the standard of the Law under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but we use these standards to define sin for recovery to fellowship and to alert us with regard to good and evil as a part of the assault on the Christian life.

 

5. So, when the believer keeps sinning or succumbs to good and evil, he recognizes the nobility and the advantage of the Mosaic Law in defining what he does not desire to do.

 

6. Hence, the Holy Spirit as the new marriage counsellor uses the standards of the Law to define sinfulness for the purpose of rebound and to define good and evil for the purpose of avoiding through separation.

 

7. In Codex 3 the Mosaic Law defines divine principles of establishment which oppose sin, good and evil. With this knowledge, the trends of the old sin nature can be avoided in the power and the Filling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Law is advantageous to the believer even though the Mosaic Law is no longer the marriage counsellor.

 

Romans 7:17

 

But as the case really stands, I am no longer performing the same [lust and trends], but the sin nature [the strong pull of the sin nature] which resides in me.

 

νυνὶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγὼ κατεργάζοµαι αὐτὸ ἀλλὰ ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐµοὶ ἁµαρτία.

 

1. This does not imply lack of cooperation or failure to use one’s own personal volition in the matter of sin, good, and evil. We never perform these acts without the volition being involved.

 

2. Paul is dramatizing the conflict between the ex-husband, the old sin nature and the present husband, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

3. This emphasizes how a believer with maximum doctrine resident in his soul understands the problem, and so, on the one hand honours doctrine and on the other hand renounces and rejects the ex-husband, the sin nature.

 

4. No one ever commits a sin, known or unknown, without the involvement of his own volition. Two things are involved in committing sin namely lust and volition.

 

5. Paul is not denying the involvement of his volition but is emphasizing the strong influence of the old sin nature as the ex-husband.

 

6. The believer is weak and not the master of his inner life, therefore the need for the thinking of the new husband, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as the new marriage counsellor.

 

7. The Holy Spirit enables the believer’s volition to make decisions which please the Lord Jesus Christ rather than the old sin nature.

 

8. Only the Filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine resident in the soul can offset the gravitational pull of the old sin nature soliciting sin, good, and evil.

 

Romans 7:18

 

For, I know that there does not reside in me that is in my human body any intrinsic good, and the honorable accomplishment of my purpose is negative. [More literal: For the desire for intrinsic good is present within me, but the accomplishment is not good.]

 

οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι οὐκ οἰκεῖ ἐν ἐµοί, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ σαρκί µου, ἀγαθόν· τὸ γὰρ θέλειν παράκειταί µοι, τὸ δὲ κατεργάζεσθαι τὸ καλὸν οὔ·

 

A few points for clarification:  

 

1. Since the sin nature resides in the human body, the solution must reside outside of that body, leaving only the human soul for the area of solution.

 

2. The solution always deals with Bible doctrine which must become resident in the soul. Spiritual growth and glorification of Christ cannot occur in the physical body without spiritual advance in the soul.

 

3. It is the soul, not the body, which is saved at eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

4. The believer receives an interim body after death and a resurrection body at the Rapture which body will function in our eternal state, and both are minus the sin nature.

 

5. Furthermore, the solution to the problems in time while on this earth resides inevitably in the soul. Therefore, Bible doctrine must resident in the soul through the daily perception and application under the authority of the Filling of the Holy Spirit.

 

6. The divine energy of metabolized doctrine resident in the Christian and the Filling of the Spirit must replace human energy since the solution is located in the soul and not the body. Human energy does not glorify Jesus Christ.

 

7. The human body is the place where physical food is converted into human energy, but the soul is the place where spiritual energy must reside.

 

8. What human energy is to the body the spiritual energy of metabolized truth and the Filling of the Spirit is to the soul.

 

9. Food is the nourishment and sustenance of the body, whereas Bible doctrine is the nourishment and sustenance of the soul.

 

10. So, Paul describes the believer who is willing to make right decisions but is frustrated by ignorance of doctrine.

 

11. Volition must have direction. Furthermore, volition must have grace direction. Without doctrinal facts and information, the volition is frustrated in fulfilling the divine policy and executing the objectives of the spiritual life.

 

12. Volition is useless without direction, without information, without cognizance of doctrine. The resolve is present in the positive believer, but the execution of the resolve demands cognizance of doctrine. You can’t please God until you know how to please God.

 

The failure of sincere Christians:

 

1. Sincerity is related to volition, but volition without doctrine is helpless in both the execution of the will of God and the attainment of the objective namely maturity adjustment to the integrity of God. Sincerity is related to volition by way of emotion. Emotion is the connecting link between sincerity and the decisions made from sincerity. Sincerity is filled with good intentions but sincerity is merely emotion trying to take the objective. 

 

2. So, while human volition is sincere in desiring to glorify God, this is not the answer. The best intentions of the sincere believer are destroyed on the shoals of ignorance.

 

3. How can you fulfil the purpose of God and resolve to glorify Christ if you do not know how to do it, if you do not know the policy?

 

4. Ignorance of doctrine interdicts between good intentions and motivations and the fulfilment of the will of God. Good intentions are not the will of God necessarily. Sincere decisions are not necessarily the will of God.

 

5. Sincerity plus ignorance of doctrine is a guarantee of failure. Sincerity is not a virtue but a sign of ignorance and sometimes stupidity.

 

6. Sincerity without doctrine is the road to reversionism under the influence of evil. It is the road of apostasy. The second attack of the ex-husband, the old sin nature, places emphasis on sincerity and emotional motivation. This is the quickest road to reversionism and the sin unto death.

 

Romans 7:19

 

For the intrinsic good which I desire, I do not do; but the evil which I do not desire to do, this I keep on practicing.

 

οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω ποιῶ ἀγαθόν, ἀλλὰ ὃ οὐ θέλω κακὸν τοῦτο πράσσω.

 

1. As the policies and objectives of the Christian way of life unfold in the mind of the believer (through perception of doctrine), it does not follow that understanding the will of God means doing the will of God. The first part of the solution is knowing the will of God through perception of doctrine, but once you know the will of God the next step is doing it.
 

2. The inner conflict between the ex-husband, the old sin nature, and the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, is personified and dramatized in many biblical passages. This inner conflict requires knowledge of doctrine to resolve the problem.

 

3. Without the Filling of the Spirit and the constant perception of Bible doctrine under the ministry of one’s right pastor the evil which the believer does not purpose to do, he keeps on practicing.

 

4. Therefore, part of the problem is to know the objective, and the other part is to attain the objective—the objective being maturity adjustment to the integrity of God namely the execution of experiential righteousness.

 

5. Finally, a new believer may have many existing problems to deal with namely scar tissue in the soul, garbage in the subconscious, and a strong developed lust pattern. Sometimes for example a young girl who has been raped for 15 years is going to have difficulty in applying what she is learning.

 

Romans 7:20

 

Now, if what I do not desire, this I keep doing; I am no longer the one bringing it about, but the sin nature residing in me.

 

εἰ δὲ ὃ οὐ θέλω [ἐγὼ] τοῦτο ποιῶ, οὐκέτι ἐγὼ κατεργάζοµαι αὐτὸ ἀλλὰ ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐµοὶ ἁµαρτία.

 

A few points for clarification:

 

1. The believer with cognizance of Bible doctrine does not desire to follow the trends of the old sin nature, but due to a lack of metabolized doctrine and other problems already mentioned, he may have a problem executing his desire.

 

2. This production or accomplishment of sin, good and evil is what such a believer does not desire to do. So, there is an inner conflict between what the believer desires to do and what he actually does.

 

3. This dilemma reveals that there is a strong push-pull activity in every believer, but not in the unbeliever.

 

4. In fact, the life of the believer is a major battleground between the forces of evil and forces of intrinsic good.

 

5. The volition of the believer’s soul is subject to tremendous antithetical pressures from the two husbands: the ex-husband, the old sin nature and the new husband, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

6. Who gets the blame in the second marriage? The source of the trouble remains the same namely the sin nature, but the responsibility for controlling the source is entirely different. After salvation the old sin nature no longer has the authority, rather the believer’s volition is in the driver’s seat. Therefore, the believer’s decisions now become a major issue.

 

A few more points:

 

1. Again, as before salvation, the old sin nature is the origin of sin, good and evil, but now that the believer is married to the second husband, he cannot go back to the ex-husband without the use of his volition. The believer has never committed a sin unless he wanted to do it.

 

2. The conflict between the purpose to please Christ and the desire to fulfil the lusts of the old sin nature while living in this world becomes a constant push-pull pressure in which the true purpose and meaning of the Christian life is stale-mated by the trends of the old sin nature.

 

3. The believer is not excused because from his own free will he succumbs to the pull pressure of the first husband who is constantly trying to get the ex-wife back under control.

 

4. When he succeeds the believer is classified as a reversionist under the influence of evil.

 

Romans 7:21

 

Consequently, I discovered this principle that when I desire to do the honorable thing [maintain the Filling of the Spirit and daily perception and application of God’s Word], that evil still resides in me.

 

Εὑρίσκω ἄρα τὸν νόµον τῷ θέλοντι ἐµοὶ ποιεῖν τὸ καλὸν ὅτι ἐµοὶ τὸ κακὸν παράκειται·

 

Romans 7:22

 

For, along with other believers, I delight in the Law from the God [the Filling of the Spirit and doctrine resident in the soul] in the inner man [the soul];

 

συνήδοµαι γὰρ τῷ νόµῳ τοῦ θεοῦ κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον,

 

A few points of clarification:

 

1. Without Bible doctrine resident in the soul there is no inner conflict, for there is no divine viewpoint to challenge the trends of the old sin nature.  

 

2. Bible doctrine resident in the soul is not only the means of attaining spiritual maturity, which glorifies Christ, but the means for combating the attacks from the old sin nature in the inner conflict. The soul is the battleground.

 

3. God the Holy Spirit who provides perception of doctrine also provides the application of doctrine and/or innovation in combating the functions of the sin nature.

 

4. Bible doctrine not only defines sin but reveals the true nature of good and evil.  Most believers without doctrine in their souls are ambushed by good and evil.

 

5. In this battle you not only have to know the terrain [soul] but you have to know the objectives within that terrain. Furthermore, you have to understand the opposition, the old sin nature.

 

Romans 7:23

 

But I see a different principle in the members of my body campaigning against the principle of my mind, and so making me a prisoner to the principle of the sin nature, the same sin nature being in the members of my body.

 

βλέπω δὲ ἕτερον νόµον ἐν τοῖς µέλεσίν µου ἀντιστρατευόµενον τῷ νόµῳ τοῦ νοός µου καὶ αἰχµαλωτίζοντά µε ἐν τῷ νόµῳ τῆς ἁµαρτίας τῷ ὄντι ἐν τοῖς µέλεσίν µου.

 

1. Power corrupts. The volition of the soul is a basic power which is corrupted by the old sin nature with its trends toward good and evil, as well as sinfulness. 

 

2. There is a constant pressure on the volition from the old sin nature whose headquarters is located in the human body, and Bible doctrine resident in the right lobe is the only deterrent.

 

3. When there is no Bible doctrine in the right lobe of the soul, the old sin nature is the inevitable winner and makes the believer, a prisoner.

 

4. The two conflicting principles within the believer co-exist as long as we live on this earth. By analogy, the only way to have peace in human history is to be prepared for war. An unprepared nation becomes vulnerable and is subject to attack. So, it is on the battleground of our souls. To be prepared we must have doctrine in the right lobe via the Filling of the Spirit.

 

Romans 7:24

 

O wretched believer that I am!  Who will set me free from this body of death? [How can I get out of this predicament of perpetual carnality leading to the sin unto death?]

 

ταλαίπωρος ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπος· τίς µε ῥύσεται ἐκ τοῦ σώµατος τοῦ θανάτου τούτου;

 

We must understand immediately that Paul is not wretched. As the writer of this passage, he is either at spiritual maturity or very close to it and very happy.  However, in order to personify the difficulties of reversionism, he is led by the Holy Spirit to take the position of a believer in total failure in order to express the disaster of warning discipline, intensive discipline, and eventually dying discipline. (Possibly, also he experienced this as a new believer.)

 

A Christian can be rescued from this dilemma, but it has to be done a day at a time, there is no instant rescue here. Doctrine today, doctrine tomorrow, etc. That is the only way to be dragged out of the mire of spiritual failure, to be rescued from reversionism.

 

A few points for consideration:  

 

1. God gives us one day at a time for the purpose of perception of doctrine.

 

2. The “body of death” is the residence of the old sin nature in the human body.  

 

3. Three things occur at salvation which begin the rescue or deliverance: the imputation of divine righteousness to the believer resulting in justification or the construction of the grace pipeline; the real imputation of eternal life to the divinely prepared home or target namely regeneration; the baptism of the Holy Spirit through which divorce of the old sin nature as the first husband occurs, and marriage to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the second husband.

 

4. Newness of life is the grace environment provided through the baptism of the Spirit. Romans 6:4:  Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life. [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.]

 

Romans 7:25

 

Grace belongs to the God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, on the one hand, with my mind I myself [referring to Paul who is representing himself as the believer with the dilemma of options] serve the Law of God [ via experiential sanctification], but on the other hand, with my flesh [the pull to serve Satan through his agent, the sin nature] I myself [with my volition] serve the principle of the sin nature.

 

χάρις δὲ τῷ θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡµῶν. ἄρα οὖν αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τῷ µὲν νοῒ δουλεύω νόµῳ θεοῦ, τῇ δὲ σαρκὶ νόµῳ ἁµαρτίας.

 

The source of the solution is found in the first sentence and the recognition of the options is stated in the second sentence.

 

A few points of clarification:

 

1. Two mutually exclusive principles carry on a continual battle inside of the believer.

 

2. The new husband is represented by the Holy Spirit as the marriage counsellor, and by Bible doctrine resident in the soul. The Holy Spirit must control the soul for the believer to serve with the mind the “law of God” which is experiential sanctification.

 

3. While carnality and reversionism is the law of sin resulting in severe divine discipline, and ultimately the sin unto death. Even so, the sin unto death does not connote loss of salvation, merely the last intensive punishment of the reversionistic believer in time.