Treasures New and Old

Treasures New and Old

Romans: New Law for Us: The Law of Delight

Last month we dove into Romans, Chapter 7, where we looked at the first two subjects of Paul’s arguments about what I call the “new law of love” that we are to walk by in our new life in Christ. This month we will look at the last two subjects listed. They are:

  • Chapter 7: New Law for Us
    • The Sin Nature Still Remains: vs. 14-22
    • I See Another Law in My Members: vs. 23-25

The Sin Nature Still Remains

Regrettably, we who are alive in our original bodies are still shackled with the old sin nature (called the flesh). But we also have a new spiritual nature because we are born again (given eternal and new life in Christ). We then struggle to spiritually control the old nature and subdue it. Paul was no exception as he describes the struggle he had that I know we all relate to. This section of Romans appears confusing at first, but a careful study can unravel the logic he offers and provide us an insight into that battle we all wage. Then we will look at a new law that we can activate in our lives – the “law of delight”.

Romans 7:14-23:

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after 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.

  • The remainder of this chapter has been the subject of no small degree of controversy as to what exactly is Paul trying to convey:
    • Is it his state before he was saved?
    • Is it his current state now that he is saved?
    • Is it the state of all men before they are saved or after or both?
  • I regard it as describing the state of a man under the gospel, as a description of the operations of the mind of Paul after his conversion as per the following reasons (taken from Barnes & Frew, 1832):

1. Because it is the most obvious. It is the plain sense of these words.

2. Because it agrees with the teaching that shows the law is not adapted to produce sanctification and peace, but to expose sin as exceedingly sinful as discussed in the last article.

3. The apostle does thorough work with his argument, and shows that the operation of the law is everywhere the same, whether in a saved or unsaved person.

4. Because the expressions in this passage show a conflict that cannot be understood by a lost and unrepentant sinner. Romans 7:15, Romans 7:22.

5. Because it reflects that same conflict often found in the state of mind within a Christian.

6. Because there is a change made here from the Greek past tense to the present. In Romans 7:7, etc., he had used the past tense, evidently describing some former state. In Romans 7:14 there is a change to the present.

7. Because it accords with the experience of Christians, and not with sinners.

  • “In the fourth verse, he (Paul) changes to the first person plural, because he intended to speak of the former experience of Christians, who had been Jews. In the seventh verse he uses the first person singular, but speaks in the past tense, because he describes his own experience when he was an unconverted Pharisee. In the fourteenth verse, and unto the end of the chapter, he uses the first person singular, and the present tense, because he exhibits his own experience since he became a Christian and an apostle” (Rev. Dr. J.P. Wilson as cited in Barnes & Frew, 1832).

Verse 14 Notes: “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.”

  • “We know”. By this time, it ought to be obvious that the law cannot save and is used by God to bring us under condemnation so that we might cry out to God and get saved.
  • “I am” (present tense). Paul recognizes that the carnal man still exists, and that he has fleshly tendencies. That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:31: “I die daily”, Colossians 3:9: “put off the old man”, and 1 Corinthians 9:26-27: “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
  • Carnal: Strong’s G4559: sarkikos: taken from sarx – the flesh – means fleshly, animal, unregenerate, bodily, temporal. Operating at animalistic levels, thinking temporally and not eternally.
  • Sold: Strong’s G4049: piprasko prao: to be trafficked, disposed as merchandise, sold into slavery.
  • Spiritual: Strong’s G4152: pneumatikos: the spirit, supernatural, regenerate, religious, opposite of fleshly.

Verse 15-16 Notes: “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.”

  • Let’s break this verse down into separate phrases:
    • That which I do – my current behaviors and actions and attitudes-present tense.
    • I allow not– these behaviors are not what I set out to do. These are not what I give my body permission to do – these are not my intent. I don’t like getting mad, lying, lusting, or stealing, etc.
    • For what I would– now these are the actions my new man wishes to perform, the behaviors I want to do.
    • That do I not – but something hinders me. I can’t seem to accomplish those rightful behaviors and thoughts. I don’t pray and study as I ought, don’t witness, serve, love, etc. as I ought.
    • But what I hate– the acts of sin I repented of and left behind. The old master I now hate.
    • That I do– despite hating sin in my life, I can’t seem to stop actions that I know are wrong.
    • If then I do that which I would not” – if I end up committing actions that I know are wrong, I believe are wrong, and God’s Word says that they are wrong, and I don’t want to do them anymore; then . . .
    • I consent unto the law that it is good” – my very action of hating what I know is wrong is proof that I also know that the law that showed me that these actions are wrong is a good law and a just law – for I have agreed with the law.

Verse 17 Notes: “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

  • The new man, the new creature that has been born again, who doesn’t want to sin, who hates to sin, who is ashamed when sin occurs is not doing it as the new man, but as one who still has the old man, the fleshly carnal man, still dwelling in him, and, therefore, it is the sin body within him that is sinning.
  • As we extrapolate and extend this truth to the rest of us, it should be clear that the following is true:
    • We are still sinners, but saved by faith through God’s grace.
    • That we often do those things that we hate doing because the old man, the sinful fleshly body that we still drag around with us, is still capable of sin.
    • We, whether we know it or not, agree that what we do is often wrong. Our consciences condemning us until we confess those actions as sin before God, are, in fact, totally agreeing that the law is still good, just, and in full force in this world.
    • The work of the law is still our schoolmaster and continues to teach us of the power and necessity of grace.
    • Many today teach that the law and grace are two separate systems and are opposed to each other. If you are trying to be saved or righteous by keeping the law, that would be true. But the truth is that law and grace work hand in hand even after we are saved as the law continues to point out sin in our lives, and grace continues the work of sanctification by cleansing and helping us to forsake our sin.

Verse 18-19 Notes: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”

  • Herein lies that battle that we all face. My flesh is corrupt and desperately wicked. Desperately means that we have no hope. Paul admits that, within himself, he does not have the ability and strength to do what is right and to forsake that which is sin in his life.
  • Paul has the will to do good. He knows what is right; he knows and even wants, desires to do right.
  • But he does not have the ability or strength to do it. In fact, he looks for and cannot find what it takes to perform right and not to perform sin within himself.
  • When we are walking in the flesh, and not in the Spirit, this is exactly what will happen in our lives.
    • When offended, we can’t seem to forgive.
    • When caught doing wrong, we lie about it.
    • When desiring something we can’t have, we steal it.
    • We lust when we know not to.
    • We covet what we shouldn’t.
    • We neglect what we know we should be doing.
  • The good I know that I should do – I think about it, I may even agree with myself that I need to do it. But then, I don’t do it and may even create excuses as to why I didn’t do it.
  • The evil, the sin, the wrong actions and thoughts, those are the things I end up doing – all because I am walking in the fleshly, carnal man instead of the spiritual man and new creature that I am. I hate that evil in me, and I do it anyway!

Verse 20 Notes: “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth ((Strong’s G3611) resides, remains, occupies the house) in me.”

  • Following the stream of thought, Paul’s logic, as stated in verses 14-19, draws the following conclusion:
    • Now if I do – that is when I do certain actions that are wrong, that are sins.
    • That I would not” – in the Spirit these actions are not what I want to do, but are of the flesh, and I don’t want to do them.
    • It is no more I that do it:” – the new man, the eternal man, the spiritual man is not doing these things, does not want to do these things, hates doing these things.
    • But sin that dwelleth in me:” – but the fleshly, carnal, sin that still dwells within my flesh is what causes me to sin even though I am a new creature in Christ.

Verse 21 Notes: “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”

  • So, Paul concludes that there exists what is basically a new law, like discovering the law of gravity, or the laws of thermodynamics, or the law in physics of cause and effect, or mathematical laws that state that it doesn’t matter in what order you add and subtract a long series of numbers. This law, this principles says:
  • When I want to do good, evil is inside of me and, frankly, needs to be overcome, subdued, put aside, but by what power can this be done? By grace alone; by God’s power alone.

I See Another Law in My Members

Verse 22 Notes: “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:”

  • Do you find yourself in this same situation? You delight in God’s Word. You love His Word. You love God and want to please Him. You have incredible moments of joy and peace as you meditate and pray and have fellowship with God. You literally delight (rejoice in, are satisfied with, get pleasure from) God’s Word, His promises, His testimonies, and even His laws.
  • You are not alone! As we grow in grace and in knowledge of Him, we more and more delight in Him and His Word.
  • Call this the “law of delight” in our members.

Verse 23 Notes: “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.”

  • But yuck! There is another law in my members.
  • Call this the “law of mind warfare” which requires us to walk in the Spirit (the next chapter of Romans starting next article).

Recapping these two important verses: 22 and 23: “For I delight in the law of God after 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.”

  • Delight: G4913: synedomai (Wordsearch’s Strong’s): to delight in, to feel satisfaction, pleasure, rejoice in. Used only once in the New Testament. Here Paul establishes for us what his foremost delight is: the law of God as it works in his inward man to cleanse, establish, fellowship, guide, and teach him as he follows Christ in his journey towards eternity.
  • Law G3551: nomos (Wordsearch’s Strong’s): “to parcel out, especially food or grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), general (regulation), special case of Moses [including the volume]; also of the Gospel), or figurative (a principle).” Expanded to all of God’s Word. Not just the Torah, law of Moses, but to all the Scriptures. And this “law of God in the inward man” is good for us to provide:
    1. Guidance
    2. Prescriptions
    3. Principles
    4. Regulations
    5. Promises
    6. Warnings
    7. Encouragements
    8. Reproofs
    9. Corrections
    10. Doctrine
    11. Instruction
    12. Practices
    13. Examples (both good and bad)
    14. Proverbs and wise sayings
    15. Answers to deep questions like “Why are we here?
  • What is said versus what is implied:
  • The inward man is the spiritual man – the new creature the Bible teaches us about. The eternal man who will enter into eternity with a new celestial body. The born-again person who seeks after God.
  • The inward man delights in God’s Word. He delights to make God rule in his/her life. He/she seeks to please God and have fellowship with God. He finds God’s Word to be pleasant, full of life, a blessing, a treasure to be guarded, a set of principles to live life by that is beneficial and not grievous.
  • What is implied is that the external man (the temporary physical being I walk around in and is not a celestial body) is not eternal but carnal by nature. It is selfish, brutal, vain, and seeks to rule in his/her own life. It can’t appreciate the things of God, indeed, is at war with God, and can’t be redeemed. Which is why it must die so that we can have it replaced with a new celestial body one day.
  • The external man finds God’s Word to be restrictive, binding, grievous, even torturous, and seeks to throw off God’s Word. He finds pleasure in disobeying God’s Word and those generally of authority (parents, and others).
  • These two entities exist in every one of us who are still living and breathing in our original body, warring against each other, each having losses and victories as we struggle through this evil generation and time.

The Law of Delight

  • Psalm 1:1-3: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
  • Delight: H2656 (Wordsearch’s Strong’s): hepes: pleasure; hence (abstract) desire; concrete a valuable thing; hence (by extension) a matter (as something in mind): – acceptable, delight (-some), desire, things desired, matter, pleasant (-ure), purpose, willingly.” Occurs thirty-nine times.
  • Matthew 6:19-22 (emphasis added): Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”
  • Here Christ ties treasure, your heart, and a single eye all together.
  • The focus on Scripture feeds the inward man, brings delight to the inward man, is seen as treasures to the inward man, can be laid up as treasure in heaven where the world cannot destroy it. It will allow you to go to the bank of your heavenly treasure anytime to take out a withdrawal and will never be exhausted – can be withdrawn over and over and over again and provides eternal interest!
  • Time well “spent”. We talk about spending our time. Time then is a commodity that, like money, can be spent. It can be spent foolishly, or it can be spent wisely.
  • I check out a promise I memorized in God’s Word. I apply it in prayer and see God’s hand at work. I obtain a promise, I find peace, I marvel at God’s grace and mercy, I have direction, etc. Unlike funds I pull out of the bank which are gone the moment I do the withdrawal, these treasure funds remain available for withdrawal again. And again, and again! In fact, the more we use such treasures, the more focused and effective they become.

How Does the Law of Delight Work?

  • Psalm 37:3-6: (emphasis added): “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement as the noonday.”
  • Psalm 37:10-11 (emphasis added): “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
  • Psalm 94:19 (emphasis added): “In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”
  • Isaiah 58:13-14 (emphasis added): “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
  • Jeremiah 9:23-24 (emphasis added): “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the earth: for these things I delight, saith the LORD.”

Some Principles We Can Regarding the Law of Delight

1. A delight can be good or bad.

  • We may be finding pleasure in things that are harmful, wasteful, temporary, destructive and will bring, in some cases, lasting harm to us, our good name, our abilities, etc. Drugs are a good examples of damaging pleasures. There is pleasure in sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25).
  • Beneficial delights may be both eternal and temporal but have good value and results in our lives. Food is a needed delight. Sleep, rest, work, and other activities may be delights of a good nature.
  • But beware, too much of good delights can be harmful (as too much sleep, too much food, etc.).

2. What we delight in we will spend capital on.

  • This capital may be our time, may be our efforts, and may be our money.
  • May be all three as in a video game, we buy it, we play it, we spent hours using it.

3. The higher the delight, the bigger the expenditure.

  • For some, this may become an addiction. For some, we even go into debt that we really can’t afford.
  • Some will spend so much that they can’t afford other things including necessities. Gamblers will neglect the proper feeding of their bodies (and of their family) while spending their gain on betting.
  • Some will go into irreversible debt to further their delights.

4. When pursuing a delight, we exclude other things.

  • For example, time spent playing games prohibits doing some other activity.
  • Money spent on your delights means those funds are gone and can’t be used for something else.
  • Everything is the result of a choice. When we choose a certain delight, we may be choosing not to do something also that may actually be more important and beneficial for us.

5. Delights have by virtue of being a delight some intrinsic value.

  • This may be either eternal value or temporal value.
  • That value includes some measure of pleasure that we want repeated.

6. Delights that are high value to us demand to be repeated.

  • What we get pleasure in we are drawn to again and again.
  • The higher the pleasure, the more often we wish to repeat it.

7. We become defined by what we delight in.

  • Oh, he’s a gamer
  • He is a workaholic
  • He’s an alcoholic
  • He’s a prayer warrior

When the Law of Delight is Focused on God and His Word – We Enjoy Victory

  • Back to Psalm 1 and 37
    • We will stand like a tree, unmovable in the things of the Lord, not easily swayed, not easily deceived, not easily led astray.
    • We will have abundance of spiritual water. We will not thirst. We will not want false sources of nourishment. Our spiritual bank is easily reached, no running out of water.
    • We will bear fruit in season. This means when we need the fruit to be born as directed by God. We will be able to bear fruit over and over. This fruit is eternal and serves and pleases the Master.
    • Your leaf will not wither. The heat of persecution, of worldly pressures, attempts to compromise you, to corrupt you will fail.
    • God will prosper you. Note: God will prosper you in whatever you do! That indicates both in this world and for those things you do for eternity.
    • He will change your desires to align with His desires and will give you the desires of your heart.
    • He will allow you to inherit abundance of peace.
  • Back to Matthew 6
    • Eternal delights are like treasures being deposited in the bank of heaven. Such treasure has the very best of security.
    • Can’t be hacked, thieves can’t steal it, inflation can’t minimize it, there will never be a run on the bank.
    • Your treasure will never rust or corrupt or rot over time. It can be used over and over. It has infinite value. You can have peace of mind on what is banked in the bank of heaven.
    • Banking at the bank of heaven will secure your heart. The greater the treasure stored, the more your heart belongs there, and the more you yearn for and desire to be in your heavenly abode.
    • As we bank our treasure in heaven, we find that things that are temporal and earthly are undesirable and easily left behind one day.
    • Finally, banking our treasures in heaven will assist us in keeping a single eye on Christ, our Master, here on earth.

Verse 24 Notes: “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

  • Paul is virtually crying out about this miserable condition that he (and we) find ourselves in. He speaks of the war that continues in our lives where the flesh simply won’t lie down and die and quit prompting and tempting us to sin versus the deep desire to walk in the Lord and respond during our lives with a spiritual focus.
  • Paul calls this plague a “body of death” for that is what it is, and he surely expresses our own cries as he calls out “who can deliver me?”

Verse 25 Notes: “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.”

  • “Who can deliver me?” Paul answers his own question: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord”. That is who can deliver us. How can this be? By deciding in whom we will delight: ourselves, the world, or Jesus Christ. Where our heart is, so will there be our treasure (Matthew 6:21).
  • Paul’s last phrase reminds us that with his mind (spirit and soul) he desires and plans and tries to carry out serving Christ in obedience to the law of God (love), but his flesh is always trying to do the opposite.
  • Like the old story about two big dogs who are always fighting each other: Who wins? The one we feed the most.

What Do You Delight in?

  • Worldly things?
  • Eternal things?
  • What do you spend your capital on?
  • Whom do you seek to please? God, the world, yourself?
  • Where are you sending/spending your treasure?

Jeremiah 15:16: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”

Beloved, hang in there and delight in the Lord in all things.

Maranatha!

Bro. Joe

References

Barnes, A., & Frew, R. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament. “Romans 7:14-15”.  Wordsearch. (2004). Wordsearch Bible. [computer software] . Nashville, TN: LifeWay Christian Resources. (Original work published 1832).

Strong, J. Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Meyers, R. (2005). e-Sword. [computer software] . Franklin, TN: Equipping Ministries Foundation. (Original work published 1539)

Strong, J. Strong’s Talking Greek_Hebrew Dictionary. Wordsearch. (2020). Wordsearch Bible. [computer software] . Nashville, TN: LifeWay Christian Resources. (Original work published 1890).

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