ADDRESSES ON ROMANS.
to dwell fully upon the Spirit...filled life, the only victorious life. Let us read carefully these verses. They are greatly mis... understood. Many believe the struggle described here is the legitimate experience of theCliristfan throughout life-hating evi analoving good, but doing what he should not. Note the despair in the words: "What I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I ... For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" (verses 15, 19). This is not the normal Christian life, my friend; it is not what God wants you and me to experience. / There are others who say that Paul is describing he the conflict of an unconverted man under law; but that is not the case either. Here in these verses we nave a believing Jew struggling to obtain victory over sin by using the law as a rule of life. And in Christendom today. thousands of Gentiles try to do this same thing. But it is not God's way for us to find victory over sin, as we shall see. Chapter seven shows us how righteousness is not real... ized; chapter eight, how it is realized. And God permitted Paul to make this test in his own experience, in order to help us. In chapter seven we read repeatedly: "The law" and"/," The Holy Spirit is not mentioned once. We see R~ul_so!J.yerted. ~ lm!JkfeatedJnhls.struggle ag?inst sin, trying to make the law his rule of life. And all the way through these verses, it is "I- I-I" and "the law." Not until we reach verse 25 do we see by faith the risen Christ. And in chapter eight the Holy Spirit fills the scene. He is mentioned eighteen or nineteen times directly and many times indirectly. Through His presence and power Paul learned the secret of victory over sin! But ih chapter seven he has his eyes on himself and the law.. foeI~ the Holy Spirit led him to tell this experience in __..., the first person. in order that every reader might enter into it sympathetically and t!llderstandingly for himself. And Paul begins by saying, "I am carnal" (verse 14). There is a differ.. ence between the carnal nature and our natural state. The natural man is the unconverted man; the carnal man is a child [Page 123
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