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Amen. All right, so keep your place there in Romans 7. So here we are in Romans 7. This is our seventh Bible study on the book of Romans. So in Romans chapter 6, we we learned that, you know, Paul was talking about becoming a servant to sin and that we're no longer servants to sin. When we get saved, we're freed from that. You know, that was our freedom. Our true freedom was free through Christ. And in Romans 7, you know, I like the way Paul writes because he always continues the thought and then he just kind of tweaks it into a little bit different version of that thought. Paul is also very good at saying, making points in several different ways. And it's very nice to see that. But we'll see right from the very first verse in Romans chapter 7 why you can't just read one verse in the Bible and then create an entire doctrine off that one verse. So we just learned that, you know, because of grace, should we continue in sin? Because of grace. Grace would abound. God forbid, Paul says, right? And then in Romans 7 chapter 1, the Bible says, Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law. You know, he's speaking to the Jews. How that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth. Well, I thought, what in the world? I thought, law, the law didn't have dominion over us anymore if we're saved. But we have to just, of course, keep reading. You know, the law does not have power over us, and that's what Paul was explaining in Romans chapter 6. And then he comes out and he says, but the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth. And in verse number 2, he kind of explains what he's talking about. He's making an analogy here, and he says, for the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth. But if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. This is a woman who has left her husband and then goes and marries another man. You know, the Bible calls that adultery. But if her husband be dead, she is free from the law so that she is no adulteress. No, she be married to another man. So if you become, this woman becomes a widow, she can then go become somebody else's, she can then get married again. And then we see the answer to verse number 1 in Romans chapter 7 in verse number 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. So what Paul is doing, starting out in verse number 1, is he is saying that the law had dominion over us in the context of comparing it to a marriage. Saying that, you know, the the husband or the wife is, you know, she is committed to her husband as long as he is alive. So Paul is comparing the law being married to us. And he's saying that because we became dead to the law through Christ, we then become married to Christ. That's what he's saying, and that's what he's explaining in these first few verses. So through Christ our husband the law is dead, so we could be married to Christ. You know, it's an analogy. And turn to Ephesians 5 in verse number 25. We kind of looked at this on on Saturday morning, or Sunday morning, I'm sorry. But in Ephesians 5, you know, this comparison of ourselves being married to Christ or the church being married to Christ is found all throughout the Bible. So it's nothing new that Paul is just coming up with here in Romans. It's an analogy that God is making for us that fits. And in Romans, or in Ephesians chapter 5, let's start in verse number 24. The Bible says, therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands and everything. So he's comparing the church to Christ to husbands and wives. Alright, and then verse number 25, husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, even as. You see, he's comparing those two things. So husbands to wives, and then Christ and the church, or us to Christ, okay? So it's a good comparison, and the Bible uses it a lot. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. In verse number 27, that he might present it to himself a glorious church. You know, this is the bride of Christ, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So Paul in verse number one in Romans 7 is not saying that the law hath dominion over us. He's saying that the law, we have become dead to the law just as a woman whose husband has died is able to marry another. So by becoming dead to the law, we become married to Christ. It's a great analogy. Now turn to Matthew chapter 19, and let's just take, let's go back to verse number three and just look at a couple things on marriage and what the Bible says about marriage. In verse number three, the Bible, and we read it to you again, so then if while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband be dead, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. And in Matthew 19 verse 9, the Bible repeats this same thought on actual marriage, where it says, And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commiteth adultery. And whoso marrieth her which is put away, doth commiteth adultery. So basically if you put away your wife, except it be for the cause of fornication, the Bible teaches, and then you go marry someone else, you're committing adultery. You've committed adultery. And whosoever marrieth, and if, what about the woman who gets put away? Anyone who puts, who marries someone who's been put away or divorced from their husband is also committing adultery. So the Bible says, except it be for what cause? And the Bible says here, except it be for fornication. Okay, now turn to Deuteronomy 24. Now we're going to start to see the importance in this doctrine, which is, I would say it's a pretty important doctrine on, you know, the doctrine of what is okay with God for you to get divorced or not, right? Now in Deuteronomy 24, you say, oh this is a New Testament thing that Jesus changed, this fornication. In Deuteronomy 24, look down at verse number one. And the Bible says this, it says, When a man hath taken a wife and married her, and it came to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, why? Because he hath found some uncleanness in her, then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. So if he found that she was not pure, she had been with another man before, you know, they consummated the marriage, he was able to write her a bill of divorcement. That's what Deuteronomy 24 is saying. Now let's look at Mary, the mother of Jesus. Turn to Matthew 1. Matthew 1, very first book in the New Testament, and let's look at an actual example of something like this happening in the Bible, okay? Or it appeared that way, anyway. Of course, Mary was a virgin and she was, you know, conceived by the Holy Spirit, but you know, Joseph didn't immediately know that at first. And in Matthew 1 verse 18, the Bible says, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was espoused, as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. Now put away or put her away means to divorce her. So they were married here, but there was a state in the marriage back in these days where they were espoused, they were married, but they had not yet consummated the marriage, you know, I don't want to get too graphic, but they had not come together physically to consummate the marriage. So he was minded, he was a just man, he didn't want to make a public example of her, he did not want to embarrass her, but he was minded, he was thinking about putting her away privately, is what it says. But in verse number 20, while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take thee, marry thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. So you have to kind of put yourself in Joseph's shoes, right? You're married to this young lady, she's supposed to be pure, because the Bible teaches that you should be, you should go to your wedding day, both men and women. We'll talk about this Sunday night as, you know, pure, as a virgin who having not committed fornication, that's what the Bible teaches very clearly. We'll go ad nauseam into that on Sunday night, but Joseph basically, his wife is pregnant, he finds his wife to be pregnant, and they haven't come together yet, and he's obviously thinking, you know, she's committed fornication with somebody, right? So he's minded to put her away privately, because that is the one reason that the Bible says that you can put someone away. Now, a couple things to say here. First of all, obviously Joseph found out that that wasn't the case, but second of all, fornication is the only reason to put away your wife that the Bible says that God, you know, allows, and it doesn't really apply today, because there's not really this period in a marriage in the culture that we live in, where a couple gets married and then there's this period of time before the marriage is consummated. You know, that was something that was unique to the times. It doesn't really apply, and another thing I would like to say is that if Joseph, if a husband would have had a wife do this, it was Joseph's perspective to not put her away, but just because he could do it didn't mean that he should necessarily do it. Turn to Malachi chapter 2. Malachi chapter 2, in the the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi chapter 2. Turn there myself. And the core of this doctrine is really, you know, instead of looking at what we're allowed to do, what would God like us to do, is more of a is more of a way to look at this. And if you look at Malachi chapter 2 in verse number 16, the Bible says this. Look at verse number 15, actually. Therefore take heed to your godly seed, therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the Lord God of Israel said that he hateth putting away. So putting away is divorce, so God hates divorce. That's the bottom line. It doesn't say he hates you if you've been divorced. Let's get that out of the way as well, because the Bible talks very specifically about God hating certain people. He says he hates the man in certain cases. Here it says God hateth, you know, he's talking about the act of putting away. God hateth divorce. He hates that act. He hates it. So just because we could put away our wives or put away our husbands for fornication, you know, the Bible is saying that God hates divorce. God would prefer that nobody ever got divorced. So it's kind of like the argument for alcohol that people make. They'll go through these massive tasks through the Bible to try to find, you know, that this must be an alcoholic wine they're talking about in this verse, and it's not alcoholic, it's alcoholic everywhere. I mean, it doesn't even matter, because God says be sober again and again and again in the Bible. So it doesn't matter where in the Bible it's saying, you could argue it's alcohol there, it's not alcohol, it's mostly alcohol in the Bible. And it doesn't matter, because God says be sober. God says I hate putting away. God hates divorce. So just because they could do something doesn't mean you should. Now here's the importance of the the King James Bible. Pull out your NIVs for a minute. I'm gonna read for you the NIV version of Matthew 1.8, okay? Matthew 1.8. And the Bible says this, Jesus replied, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard, but it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you, anyone that divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another, this woman commits adultery. Now let's read Matthew 1.8. No, I'm sorry, that was, hang on here. Yes, 19. So that was a comparative verse to what we had read earlier, and it didn't say fornication, it said sexual immorality. So I mean, is that the same thing? I mean, you could pretty much fill in the blank for anything that you want there. Oh, my husband looked at another woman, or my husband was looking at something, and you know, you could just justify divorce for any reason. I mean, this is a pretty big difference right here. You know, it opens the door for anything. So this is the importance of the King James Bible, because single words actually matter in the Bible, okay? Now, God hates divorce, okay? Let's go on to verse number four, Romans 7, verse number four, where the Bible says, Wherefore, my brethren, ye are also become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to him, Jesus, who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. We are dead to the law through the death of Christ. Verse number five, For when we are in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring fruit unto death. We talked about this last week. You know, what good was the fruit that you had before you were saved? It was no good. Verse number six, But now that we are delivered from the law, see, he's back to this same philosophy again, that being dead wherein you were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. Notice those words again, that we should serve. This disproves lordship salvation. You should serve in newness of spirit. Remember Romans 6, 4, where it said, Even so we also should walk in newness of life? You should walk in newness of life. Is everybody gonna do so? I wish they would, but they're not going to. Romans 6, 6 says again, We should not serve sin. Now, Romans 6, 6 in the ESV says this, Let me read Romans 6, 6 from the King James, Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. The ESV says this, We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. See, it's quite a different word. It's you should do this, or but you would. See, if you were saved, you would serve God. See, it's a big difference. And this is where these false doctrines come from. The devil has twisted God's Word just enough to change salvation. These words are super important. This is why we are King James only. These are just a couple small examples, but they're not small, as you can see. Look down at verse number seven, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. See, the law shows us our sin. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me the all manner of concubicence, which is lust. For without the law sin was dead. Verse number nine, For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. So I want to kind of dissect verse number nine. There's a lot of verses in Romans where you read that single verse and you're like, what in the world? And there's a few different verses that we're going to talk about in Romans chapter 7. But in Romans chapter 7 verse 9, For I was alive without the law once. What could that mean? I mean, the Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. So there was a point where Paul was alive without the law, and then later on in his life, the law came in, the commandment, sin revived, and he died, it said. When in Paul's life was he alive without the law? Romans 1 says no one has an excuse, right? The Gentiles didn't have an excuse. He had the law. They all have a conscience in their heart. What the Bible is clearly teaching here is that children, before they can understand the law, are not condemned by it, okay? Now this is just a fundamental misunderstanding of God's view towards children in the Bible, and I want to take some time when I want to look at that. Turn to Matthew 19. I want to look at God's demeanor towards children, and I want you to think as we read these verses, does it make sense, does it fit with the conscience, the law in your heart, that God would send a two-year-old to hell if they were not sprinkled with water, if they got in a car accident and died or something terrible happened? Many children die for many different reasons. We'll see some in the Bible here. We'll see if does that fit our conscience, and more importantly, does that fit God's personality and God's demeanor towards children? Like I've said many times, when you read the Bible, not only will you find the same God in the New Testament as exists in the Old Testament, you will see no difference. If you are saved and you read the Bible from cover to cover, you will see no difference in God's personality. I am the Lord, I change not, and it's clear in the Bible. So let's look at the Bible on children. Look at Luke. Where did I have you turn? Matthew 19? Let me read for you Luke 17. This is Jesus. This is Jesus talking about children. Then he said unto the disciples, it is impossible but that offenses will come, but woe unto him through whom they come. It'd be better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea, then he should offend one of these little ones. Jesus is talking about someone who would commit an offense against a child, and he doesn't say that they should have a millstone put around their neck. He said it would be better for them to have a millstone put around their neck, because when I get them, I'm gonna burn them in the lowest parts of hell. That's what he's getting at here. You know, this goes back to Romans 1, talking about these sodomite reprobates that the Bible talks about. It fits God's personality perfectly. Look at Matthew 19. See, I don't believe you. That's one verse. Matthew 19, look at verse number 13. Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them and pray, and the disciples rebuked them. People were bringing all these kids to Jesus, and the disciples were saying, no, get the kids out of here. But Jesus said, suffer the little children and forbid them not to come unto me. For of such is the kingdom of heaven. He's saying these little children, they have the kingdom of heaven right now, is what he's saying. Of such, they are of the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them and departed thence. He rebuked his disciples. He said, no, you let them come. The kingdom of heaven is theirs. But you got to get these kids sprinkled with water or I'll burn them for all eternity. What? What in the world? It's crazy. Look, there's an overarching theme in the entire Bible about this. Turn to 2 Kings chapter 21. It's God's personality. It's how God feels about children. 2 Kings 21, and it's even more clear in the Old Testament, in my opinion. I mean, how could you be any more clear than it'd be better if a millstone were hung around their neck and then thrown in the, you know, in the water? How could you be more clear than that? But it's more clear. God destroyed nations because of the way what people did to children. I'll show you now. 2 Kings 21, look at verse number 5. This is talking about Manasseh, a king of Judah. And the Bible says, and he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son pass through the fire and observed times and used enchantments and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. He made his son pass through the fire. He sacrificed his child to a false god. Look down to verse number 16. The Bible says that you say, well, he did lots of other things too. Well, I'll prove it to you. Verse number 16 says this, Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much. What do you mean innocent blood? What in the world? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Innocent blood. Until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to the other, besides his sin wherein he made Judah to sin, he made others do these same things. He led other people in his kingdom into this same sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. Turn to 2 Kings chapter 23. 2 Kings chapter 23. We see Josiah and he's cleaning house after they've read the book of the law. And the Bible says in 2 Kings 23, in verse number 10, it said, And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. These are the same people that were sacrificing their children to Molech, the false god. Now look down at verse number 26. Josiah was this great king and he righted all these wrongs. He smashed the altars. We heard about this a few weeks ago. He burned the false prophets bones. He killed the false prophets. He cleaned total house. But look at what it says in verse number 26. Not withstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him with all. So God was so upset that Manasseh up in verse 16 had shed innocent blood very much that he was still going to destroy Judah. He delayed it a little bit because of Josiah. Now let's look at this term innocent blood. Look at turn to Psalm 106. Psalm 106 verse number 38. Psalm 106 in verse number 38 the Bible says, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and daughters. So who's innocent blood? Don't you love it how the Bible just defines everything for us right here? The innocent blood is the blood of their children, even the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. So here we see the definition of innocent blood being the children that they were sacrificing. In Proverbs 6, turn there, one book over, Proverbs 6. And look at verse number 16. Proverbs 6 and verse number 16. The Bible says this, these six things doth the Lord hate, yea seven are an abomination unto him. A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands, now look at this, a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. So if your hands shed innocent blood, the Bible says God hates you. And a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift and running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Now look, the blood of children is innocent. That's what the innocent blood is. And it's something that you see from Manasseh that God will not let go. He doesn't just let it go. Because look, God judges nations on this earth. God's going to judge men in the afterlife, but God judges nations on this earth. God used Babylon to judge Judah. He used the Assyrians to judge the northern kingdom of Israel. God judges the nations now on this earth. Turn to 2 Kings 24, and we'll cap it right here, saying okay that's your opinion. Well let's see. Let's look at when the Babylonians took over and destroyed Judah. Go to 2 Kings 24 and verse number 1. 2 Kings 24 and verse number 1, the Bible reads, In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it. According to the word of the Lord, he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah to remove them out of his sight for the sins of who? Manasseh, according that all he did. Well he did a lot of bad things, but look what he says here. And also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon. The Lord's just not letting this go. I mean we're talking about generations later. You had Ammon, you had Josiah, you had Joaz, which was only like two months, but then you had Jehoiakim. And he's not letting it go. He said for the innocent blood that he shed, that's why the Babylonians are coming upon you right now, and I'm destroying your nation. I mean the Bible talks about he's gonna wipe you like a dish, he says to Judah. I mean he's not messing around, he brought the hammer down because of this. Now look, we're entering Jared's opinion land right now, so let me just tell you that right now, okay? But here's something that's interesting, okay? If anything wants me, you know, to go and dig a bunker in a field somewhere and live in it, it's this, what I'm about to tell you, okay? Don't go dig a hole in the ground and live in a hole in the ground. That's not what we're called to do. But here's what's interesting, the time between Manasseh, from Manasseh to Ammon, to Josiah, to Joaz, to Jehoiakim, the time is about 44, 45 years according to the Bible. That's from the time that Manasseh died. The time from Roe v. Wade to now is about 46 years ago. Think about that for a second. I can guarantee you from the Bible that according to the way God feels about shedding innocent blood, that judgment is coming to this country. End times or not. I don't know if it's going to be end times, I don't know what, but I know that judgment is coming here. And if God's patience is the same as it was back then, it's not that far away. 46 years ago, we've slaughtered 56 and a half million unborn children in this country. That's a lot of innocent blood. And this country is going to pay for it. And when God brings judgment down, it's ugly. It's ugly. So I don't mean to freak you out, but I'm just saying that judgment's coming here. And if we have the biggest revival, which I think we kind of have a revival going on in this country, we got biblical churches starting, we got people going out soul-winning again for the first time in 20 years, 30 years, soul-winning's kind of coming back. But guess what? You know what the prophets were doing? You know, Garrett just loves Jeremiah, and I love Jeremiah too. But you know what Jeremiah was doing? Because you know what? He wasn't turning that nation around, but you know what he was doing? He was warning people. He was warning individuals to turn and get it right. That's what the prophets were doing. God's judgment was coming. Look at what Josiah said. What was the point of the prophets? You ever wonder that? Like, if it was coming anyway, you can't get any better than Josiah. The Bible says that. So what was the point of the prophets? The prophets were there to warn people and to get people to turn. They're there to do what we're doing on Saturday. The judgment's coming. I don't know if there's five minutes or 50 years or whatever left, but we need to get out and warn people because if the judgment comes tomorrow when people die, they're gonna go to hell. That's the bottom line. That was the point of the prophets. So it's more important, you know, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, they were all during this time. They were out there and they were warning people. Ezekiel was doing it even after the captivity, and so was Jeremiah, until they kidnapped him and took him to Egypt. Poor guy. Couldn't catch a break. So just bringing it back around, I hope I proved to you that, first of all, this infant baptism thing has its roots in a fundamental misunderstanding of who God is, first of all. It's almost proof that you're not saved, that you don't have the witness in yourself. To understand, I mean, how could you read the Bible, but you don't read the Bible if you're not saved because you can't understand what it says. You know, but how could you read the Bible and see all these different things about how God's demeanor is towards children, so much so that he destroyed nations over it, and he's gonna destroy this one over it. That's why, you know, America. He's gonna destroy this this nation because of this. And you know, frankly, we deserve it. Romans 7, verse number 10. It's a scary thought, but you know, that's the Bible. Sorry. I know where I'm going. Romans 7, verse number 10. And the commandment which was ordained to life I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. So he understood the law, he died. He became guilty. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good, which was then which is good made death unto me, God forbid. But sin, that might it appear sin, working death in me, that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. Without the law, we would not see our sin. So the law is there to show us, to show us our sin. It's to make it pop out, it's to make it become exceedingly sinful. We have the law of our hearts, even if we've never even seen the law, but the law itself shows us the exceeding sinfulness of ourselves. And it drives us towards the Savior. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. And now it gets confusing, but it's not that confusing. I'm gonna make it easier for you, okay? For that which I do, I allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. He's talking about war, this war going on in his body, and his spiritual self warring against his flesh. That's what he's talking about here. And he really gets it across in the next couple verses where he says, if then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law, that is good. So if I do the good things, which my flesh doesn't want to do, I consent unto the law, that is good, now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. So when I do sin, it's my flesh, he's saying. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, he even says it, dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. Turn to 1st Corinthians 9 verse 27. Look folks, Paul, the most, probably the greatest evangelist who has ever lived, is still a sinner. That's what he's saying to you here. He's still fighting this battle of the flesh, and this lust of the flesh. And you know when it will go away from you? When you die physically. Okay? Look at 1st Corinthians 9 verse 27. I got saved and I never sinned again. I've met this guy. You're a liar. 1st Corinthians 9 verse 27. But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. He's saying he brings his body into subjection. So that's his spirit overcoming his flesh. And he's controlling his lusts of his flesh, is what 1st Corinthians 9 verse 27 says. If you look back at verse number 19 in Romans 7, the Bible says, For the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. He's just giving you different angles of trying to war against the flesh. He's like, my flesh wants to do this, but then my spirit doesn't want to, and then I do it, but it's my flesh. That's what he's saying back and forth. He's just saying it's this war back and forth between his spiritual self and his flesh. That's what he's saying. So don't get confused. I mean, it's a beautiful way of writing it, but it can look confusing. Verse number 21. I find that a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. I love verse number 22 because he says, I love the law of God after the inward man. He's saying the law of God is after my flesh all the time. Like hard preaching, right? Like when you stand up, when I stand up here and I preach against sin, you get convicted, and you're like, oh I am doing that, and the Bible does say that, and I'm not sitting here saying if you do these sins you're not saved, but the Bible says that you need the law so that the inward man is being chased down by it. That's what it's talking about, for I delight in it. You should love it. You should love hard preaching. You should love, you know, the Bible just being thrown at you. You should love the law. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the whole Bible, is all about just loving the law. You should love the law. Let's read it all together, the whole thing. I'm just kidding. Look, hard preaching chases after the inward man. That's why all these these churches, these fund centers, are filled with worldly people. They're not saved, but even the saved ones are just there. You can't tell any difference from them and some other unsaved person because they're not hearing anything that's of value from the pulpit. They're not being taught the law, but people don't want to hear that. But Paul does. Do you? See, people get comfortable in sin. All these people out there that you work with, that you see, they're so comfortable in sin. It's real easy today. It's real easy today to get comfortable in sin. The Bible, and reading the Bible yourself, learning the Bible, hearing the Bible preached at you, it's gonna make you uncomfortable in your sin. So if you want to be comfortable in your sin, this is probably not the place for you. You know, pastors, pastor kind of always put it this way. He basically, he basically says, you know, people that come into a church like this, what you'll find is they'll either get right or they'll get out. And you see that again and again because people will either get right or they'll get out because, I mean, if you're not gonna get right, who would want to sit here? I mean, why would you want to torture yourself, right? Look, folks, look at verse number 23. Verse number 23, we're almost done. The Bible says, but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind. He's saying the law of my flesh, what my flesh wants to do, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. I've said this before, if you go out and you willingly sin, you can put yourself in servitude to sin. You can do it to yourself as a saved person, but you're free from it. It's like, it's like voluntarily walking into a jail cell and sitting down. That's what walking into sin and getting into sin as a saved person is. You're free from it. We talked last week about it. You have to willingly enslave yourself in the flesh. So he's talking about, you know, this law, this war. He calls it a war here. It's a war. Now look, the state of this war in your life is your character. You know, how are you doing fighting your battle? How's your war going? You know, as you get more and more mature as a Christian, you should be getting better at this war. You should be winning the war more and more. And then verse number 24, he says, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? You know, Paul's humble too. You know, he himself is saying, I'm just, I'm just a wretched sinner. You know, so we should also never get arrogant that we've overcome one thing and never get arrogant and think that, you know, we can't fall again. Because Paul was very humble, you see here. And verse number 25, the Bible ends, he says here, he says, and I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, so then with the with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. So he just, chapter 7 is about this war that he's fighting. It's this constant struggle that we're going to have in our life against the flesh. Look, it's not an excuse. He's just talking about how this is real. It's basically, you know, blows away this whole idea that you're gonna become like, you know, this sinless perfection garbage. You know, lordship, salvation, or whatever other stupid heresies want to come out of it, that you're just gonna become a perfect person. He's saying, he's kind of giving you some encouragement saying, look, you're gonna have this war that you're gonna fight your whole life, but you gotta fight it, is what he's saying. I mean, sin will still destroy your life. You still have a Heavenly Father who will destroy your life and chastise you. I've had somebody say that out to me soul-winning before, after they got saved, and they understood the chastisement of God that I explained to them before they got saved so well that after they got saved, and about ten minutes later into the conversation, they had already been saved. The guy looked at me right before I was about to leave and he said, I think you might have just ruined my life. And I'm like, boy, you really got it, buddy. You're right, because he's thinking about all the things that he does in his life, and he understands that he's now a child of God, now he's saved, he's just received the eternal gift, and if he continues in those things, God's gonna smack him down. He's gonna bring him down hard. You're done getting away with stuff. Turn to John 10 28. Let me just leave you here. Jesus says in John 10 28, He says, And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. So thank God that we're in this war as Roman chapter 7 talks about, and the war may wax and it may wane, but thank God that God holds our salvation throughout the whole thing. Because guess what? If I was holding it, I would lose it. And if you were holding it, you would lose it. So thank God that Jesus and the Father who are one are hanging on to this thing for us. But let's fight the battle. Let's fight the good fight. Let's win this war. Let's have a good character and not abuse the grace that God has given us. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for Romans chapter 7. Lord, we just ask that you give us all strength to fight this war of the flesh that we're gonna have in these, you know, broken worldly bodies of ours, Lord, until the day we die. Help us understand that your spirit is within us, you've sealed us, Lord, and help us listen to that and overcome, you know, this flesh that we deal with every single day, Lord. Lord, we thank you for your mercy. We thank you for your grace. Bless the rest of our evening and the rest of our week and soul winning on Saturday, Lord. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.