KILL OR BE KILLED
Part 3-When the Beast Gets Loose
Romans 7:14-20
October 21, 2007
Pastor Brian Matherlee
Read Romans 7:14-20
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
Ro 7:15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Ro 7:16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
Ro 7:17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
Ro 7:18 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.
Ro 7:19 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.
Ro 7:20 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.
In this passage we see the overwhelming struggle between the spiritual and the sinful. Sin desires to control us. Sin is constantly on the prowl to find an opening to dominate us.
Last week we talked about sins that feed the beast anger, pride, envy and greed. Of the seven deadly sins, the three we talk about today (lust, sloth, gluttony) are full blown control freaks. They dominate our lives like many other sins don’t. They don’t just feed the beast, the beast is totally loose. These sins take on a life all of their own and what we want to do we don’t. What we don’t want to do, that is what we do.
A. Lust
1. What is lust?
i. Mental sexual sin
ii. Desire for someone other than your spouse
iii. Inability to interact or notice others without sexual thoughts
iv. Satan’s attempt to highjack God’s beauty in the male/female relationship
2. Scriptures to learn by:
i. David and Bathsheba
a) David was where he shouldn’t have been (2 Sam.11:1, “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men…But David remained in Jerusalem.) Why was he still around? People get in trouble for being in places they shouldn’t. Too much time with the computer. Influence of racy TV, novels, & sexually saturated media. Chuck Colson has called Internet pornography “Spiritual Crack Cocaine,” because of how quickly people can become addicted to it and because of how destructive it is to the human soul.
b) David dwelled upon her as an object to be possessed. He didn’t have any knowledge of her as a person and only desired what he saw.
c) David went to great lengths to cover up his sin (tried having husband Uriah sleep with her, had Uriah murdered) …but it didn’t work. People will make heroic efforts to cover and even excuse sin.
ii. Proverbs 5:18, “May your fountain be blessed and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. —build and work on the relationship you have. Let’s not give our spouses a chance to wander!
iii. Song of Solomon 2:7, “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”—For the single, we should trust in God’s timing.
iv. I Timothy 2:9, “I also want women to dress modestly.”—women have a responsibility to themselves and to men around them to not advertise!
B. Sloth
I heard about a man whose family sent him to the doctor because he constantly complained of being too sick to work. The doctor examined his patient, and then told him to get dressed and meet him in his office. When the man came into the office and sat down, he said, “Give it to me straight, Doc, don’t use any complicated, fancy sounding medical terms. My family wants the truth in plain English. What’s wrong with me? “All right,” the doctor said. “I’ll make it as plain as I can. There isn’t a thing wrong with you. You’re just lazy.”
The man sat silent for a moment, and then said, “I see. Now will you give me a complicated, fancy sounding medical term I can tell my family?”
1. What is sloth?
i. Laziness
ii. Giving the least amount to get by
iii. Procrastination
iv. Putting off critical decisions
v. Wasting time with the insignificant
vi. Chronically leaving things undone
2. Scripture to learn by:
i. Matthew 25:14-30 (Parable of the talents-read from verse 26)
ii. The master called the man wicked and lazy.
iii. We can be lazy with our families, our jobs and our God.
C. Gluttony
1. What is gluttony?
i. Overindulgence in a physical pleasure
ii. Addictive behavior
iii. Seeking comfort, escape in physical things(** this is the motivation of gluttony.) Frederick Buechner says that a glutton is one who runs to the icebox for a cure to a spiritual malnutrition. That we use our possessions to camouflage a bankrupt emotional and spiritual life. That we seek status and position to camouflage our low self-esteem. We run after anything and everything to camouflage our fear of becoming nothing.
2. Scriptures to learn by:
i. Amos 6:4-6, You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches.You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. Am 6:5 You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. Am 6:6 You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. —we become complacent about things that matter because we are so focused on what we crave. Injustice may go on all around us. People can live in squalor and abject poverty but we only watch out for ourselves.
ii. Prov 23:20 “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”—it destroys the plans of God for us. God wants us to accomplish something, not necessarily get rich, but gluttonous living leads us to bankruptcy in our spirits, in our minds and in our bodies.
iii. Luke 16:19-25 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. —Gluttony prevents compassion and generosity from taking place and leads us away from the heart of God.
Conclusion
Lust, sloth and gluttony drag us away from the place we desire to be. The beast is loose and we must be delivered. Only through Christ can we see victory. What hope do I leave you with today?
1. God forgives every kind of sin. I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
2. We are not destined to fail. 2 Peter 1:3“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.”
