Date: November 10, 1940Place: ShanghaiScripture Reading: Rom. 7:21-25a
In Romans 7:21 Paul said, "I find then the law with me." This was a great discovery, which Paul discovered through much experience. In this world statistics are useful because we can use them to find out the facts and the true nature of things. Paul's spiritual experience has something to do with statistics. Through his many years of experience, he discovered that whenever he tried to do good, evil was present with him. If, out of the thousands and thousands of times that he tried to do good, evil was present every time, it meant that he was experiencing a law. If something repeatedly happens, the phenomenon constitutes a law. Paul discovered that sin was not something accidental or incidental, nor was it a careless mistake. He discovered that sin was abiding in him; there was a constant repetition of it. Through this he discovered sin as a law. This is a great discovery.
The amazing thing is that many Christians have never discovered such a law. This does not mean that this law does not exist in them. It merely means that they have not discovered it yet. Sin is not just an act, but a law. Since sin is a law, it does not matter how many different kinds of sin one commits. (This, of course, does not mean that I am telling you to sin more.) The fact is that a man never commits many different kinds of sins. You may be susceptible to a few sins, and I may be susceptible to a few other sins, but the number is never big. Every person commits, at most, a few major sins; these sins are especially powerful in him. It is these special sins that he frequently commits. Sin is a law, and since it is a law and not just an act, victory over sin cannot be accomplished through an act, but through another law.
Paul was defeated by one sin — greed. This refers not only to the coveting of others' possessions as prohibited by the Ten Commandments, but to a lust in one's heart as well. Many people think that the sin of covetousness is what a thief commits when he enters into another person's house to steal. Actually, sin is something that dwells within man. Whether such a sin is turned into an action or not, the fact is that it is still sin. For example, if one has a temper within him, whether or not this temper is manifested, it is still temper. Those who are talkative are always talking whether or not they open their mouth, and whether they are standing or sitting down. Those who are proud are, of course, arrogant when they accomplish something, but they are also arrogant when they cannot do anything. They are proud before those who are inferior to them, and they are also proud before those who are superior to them. The only time when they are not proud is when they are no longer themselves.
One young man is very talkative. Whenever others see him, they find him talking. Whether or not you want to listen to him, he still wants to talk to you, and he always insists that you listen to him. One day I met this man with another sister and a host. I thought that he was going to talk, and I was preparing to listen, but he did not speak that day. Everyone was silent for about ten minutes. Later, I learned that the reason he did not speak was that he was sick. Talkativeness is a law in this person. He only stopped speaking when he was sick and too weak to speak. Many people only know of sin as a kind of weakness. They do not see that sin is a law. If something remains the same way all the time and in every place, it is a law.
One man was very proud. Whenever he sat down, others around him could sense his arrogance. He was arrogant even when he tried to speak in a humble way. While he was speaking, his words may have sounded humble, but his person remained proud. His humility was forced. This kind of arrogance and false humility is actually worse than pride. With many people their sacrifice is worse than their parsimony, their love is worse than their hatred, and their humility is worse than their pride. This is because their sacrifice, love, and humility are all artificial.
Before I was saved, it was easy for me to lose my temper, and it was easy for me to be proud. After I believed in the Lord, I discovered that I still yielded easily to temper and pride, and I tried my best to deal with these sins and to overcome them. Yet I discovered that patience was something bound by time. I could temporarily put off my temper, but I could never be free of my temper. It is foolish to try to fight a law. In order to be free from sin, the prerequisite is understanding that sin is a law. As long as a man continues to consider sins as isolated and incidental weaknesses, he cannot be free from sin. Paul experienced deliverance when he discovered sin as a law. The turning point for Paul was in verse 21, not in verse 25. Verse 21 is like a bridge with a stretch of road on both sides. In Romans 7:7-20 Paul gave a testimony of his own history. He was continually defeated, and he found it useless to try to overcome by his will. Verse 21 is a grand conclusion to his failures in verses 7 through 20. It was also the beginning of a great discovery of a law. He said, "I find...." Such a discovery was an inward discovery; it was not a mental discovery. The law in Romans 7:7-20 refers to the outward Ten Commandments. After verse 21 the law becomes something spiritual and inward. Many people are familiar only with the law at Sinai. They try their best to do good and satisfy the demands of the law, but they fail again and again. God's demand comes as a law. Man's failure to answer to such a law is also a law. Moses gave the law to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, and Paul also passed on a law to us in Romans 7.
The statistics of sin are the cumulative experiences of all our sins. When they are exhibited before our eyes, we can do nothing but bow down and confess our failure. Paul struggled so hard that he eventually discovered sin to be a law. Sin is not something accidental or incidental; it happens spontaneously. Unless many people first experience the "I find..." in 7:21, they can never have the "thanks be to God" in verse 25. Without discovering this, they find themselves going around in circles for many years.
A man can have a tooth removed when it bothers him, but he cannot get rid of a law with an operation. For example, consider the traffic lights at a crossroad. You can run the red light once, twice, or many times without being caught by the police. But you cannot run the red lights all the time. Sooner or later you will be caught by the police. Halting at a red light is a law, and one cannot forever go against this law. Sin is not the result of an accidental weakness in the will. Do not try to fight with sin, because sin is a law. This law of sin is very real within man, and it is impossible for man to overcome the law of sin with his own strength. Once you realize that sin is a law, you should no longer try to fight it. If you try to fight it, you will lose because a law cannot change; it remains the same forever.
Romans 6 and 7 are the foundation for spiritual growth. Unless sin is dealt with, nothing can be accomplished. Yet it is impossible for us to overcome sin by our will. A man can hold up a hymnal by his will, but he cannot do this forever. At the beginning he may not feel the weight of it, but gradually it becomes heavier and heavier. Actually, the hymnal has not increased in weight, but the force of gravity operates on the hand and wears it out. If you try to be good and love others by yourself, you will be like the hand in the illustration above. Sooner or later you will become tired, and sooner or later you will have to resign. It is a losing prop- osition to fight the force of gravity. It is also a losing proposition to counter this evil law with our good will. Our need today is to acknowledge our corruption in Adam and our newness in Christ.
The way of deliverance is to realize that sin is a never-changing law. When we lose hope in ourselves, we will breathe a sigh of relief just like Paul did. Salvation does not depend on any resolution we make within ourselves; it depends on our Savior. The law of sin has no effect on our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not only free from sin; He is a sinless man. In Him there is no law of sin. Today this Christ lives within us as our life, and we have a new law. The law of sin does not exist in Christ; He is like a helium balloon that is constantly ascending. We can hold down a helium balloon for a while, but we cannot hold it down forever. Today Christ lives within us, and there is a new life and a new law that overcomes the law of the will of the old man. Yet many people have not yet discovered this. This is like a person who has never opened a gift that he has received. It is very precious to realize the blessings that come from a genuine regeneration. What we have received is not just a life, but a new law, and this law is able to overcome the law of sin.
One brother once remarked, "When I exercise my will, I lose my temper less and sin less. Not exercising my will would be unthinkable." But this is not the Christian way. The Christian way is not in the exercise of the will, but in the discovery of another law. In the illustration of the hymnal and the hand, it matters little where you put the hymnal; the law of gravity operates everywhere. If you are not regenerated, it is true that you should not let go of your will. You must control yourself before you can behave in a more proper manner. Once you let go, you will sin, just as the force of gravity will act on any object that is placed in your hand. A regenerated Christian, however, will not need to struggle or strive to do good or to free himself from sin. There is a law within him, the law of life. A Christian first discovers the law of sin and then the law of life. Without discovering the law of sin, one cannot discover the law of life. Today many people do not know that sin is a law. As a result they do not know anything about the law of the Spirit of life in Romans 8. I am not merely teaching; I am helping you to know this law. First we must realize that sin is a law, and then we must realize the law of the Spirit of life in Romans 8. This is the way we will overcome sin.
Prayer: Lord, in the past we considered sins to be isolated events and countable acts of transgressions. We did not realize that sin is a law. Today we have seen that these seemingly isolated sins are actually a law. Lord, these words may be repetitious, but may those who have heard them receive blessing from them.
