Romans By Norman P. Grubb So you see it is a deeper truth than is known. That is where we have been deceived. The Bible says, “Sin deceives you.” I told you that deceived is a very serious word. Blindness means that you just don’t know. It also says that darkness was blindness. We don’t know who we are. Sin makes you think you are who you are not. That is far worse. Satan says, “I’m for myself.” Satan has light. Jesus said this very subtle thing in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “If the light which is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.” You think that you are in the light and you are in darkness. That is much worse. “If the light which is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.” And you think it is right. That is where we have been. We thought we had light. We are decent people and so we had no idea we were motivated by Satan. We don’t take what Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil.” We don’t take that at all. We don’t accept that we are doing it for lust. We regard ourselves as responsible. We don’t see that we have a motivating devil inside us. How deep it is. We don’t know it. Now the subtlety of that has been, it has made me think I am myself. I have sinned. Okay. Therefore, my problem is self-reliant-self. The Law got at me, I became saved, but I still think that I’m a self-reliant-self. That is where my mistake is. I still think, “Well, I’m saved now, I am God’s.” This is a very subtle thing because the whole of this life claims self. “The whole of this world lieth in the wicked one.” He says, “You do what you want.” Everything in life is: Follow your own way; make your reactions; do this. We can’t help it. That is human life. We will always have it. Everything is disturbing us in self-reactions. All life is worry about this, fuss about that. Life can be nothing else.” Now while I haven’t got this separation from that death within my spirit right, I think that I’m a responsible person and that I shouldn’t do this. Now I still remain where the Law is. The Law is there while I think I am independent. If you can run yourself, run it. That is what the Law is. Okay, do it. This of course couldn’t be done. The Law says, “Don’t steal, don’t lie,” then we go and do it of course. So the Law is always there while I am under this false apprehension I am an independent self, which is what Satan made me think. Satan thought that he was independent. Of course, he is a servant of God, but he tries to by-pass that one. So, we may be like that. So you see that subtlety? I have come into a redeemed life. I know Christ my Savior. I have the “outer” right. I might even say to a point that I’m dead to sin. I might even go so far as to say that I am not controlled. I doubt it. I doubt that I have any understanding of Rom. 6 at all in that first stage. But, of course I’m not governed by Satan, I know I am governed by Christ. But, I have this idea, “I will be better. I am better. I must not react. I must govern all my reactions.” Now the moment I do that that is Law. And, the Law says follow me. Then I’m caught, because you see independent self serves itself. So, while I think that I’m independent, I am tempted to be angry. I will be angry. I can’t get rid of it. I may say Christ is there to help me, but while I think I am there as a person responsible, then I struggle with all my fusses and all my temptations because I think I should be like that. So it goes with that whole period of life. We are bothered by, “I shouldn’t be like that. I don’t want to be.” And, this is the famous Romans 7. “I didn’t want to go and do that. I’m a mess.” Paul says he first found himself overcome by covetousness.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 13:40:48 +0000
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