If the Scripture speaks to the reality that men violate the mandates of God, how is one to know in what ways have they so violated these mandates? How can one be certain at any given point and under any given set of circumstances that their attitudes and actions are in fact sinful? Paul says that it is the Law that exposes the sinful rebellion of men. Does this make the Law sinful in and of itself? Certainly not Paul says. Rather, the Law is holy in that it was given to expose the natural, sinful nature of fallen man. The Law is the light that causes the cock roaches to scatter into the dark corners of the kitchen at midnight and is no more sinful than the light bulb is disease ridden like a roach. Just because something exposes the inherent faultiness of some other thing does not make the thing that exposes faulty along with the thing exposed. Paul’s emphasis however is on the fact that once the Law lays down the standard, the lost, depraved heart moves to violate that standard as an expression of pride and rebellion. This reality is not unexpected by God but proves the holiness and righteousness of God’s Law to expose the motivations of sinful human nature. In other words, the Law’s exposing man’s sin or as Paul says, “Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.” demonstrates the utter lostness of mankind and thereby demonstrates the holiness of God. As one comes into the possession of salvation through God’s grace the results of the imputed righteousness of Christ is a new awareness of what it means to be sinful. Prior to regeneration, the lost may have an intellectual awareness of the Law strictly as a means of behavior regulation, but they do not understand what it means to be sinful. Upon salvation, the human mind and heart are illumined to the reality of sin and the dishonoring nature of sinful rebellion hurled at a holy and merciful God. This divine illumination does not intrinsically prevent future sinfulness but rather highlights the full gravity of such behavior. As Paul says,
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
It is not that Paul does not know what good is; rather he has a full understanding of what is truly good but simply does not have the ability. This truth is certainly applicable at the point of regeneration in that lost man is incapable of anything spiritually good but this instance does not seem to be a lost person coming into the possession of salvation; for how would Paul know what is good before regeneration. What is in play here is the recognition that without the continued work of the spirit of Christ, no good is possible even for the believer. Paul asserts that the regenerated child of God agrees with the Law, knows what is pleasing to God but is incapable of accomplishing what is sought after. This is the primary reason why most in modern faith life fall painfully short in the area of sanctification; one never comes into possession of true sanctity this side of the glorified state. The notion that at some point in time one can consider himself “sanctified” is an erroneous notion. Though true the regenerated believer in Christ is sanctified positionally, he will only be sanctified ontologically in the glorified state. To believe that somehow the believer can realize ontological sanctification in this temporal frame by undertaking observances or rites misunderstands Paul’s words here. As a matter of fact Paul brings his argument to a crescendo here by saying, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” Much of modern faith life is seeking for the assurance that they have been saved. In fact, there have been many systems of religion built around the desire to know that one has experienced God in a saving way. As the previous section asserted, the true evidences of salvation are not one hundred percent assured prior to God’s glorification of His children. Hence, the logical question arises, “How can one be assured of salvation?” The Apostle Paul answers this question but not in the way that one might expect. The one who by the Spirit of life sets his mind on the things of Christ will not come under condemnation. As Paul has described previously, the one still in bondage to sin and depravity cannot understand the things of Christ let alone devote all thoughts to Christ. It is only the heart and mind regenerated by the Spirit of life that may devote all of one’s self to the ministry of Christ.
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