Chapter 4 deals with the reality of sin the lives of believers, a daily battle with their flesh. Dr. MacArthur helps the Christian understand the battle has been won and only the grace of God allows them to have no confidence in the flesh.
===========================ooooooOOOOOOoooooo===========================
All Christians sin. This may be a shocking admission to people who think being a Christian means being perfect. But if only sinless Christians could go to heaven, heaven would be empty! It’s not a reward you can earn; it’s a gift of God’s grace. Paul made this point in Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” As Christians, you and I are not exempt from a life in constant conflict with sin, which often leads to disobeying God. No matter how hard we try, we still face a daily battle with sin, and it seems as if sin is always getting the better of us.
TOWARD CHRISTLIKENESS
Scripture recognizes that believers are not perfect. We all fail to achieve God’s standard, which is “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). Paul saw the sin in his own life, but refused to let it stop him from doing everything he could to overcome it: “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12–14).
In other words, our own imperfection should spur us on toward the goal of complete Christlikeness. Sanctification is the process by which God—working in believers through the Holy Spirit—gradually moves us toward that goal.
It’s a gradual transformation. In Romans 12:2, Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” He also affirmed that sanctification does not end unless “we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
The Bible clearly teaches that you can never attain such sinless perfection in this life. Proverbs 20:9 challenges us: “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin’?” The apostle John affirmed, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Sanctification is never complete in this lifetime—that will happen only when we are glorified.
The word sanctify comes from Hebrew and Greek words that mean “set apart.” To be sanctified is to be set apart from sin. At conversion, all believers are released from sin’s penalty and set apart unto God. Yet the process of separation from the power of sin in your life has just begun. As you grow in Christ, you become further separated from the influence of sin and more consecrated to God. The sanctification that takes place at conversion initiates a lifelong process of distancing yourself further and further from sin and coming gradually and steadily more into conformity with Christlike righteousness.
The more you become like Christ, the more sensitive you are to the remaining corruptions of the flesh. As you mature in godliness, your sins become both more painful and more obvious. The more you put away sin, the more you will notice sinful tendencies you need to eliminate. That is the paradox of sanctification: the holier you become, the more frustrated you will be by the stubborn remnants of your sin.
More than 150 years ago a dutiful Christian mother explained the idea beautifully to her daughter, who was grieved by her own newly revealed sin. The words are a little old-fashioned, but the message is timeless:
Before His influence was shed into your heart, you could see none of your faults. It was like coming into the parlor some cloudy morning. All the dust and litter of the room would not be visible. But let a bright ray of sunshine gleam in and how you would see every particle of dust! So the Holy Spirit has shined into your heart & you are astonished at what you see there. Do not doubt for a moment His power and His willingness to receive you. He will never leave you or forsake you.
Here on earth, we’ll never become sanctified no matter how earnestly we pursue it. But pursue it we will if we are truly born again, for God Himself guarantees our perseverance in righteousness: “May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
THE DAILY BATTLE WITH SIN
Though he was one of the most spiritual saints who ever lived, and though he was used mightily of God, Paul struggled with personal sin and temptation the same as every other Christian. In Romans 7:14–25 he gives us a vivid description of the battle:
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to 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. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 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.
Paul loved the law of God with his whole heart, yet he found himself wrapped in human flesh and unable to fulfill the righteous law the way his heart wanted to. All true believers should be struggling with the tension Paul described between an ever-increasing hunger for righteousness on the one hand, and a growing sensitivity to sin on the other.
This level of spiritual insight, brokenness, contrition, and humility is the mark of a spiritual and mature believer who has no trust in his own goodness and achievements. It is the lament of a godly Christian who, at the height of spiritual maturity, still finds himself unable to live up to the holy standard. This is the experience of every genuine believer at every stage of spiritual development.
Paul’s revealing and heartfelt statement deserves a closer look.
The flesh is frail. Paul said, “I am carnal.” A better translation is, “I am of flesh.” He was not using flesh to refer to his physical body, but to the principle of human frailty, especially our sinful selfishness, which remains with us after salvation until we are ultimately glorified. It is a corruption that permeates and influences every aspect of our being, mind, emotions, and will. It is what makes us susceptible to sin even after God makes us partakers of His divine nature (see 2 Peter 1:4). Though sin does not reign in us, it nevertheless remains in us. “The flesh” is the source and stimulus of our sin.
Unbelievers are said to be “in the flesh” (Romans 8:8–9). Christians are no longer in the flesh—we are in the Spirit. But we are still “of flesh,” still fallen humans, and that’s the problem: “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells…So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:18, 25). “Flesh” here refers to our fallenness. It mars all the facets of the total person, including our minds, emotions, and bodies. This residual fallenness—the flesh—is what drags us repeatedly into sin, even though as Christians we hate sin.
Wishing Good Is Easy; Doing Good Is Hard. Every Christian can echo Paul’s lament. Yes, God’s law is good and we desire to obey it, yet we cannot rid ourselves of sin. We are bound by our own human weakness. Sin is in our very members, and it perpetually frustrates our attempts to obey God perfectly.
Galatians 5:17 says, “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” But the previous verse tells us how to win: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (verse 16). The Holy Spirit gives us the victory.
But that victory seems so slow in coming! Paul wrote, “To will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Romans 7:18–19). It’s not that Paul was incapable of doing anything right; it’s that his desire to obey was always greater than his ability to obey.
Delight in God’s law. “I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to 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” (Romans 7:21–23). Paul’s inner man, recreated in the likeness of Christ and indwelt by His Spirit, troubled him because he was grieved by the least infraction against God’s holy law. He realized how wretchedly short of God’s perfect law he lived. Yet in spite of his shortcomings, Paul delighted in God’s law. The phrase “in the inner man” could be translated, “from the bottom of my heart.” Emanating from the depths of his soul, Paul had a great love for the law of the Lord.
Never give up. “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 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” (Romans 7:24–25). Christ assures us all of ultimate triumph over the sin in our flesh. Paul said, “We also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body” (Philippians 3:20–21). Ours is a triumphant hope!
Yet for now the battle goes on. Full deliverance will come only with glorification. Victory here and now is possible only bit by bit as we kill the deeds of the body through the Holy Spirit: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13).
As one Christian to another, let me warn you that you will be frustrated by your inability to experience the holiness you crave. That is the inevitable experience of every true child of God. In your flesh you will never achieve the level of holiness you want. But press on! Persevere in your faith, and your perseverance will set you apart as a member of the family of God and you will experience what it is to really live in Christ.
CONFESSION OF SIN
Your inability to obey God the way you know you should has an impact on your relationship with Him. Just as a disobedient child disappoints his father, so our sin disappoints our heavenly Father. Yet just as a father welcomes with open arms a child who confesses his disobedience with a repentant spirit, so God restores to us the joy of salvation when we confess our sin to Him (Psalm 51:12).
As part of your new life in Christ, you’ll want to maintain that intimate relationship with Him. To do that you need to continually confess your sins to God. As the apostle John explained, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). A Christian continually confesses and God continually forgives.
Scripture teaches that redeemed people are to pray regularly for forgiveness. As long as we live in a sinful world and have our own sinful tendencies, there is a sense in which we as Christians, though eternally cleansed, still need daily cleansing from the effects of sin.
You need to forsake your sin regularly, seeking not the pardon of an angry Judge, but the forgiveness of your loving Father—displeased and grieved, yet loving all the same.
True confession of sin is not just admitting you did something wrong, but acknowledging that your sin was against God and in defiance of Him personally. Therefore the primary feature of confession is agreeing with God that you are helplessly guilty. In fact, the Greek word for confession literally means “say the same.” To confess your sins is to say the same thing God says about them, acknowledging that God’s perspective of your transgressions is correct.
For that reason, true confession also involves repentance—turning away from the evil thought or action. You have not honestly confessed your sins until you have expressed the desire to turn from them. Real confession includes a brokenness that inevitably leads to a change of behavior. In Isaiah 66:2 the Lord says, “On this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” When you pray, go to God trembling at breaking His Word, longing for victory over your weaknesses and failures.
Confessing your sin, however, does not eliminate God’s chastening (disciplining) work in your life. Though you repent, God will often chasten you to correct your behavior in the future. If He chastens you because of sinful behavior, you know you deserve the correction.
When God chastens us as His children, it is for our benefit. Hebrews 12:5–11 says He chastens us as sons so that we might be better sons. Too often believers have the wrong perspective on chastening, wondering why God would allow horrible things to happen to them. Confession allows us to view chastening from God’s perspective. Only then can you see how God, through painful results, is shaping you by drawing you away from sin to righteousness.
Yet, our God is a forgiving God. In response and thanks, we confess our sin to Him and turn from it, lest we trample on His grace. If you try to cover your sin, you will not prosper; you will only forfeit your joy and reap divine displeasure. But when you confess and forsake your sin, there is a guarantee of divine compassion. As wise King Solomon promised in Proverbs 28:13, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” The God who disciplines sinning saints because of His love for them also delights to shower the brokenhearted and repentant with His mercy.
Sin is a reality of life on earth, but for Christians it is only a temporary, nagging nemesis. A glorious salvation awaits, by the grace of a loving Father who is ready to embrace you forever into His presence, having made you sinless at home in heaven.
===========================ooooooOOOOOOoooooo===========================
MacArthur, J. (2004). Welcome to the family : What to expect now that you’re a Christian (37). Nashville, Tenn.: Nelson Books.