Bound To A Dead Man

"Bound to a Dead Man"

Romans 7:24-25; Eccl. 8:6-8

I. Introduction

A. This is the day that the Lord hath made

B. Special days in our life

C. Day of our birth

1. The joy and happiness that surrounds a newborn

2. There is a new life of promise and potential

3. The whole world was in front of you

4. Unlimited experiences of life were ahead of you

5. The incredible journey called life

D. Yet from the moment we are born, with all of its wonder and amazement, we also begin the process of dying

1. Every minute we live brings us one minute closer to our death

2. Within this living body of vibrant blood, veins, organs, tissue and intricate systems resides a dying man who will one day pass from this life

3. That is not a pleasant thought, nor do we like to dwell on it.

4. Death is an issue we would just as soon relegate to " somewhere out there" or "later"

a. It makes us admit and confront the fact of just how weak and frail we really are; regardless of our perceptions of our strength and ability

II. Eccl. 8:8

A. No man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit

1. It is not in our ability to preserve our life forever

B. Neither hath he power in the day of death

1. All of you human strength and ability mean nothing when struggling for the very existence of life

C. And there is no discharge in that war.

1. In what will perhaps be the greatest battle of your life, you cannot just "checkout"

D. We all know that day is coming; we have all, at one time or another, wrestled with the thought in our mind

III. Paul in Romans 7 reveals his struggle to us

A. Statement: "O, Wretched man that I am"

1. Very emotional statement: full of much passion

2. It tells us how he views his present condition

a. I am wretched; there is a great struggle within me between right and wrong

b. The struggle between sin and righteousness

3. In the midst of this struggle, knowing sin kills and righteousness makes alive, Paul declares himself to be wretched

B. What is his solution?

1. His question: Who?

2. He is looking for someone to help him

3. We have always viewed the Apostle Paul as the strangest of all the Apostles

a. He withstood so valiantly all of the trials and tests of his life that it seems odd to find him asking for help

C. It must be an incredible struggle for him to need help

1. What then was the battle?

2. "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

3. He is saying "Although I am living flesh and blood in front of you, I am dying on the inside"

a. "While I yet live and am free to do whatever I want, I am bound to the dead man inside of me"

b. "The body of this death"

IV. Allusion to punishment sometimes put upon a murderer

A. Roman Courtroom

1. Judge, jury, attorneys, and the accused

2. Charges of murder are brought and proven

3. The guilty verdict is pronounced and in extreme cases the punishment is more horrible than you can imagine.

4. Then the judge proclaims the sentence

a. The dead man is brought into the courtroom

b. The guilty sees his victim once again

c. They then lay the victim on the back of the guilty; bind his hands and feet to the murderers hands and feet

d. The guilty the, being bound to a dead man, must carry him on his back the rest of his life

5. He won’t live long with a dead man on his back

a. The body will begin to decay and rot

b. It will then infect the body of the murderer

c. Disease and sickness will set in and eventually kill him

B. Now we understand Paul’s question

1. He has destroyed his life by sin

2. Has been found guilty and is living, being bound to a dead man

3. Left to his own, with no help, this dead man of sin will infect him and eventually kill him

Unless

1. There is one who will deliver and set free

2. Vs 25 "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord"

a. I found a deliverer from the dead man in Jesus Christ

b. He removed the man of sin and bound himself upon me hand to hand and foot to foot.

V. What is your condition today?

A. Are you bound to a dead man?

B. Is sin beginning to infect and destroy you?

1. Has your sinful life put you in the place that you carry the weight and the seeds of your own death on your back?

C. Are you, like Paul, wretched and looking for a deliverer?

1. If he carried the weight of the world upon his shoulders I know he can carry you.