PBA vs. His love

In Romans 6, Paul says, “It’s not you, it’s Christ.” In Romans 7, he says, “Here’s what happens when it’s you.”

Jordan explains, “You learn there why it can’t be you. Look down at verse 15. See how confused he is about who he is? He says, ‘For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.’

“He’s going to argue with you and prove to you he’s sold under sin but he’s not; he’s free in Christ. He says, ‘I know I shouldn’t do these things but I do them anyway, and what I know I should DO, I don’t.’ Does that sound familiar?

“He goes on to say, ‘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.’

“Wait a minute, Paul—you just said you did it! How come it’s no more you doing it?! Well, then who is doing it?! You read commentaries and they’ll argue all day long about who Paul’s talking about. He’s talking about himself!

“He says, ‘I did it. No I didn’t. I did. No. Yeah, you did. No you didn’t.’ You know what? He’s a little bit confused about who he is! You ever get that way? You’re a saint of the Most High God and you’re living like you’ve never been changed? Why? Because you’re not living consistent with who you are.

“Look at this conclusion. Verse 18 says, ‘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.
[19] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
[20] Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

“What?! ‘Well if I did it, but I didn’t do it, then who did it? I did it! But it’s not me; it’s sin that dwelleth in me. The sin is me!’ And you go, ‘What?!’

“He goes on, ‘I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
[22] For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
[23] 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.’

“He’s arguing verse 14: ‘I’m carnal sold under sin, but how did that get way? There’s a law of sin that holds me captive.’ So his conclusion is, ‘I’m a wreck.’ He says in verse 24, ‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?’

“He’s saying, ‘I’m an absolute, total wreck. I’m a dead man. I’m unable to function. Totally confused, totally ineffective.’ Why? He’s confused about who he is.

“ ‘Am I free in Christ? No, looking at my experience, I’m sold under sin. If I walk by faith, who am I? If I identify myself the way God the Holy Spirit identified me in Romans 6, who am I? I’m God’s free man. If I identify myself by my performance the way I could look at it, who am I? I’m carnal, sold under sin.’

“First there’s the way grace looks at it, but when the law looks at me (when I look at my performance and judge it based on that) I’m an absolute failure.’ What does that get him? He’s in the slew of despond.

“That’s verse 24. What Romans 7 is about is bringing you to that verse right there. Self is our great enemy. Law-keeping keeps self going.

“That identity thing is the source of overcoming the failures. If you’re going to deal with God on the basis of your performance, you’re not going to make it. There’s a little subtle thing over in John 1:17 when John says, ‘For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.’

“I missed that verse for years. The law is given but grace and truth came. You see, I can give you something from a distance but grace and truth, He came down and became one of us. The law’s a schoolmaster to teach them their failures.

“The strength of sin is in the law. It’s in looking at my performance, my strength, to accomplish the thing. What’s happening to Paul here is he gets confused in his mind about this law. It’s the ‘if then principle.’ If you perform, then you get the blessing.

“There’s this cycle in Romans here that’s a fascinating kind of a thing. . . The first thing you read in chapter 7 is he condemns himself. ‘Who am I? I’m not the Lord’s freeman. I’m carnal, sold under sin. I’m not just dead; I’m an absolutely worthless person. I don’t have any worth. I’m valueless. I’m a slave to sin.’

“In verse 24, he gets down to the depths where he says, ‘Oh, wretched man that I am.’ You know what a wretched man is? That’s somebody who’s absolutely, totally unloved and unlovable. You get way down here to the bottom. ‘I’m chopped liver that’s spoiled.’

“And then what do you do when you get down there? Verse 15. ‘You know what, I think I’ll try again,’ and you start to try again. And you know what happens when you try again? Verse 19, 20, 21 . . . You fail again! Now where are you? You’re right back at verse 15. That’s the way law is programmed to work you in this cycle that always brings you right back there except at a lower level each time ‘til pretty soon you’re in absolute, total functional defeat.

“So what does grace do? ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’

“There’s a system of grace where if you looked at that, when you sin, it doesn’t say, ‘I’m condemned,’ it says, ‘I’m forgiven. There’s no condemnation. I’ve been forgiven because of Jesus Christ. There’s the thing He died for 2,000 years ago. I’m not only forgiven; I’m free. I’m not in bondage to sin. I’m in Christ Jesus and you can’t separate me from His love.’

“That’s the grace principle, and when you understand that, you can go fix it. I can go make it right as best I can. I can fix it and get on with future correct behavior.’ That’s called victory. That’s Romans 8! In Romans 7, Paul demonstrates for you in his life what happens when you forget, ‘It’s not I.’ ”