To Do Or Not To Do, That Is The Question
Just before Ted Bundy was executed for t/murder of dozens of women, James Dobson, of Focus on the Family interviewed him.
In the interview he expressed both sorrow and repentance. Now was it a "Death-bed confession"? We will really never know.
Most of the time, that is the reaction of a condemned criminal, because they come to terms with their own mortality, reflect a wasted life.
Several years ago I watched in disbelief as a condemned murderer was interviewed. There was no remorse, in fact when asked t/question, what would you do if you could do things differently?
He replied rather matter-a-factly, "If I could, I would do it again."
His lack of conscious is very difficult for me to understand.
How someone can be so hard-hearted as to not feel the hurt of another human being, whether it was physical or emotional pain.
My high school Y. G. was large & close. We did everything together.
David Moore was a part of our Y.G., but because he was different than "the average bear", he was picked on and made fun of at times.
With time and maturity, I felt bad for my actions, so I apologized and asked his Forgiveness. I received it and treated him differently.
I Did Something I Wish I Didn’t Do. I still feel t/remorse of my actions.
During our first full-time ministry Kim & I were close to a middle-age couple. They were both career-minded & never had children.
We won a bowling tournament with them one summer, they were excellent bowlers, Kim & I had a very large handicap.
They even came to visit us in Tampa after we changed ministries.
When we went to see them t/next time we went to WI. we learned from their neighbors that they had divorced shortly after our last visit.
I still wonder if Kim or I could have done something that would have made the difference and spared their marriage.
I Didn’t Do Something I Wish I Had Done.
I didn’t murder anyone, yet these actions have brought feeling of guilt.
And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Maybe you too?
Maybe you say something, & IMMEDIATELY when it bursts forth from your lips, you wish you could take it back. Know it wrong.
The town gossip finally came under conviction. Going to a counselor, she asked how she could make things right, "What should I do?"
He told her to take a feather & place it on the doorstep of everyone who she had hurt by her careless words, then come & meet him again.
She did this. Returning to the counselor she asked "what do I do next"?
He said, now go & gather t/feathers.
POINT - What’s done is done.
You may be like me, in that some of your past actions, thoughts, feelings and memories bring remorse & make you feel bad. When we get bogged down with them, they can hamper our growth in Christ.
It’s like a runner in a race, who constantly looks over his shoulder at his competition. If he does this, he can’t see the goal & loses ground.
Look with me at t/7th & 8th chpts of t/book of Romans. This book gives us 2 types of encouragement when we begin to feel unworthy of Christ’s love, because of our past deeds.
It’s good to know that:
We Are Not The Only Ones & We Have Someone To Help Us.
With past and present struggles; not to mention what will happen in the Future; we can be left feeling defeated, and cry out:
Who will save me from myself and my sinful ways?
We need an answer to this all important question. But first background:
As a missionary, Paul wanted to go everywhere to spread the gospel. He hadn’t been to Rome yet, so he wanted to go there. When he wrote this letter to the Romans Christians, it may seem less personal than his other letters, but it’s just because he hasn’t yet met them.
In writing Romans, Paul is preparing t/Roman Christian for his coming. Some commentators believe one reason he sought their favor, was so that he could use Rome as a base for missionary work in Spain.
Nevertheless, Paul stresses the fundamentals of the Gospel, while he uses himself as an example of one who struggles with obedience.
Please note, that throughout Romans, Paul uses the present tense, meaning that he is presently, still struggling with sin himself.
1. PAUL STRUGGLED WITH THE SAME THING WE DO
I’m only speaking for myself, but when I think of giants of obedience & faith, I think of Paul. He is a great example of a true Disciple.
Yet, at the same time, Paul is saying he is just like me, in his struggles.
Romans 7:14-16, "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."
Does that sound to you like t/words from a spiritual giant? Not hardly!
A. He Didn’t Understand The Things He Did
He acknowledges that there are no problems with God’s Word, it’s Him.
It’s the person that’s weak. Like a prisoner who struggles to be free, there is an inner struggle that is constantly going on.
Do you remember the Florida prisoner who had an accomplice fly a helicopter into the prison for a rescue attempt. The helicopter crashed and both men were arrested rather quickly.
But that is the idea here, that Paul felt trapped & desperately wished to escape this death-trap that he was in. Aren’t we the same?
He DID what he DIDN’T want to do. AND
He DIDN"T do what he DID want to do.
Even with all of our good intentions, at times we feel the same!
WE: DO - hurt others with our words, compromise our faith.
DON’T - read & pray enough, forgive others when they wrong us.
We seem schizophrenic - like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Keith Green wrote a song years ago with this scripture in mind, "The very things I hate, I end up doing. Things I want to do, I just don’t do. Lord, it seems so sad, why am I so bad, when in my heart I only want to be like you." WHY?
B. Sin
Romans 7:17-21, "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."
Paul openly and even publicly admitted that - HE HAD FAILED!
When President Clinton’s immorality came to light, another extremely disappointing aspect was his denial of the facts.
Not only had he demeaned the highest office in the land, but then tried to lie his way out of it, which ultimately led to his impeachment.
Yes, the flesh is weak and yes Satan is a powerful enemy, but we understand that we take responsibility for our own sin.
We make the ultimate decision to give in and let sin dominate us.
While our desire is to do God’s will, at times - sin seems stronger.
When I was in college, I received a syllabus for every class I took. It outlined the entire semester and the work that it required of me.
If I waited until the night before to start a term paper, I had no one to blame but myself, because I knew when that paper was due.
The same is true with sin, we are without excuse, there is none. He says
Romans 7:22-23, "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."
Paul again states his knowledge of God’s commands; & what’s required.
As a Pharisee, Paul knew what Psalm chapter 1 says:
Psalm 1, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in t/seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."
He says there’s a war going on inside my mind and heart and at times I feel like I’m losing this war. So where does this struggle lead Paul?
C, Paul Was Disgusted With Himself
He was at the bottom of the barrel. This war was tearing him apart. It’s almost as if Paul were on the brink of despair and breakdown.
Ever read cartoon Snuffy Smith - demon & angel sitting on his shoulder, giving advise on what to do. Do you feel that way? Paul did.
Romans 7:24, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
In primitive tribes, most often, the penalty for murder was death, but in some tribes, it was carried out in a most gruesome way.
They would tie the living body of the murderer, face to face with t/dead body of t/murdered individual and throw him into a pit until death.
The murderer would literally stare death in the face until his own death.
He would face his sin and guilt until he; himself died.
The imagery that Paul speaks of here is the same; that death seems to rule over him, it conquered his life, it gave him no hope.
He felt the decay, the torture and the penalty of his sin.
At the beginning of this sermon, I promised 2 forms of encouragement.
So far, this may not seem very encouraging, sin, war, death - GREAT!
But I believe it’s important first to understand that we’re not t/only ones in this war against sin. In fact, those of great faith also struggled.
Too many times, we place men & women in the Bible in an antiseptic, super-spiritual realm, where they always do what is right, they always make t/right decisions and therefore, they can’t possibly understand my difficulties, struggles and failures.
No way, they struggled, as we do. Yet we can read about their ultimate victories and gain the encouragement that we need to carry on.
But that’s not enough. What was Paul’s solution & hope in his crisis?
2. WE HAVE HELP FROM JESUS
Romans 7:25a-8:1-3, "Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what t/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. & so He condemned sin in sinful man" The math equation is this; that if Paul is like us, then like Paul, we too can claim the victory over sin and death.
Paul knew the only solution was Jesus, He alone could rescue us from sin and death, because He defeated them both on the cross.
That even though the law was powerless to save us, because of our own sin; through the power of Jesus, we can be saved, because Jesus plead guilty for our sin.
God condemned sin in Jesus and gave us Jesus’ holiness and perfection.
Figuratively, Jesus untied us from the body of death & tied Himself to it.
He was then cast into the pit to die, but it didn’t end with His death.
Jesus broke free from the body of death and came back to life.
He then destroyed the ropes that bind us & even destroyed t/body itself.
Now, we don’t have to look at t/face of death, but the face of our Savior.
BUT WAIT - there’s even more good news!
Jesus has not just won the ultimate sin battle, but He is here with us daily as we constantly battle sin and it’s consequence.
After t/Gulf War, a major concern was that when the foreign troops left, Iraq would again invade Kuwait. So a contingent was left there.
Jesus hasn’t just won the war against sin and death for us, He is along-side us, helping us to defeat Satan, when He plans to attack us.
Romans 8:6, 11 & 14 "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 11, And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies thru His Spirit, who lives in you. 14, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."
We have life and peace; We have life immortal, We are Sons of God.
Jesus defeated sin and death once and for all.
The Spirit sanctifies and purifies us daily, now and until Jesus returns.
Now that’s a resounding victory.
As a Christian, when you find yourself discouraged, defeated, burdened with guilt, remember that:
Paul also struggled & most importantly, Jesus has given us the victory.
If you have done something you wish you hadn’t done or you didn’t do something you wish you had done, don’t despair; receive His forgiveness, asking Jesus for help to do better the next time.
Don’t RETIE yourself to the body of death, because Jesus has already defeated it and given to us the ultimate victory.
If you are not a Christian here this morning, then you are presently tied to that body of death. You are staring eternal death in t/face. You have no hope of heaven, cause you have not yet let Jesus help you.
But, you can claim the victory and His resurrection power, and the opportunity to do so is right now.
When we sing our decision song in a moment, come forward, stating that you believe that Jesus Christ is the only way that you can be saved from the body of death.
Then, turning away from your sins, which is called repentance, you can be untied from the body of death through baptism in water.
If you have let sin rule and ruin your life, if you feel defeated, come and rededicate yourself to Him again.
Let Jesus again untie you from the body of death.
If you need a Church home, make it Cornerstone Christian Church.
