It hath a self evidencing efficacy to them that are alive to discern it. THE third thing assigned unto this law of sin in its opposition unto God and the law of his grace is, that it leads the soul captive : Romans 7:23, "I find a law leading me captive" (captivating me) "unto the law of sin." 57:17 I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them, yet they remained disobedient and stubborn. 18Oida gaVr o{ti oujk oijkei' ejn ejmoiv, tou't* e[stin ejn th'/ sarkiv mou, ajgaqovn: toV gaVr qevlein paravkeitai moi, toV deV katergavzesqai toV kaloVn ou[: 19ouj gaVr o} qevlw poiw' ajgaqovn, ajllaV o} ouj qevlw kakoVn tou'to pravssw. We need now to present Romans 7:13-254 in both Greek and English Bibles (NET Bible): 13ToV ou The Spirit's creative power is seen in His creating new life in believers, producing spiritually alive beings out of those who were once dead in sin (John 3:6; Ephesians 2:1–2; Titus 3:5). Hosea 2:9 Therefore, I will take back my grain during the harvest time and my new wine when it ripens; I will take away my wool and my flax which I had provided in order to clothe her. So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin (NET Bible; italics mine). bythe rev.johnowen,d.d. Who will rescue me from this body of death? They are well suited to work on the soul and cause it to desist from its pursuit of sin. 6:9 Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. There will be no real and permanent growth in holiness without at least a basic understanding of this principle. In a true Christian the law of indwelling sin has lost its power, “ knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin ” (Rm 6:6). The message of the cross meets our deepest need for pardon and power as we seek to overcome indwelling sin. ajgaqoVn ejmoiV ejgevneto qavnato"; mhV gevnoito: ajllaV hJ aJmartiva, i{na fanh'/ aJmartiva, diaV tou' ajgaqou' moi katergazomevnh qavnaton, i{na gevnhtai kaq* uJperbolhVn aJmartwloV" hJ aJmartiva diaV th'" ejntolh'". Absolutely not! Law viewed from this angle, while it directs inwardly is itself external to the person. Indwelling sin – its aversion to all good 35 Chapter 6. In chapter’s five and six Owen begins to outline two ways in which sin is enmity against God and therefore powerful. The privilege of knowing firsthand the experience of indwelling sin as a law belongs solely to Christians—and Christians that are sensitive spiritually. But Owen says that this is not the kind of knowing Paul is referring to. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960), 148; C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans: A Shorter Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985), 164; James R. Edwards, Romans, NIBC (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992), 190-91. Owen argues that, the spiritual habits of grace that are in the will do so resist and act against it; and the excitations of those habits by the Spirit are directed to the same purpose. If a captain has a city, he may for a long preserve it from the constant attacks of enemies without. David committed heinous sins of adultery, cruelty, lying, and murder for which it is reasonable to conclude that Satan himself was involved in tempting the king. Both of these ideas, according to Owen, are to be found in the term “law” as it appears in Romans 7:21. In this respect, the context of the general discussion the very specific discussion of how, due to our union, the believer has overcome. This is what the prophet says: Hosea 2:6 Therefore, I will soon fence her in with thorns; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. The kind of obstacles (“fences”) that God puts in our paths are of two sorts, says Owen. If it be denied the first time, it will try again. We would do well to listen to Owen on this point: If, through the deceit of sin, or the negligence of the soul, or its carnal confidence to give bounds to lust’s actings at other seasons, it makes any entrance into the soul, and finds any entertainment, it gets strength and power, and insensibly ariseth to the frame [i.e., state of affairs] under consideration.63. While men may not choose the captivity of sin itself—which is to choose pure misery and trouble—they nonetheless freely choose the causes and means to captivity and misery. The rational considerations include punishment for sin, including death, judgment, and hell. John Owen, Overcoming Sin and Temptation, edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor (Wheaton: Crossway, 2006). Outward sin—and this is its ultimate aim—or sometimes it gets its strength from that fact the. 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