BEING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST REVOLUTIONARY
Romans 7:15-25 (NIV) I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 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. 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.
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. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 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. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 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.
INTRODUCTION: THIS WEEKEND WE CELEBRATE OUR STRUGGLE AS A NATION FOR FREEDOM, LIBERTY, AND INDEPENDENCE. JULY 4TH LOOKS BACK TO THE VERY ROOTS OF AMERICAN FREEDOM AS PLAYED OUT BY THOSE WHO WOULD BE CALLED REVOLUTIONARIES. CHRISTIANS FROM THE VERY DAWN OF THEIR EXISTENCE HERE ON EARTH HAVE ALSO BEEN CONSIDERED REVOLUTIONARIES. AS SUCH, THEY HAVE BEEN THE FOCUS OF PERSECUTION, TORTURE, AND DEATH. YET, IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS TURMOIL AND HARDSHIP, THE NAME OF CHRIST CONTINUES TO BE PROCLAIMED, AND FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST CONTINUE TO COUNT THE COST, STAND FOR CHRIST, AND INDIVIDUALIZE THE SCRIPTURE WHICH PROCLAIMS, “FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST, AND TO DIE IS GAIN.”.
TRANSITION: THIS MORNING I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT OUR INDIVIDUAL STRUGGLE TO BE A REVOLUTIONARY FOR CHRIST. I LOOK AT THIS , SIMPLY FOR THE REASON THAT, WITHOUT A PERSONAL POSITION AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST REVOLUTIONARY, WE CANNOT EVER HOPE TO BE AN INTEGRAL PART AS A REVOLUTIONARY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST – THE CHURCH!
IN ORDER TO BE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST REVOLUTIONARY, WE NEED TO:
I. KNOW THE STRENGTH OF OUR ENEMY
A. COMPREHENDING OUR SPIRITUAL BATTLE
1. I AM IN CONSTANT CONFLICT WITH SIN – EVEN AS A BELIEVER IN CHRIST
a. PAUL IS SPEAKING HERE AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST – EVEN A MATURE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST!
b. OUR CURRENT CONFLICT IS WITH OUR SIN DWELLING WITHIN US. OUR INDWELLING SIN DESIRES TO CONTROL US - -TO CLAIM US AS ITS PROPERTY – TO ENSLAVE US VOLUNTARILY SINCE IT CAN NO LONGER ENSLAVE US “REDEMPTIVELY!
c. ONCE WE ACCEPTED CHRIST AS OUR SAVIOR, WE DIED TO OUR SIN NATURE, AND WERE RESURRECTED WITH CHRIST. SINS HOLD ON US WAS BROKEN, BUT SIN NEVER WENT AWAY
d. OUR SPIRITUAL BATTLE IS A DAILY 24/7 EVENT. IT NEVER STOPS, AND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL WE ARE WITH CHRIST.
2. WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND/APPROVE OF WHAT SIN DOES TO US.
a. THIS IS A PRESENT TENSE STRUGGLE
BECOMING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST BEGAN WITH A MOMENT OF FAITH. BECOMING LIKE CHRIST WILL TAKE A LIFETIME!
B. SEEING THE SIGNS OF OUR SPIRITUAL BATTLE
1. OUR ACTIONS ARE DICTATED BY SOMETHING ELSE.
2. THE CONCERN THAT SHOULD BE EVIDENT REGARDING WHAT I AM NEGLECTING TO DO AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST.
3. KNOWING THAT THE LAW OF GOD IS GOOD – BEAUTIFUL, NOBLE, AND EXCELLENT, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME UNDERSTANDING THAT MY HEART IS – DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS AND BEYOND MY ABILITY TO SURE IT.
Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
C. KNOW THE ROOT ISSUE(S) OF OUR SPIRITUAL BATTLE
1. WE DO NOT REALIZE THE ROOT ISSUE.
2. WE SEEK TO DEAL WITH THE ROOT ISSUE WRONGLY
a. WE THINK KNOWLEDGE WILL SOLVE OUR PROBLEM WITH OUR INDWELLING SIN NATURE.
1) WE LIKE TO WORK IN FORMULAS.
2) “X AMOUNT OF STEPS TO ________”
b. WE THINK SELF-DETERMINATION WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF OUR INDWELLING SIN NATURE.
1) STRUGGLING IN MY OWN STRENGTH
2) SEEKING SOME NEW EXPERIENCE WITH CHRIST, NEVER FULLY REALIZING THAT EXPERIENCE DOES NOT FIGHT SIN
c. WE THING AVOIDING THE PROBLEM OF OUR INDWELLING SIN NATURE IS THE ANSWER
1) SO WHEN THE ISSUE OF MY SIN COMES UP, I JUST GO AND DO SOMETHING ELSE.
2) I FILL THE DAMAGE IN MY SPIRITUAL LIFE WITH SOME OTHER ACTIVITY, RATHER THAN DEALING WITH IT AS I SHOULD.
d. WE THINK THAT “BECOMING A CHRISTIAN” WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF OUR INDWELLING SIN NATURE.
1) SALVATION BROUGHT US DELIVERANCE FROM SIN
2) OUR SANCTIFICATION DEALS WITH OUR STRUGGLE WITH SIN
II. KNOW THE WEAKNESS OF OUR ENTITY
A. ON MY OWN I HAVE TROUBLE DOING WHAT IS RIGHT
1. SIN EXPRESSES ITSELF THROUGH ME – VERSE 18
2. SIN IS A SQUATTER IN MY LIFE – VERSE 20
3. SIN LIES RIGHT NEXT TO ME. KIND OF LIKE THE DOG THAT LAYS DOWN BESIDE YOU, OR THE CAT WHO HOPS UP ON YOUR LAP. AFTER A WHILE, YOU JUST HAVE TO PET THEM – VERSES 20-21
B. ON MY OWN I HAVE NO TROUBLE DOING WHAT IS WRONG
1. MY SIN NATURE IS STILL THERE. I HAVE NO CONNECTION TO IT, BUT IT HAS NEVER, AND PROBABLY WILL NEVER BE DRIVEN OUT FROM MY LIFE.
2. SIN IS WAGING WAR WITH ME – VERSE 23
3. SIN HAS TWO GOALS IT WANTS TO ACCOMPLISH
a. SIN WANTS TO KEEP ME IN CONFLICT
b. SIN WANTS TO IMPRISON ME
c. SIN IS SEEKING BOTH VICTORY AND CONTROL OF MY LIFE. EITHER ONE IS ACCEPTABLE, BUT TO HAVE BOTH IS DESIRABLE!
C. ON MY OWN I AM ALWAYS IN CONTACT WITH EVIL
III. KNOW THE RESOURCE OF OUR ETERNITY
A. MY RESOURCE WHEN I CRY OUT
1. I FIRST NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT I AM DOOMED WITHOUT THE PROVISION GOD HAS PROVIDED FOR ME.
2. VERSE 24 USES THE WORD “WRETCHED”. THIS WORD MEANS DISTRESSED, MISERABLE, ENDURING TOILS AND TROUBLES. IT IS A WORD USED OF THOSE WHO WERE DOOMED TO SLAVERY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
3. OUR SIN NATURE IS “LODGED” IN OUR BODIES. IT IS IN THERE DEEP AND RESISTS EVERY EFFORT TO BRING IT UNDER SUBMISSION AND CONTROL.
4. THAT IS THE VERY FIRST STEP – TO UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT OUR INABILITY TO DEAL WITH OUR INDWELLING SIN NATURE ON OUR OWN. WITHOUT THIS UNDERSTANDING, I WILL NEVER BE THE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST REVOLUTIONARY CHRIST DESIRES ME TO BE.
ILLUSTRATION: Watchman Nee tells the story of his stay in China with twenty other Christians. The bathing accommodations were inadequate in the home where they were lodging, so they went for a daily dip in the river. On one occasion, one of the men got a cramp in his leg and began sinking fast. Mr. Nee motioned to one of the other men, who was an excellent swimmer, about the drowning man. To his astonishment, however, the man did not move. He just stood there and watched the drowning man. Mr. Nee was agitated, but the swimmer was calm and collected. Meanwhile, the voice of the drowning man grew fainter and more desperate. Mr. Nee hated the swimmer who just stood and watched on the shore when he could have jumped into the river and rescued the drowning man. As the drowning man went under for what looked like the last time, the swimmer was there in a moment and both were soon safely on shore. After the rescue, Mr. Nee chewed out the swimmer, accusing him of loving his life too much and being selfish. The response of the swimmer revealed, however, he knew what he was doing. He told Watchman that if he had gone too soon, the drowning man would have put a death grip on him and they would have both drowned in the river and he was right. He told Mr. Nee that a drowning man cannot be saved until he is utterly exhausted and ceases to make the slightest effort to save himself. Such is the case with our salvation. When we stop trying to save ourselves, then the Lord can step in and save us when we yield to Him.
Mattoon's Treasures - Mattoon's Treasures – Treasures from Romans.
B. GOD THROUGH CHRIST IS MY RESOURCE
1. I CANNOT LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE APART FROM THE DAILY, CONSTANT PROVISION OF CHRIST IN MY LIFE
2. LISTEN TO WHAT J. I. PACKER SAYS AS HE SUMS THIS THOUGHT UP:
· When God called us to be Christian people he called us to lifetime struggles against sin.
· Although we are called to a lifetime struggle against sin, we are nevertheless never going to achieve victory by ourselves.
· Even when we triumph over sin by the power of the Holy Spirit, which should be often, we are still unprofitable servants.
· And yet, we are to go on fighting and struggling against sin, and we are to do so with the tools made available to us, chiefly prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, service to others, and the sacraments.
C. MY FREEDOM FROM MY INDWELLING SIN NATURE IS FOUND IN MY CLOSENESS TO CHRIST.
D. MY HIDDEN CHAINS AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST
1. I DO NOT WALK AS CLOSE TO CHRIST AS I SHOULD
2. I DO NOT REST IN HIS SUFFICIENCY AS I SHOULD
3. I WOULD RATHER GO IT ALONE
4. I AM IN CHAINS BECAUSE I REFUSE TO BELIEVE, …
Romans 8:1-4 (NIV) 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4 (MSG) 1 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. 2 A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. 3 God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that. The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. 4 And now what the law code asked for but we couldn't deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.
SO WHAT DOES BEING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST REVOLUTIONARY REALLY MEANS? WHAT DOES IT TAKE FROM ME PERSONALLY IN ORDER TO BECOME AN EFFECTIVE WITNESS, AND TESTIMONY OF THE FREEDOM FROM SIN AND DEATH, AND THE ASSURANCE OF ETERNITY? ALL IT TAKES IS FOR ME TO LIVE IN THE ASSURANCE OF THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST WITH REGARD TO MY SIN NATURE, INSTEAD OF ALLOWING WHAT I HAVE DIED TO TO REMAIN SO ACTIVE AND IN CONTROL OF MY LIFE, SIMPLY BECAUSE I REFUSE TO ACCEPT GOD’S PROVISION IN CHRIST, AND ACT ON MY RESPONSIBILITIES AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST.
