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Message 23 - By Leroy Surface

The Chief of Sinners

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

I Timothy 1:12-16

 The great apostle Paul viewed himself as the “chief of sinners.” It is obvious in this text, however, that he earned that title in days past when he was known as “Saul of Tarsus.”  Paul describes those days in this text, speaking of himself, “who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious.” The scripture first introduces Saul as a young man in Acts 7:58, and five verses later we read, “As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3). When Paul testified before King Agrippa he brought this witness against himself; “…and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities” (Acts 26:10-11).  In Acts 9:1 we read again of Saul of Tarsus; “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord....” He set out on a journey to Damascus with the authority from the high priest to bind Christians in chains to bring them to Jerusalem to stand trial for their lives. His every breath was “threatenings and slaughter” until the moment that Jesus Christ Himself confronted Saul on the road to Damascus. Ask any Christian anywhere in the world at that time, and they would have told you, “Saul of Tarsus is the chief of sinners.”

Saul of Tarsus got “saved” the same day he met Jesus. It was a “radical” conversion, which is briefly recorded in only four verses of scripture, Acts 9:3-6. One minute he is breathing out threatenings and slaughter on his journey to Damascus. In an instant of time a great light from heaven shines upon him and he falls to the ground, blind, and hearing a voice demanding, “Saul, Saul, why persecuteth thou me.” Saul asks, “Who art thou, Lord?”  The answer comes, “I am Jesus whom thou persecuteth.” Saul trembles with astonishment, and says, “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?” The entire scenario did not require over sixty seconds to transpire, but Saul’s conversion was instantaneous, in the “instant” that he heard “the Lord” say, “I am Jesus.”  Salvation to Saul of Tarsus was an immediate and total surrender to Jesus Christ. He never repeated a sinners prayer, and never saw another Christian until three days later, when the Lord sent the man of God, Ananias, to him, “…that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 9:17). After his conversion, Saul of Tarsus was literally driven into solitude by a Jewish community that sought to kill him and a Christian community that did not trust him, yet it was in that time of solitude that the gospel of Jesus Christ was revealed to him (Galatians 1:11-12), and Christ was revealed in him (Galatians 1:15-16).

In reality, who was this “Saul of Tarsus?” You may be surprised to know that he was one of the most “righteous” men of his generation, “touching the righteousness that is in the law” (Philippians 3:6). The apostle Paul remembers his life as Saul of Tarsus in his letter to the Philippians. He said, “If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Philippians 3:4-6). In his testimony before King Agrippa, Paul told of his youth; “My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee” (Acts 26:4-5).  Being of the particular sect of Judaism he was, Saul was trained from the time he was a baby, and taught from the time he could learn, all the six hundred and thirteen commandments and ordinances of the Law of Moses. In his defense before the Jewish mob that sought to kill him, Paul introduced himself in this way; “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day” (Acts 22:3). As a young child, Saul was brought from Tarsus to Jerusalem to be trained and taught “at the feet of Gamaliel,” who was the foremost teacher of the law and traditions of that generation, and also a very wise and good man. Saul of Tarsus had everything going for him in his religion. His circumcision was recorded on the eighth day of his life, just as Moses had commanded. He was an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, a “Hebrew of the Hebrews,” meaning he was among the very best, and was of the “straitest (most exact) sect” of the Pharisees.

Saul of Tarsus was a model young man in anyone’s sight. “Touching the righteousness that is in the law,” he was “blameless” (Philippians 3:6). This tells us that he not only kept the Ten Commandments of God, but also the six hundred and thirteen commandments of Moses, and all the hundreds of traditions of the Jews. He was moral (thou shalt not commit adultery), truthful (thou shalt not bear false witness), honest (thou shalt not steal), and non-violent (thou shalt not kill). He worshiped the one true God, bowed to no images, did not take God’s name in vain, and kept the Sabbath holy. We also know that he “honored his father and mother,” because he was a “blameless” young man. The law and traditions had been “built into him” at such an early age that “he was” what “they were.” Saul did not have to remind himself not to lie or steal; he was not a liar or a thief. He was the young man every mother would want her daughter to marry. His future as a powerful leader among the Jews was assured as Paul tells us in his own words, “I…profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14). This is the true picture of Saul of Tarsus as recorded in the scriptures until the day “the commandment came.”

The Seventh Chapter of Romans

The seventh chapter of Romans is like a parenthesis inserted between the message of the “glorious gospel (II Corinthians 4:4) of the sixth chapter and the “glorious liberty (Romans 8:21) of the eighth chapter. This seventh chapter is written to reveal the plight of those who are both “in the flesh” and “married to the law.” It is one of the “darkest” chapters in all of Paul’s writings. Even the reading of it seeks to pull the reader down into the despair of the twenty-fourth verse. It is necessary, however, because Paul is relating his own experience as Saul of Tarsus before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Saul of Tarsus loved the law. In fact, he was “married to the law (Romans 7:1-4),” and delighted in it until the day the law discovered sin in Saul, at which time the “law” became an “unbearable husband” to Saul, who then became an “unmanageable bride” to the law. The apostle Paul remembers those days in Romans 7:5; “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”  The word “flesh” is translated from the Greek word “sarx,” and has various meanings and applications as follows:

Sarx - “flesh (as stripped of the skin), i.e. (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred), or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties [physically or morally] and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such):

The proper understanding of the word “flesh” as used in this seventh chapter is “human nature” in its fallen state. When Paul was “in the flesh,” he was a devout Jew who was married to the law, and considered to be “blameless.” It must be understood, however that there is only one commandment of the ten which those who are in “in the flesh” cannot keep, and that is the tenth commandment which says, “Thou shalt not covet.” This “tenth commandment” discovers (uncovers; reveals) the content of the heart and nature of man, which is “sin.” The devout Jew easily nullified the tenth commandment with their traditions. They could easily keep the first nine, and believed they satisfied the tenth commandment in doing so. Multitudes in the churches also disregard the tenth commandment, believing that sin in the heart is not sin until it is committed, which certainly is not so. The eighth commandment says, “Thou shalt not steal,” while the tenth says, “Thou shalt not covet… any thing that is thy neighbors.” The seventh commandment says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” while the tenth command says, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” Jesus explained these commandments in Matthew 5:28, saying, “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

Romans 7:7

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.

Beginning at this seventh verse, and continuing to the end of this chapter, it is the experience of Saul of Tarsus that is related. In this verse, Paul is speaking as one “delivered from the law” to “serve God in newness of spirit.”  He is looking back at his experience under the law. He confirms that the law was not his problem, but even as a devout Jew, sin had been his problem all along. The law only identified sin, but there was no sin for the first nine commandments to identify. Saul of Tarsus was “blameless” in that he had never broken the commandments. It was the “tenth commandment” that eventually identified sin in Saul of Tarsus. It was sin in his heart and nature that was concealed by the cloaks of religion. When the law said to Saul, “Thou shalt not covet (the tenth commandment),” it discovered and uncovered (revealed) and identified “sin” that dwells in the heart and nature of every unregenerate man.

Jesus said, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). The scribes and Pharisees had no problem keeping the first nine commandments that regulate outward behavior. They were “blameless.”  It is the tenth commandment that Paul mentions in this verse that “destroys” the righteousness of the self-righteous; “Thou shalt not covet.” It is the only commandment that discovers and uncovers (reveals) the sin that is resident in the heart of man. It is the only commandment that no one can obey by the force of his or her will power. It is the source of the breaking of all the other commandments. Take covetousness out of the heart of man and he cannot break any law of God, because “covetousness” is the nature and source of all sin. This one commandment ultimately stripped Saul of Tarsus of all his righteousness, which was by the law, and destroyed him in his own sight.

Romans 7:8

But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

“But sin, taking occasion by the commandment…”  Notice that “sin” is personified in this verse. As Paul relates his past experience with sin, he does not speak of “sins” he committed. Instead, he spoke of sin as an “evil” that dwells in the heart and nature of the unregenerate. It can lay so concealed and effectually dormant in the “good” and “moral” person that it cannot be identified, but it can also rear up in horrible ferocity at any moment. It is in control at all times of the actions of the unregenerate, whether they be “good” or “evil,” even when its presence is not known. It is the tenth commandment that comes to discover and identify sin in the heart and nature, and when sin is discovered, it becomes a raging beast.

“…by the commandment…”  The word “law” has been used fifty three times in Paul’s letter to the Romans up to this point. This is the first usage of the word “commandment,” however, which will be used six times within six verses, after which Paul reverts to the usage of the word “law” twenty two times in the remainder of his letter. His usage of the term “the commandment” does not speak of the law in general, but of the one specific commandment, “thou shalt not covet.”  Notice the words of Paul in the seventh verse; “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”

There are Ten Commandments of God, six hundred and thirteen commandments of Moses, and hundreds of “traditions of the fathers.”  Saul of Tarsus kept all of these so blamelessly in their outward form that he found none that could condemn him. From the moment he understood the tenth commandment, which exposed the sin in his heart, it was as though there was but one commandment, “Thou shalt not covet,” and from that day he spoke of it in the singular as “The Commandment.” In this and the next five verses, he will speak of “the commandment” six times. In every case he is speaking of the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet.” It was the understanding of the tenth commandment that awakened Saul of Tarsus to the fact of sin that was in his heart and nature. From that moment, sin began to work in every emotion and member of Saul of Tarsus.

“…wrought in me all manner of concupiscence…”  The Greek word translated “concupiscence” means “a longing, especially for that which is forbidden.”  Desires for things forbidden by the law he loved were awakened in Saul, and he entered into a struggle to keep himself from doing things he had never done in his lifetime. Saul had never experienced such sinful cravings as “sin” now wrought in him.

“…for without the law, sin was dead.”  The Greek word translated “dead” means “dead (literally or figuratively). It is derived from another Greek word meaning “a corpse.” In James 2:26, “faith” can be “dead,” but “faith” can also be “revived.” In Revelation 3:1, a “church” can be “dead,” yet it can also be revived. This is the sense that Paul used when he said, “Sin was dead.” It was always there, but it lay so dormant that even Saul of Tarsus was not aware of it until “the commandment came.”

Romans 7:9

For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

Jesus said of the Pharisees, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father (John 15:22-24). If the Pharisees had never heard Jesus, or seen His works, Jesus said that they “had not had sin.” They could have continued in their religious ways, appearing to be righteous to men (Matthew 23:28), even though sin was in their hearts. It was because they heard His words and saw His works that they could not hide their sin. They “hated” Jesus for what He was, and they could not conceal it. Out of their hatred spued lies, slander, and finally, murder.

In the case of Saul of Tarsus, it was not Jesus, but Stephen who came to touch his life. Stephen, whose face was like the “face of an angel (Acts 6:15) even as he was falsely accused; Stephen, who spoke the truth without fear to a court predetermined to slay him (Acts 7:1-53); who saw the glory of God and testified to seeing Jesus at the right hand of God even as the members of the court “gnashed on him with their teeth;” this same Stephen also used his last breath in this life to pray for the angry mob who stoned him to death, saying, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.”

We know that the New Covenant is God’s law written on the hearts of His children. Oh what a contrast Saul of Tarsus saw that day between Stephen, who had God’s law written in his heart, and those devout Jews, including himself, who had it only as it was “engraved in stone.” Saul of Tarsus read the “Law of God” for the first time as it is written in life, and it identified him as a sinner. He understood for the first time the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet,” because, in Stephen he saw a man with a “pure heart,” who was truly free from sin to serve God “in newness of Spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.”

Over forty years ago, during the time of the civil rights movement in America, I knew of a man who was Sunday School Superintendent in a church near Houston. He was a good man, who served God along with his wife and small children. He loved the brethren and the church loved and respected him as a wonderful Christian man. One Sunday a godly black man visited their church, arriving just as the superintendent finished his duties. Upon seeing the black man enter, the superintendent walked down the aisle to his family, said out loud to his wife and children, “Let’s go! If ‘they’ are coming, we are not,” and with that, they left the service. The black man never came back, and the superintendent tried to continue as before, but he could not. Everything about him was changed, and it was not long before he quit the church and entered a life of open sin. That man had “been alive” once, but when “he” discovered the sinfulness of his own heart (hatred), he died, and sin became his master. In fact, sin had always been there, but it had been dormant, or as the Greek word Paul used, it had been a “corpse.”  The “corpse” revived that day, and slew the man. If this man had never come face to face with the target of his hatred, he would have continued his work in the church as before, never knowing the sin that was hidden in his heart. As the Pharisees were with Jesus, and as Saul was with Stephen, this man was confronted with someone the very sight of whom excited within him that sin which is so vile that Jesus called it “murder.” They “hated without a cause (John 15:25) and it destroyed them.

After Saul of Tarsus witnessed the trial and murder of Stephen, he was never the same. He “consented” unto the death of Stephen, believing that the things that transpired that day had to happen to preserve the religion he loved so much. Saul immediately set about to “make havock of the churches (Acts 8:3),” but even as he did so, he could not erase the things he had seen and heard in Stephen. He had seen “righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). In the light of “righteousness,” all of his “righteousness-es,” which were by the law, became as “filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) in his own sight. For this, Saul of Tarsus “hated” Stephen. He determined to eradicate the Christians and every memory of Jesus Christ from the face of the earth.

Romans 7:10

And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

The commandment, “Thou shalt not covet” is life to one and death to another. Let me explain! A sinner is convicted of sin and repents. He comes to God believing the gospel that his “old man of sin (Romans 6:6) is nailed to the cross with Jesus. He hears the words, “thou shalt not covet,” and rejoices, because this mans life has been destroyed by covetousness (as every life is without Jesus Christ). His heart has been “purified by faith (Acts 15:9),” and there is no covetousness in him. He rejoices that the “Son has made him free, and he is ‘free indeed’” (John 8:36). “Thou shalt not covet” is wonderfully good news to this man, but to a person that is merely “religious,” it is the most “grievous” of all commandments. For Saul of Tarsus in his self-righteous state, the commandment was “unto death.”

Romans 7:11

For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

When Paul speaks of the commandment,” he is still speaking of that one commandment, “thou shalt not covet.” Sin had no occasion against Saul of Tarsus in any other commandment. Multitudes in the churches today are also condemned by that same commandment. In order to accept the fact that there is sin in their heart, they are taught that the Law of God has been abolished. Others are taught that things we have no control over cannot condemn us. In fact, the tenth commandment is the only commandment that discovers the sin that dwells in the heart and nature of man. “Sin” in the heart and nature is personified, and is the source of all sins. It is the sin for which Jesus died to take away. Saul of Tarsus found no remedy in the Law of Moses to satisfy the Law of God. “Sin” deceived Saul by blinding his mind to the sinfulness of the sin in his heart. When “the commandment came,” that is, when understanding of the commandment came, it destroyed all of his righteousness and he became as a living dead man.

Romans 7:12

Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Paul defends the Law of God, and specifically the tenth commandment, as “holy, and just, and good.” He further defines the nature of God’s law, as we shall see in the fourteenth verse.

Romans 7:13

Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Paul continues his defense of the tenth commandment. Remember that the commandment was “ordained unto life” (verse ten). It is also the source of “glorious liberty (Romans 8:21) to the redeemed. Saul’s problem was not “the commandment;” it was the covetousness of his heart. Saul of Tarsus, a man who could not be condemned by any of the first nine commandments (Philippians 3:6), had always considered the desires of his heart to be as nothing, because he did not obey them. Now, with the understanding of the tenth commandment, “thou shalt not covet,” Saul also understood that he was “exceeding sinful.” In the definition of the Greek word translated “exceeding,” we see that in Saul’s own sight he was a sinner “beyond others.” Years later Paul confirmed this in I Timothy 1:15 when he said he was “chief of sinners.”  As Jesus had told the Pharisees, he was like the sepulchers of the prophets; he was “beautiful on the outside,” but on the inside he was “full of dead men’s bones,” and now, he knew it.

Romans 7:14

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

With this verse we must make some distinctions between “The Law of God” and “The Law of Moses.” The Law of God is spiritual, and is written in the hearts of a spiritual people. The Law of Moses, which was “added because of transgressions (Galatians 3:19),” is carnal (Hebrews 7:16; Hebrews 9:10), and was given to a carnal people. When God gave His Law audibly to the congregation of Israel (Exodus, chapter 20), they could not receive it because they were “carnal.” God defined the problem to Moses in Deuteronomy 5:29, “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always....” They could not keep His commandments because they were “carnal, sold under sin.” The Greek word “sarkikos” that was translated “carnal” in this verse means “similar to flesh,” and was translated as both “carnal,” and “fleshly.”  That was the state of Saul of Tarsus, “…fleshly, and sold under sin.”  As defined at the beginning of the chapter, the Greek word for “flesh” is “sarx,” and speaks of the “human nature” which is “sold under sin.” 

Romans 7:15

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

The great apostle Paul continues speaking as Saul of Tarsus for the remainder of this chapter. He offers proof that Saul is “carnal” until the day of his surrender to Jesus Christ. The proof of his carnality is “…what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”

Romans 7:16

If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.

Saul recognizes that if righteousness does not reign in his heart, he must have a law to control his actions, therefore he consents that the law is good.

Romans 7:17

Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Saul recognizes that if he is doing things he doesn’t want to do, it is not him, but sin that is in his heart and nature that is in control.

Romans 7:18

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

“…(that is, in my flesh,)…” The word “flesh” does not speak of the “mortal body,” but rather the “human nature” which controls the body. It is translated from the Greek word “sarx,” which we defined earlier. “For I know that in me (that is, in my human nature,) dwelleth no good thing....” It is Saul of Tarsus who comes to this realization, and it is proven to him because “to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” It was in his “mind” to serve God, but it was in his “nature” to serve sin. He had the “will” to perform, but he did not have the “way.”

Romans 7:19

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

This verse continues to prove there was nothing good in Saul of Tarsus, even though he had been “blameless” according to the righteousness of the law (Philippians 3:6) for his lifetime. Remember the saying of the rich young ruler who walked sorrowfully away from Jesus; “All these have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” (Matthew 16:19-22). Jesus revealed his “lack” in the next verse. It was the tenth commandment, “thou shalt not covet,” that caused him to “go away sorrowful.”

Romans 7:20

Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Saul of Tarsus discovered that even if he had never committed an outward act of sin, yet sin dwelt in him. It was proven to Saul because he began doing things he did not want to do.

Romans 7:21

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

It is the nature of sin to resist the good and do the evil. As long as sin remains in the heart and nature of man, he may struggle to do the good, and may even succeed in the working of good, but evil is always present with sinful desires in the heart.

Romans 7:22

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

The “inward man” of Saul of Tarsus was his mind and intellect. Intellectually, he loved the Law of God, “but…”

Romans 7:23

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

“Human nature,” left to itself, is no better or higher than the beasts of the field. It is the intellect that makes man to be above the beasts. The Law of God, being “spiritual,” was given to “define” the higher divine nature, but Israel could not receive it. The Law of Moses was given to “control” human nature. Notice the level of some of the commandments: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them (Leviticus 20:13-16). Human nature, left to itself, will descend to the level of the beast of the field. It is only the “disciplines” of law, whether religious or secular, that hinders that bestial level of human nature.

Saul of Tarsus was well disciplined by the Law of Moses. Such behavior as described above was out of the question, yet he, as does every unregenerate person, had sin dwelling in his human nature, seeking control of his members. The “law in his members” that warred against the “law of his mind” was simply his “sinful human nature” that warred against his mind and intellectual desire to please God.

“…warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin…” This phrase brings to mind the methods of ancient warfare. A city with strong walls would come under attack by a powerful enemy. For a time, the walls would hold against the siege, but the city would be cut off from all supplies from without. Daily, the battering rams and the catapults would batter the walls, while inside the city the food supplies would be rationed. The daily battering of the walls would continue night and day until the walls were breached, at which time the malnourished inhabitants would be taken captive and led away as slaves. This is the description of the warfare within Saul of Tarsus after his “sin” was discovered by “the commandment (thou shalt not covet).” His “walls of defense,” built up by the Law of Moses, were battered to the ground, and Saul could no longer keep himself. He was “brought into captivity” to that “law of sin (sinful human nature) that was in his members.

We need to understand that this tremendous warfare was taking place within Saul of Tarsus. All the while he was being shaken by the knowledge of sin in his nature, he was still “blameless” before men in all the righteousness that is in the Law of Moses, and in the outward obedience to the Law of God. No doubt he had not broken any of the commandments, for to do so would have brought upon him the wrath of his “brethren” in the Jew’s religion. Instead, Saul of Tarsus was highly honored by his brethren. His righteousness was blameless, and his “zeal” was proven to be beyond others in his religion by the fact that he “persecuted the church.” His wrath against the “Christians” was not seen as a fault, but rather lifted him up as a “hero of the faith” to the Jews. Listen to his “credits” on his Jewish résumé: “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Philippians 3:5-6). At the same time he was “making havock of the churches,” and “breathing out threatenings and slaughter” against Christians, he was also “blameless” in all the righteousness of the law. His great “zeal” against Christians was his crowning quality that would take him to the “hall of fame” of the Jew’s religion of that day. Listen to Paul’s own remembrance of those times: “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers(Galatians 1:13-14).

It was during this time period in which Saul was receiving the greatest adulation and honor from his brethren that sin was battering down his defenses within. In Philippians 3:7, after listing all his “credits” that were counted to be “gain” to him in the Jews’ religion, Paul said, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.” The Greek word for “loss” is “zemia” and means “detriment.” Everything that Saul of Tarsus had trusted in for a lifetime; those things that had made him to be “blameless” in his religion, and had exalted him to a position of great honor in that religion, he began to see had in fact done nothing for him. Sin had always been in his nature, but now his walls of defense were crumbling, and Saul realized for the first time that he, even in all his righteousness of the law, was a slave to the sin that was within him. Everything he had thought was gain to him had actually been “detrimental.” He had become a man that was filled with hatred, violence, and murder against the Christians. He had become so obsessed that with his every breath he “breathed out threatenings and slaughter.” Oh how miserable such a person is. They soon come to hate themselves also, but there is nothing they can do to free themselves.

Romans 7:24

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

At what point in time Saul of Tarsus became “wretched” in his own sight we do not know, but it must have been soon after he witnessed the trial and murder of Stephen. Even as he was “breathing out threatenings and slaughter (Acts 9:1) and “making havock of the churches (Acts 8:3),he knew that something was terribly wrong inside. Even as he was being highly honored by the Jews and receiving their highest praise for his “righteousness” and “zeal,” deep within Saul became a cry, “O wretched man that I am!” Multitudes of “Christians” and even many of those who preach and teach in the pulpits of America lay upon their beds at night, wondering, “Am I really saved.” They are tormented by sin battering at their walls, and they know that something is terribly wrong, even though their closest friends may not be aware of it. That “silent cry” increased in Saul of Tarsus until it consumed him; “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

The term, “body of this death” does not speak of Saul’s “mortal body.” His, “mortal (physical) body” was not the problem; the problem was sin that was in his nature. Neither does “the body of this death” speak of the “law” which he loved and kept blamelessly. The “body of this death” is none other than the “body of sin” spoken of in Romans 6:6 which Jesus suffered and died to destroy. “Death” is superimposed upon “sin” and the two are inseparable. Romans 5:12 says, “…by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” Paul says in I Corinthians 15:56, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law,” showing the connection between “the law,” and “sin, and death.”

From deep within Saul, though never uttered publicly, came the cry, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death.” It was that “cry for deliverance” that brought Saul of Tarsus into a direct confrontation with Jesus Christ (Acts 9:3-5). There, he found the answer, given in the next verse, which is the basis for the gospel of Jesus Christ as the apostle Paul preached it.

Romans 7:25

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Thank God, there is deliverance from sin. It’s “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” How this was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the wonderful “good news” which is called “The gospel of Jesus Christ.” The last phrase of this verse closes out the chapter, defining for one last time the dilemma Saul of Tarsus was in. With his mind (intellect) he served the Law of God, but in his human nature, he was the slave of sin.

The Chief of Sinners

I Timothy 1:15

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

The “Chief of Sinners” is not any one individual that is more sinful than all others. I asked one brother who he thought the “Chief of Sinners” was and he said the first name that came into his mind was “Hitler,” but he immediately remembered that it was the apostle Paul who said, “Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” The greatest slave to sin is not represented by the man who recently defrauded people of fifty billion dollars. The greatest slave could be the one who would defraud another for a single dime, or even a penny. Jesus asked the question, “…or what shall ye give in exchange for your soul.” What is the value of your soul? One person says, “I will sell my soul for fifty billion dollars,” while another will sell his soul for one thin dime, or even less. Esau sold his birthright for one bowl of pottage, which he enjoyed for a moment, but was hungry again before the sun set.

The chief of sinners is the one who has done everything to please God through every means of religion, yet is still condemned by sin that works in them. It is manifest most in those who have preached to others, yet have become castaways (I Corinthians 9:27) because of the secret sins of their own heart. To find the chief of sinners, do not search the list of mass murderers, but look to those who claim to be children of God, and harbors hatred in their heart. Saul of Tarsus, who later called himself the “chief of sinners,” lived a life that was “blameless” according to all of the righteousness that is in the law, yet he was finally overcome by hatred for one who was truly righteous. This “chief of sinners” was also the “chief of the self-righteous.” His slavery to sin was proven by his hatred for Stephen and the Christians. Thank God, Saul of Tarsus came face to face with Jesus Christ on his journey to Damascus. He was saved from sin that day, and received the Holy Ghost three days later. Within three years he received the gospel of Jesus Christ “by revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12),” and proceeded to tell us how we could also be made free.

I Timothy 1:16

Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

The apostle Paul truly believed himself to have been the “chief of sinners” during the time of his greatest religious effort and persecution of the churches. God’s dealing with Saul of Tarsus, both before and after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, was a “pattern” for all that would ever believe on Jesus Christ for salvation. In the pattern, the “chief of sinners” was “crucified with Christ,” and a “new man” was raised up “with Christ,” and became “chief” among the apostles of Jesus Christ. His personal testimony is, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain (Galatians 2:20-21).

The “pattern” shows us several things. First, no one has been too evil or so depraved that they cannot be saved, because Jesus came to save sinners. No one has sank so low in sin and committed such atrocious things against God or man that Jesus cannot deliver them, and lift them up as yet another example of his grace to save sinners. The way God does this is revealed in Paul’s letters, especially in the book of Romans. In Romans 6:6-7, Paul give the “secret” of salvation; “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. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Any person that will repent and believe “from their heart” the words of these two verses, they will receive the miraculous gift of salvation and freedom from sin.

One last word about the “chief of sinners.” Every true child of God will have a different view of who the “chief of sinners” is, because each of them, upon consideration, will know that they were, in fact, “the chief” among sinners. How dangerous it is to think otherwise, because we must all become that “wretched man (or woman, boy or girl) in our own sight before we can truly call upon the savior.

The Summary

Paul gives a brief summary of all that God did through Christ at Calvary in the first four verses of the eighth chapter of Romans:

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

“There is therefore now…” The word “therefore,” translated from the Greek word “ara,” “draws a conclusion” about those who are “in Christ Jesus.” They are not condemned. They do not live under the “death sentence” due to sin; neither do their “hearts condemn them” (I John 3:20-21). The word “now” speaks of “now… in Christ Jesus,” and draws a contrast between those who are “married to Jesus” and those who are “married to the law.” It is a contrast between those who have received the “glorious liberty of the children of God (from sin; Romans 8:21),” and those who must continually struggle against the bondage of sin expressed in the seventh chapter, by those who are “under the law.”

“…no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…” The word “condemnation” is translated from the Greek word “katakrima,” which means “adverse sentence.” Paul will tell us why we are not condemned in the third verse.

“…who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The word “after,” used two times in this phrase, is translated from the Greek word “kata.” It was most commonly translated “according to,” and then as “after.” Neither of these do the word justice in this verse.“Kata,” in this verse, is best understood to indicate the “source” of the walk of those who are in Christ. Their source is the Spirit, and not the flesh (or, human nature).

Romans 8:2

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The “law of the Spirit” is “life in Christ Jesus.” He is the only source of “life” to fallen man. The phrase, “…hath made me free…” should have been translated “…hath liberated thee… from the law of sin and death.” The “law of sin and death” is the “sin and death” that inherently reigns in the human nature of man. We are liberated from “sin and death” through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:3

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

“What the law could not do” is defined in the last phrase; it could not “condemn sin in the flesh.” The law could “condemn (try, condemn, and punish) the man,” but it could never “condemn (try, condemn, and punish) the sin that was in the heart of man. God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (human nature) for the express purpose of condemning, not the man that was in sin, but “Sin” that was in the nature of man. Jesus is “…the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This He did through His death on the cross. Paul explained it best in Romans 6:6; “Knowing this, that our old man (of sin) is crucified with Him, that the body (the source) of sin might be destroyed....”

Romans 8:4

That (in order that) the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Jesus passed and fulfilled the death sentence against “Sin” that was in the heart and nature of man, and nailed it to His cross, “in order that’ the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us....” The only “righteousness” the law of Moses could give was to “slay the sinner.” The righteousness of God at Calvary was to slay the sin within the sinner, hence “the righteousness of the law (of Moses) is “fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The Law of God, which had been engraved in stone for fifteen hundred years, is now engraved in the hearts of those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Message 23 - By Leroy Surface - The Chief of Sinners

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