Dealing With Indwelling Sin 

Scripture Reading: Romans 7:14-25.

Memory Verse: "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:8).

Introduction:  A children's ministry teacher had done a tremendous job of teaching her class of boys about the hard heart of the Pharisee. "What a thing for a man to say: 'I thank thee, that I am not as other men are!' " explained the teacher. "Surely this was no attitude for anyone to take--for we are all sinners." At the close of the lesson, she had one of the youngsters lead out in prayer. He bowed his head and prayed, "We thank thee, God, that we are not like that Pharisee!" Do we sometimes react like that boy? Do we feel that now that we are Christians, we no longer have a sinful nature within us waiting to rear its ugly head?
  Paul addresses this question directly in the concluding verses of Romans 7. He explains that sin has a lingering power, even though a believer is no longer under the condemnation of past sin because of the gracious sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, Paul describes the spiritual condition of predicaments and difficulties that the believer encounters in his Christian walk. The obedient and Spirit-filled believer, therefore, greatly values and honors all the moral and spiritual commandments of God. The Law continues to be his spiritual ally, as long as he remains on earth in his mortal and corrupted body. The believer now sees the Law as that which can fulfill the words of the psalmist, "Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee" (Psalm 119:11).
  John MacArthur, in his commentary on Romans, states, "God's Word is more valuable for believers under the New Covenant than it was for those under the Old Covenant, not only because the Lord has revealed more of His truth to us in the New Testament, but also because believers now have the fulness of His indwelling Holy Spirit to illumine and apply His truth.
  "Therefore, although the law cannot save or sanctify, it is still holy, righteous and good and obedience to it offers great benefits both to believers and unbelievers."--Thomas A. Davis, Romans for the Everyday Man, p. 95.

Lesson Questions:

1. How does the nature of man compare to the Law? Romans 7:12,14; Psalm 119:140-142,150,151,160; John 6:26,27; 1 John 2:15,16.
"Carnal" is a translation of the Greek sarkinos meaning fleshy. It does not connote evil so much as the inability to do right.--John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Romans 1-8, p. 387.

2. What was Paul's proof that sin continued to indwell him? Romans 7:15; 1 John 1:8-10.

3. What reason does Paul give for his inability to perfectly fulfill the Law? Romans 7:16,17; Galatians 5:17; Matthew 26:41.
In this life, Christians are somewhat like an unskilled artist who beholds a beautiful scene that he wants to paint. But his lack of talent prevents him from doing the scene justice. The fault is not in the scene, or in the canvas . . . but in the painter. That is why we need to ask the master painter, Jesus Christ, to place His hand over ours in order to paint the strokes that, independent of Him, we could never produce.--John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Romans 1-8, p. 388.

4. Does any good thing reside in unredeemed flesh? Romans 7:18a; 1 John 2:16.

5. What confession does Paul make to expose the corruption of his flesh? Romans 7:18b, 19; Philippians 3:12-14.
As a believer grows in his spiritual life, he inevitably will have both an increased hatred of sin and increased love for righteousness. As desire for holiness increases, so will sensitivity to and antipathy toward sin.--Thomas A. Davis, Romans for the Everyday Man, p. 102.

6. Can indwelling sin move us to act against our own will? Romans 7:20.

7. What two laws (or forces) are within every redeemed believer? Romans 7:21-24a; 2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 4:23,24; 2 Corinthians 10:4,5; Genesis 4:7.

8. Who is our only hope for complete deliverance from sin? Romans 7:24b,25; Matthew 9:2; 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:13.