WINNING THE WAR WITHIN

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

What a passage.  Paul is obviously talking about himself.  But at what stage of life?  Before accepting Christ?  In a carnal state?   A person under conviction but still unsaved?  Or, finally, is he talking about his own experience as a mature Christian?

Theologians disagree.  There are outstanding people on all sides of the argument.

For a lot of reasons, I think he’s talking about himself at the present time, as a mature believer.  To me, that’s the only interpretation that makes sense.  And Paul is answering the real questions that we all have.

How can I live a triumphant Christian life?  How can I achieve victory over sin?  Isn’t that what we truly want, victory in this world.  Some sort of other-worldly calm, peace of mind, stability and centeredness?

When Paul describes himself in Verse 24, he talks about his body of death.  That’s almost identical to the wording he used in Romans 6:6.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”

Same chapter, verse 12.  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

He was writing to Christians whose sins had been forgiven.  Who had been crucified with Christ and raised with him.  But who still had the presence of sin in their bodies.

Wow.  Is that what we really expected to read?  That we have a hopelessly sinful nature even after we become a Christian?  The our struggle against sin goes on and on?  Even that acknowledging that is the first step toward true holiness?

That’s right.  The mature Christian knows that, apart from the Holy Spirit, he or she will spend the rest of his or her life in Romans chapter 7.    Not only that, we must rely completely on the Holy Spirit for victory.  Not just as a once for all thing, but on a daily basis.  An everyday struggle.  An ongoing commitment.

What is sanctification, really?  Is it a constant awareness of how good we are becoming?  Or is it a growing sense of how sinful we really are – so that we turn to Christ and depend on Him.  It’s the latter.  It’s the truth.  And it’s war.

I think Paul must have known that concept would be misunderstood or perhaps misinterpreted.  So he repeats it, again and again.  Using almost the same language.

Verses 14-17.  We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Verses 18-20.  I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is zsin living in me

Verses 21-24.  So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

The only difference is that in the first passage, Paul states the problem in general.  In the second, he talks about doing the bad things he doesn’t want to do.  And in the third, he talks about not doing the good things he does want to do.

If we’re honest, we’ll all admit that we face this.  It is a reality in our lives.  Let’s agree that the seventh chapter of Romans was not written for someone else.  If it was written by – and about – the Apostle Paul, then it applies to us.

His struggle is the struggle we all face.  And will continue to face.  If we are Christians.  And the defeat he talks about is the experience of us all.  Even when we have advanced a long way along the Christian path.

I also want to emphasize that he is not talking about defeat.  He is thinking that victory that can and will be ours.  But it is a struggle that we – and most Americans –might try to avoid.

1.      A formula.  We love the quick fix.  And when it comes to sin, that’s what we want.  Discover the right Christians book and follow a three or four step recipe.  Attend the latest seminar.  You know what I mean.  Get out of Romans 7 and into Romans 8.  Let go and let God.  Get “self” off the throne of your life and put Christ there.  Just let Jesus take control.

That’s optimistic.  But lazy.  It stems from our expectation that life should be easy, not hard.  When ease eludes us, we tend to get frustrated and angry.

2.      A new experience.  Maybe something charismatic, like speaking on tongues/  A second work of grace where we forever leave the defeated state.  Or some emotional worship experience.  I think worship is fantastic, but not as a substitute for – or an an escape from – the gfight against sin.

3.      Avoidance.  This one is direct.  When we are defeated in a certain area, we just go someplace else.  To something else.  Television, movies, the computer.  Anything.  Your business, busyness around the house.  It can even be alcohol or drugs.

OK.  That’s not what we need.  And that’s not something we should promise to people who visit.  Or to people with whom we share the Gospel.  The Christian life isn’t all downhill and shady.

Let’s first talk about something in short supply to day.  Christian realism.

1.     Paul is telling us that when God called as to be Christians, He called us to a lifetime struggle against sin.  Most of us don’t like this.  We say, “No pain, no gain.”  And “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  But a lo of us, if we can avoid if we can.

When the going gets tough, the tough make reservations – someplace else.  This is esecially easy if we can afford it.  Which is getting a little tougher these days.

We also try to shift the blame.  Like Adam and Eve.  Adam said, “The women you put here with he – she gave me some front from the tree and I ate it.”  Do you notice that Adam was actually blaming God, not Eve?  Eve, also.  She said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”  Well, God allowed the serpent into the garden.  So she was actually blaming God, too - but not so directly.

As Americans, this can be a tough pill to swallow.  But the truth is that the battle against sin is lifelong.  And it’s not easy.  The real problem is that the sin is inside the walls.  It’s living within us.  We need to be on constant alert, determined to win whatever the cost.  And fight hard against the enemy wherever he is found.  The best analogy I can think of – at least right now – is the war in Iraq.  Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.  The war never seems to be over.  But victory can be achieved, as can defeat if we allow it.

2.     Although we are called to a lifetime struggle against sin, we are nevertheless never going to achieve victory by ourselves.

This bothers us, too, as Americans.  We like to think we can solve anything.  I laugh out loud sometimes at both political parties, both presidential candidates.  I’ll do this.  I’ll solve that.  Elect us, we can handle the most difficult and challenging situations.  Iran had nuclear weapons and its leadership is suicidal.  No problem, I’ll just do this or that – whatever it is that is the opposite of whatever my opponent is proposing.

We’re like Peter.  No matter what the others do, I’ll never deny you, Lord!  But he did.  We’re like him.  And we should learn from him.

What did Jesus say about that?  Jesus said, “Peter, I have prayed for you.”

Many times, we pray hard when times get tough.  When we need to depend totally on Jesus.  But how often do we remember that the great battles of our lives will be lost – unless Jesus prays for us.  And that is exactly what He does.  He is our High Priest in Heaven, at the Father’s right hand, constantly interceding on our behalf.

When Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing,” He meant it.  He said it because it is true.

And finally.

3.     Even when we triumph over sin by the power of the Holy Spirit, which should be often, we are still unprofitable servants.

Why?  Because our victories, even when we achieve them, are all by the power and grace of God.  He won, not us.  If we had earned the victory, then wouldn’t we all be boasting in heaven about how well we did?

Well, what does the Bible say actually happens Heaven?  Revelation 4:11-13.  Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

The crowns represent the elders’ own victories over sin.  But they take them off and lay them at the feet of Jesus.  Before the throne of God.  They acknowledge that the victories aren’t their own.  They belong to God.  In the end, the triumphs are God’s alone.

4.     And yet, we are to go on fighting and struggling against sin.  We are to do this with all the weapons available to us.  Prayer, Bible study, fellowship, service to others.

We must never quit.  Never give us.  Not until just after we’ve taken our final breath.  Only then is the battle over.

Ephesians 6:10-12.  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Philippians 3:12-14.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-4.   Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

The Christian life isn’t easy.  No responsible person ever said that it is.  It is a battle all the way.  But it is a battle that can be won.  Surely there are victories that can be won.  And then we win them, we will cast our crowns at the feet of the One Who made the victory possible.

Now, finally.  And most importantly.  Verse 25.  Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

First, I want to encourage you.  The closer you get to Jesus, the more intense the struggle becomes.  We grow close to Him, went to be more like Him, want to please Him more – the struggle gets stronger.  Those who struggle the hardest against sin are the strong Christians, the mature ones, not the weak ones.

So your struggles are sign of Christian maturity, not weakness.  Satan wouldn’t be attacking if he wasn’t afraid of what you might do for the Lord.

Here’s the truth.  The reason for the struggle is to teach you to rely not on yourself but on God who raised the dead.

And…He has already delivered you from “deadly peril,” and he will deliver you again.

There will be deliverance.  Deliverance from sin’s penalty. We secure that in this world and enjoy it completely in the next.  We secure deliverance from sin’s power.  This is true even when we don’t feel like it.  That’s why Ephesians tells us to put on the whole armor of God.  We’ll need it.  And finally, deliverance from sin’s presence.  And that, actually, is what {Paul is talking about.

His question is future tense.  Who will rescue me from this body of death?”  The answer, therefore should be read is in the future.  Thanks by to God who WILL rescue me though Jesus Christ.

Like Paul, we have been saved.  We are being saved.  And surely – certainly – absolutely – we will be saved. 

That very knowledge, that final victory will be ours, should be wonderful encouragement for each of to fight one.

At the church where I served in Rochester, New York, I was reading the church history and was thrilled to discover that Harry A. Ironside had actually preached at that church.  I got goose bumps.

When I was preparing this sermon, this illustration from Ironside came to mind.

There was a young man who was the son of a friend of Czar Nicholas the First.  He was given the job of financial officer of a border fortress for the Russian Army.  But he fell into gambling.  And like Judas, he started borrowing money, a little at a time, to make good on his debts.  One day, he was told that a government auditor would arrive the next day to check the books.

So he sat down and added up what he had taken.  He emptied his pockets.  Over time, he had taken a huge amount.  He totaled everything.  He added his meager amount , listed the remaining debt on a piece of paper and then wrote these words.  “A great debt; who can pay?”

Then he drew his revolver, determined to kill himself at the stoke of midnight.  He waited for the hour to strike, but fell asleep.

During the night, Czar Nicholas came to the fort.  He was dressed as a common soldier.  He did this often so that he could see firsthand if the men were prepared.  All lights should have been off.  But the young man had fallen asleep with the lamp still lit.  The Czar entered the tent.  Recognized the young man.  Read the note.  It was all immediately clear.  The young man head betrayed his trust.  At first, the Czar thought of arresting the young man immediately.  But then he thought of his friend, the boy’s father.  So he stooped down, wrote something on the note and left.

The next morning, the young man awoke with a start.  Just as he held the revolver to his head, he noticed something had been written on the note.  It read, “A great debt; who can pay?”  Underneath was the word “Nicholas.”

The soldier waited until morning.  At dawn, a bag of silver arrived from Nicholas.  It was the exact amount needed.  When the auditor arrived, the books were balanced.

If you are a Christian, that is exactly how Christ delivered you from the debt of sin.  Christ paid the wages.  “A great debt; who can pay?  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, paid the price on the cross.

Not only that.  There is a great battle against a powerful foe.  Who can win it?  The answer is the same.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, secured ultimate power and victory in His resurrection.

He it is Who will win our war within.