Double Trouble And The Double Cure Series

Introduction:

Elvis Presley had a song called Double Trouble: I guess there's gotta be two dark clouds hangin' over me My future looks as bumpy as a matchbox on the sea Every time I think that I have finally got it made Some losin' cards are played, I just can't make the grade I got double trouble, I got double trouble I got double trouble twice as much as anybody else

Thesis: Let’s talk about double trouble and the double cure

For instances:

I. THE SINNER'S "DOUBLE TROUBLE."

A. Sin makes us guilty under the law. We are guilty as sin.

1. Sin is the act of breaking God’s law. Romans 3:23- All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

2. Law-breaking results in guilt (James 2:10: For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.). This is an objective state, a wrong relationship to the law of God. It is not the same as subjective guilty feelings. Whether we feel guilty or not, we are as guilty as sin.

3. Guilt brings punishment. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death. We have earned it

4. This is the sinner's most serious problem: he is guilty of breaking God's law, and he is condemned to suffer the penalty of eternal hell. The sinner owes God the DEBT of hell.

5. This is what we have been talking about over the last several months.

B. Sin also gives us a sinful heart or sinful nature. Haven’t talked about this much.

This sinful condition is a kind of spiritual death. Col. 2:13: you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature

Think of a man losing his temper at home, storming out of the house, jumping into his car, and zooming out onto the road without stopping and checking for traffic. He is immediately broadsided by a truck, creating two problems. Two sirens are heard as emergency vehicles approach. One is a police car, because the driver has broken the law by driving recklessly and causing an accident. The other siren is from an ambulance, which is necessary because the accident broke the man’s leg. So the man has to go to the hospital and have his leg set and put into a cast, and he has to hobble around on crutches for weeks. Has two problems, one legal and the other medical. As sinners, we also have two problems. First is legal and the second is a soul/spirit sickness, all caused by sin.

More than just a physical sickness or cancer, it is also a problem of the mind. The sick mind and flesh work together to produce immoral behavior in a sinner.

In our unsaved state the sinfulness of our hearts and bodies makes us weak in the face of temptation; we do not have the strength to break the grip of sin over our lives.

Romans 8:7-8: “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” Sinners can still respond to the gospel, we are not totally depraved. However, we are all rebels and enjoy breaking God’s law. We get excitement and pleasure from doing what ought not to be done.

We are so spiritually and mentally sick that we do things that are hazardous and dangerous to ourselves and others

II. GOD'S "DOUBLE CURE" OF GRACE.

A. First, the grace of God resolves the problem of our guilt and takes away our punishment. God as JUDGE declares that the penalty for sin no longer applies to us.

1. This is the gift called justification, forgiveness, or remission of sins. Rom. 4:7-8: “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” Not counted against us, justified, no penalty!

2. Made possible by the death of Christ. Jesus paid our debt! Rom. 5:9: Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!

3. Because we are forgiven (justified), we are free from the law's condemnation. Rom. 8:1:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

B. Also, the grace of God resolves the problem of our spiritual sickness and restores us to spiritual wholeness. God as PHYSICIAN cures the disease of sin that afflicts our natures.

The beginning point of this cure is called regeneration, the new birth, or spiritual resurrection. This is accomplished by two things:

the victorious power of Christ’s death. Romans 6:4-6: We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 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.