WEEK 46
NO LONGER WILLINGLY HABITUALLY DISOBEDIENT
"The genuine Christian finds clear evidence of two natures, two contrary principles at work within him."1
Before I believed in CHRIST through faith, I was enslaved, giving all my body to sin as instruments for unrighteousness (Rom 6:13). But now, having been set free from sin that entangles my natural flesh, I am able to present my new-nature self as a slave to righteousness (Rom 6:18-19).
My fleshly nature still lives and tempts me to choose unrighteousness even though I have the desire to do what is right (Rom 7:18).
He who is born again does not sin habitually, or is not habitually a sinner. [T]he act is against the habitual inclination and purpose of his soul. [H]e who is born again does not do wrong deliberately and by design. He means to do right. He is not willfully and deliberately a sinner. It is true that when one does wrong, or commits sin, there is a momentary assent of the will; but it is under the influence of passion, or excitement, or temptation, or provocation, and not as the result of a deliberate plan or purpose of the soul.2
I have died to trying to obey GOD's law with my natural flesh and now walk in the new way of living in the SPIRIT (Rom 7:5-6).
"We are progressively becoming more and more like Christ as we go on in the Christian life. Paul tells the Colossians they have 'put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator' (Col 3:10)."3
When we repudiate all idols, surrender to Christ as Lord, and trust in the efficacy of His sacrifice, the heart is prepared for the Spirit to enter and take possession for Christ's use. When we give up ourselves to Christ, He owns the dedication by making our bodies the temples of the Holy Spirit, there to maintain His interests against all the oppositions of the Devil.4
When Jesus commands us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matt 5:48), this simply shows that God's own absolute moral purity is the standard toward which we are to aim and the standard for which God holds us accountable. The fact that we are unable to attain that standard does not mean that it will be lowered; rather, it means that we need God's grace and forgiveness to overcome our remaining sin.5
"Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Rom 13:13-14 ESV).
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ENDNOTES
(46) I Recognize the Sin in Me
1. Arthur W. Pink, "The Exaltation of Christ," Studies in the Scriptures XI (September 1932) : 29-30.
2. Albert Barnes, "Commentary on 1 John 3:6," 1870, Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-john/3-6.html#verse-bnb.
3. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 749.
4. A.W. Pink, 1 John, Part Two (Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library, 2005) 83-84.
5. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 751.
6. R.C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible (Orlando, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2005) 1624.
7. Arthur S. Way, Letters of Paul, Hebrews and the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1901) 242.
8. "Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin" (Hebrews 10:18 ESV).
9. "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22 ESV).
10. Matthew Henry, "Complete Commentary on Romans 7:14," 1706, Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/romans/7-14.html#verse-mhm.
11. Albert Barnes, "Commentary on Romans 7:15," 1870, Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/romans-7.html.
12. Theodore Beza, "Commentary on Romans 7:15," 1599-1645, The 1599 Geneva Study Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/romans/7-15.html#verse-gsb.
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