The Sin Nature in Christians
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In Romans 7:14, we read, "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." In this verse, the apostle Paul declares that the moral regulations contained in the Mosaic Law are spiritual because they are Holy Spirit-made – they are not man-made. The moral standard, therefore, of the Mosaic Law reflects the holy character of God Himself. The factor which determines what is right and what is wrong is the character of God. It is not human opinion. It is the character of God which determines what is right and what is wrong in the relationships that people have with one another.

Human beings were created physically, emotionally, and psychologically, therefore, to function on God's rules for living while they are here on the earth in this human society. The apostle Paul, however, having said this, we must be aware, declares that he himself is carnal, because he is aware that he is under the control of some kind of internal power in the nature of sin which dominates. Paul finds himself, therefore, in rebellion against God's moral rules which govern human relationships. For this reason, we have seen that Paul says that he is carnal. Or the word "better" is "fleshly," referring to his natural state of perverted, sensual, animal desires, and his inborn self-centeredness.

Self-Centeredness

Paul actually is referring to a condition of the mind which expresses itself in the selfish animal desires. So, Paul sums up his natural condition, in Romans 7:14, as one who is sold under sin. This expression means that he is under the control of this inward inclination to do evil. Paul faces God's moral laws, and he has a natural desire to disobey them, and to do what God tells him not to do.

The Sin Nature in Christians

So, in Romans 7:19, jumping a little ahead, Paul says, "For the good that I would, I do not. But the evil, which I would not, that I do." Paul wants God's will, but that isn't what he does. The laws of God for right living do not achieve godliness simply because the Christian is fleshly. His sin nature rises up and rejects those rules.

So, the Christian, although born again spiritually, and although he is in Christ, he cannot by himself obey God's laws and live thereby a godly life. He cannot obey the rules because of this carnal nature within him.

The law of God is right, and it clearly should be obeyed, as we will see him say in verse 16. Paul agrees that he should obey what God's law says. But the sin nature in him overrides that decision.

In Romans 7:20, he says, "Now if I do that, I would not, it is no more I that do it, but the sin nature that is that dwells in me."

The unbeliever, of course, has no internal conflicts like this himself. The unbelievers that you and I associate with want to do what is evil. They have no problem about doing what is evil. They're not internally torn over the fact that they had this inclination to do evil. They don't want to do what God's laws tell them to do. They see God's moral laws as a hindrance to their personal freedom.

So, the Christian chooses God's law with his mind, but he's got a problem. With his sin nature, he chooses evil. So, that's what Paul says in Romans 7:25: "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So, that with the mind, I myself serve the law of God; but, with the flesh, the law of sin." Paul frustration in this conflict produces the cry of Romans 7:24: "O wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Victory over evil must come, therefore, through some power beyond Paul's own capacities. As a believer living in human flesh, he cannot make it without some outside force beyond his own capacities.

The Mosaic Law cannot Secure Justification

So, the means of salvation has to come entirely from God through Jesus Christ, apart from any human contribution, including the good statement of the Mosaic Law and its moral code. People can be moral, but they still can go to the lake of fire. A sinner cannot save himself by any kind of human doing, including keeping God's moral rules. Why? Because he still has a disease which is known as the sin nature.

Now once a person is born again, and thus he's justified by God, he still cannot secure a personal sanctification by keeping the Mosaic Law. That's another bad mistake – to think that once you are a Christian: "Now I can become the kind of person that God wants me to be, and that He can bless by keeping His rules. And this is where Paul has come to. The natural affinity within us for evil still resides in there after we are born again.

Experiential Sanctification

Four Deliverances of Salvation

1. Deliverance from the Acts of Evil

   The first deliverance is from the acts of evil. God has judicially, as a judge, imputed to the believer the absolute righteousness of Christ.

2. Deliverance form the Acts of Evil in Our Experience

   The second deliverance is from the acts of evil in my experience. He has done this through the shedding of God's love in the believer; that is, the principle of "love your neighbor as thyself," which is the power base that enables the believer to rise above individual acts of evil.

3. Deliverance from the Hereditary Sin Nature

   The third problem we face, and the third deliverance, is the hereditary sin nature. God, as judge, has to deal with our sin nature. He deals with it by placing us in Christ. Everything that the sin nature condemns us for has been removed, because we're in Christ. When God looks at us, he sees His Son.

4. Deliverance from the Hereditary Sin Nature in our Daily Conduct

   We've come to the fourth deliverance, and that is from the hereditary sin nature as it expresses itself in our daily conduct. And the answer to that is what Paul is pursuing here. How am I going to control that hereditary sin within me? Without the fourth deliverance, Paul calls himself a wretched man, and that was Paul's experience. He had all the other three deliverances, but he did not have the fourth one, and he was a wretched man.

The Flesh

The Flesh vs. the Spirit

So, now, beginning with that brief quick overview summary, we are beginning at verse 15 today. We're going to begin the first of three segments where the apostle Paul raises the same issue in three different ways in order to drive home what the problem is relative to that sin nature. Romans 7:15 says, "For that which I do, I understand not." This is the puzzlement of his conduct. The word "for" is the Greek word "gar." This is a conjunction. It is introducing Paul's explanation for what he meant when he said, in verse 14 – that he was fleshly. He says, "I'm fleshly. I'm sold under sin. I'm under the control as a slave to the sin nature? "What do you mean by that, Paul? You're born again. You're going to heaven. How can you say things like that?"

Sold Under Sin

"For that which I do." "I do" is this Greek word "katergazomai." "Katergazomai" is made up of two words. This first part is "kata." That's a preposition which means "down." The second part is the verb "ergazomai" means "to do." Therefore, doing is made emphatic by this preposition "kata" – to really press it down; to do it energetically; to work hard; or, to bring something about by toil. Paul says, "That which I do, and I do it energetically. I work at it. I drive it like a football player just about ready to cross the goal line. I move my feet, and I throw my weight into it." It's in the present tense, which tells us that this is always the problem that he faces. It is active in its meaning – Paul's own works by his own choice.

"I Understand Not"

He is saying, I'm baffled by what I do. The word connotes lack of approval for what he's doing. He finds himself doing something, but he cannot stand up and approve it. He does something, but he doesn't want to get up and tell all of his friends he does it. He does something, but he doesn't want to stand up in church before the congregation and say, "This is what I've been up to, and this is what I've been doing." He does something that he is totally revolted by, but he's baffled by it. He is in a constant dilemma. It's present tense. He says, "There's just no time that I can understand this. I can't figure this thing out." His mind is in confusion and IN conflict. He's making, again, a statement of fact. Paul simply does not understand his good intentions being overridden.

Why did I do That?

So, Paul realizes he's got a contradiction: "For that which I energetically pursue, I just don't understand." Then he goes on to say, in verse 15, "For what I would, that I do not do; but, what I hate, that I do." "For what I would" – again he introduces it with this word "gar." That tells us he's going to give us an explanation of the confusion about his own conduct. "That which" refers to those external things that he's doing. He says, "That which I would." The word "would" looks like this: it's the Greek word "thelo." This word means "to will" or "to desire." This is his will. This is his desire. He is not just a poor, helpless little leaf floating down the stream. He is at the helm. He is at the wheel of the boat. He is pulling the whistle, and he has his hand on the throttle, and he shoving the thing forward.

"What I would" connotes delight in doing something. The word expresses his volition – that which normally he finds he would prefer doing. "What I really desire. What is really the expression of my will." This is active voice – his personal choice. He is making a statement concerning himself. And what do we find?

He says, "Relative to what I really want to do, that thing I do not do." Here the word "do" is "prasso" – a little different word. This word means "to practice," sort of like what it looks like. It connotes a habit of doing something – purposeful, habitual doing. And this one, again, has the strong "ou" (the negative): "I do not practice." There are the lines drawn: "What I have in my soul, after I listen to God, and I study the Word of God, and I say amen, and I have a powerful drive – that's for me. That's the way I want to walk. That's the way I want to be."

Then he says, "Having said that, I discover a terrible thing. I have a negative response to the thing I said: "That's what I want to do." His actions are not beyond his volition. This word is active voice. He decided to practice this. What Paul wants to do with his mind and with his body is in harmony with God's law. But what he does is in violation of God's law.

We do the Things that we Loathe

We translate this as: "But what I really hate (what I really loathe), that," referring again to those hateful things. He comes up and says, "I do it ("poieo"). This word means "to perform." It stresses an individual act of evil. I do those things. This I perform.

So, what the moral of God condemns, Paul, though agreeing with God, still does the evil. And Paul is puzzled by his obvious inconsistency. So verse 15 is translated as: "For that which I am doing (my regular practice) I don't understand. I do not understand. For what I really desire (that is, to conform to what God says), this I do not practice. But what I really hate (that I don't want to stand up against God), this I perform."

Everybody should be able to do well to relate to that – those experiences in the past, and those experiences currently, where the very thing we say, "I don't want to be in this position. I don't want to do this. I don't want to have this attitude. I don't want to permit this kind of satanic domination over me." But you do. You don't resist it. That is the practice.

The apostle Paul sat down, and he just looked at himself, and he shook his head and said, "I don't understand this. I know God is right. I love to do what He wants me to do." He did that even before he was born again. He could say relative to the Ten Commandments that he kept them all, until he discovered mental attitude seems in the form of covetousness, and that they didn't keep that one.

So, in verse 16-17, he gives us the Holy Spirit analysis of the problem of his inconsistency. Verse 16 says, "If then I do that which I would." The word "if" is the word "ei." This is a negative particle. This introduces one of the four kinds of conditional sentences that the Greek language has. Here is a significant point that you won't see from the English Bible. This is first-class condition. First-class condition means that the word can be translated as "since," because first class condition says, "If I do this, and I do do this: if I am guilty of this, and I am guilty of this. It's an "if" which means "it is true about you." Paul is describing something which is true about himself.

So, he says, "Since then." And the word "then" is the Greek word "de" – one of those negatives, a little less strong negative. But here it indicates a transition to a conclusion. Paul is such a logical man. He says, "Now I've analyzed the problem. I've put out before you what I discovered about myself, and what all Christians sooner or later discover about themselves." And now he's going to give us a logical answer for the thing. And the word "de" indicates here is the transition Paul says, "But if then I do that." The word "do" here is again the word "poieo" – the word for "perform." Paul is referring to his choices – to his constant personal preference. "That" is referring to the individual thing that he does: "That which I would:" "If then I do that which I would." T word "would" is the word "thelo" again, which means his determined will and desire. The word implies volition.

However, but he puts the negative – the strong one, "ou," with it: "If I don't do the things that I would do, there's something wrong." If I choose not to do, by personal choice, that which I want to do." Then he says, "I consent unto the Law that it is good." The word "consent" looks like this: "sumphemi." The word "sumphemi" is made up of two words. The first word is the preposition "sun," meaning "together with," and the second word is the word "phemi" ("to speak). So, put together, it means "literally to speak together with another." And the idea is "agreement." To speak together with another person is to agree with that person.

Paul Agrees with what the Law Says

Paul Believes the Law is Good

This law of God has an inherent good quality to it. It will perform its stated objective of bringing you into freedom. Paul agrees with the intrinsic worth (the value) of the Mosaic Law when it speaks about morality. The law is right, and it is a blessing to people. He agrees with the excellence of God's rules.

So, what Paul is saying is that the very fact that he is distressed by his violations of God's Law shows that he believes it's good and right. Otherwise, he wouldn't care about breaking it. If you really believe that you are listening to God when you hear these moral precepts, then it will bother you when you violate them. When you undermine these precepts of God, you will indeed limit your freedom. If you are a person who is in a position of great responsibility (you're handling large sums of money), if you obey the law not to steal (the moral law), you will find that it's good, and that it will bring you freedom, and that it will bless you. But if they find you snitching from the till, you will find that you will lose your freedom. You will find that you will lose your blessing. You will find that there will be terrible consequences because of that violation.

The apostle Paul says, "When I break the moral law of God, and when I'm guilty, particularly of these mental attitude sins such as covetousness, he said, the very fact that it upsets me is an indication that I do believe that God is right, and that His Law is good, and that it will be to my benefit to obey them.

So, we would translate for 16 something like this: "Since then, I do that which I do not desire, I agree that the Law is morally good."

So, in verse 15, the apostle Paul says, "I look at myself, and I look at my conduct, and I don't understand myself. Paul says, "The things that I want to do, I won't do those things. I don't do them. But the things that I hate, that's the thing I do."

Verse 16 says, "Well then, if it bothers me not to do those things which God has said, it must indicate that I think that God's law is good; that God's law is to my benefit; and, that it would be a good thing for me to operate on that. How many human beings have found out how true that is, after they decided to violate God's principles, and then bore the grief, sometimes for the rest of their lives, relative to some consequence of some act, because they did not think that God's law was good, and that, therefore, it should be obeyed? But how many of them had additional grief, saying, "I did that, and I had terrible consequences, but I didn't want to. I was totally opposed it. I can't believe I did that."

It is not I who Does this

Paul says, "It is no more I that do it – this evil." And "katergazomai," when we say it is energetic (it is determined), it means he sets it up. How many times have Christians wondered how is it that they could have been guilty of setting up an opportunity for evil – not just where they fell into it? That was bad enough. It is not just that occasional (time) when they went positive to an opportunity for evil, but they planned it ahead of time, and they set it up. That's what "katergazomai" means. Paul says, "I ran at this thing with a vengeance. But he says, "That is not I. That's not Paul, the born again Christian. Something is wrong here."

Sin

Sin Dwells in Believers

So, for this reason, we've indicated that the sin nature does not reside in the female ovum, but it resides in the male sperm. For this reason, the Lord Jesus Christ had to be born without a human father. All he needed was the 23 chromosomes from his mother, Mary, superimposed with another 23 perfect ones by God the Holy Spirit. And He would then be born without a sin nature. Any woman today, consequently, if you had that same combination, could bear a sinless child – one without this inward propensity.

However, Paul is saying that that's not true of us: "It is in me." And what he means is that it's in his genetic structure, as long as he is alive here on this earth. This is in the present tense. It constantly dwells in him. It's active. It's his personal condition.

So, Paul defines the conflict between his internal desires and his external performance. And he concludes that the reason is quite clear. The reason for it, he says, is that there is an enormous power in the form of the sin nature, which genetically resides in the body of the believer. He takes it over into the Christian life with him, and that thing is there to destroy him. Paul is going to present this same conflict twice more in the verses which follow. In Romans 7:18-20, he's going to ask the same questions. And he's going to come up with the same answer. It's the sin nature. And in verse 21-25, he's going to present the same problem again, and he's going to come up with the same conclusion: it's the sin nature.

What Paul is doing is laying the groundwork for explaining God's experiential solution for the internal control of the old sin nature. This is the fourth deliverance. How to be delivered from having to say, "Yes" to the sin nature. The full answer to that question is going to come in Romans 8. So, that is why three times he strikes against this fact that we don't do what we would like to do. We are for God, but we act against God. We hate certain things, but we'll roll in that filth. We'll take it on. We'll be willing to do it.

So, Paul suffers from conflicting potentiality, as do we all. We have the potential to be obedient to a perfect God. We have the potential to be slaves in rebellion against divine authority, and slaves of the sin nature. Those two potentials lie in all of us. Paul struggles between the two. The sin nature's power, we have already learned, has been broken. It is no longer king within your life. It is no longer king within your body. But the beast is out there on the outer perimeter. It constantly stalks the Christian, and waits for a moment when that believer is vulnerable, through his own carelessness in studying the Word of God; in learning the Word of God; in being open to the Word of God; in being positive to what God has said; and, in keeping his known since confess. If you make yourself vulnerable where the Spirit of God is not controlling, the beast will pounce upon you.

You look back at those moments of horrendous sin in your life, and if you can put all the pieces together, you will say, "That's the way it happened. The thing I never thought I would do; the thing that I did not want to do; and, the thing that I loathed and that offended me in every way, I did because I was at a certain condition spiritually where the sin nature could pounce upon me and bring me down. That is why the Word of God describes Satan as a roaring lion, who is pussy-footing about, seeking whom he may devour.

The apostle Paul, in a rising crescendo of his frustration, cries out, "Oh, God, what a wretched man am I. Who shall deliver me from this body of death – this sin nature? That's why, when we get to Romans 8, it's going to be Beulah land. It's going to be out there on the mountaintop, because all Romans 8 is laying out for us how to stay free of the vileness of the sin nature. God has given us the resource. If we learn how they work, and then use them, you can live a godly life.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1977

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