Before we read the scripture for this morning. I want you to hold up your Bibles and repeat after me. “This my Bible.” “I believe what it says.” “I believe I can do,” “What it says I can do.” “I believe I have,” “what it says I have.” “I believe this Word.” “This is,” “My final authority.” “Therefore” “I will not argue,” “neither will I disobey” “this is” “My manual” “for Life.” “Amen”
(Read scripture: Romans 7:7-13)
This is the fifth message in the series, “Power over sin.” We have already covered in the first 3 messages in this series the entire 6th chapter of Romans. The 4th message was “Committed” taken from the 7th chapter of Rom. Verses 1-6. I want you to understand right up front, that Paul is speaking from a converted point of view. Paul is speaking about his experience before he got saved. What I want to talk about this morning in this message is two things. First all I am going to talk about being convicted by the law as a sinner. And, lastly I am going to talk about being convicted by the law as a saint.
BEING CONVICTED AS A SINNER
(Read verse 7) The first thing I want you to understand is this: The Law Is Good. You might say, “but I thought we could not be saved by the law.” No, we can’t be saved by the law, but the law is still good. Everything that God has given is good. Everything that God has made is good. Every commandment that God has given is good.
How dare we say that anything that God has made or given is evil. The law is not evil, but those who break the law are evil. The law is good. There are four things that the law will do to a unbeliever or sinner. (A) The law uncovers sin in the sinner. (B) The law stirs up sin in the sinner. ©) The law demolishes the sinner.
THE LAW UNCOVERS SIN IN THE SINNER
(Read Verse 7b) “..I had not...” What happens is this. When human beings are born into this earth they are born in sin, (which is a sinful nature, which is the nature of Satan, which is , which is separation from God.) They are all shaped into iniquity. Paul is not saying that he only understood sin when the law came. He is saying that the law uncovered sin in him to a greater extent.
In other words the law opened up his eyes, and showed him how bad he was. All human beings have a personal conviction of sin before their knowledge of the law. Before Moses gave the 10 Commandments, people were being convicted of their sins. Don’t you remember when Cain killed his brother Able. God asked Cain “Where is your brother” and Cain said, “Am I my brothers keeper.” Cain was convicted. He felt that conviction right then and there.
He was trying to hid the fact that he had killed his own brother. Cain knew that his brother was wrong. He did not need a law to tell him that it is wrong to take a life. Remember Adam and Eve, when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The Bible says that their eyes were opened, and that they knew that they were .
So they ran and hid themselves. Sowing fig leaves together to cover themselves up, because they knew that what they had done was wrong. You see we are all convicted before we even find out that there is a law. Even today, you can go to some of the rural areas of Africa, were they don’t have a government system like we have. You will find out that they don’t do some of the evil things we do.
The horrible things you hear about on T.V. and the radio, that is going on in this country, is not even thought of in other countries, And they don’t have a civilized law system like ours here in America. So the law exposes how bad were are. It does not make you bad. (Read Romans 1:18-21) God has placed in every human being a natural instinct of knowing what’s right and what’s wrong. Vs. 19 says, “....because that which may be known of God is manifest IN THEM, for God hath showed it unto them.” Verse 20 says, “....That they are without excuse...” When man looks at creation, they know that there is a God.
When humans looks at the Sun, Moon, Stars, and all of natural creation, they are convicted that all of creation did not just happen. Mankind knows in their hearts that there is a Eternal Being who created all of this. Vs 21,22 says. “...They knew God, but glorified Him not as God...” Mankind has come up with reasons not to believe that there is a God in heaven. They rather worshiped the creature instead of the creator.
So, yes, the law uncovers sin in the sinner, by showing them how bad they are.
THE LAW STIRS UP SIN IN THE SINNER
(Read verse 8) (commandment means the law) (concupiscence means ) The law stirs up sin in the sinner or unbeliever. When sinners find out that they are convicted because of their sinful nature, and they don’t repent or turn around, from their ways and accept Christ Jesus as Lord. What the Law will do, because they know it now, will cause the sinful nature in them to stir up more , so they will be without excuse, when they stand before God on judgement day and say, I did not know. They will become more convicted as the days go buy. Because the more is uncovered in them, the more the law is going to show them how bad they are.
Yes, we might have morally good people in the world. But that does not matter, because if they don’t accept Jesus the Christ as their Lord and Savior, and repent of the sinful nature. They will not go to heaven.
THE LAW DESTROYS THE SINNER
(Read verse 9-11) Now Paul begins to talk about his own conversion. He begins to talk about what happened to him, before he met Jesus. ( Read Verse 9) Paul is saying this. That he thought that when he was a pharisee, studying the law, that he was alive by the law. He thought that obeying the rituals and traditions of his forefathers was living. But when he met Jesus on the Damascus road, he became convicted by what Jesus told him.
Paul is saying that when he understood the real meaning of the law, and the real meaning of the sacrifices, sin revived in him then he died. In other words, Paul found out that he was spiritually . We have a lot of spiritually people in Church’s today. They are going to Church Sunday after Sunday, playing Church, but no real change in their lifestyle. What makes a person spiritually ?
It is not understanding that practicing a sinful lifestyle as a way of life, and not obeying Gods word, causes them to become spiritually . We are not suppose to practice sin as a way of living. We are not suppose to practice sin as if we have no conscious. To get drunk every day. To get high of every day without having any conviction, tells me that you don’t have a relationship with Christ. Paul is saying “I was convicted when I met Jesus. I was convicted, that what I was doing as a pharisee was wrong.
(Read verse 10) Paul is saying I knew that I was spiritually . I knew that if I did not turn my life over to Jesus Christ I will stay spiritually .
(Read verse 11) The law came to show you had bad you are. So you can ask this question in your mind. “If it’s not by my works that will cause me to get to heaven. If it’s not by the law that will cause me to get to heaven, then, how can I get to heaven.?”
So God says “I’m glad you asked that question.” God is saying through Paul, “that’s why I gave you the law, to show you that you cannot make it into heaven without obeying all of the law. So now you understand that you cannot obey all of the law, and you are wondering how do you get to heaven. I gave you my son. I gave my son Jesus to die on the cross for your sins, so you can have a right to the tree of life.” That’s why the law came. The law was a tutor. The law was a schoolmaster. The law brought you to a point, that caused you to say, “I know I need a change in my life.” The law showed you how bad you were, so God can show you how good He can make you. That’s what the law has done for us.
BEING CONVICTED AS A SAINT
(Read verse 12,13) Even though Paul is talking about being convicted as a sinner. I want to tell you this morning, that Christians can still be convicted. Christians are saints. And saints, still sin. Just because you are, a saint does not mean you cannot sin. Notice I did not say that a saint cannot sin. Christians don’t have to sin according to I pet 1:9, but because, we fail to totally sell out to Jesus we sin. The law is so good that it will still convict you after you have accepted Christ as your savior.
A sinner is an unsaved person who practices sin. A saint is a saved person who practices righteousness. A saved person practices living right. A sinner practices living wrong. Well if you are practicing living wrong, then call your self a sinner. If you live in sin, and all you can do is think about sin, and obey all the time, then yes, you are a sinner. And you need to be born again.
But if you have made Jesus the Lord of your life, and you have repented of your sins, you are no longer a sinner but now you are a saint. But just because you are a saint, child of God, does not mean that you don’t have the ability to fall back into sin. So what you have to do is stay in the word of God and say Lord I want to do the things that please you.
BEING CONVICTED AS A SAINT (CONCLUSION)
I John 3:18, explains that people must not just say, what they are going to do , they must do it. We must show love.
Verse 19. This is the test that shows that you are of Christ
verse 20 When we sin our hearts are suppose to condemn us. You will feel guilty about what you have done. That means you have been convicted. Let me tell you what sin does to the Christians. Sin makes us cowards. Sin makes us scared to do what God has told us to do because we think that God can’t use us. When we sin, we don’t want to pray anymore.
Verse 20b means that God will forgive us of our sins because He is greater than our hearts.
Verse 21 means, When you are walking in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, your heart will not condemn you. When you are doing what God is telling you to do, your heart will not condemn you.
Verse 21b, When you walk in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, something happens. You will receive confidence toward God. When you are walking in righteousness, you will have confidence to witness for Jesus, you will have confidence to tell a dying world that Jesus is real in your life. But when you are living in sin and practicing sin, you will not have any confidence to do what God wants you to do. Confidence means boldness. You have boldness to tell the devil, no matter what you bring in my life, I will not walk away from God.
Verse 22 (explain the commandment that we must keep) It’s because you are not asking in confidence. Or you are not walking in love.
Verse 23, 24. We must walk in love in order to fulfill all of the law. We must love one another as Christ loved us. If we do this then we will have the greatest confidence and the greatest faith to do what God has called us to do.
May God bless you and keep you.
THIS SERMON IS AVAILABLE ON AUDIO CASSETTE.
