Pau’s Bar Mitzvah
(Romans 7:7-25)
Intro
1."Christian workers in the Middle East are encouraged by the enthusiastic response to Mel Gibson’s The Passion on the part of Muslims in Qatar, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. They view this as an unprecedented method of sharing the gospel in otherwise closed Muslim societies.
"Until now we have only been able to show the Jesus film in Arabic to a handful of [Muslims] in the secrecy of a home setting.
"Any attempt to share the biblical message of Christ’s death and resurrection is usually considered an attempt to proselytize and is greatly discouraged by governments." Middle east missionaries
"Arabs have been drawn to the film by reports alleging that it is antiSemitic. Middle East missionaries say that the film has an additional impact on those consumed by this Arab-Jew hatred, given Jesus’ portrayal of love for one’s enemies in The Passion. Iraqi and Palestinian Christians report that anyone who speaks Arabic can understand some of the Aramaic spoken by Jesus in the movie."
"Missionaries report intense demand for viewing The Passion" (Source: Current Trends & Thoughts)
2. Although I still think the movie the Passion is too violent, I know many of you disagree. But I have always believed God could use this film, and I rejoice that He has ¡V perhaps more overseas than here at home.
3. But despite it’s perception of being anti-Jewish, and I do not believe that it is, it is crucial for we Christians to realize that Christianity is a form of Judaism, and that Jesus and the Apostles were all devout Jews. Hence today I bring up the subject of Bar-Mitzvah.
4. What does a Bar Mitzvah have to do with today¡¦s sermon?
5. Quite a bit, actually.
6. When Jesus was 12, He hung around the Temple longer than His parents realized; they panicked but finally found Him at the Temple, asking questions of the teachers. This was the custom for all devout Jews as boys prepared for their Bar Mitzvahs’ at age 13.
7. Bar mitzvah means, "son of the commandments" and signified that at the age of 13 a boy was now fully responsible to keep the Law of Moses.
8. Verse 9 of Romans 7, I believe, is referring to Paul’s Bar Mitzvah; before he was 13, he was not held accountable to the Law, only to obey his parents. But at age 13, he now took full responsibility to obey the entire law.
9. Paul had begun addressing a key issue: the believer’s relationship to the law. He first addresses the Jews in verse 1 (those who know the Law) and explains how they relate to God under the New Covenant. But there are many questions about the relationship of the Law to the Jewish believer, and, by principle, to the gentile believer who was never "under the Law" in the first place.
10. The Law has a legitimate purpose, but it is limited in what it can do.
11. I carry a cheap pocket knife; I broke good ones in the past prying or using as a screwdriver;a pocket knife is good for cutting, but is not meant to be a pry bar; it just is not intended for the purpose.
MAIN IDEA: So what can and cannot the Law do? The answer boils down to this: knowing what is right doesn’t mean we do what is right. Although ignorance of God’s Word IS a major problem, we find that our sinful nature "that impulse to sin" is not defeated by information alone; it is defeated by RElationship.
I. What the Law CAN Do (7-14)
A. Question #2---is the Law a sinful thing?
(1) from the way many Christians interpret the Scripture, it seems so
(2) but Paul says, "no!" (7a)
B. Five things the Law can do:
1. The Law can expose sin in general (7b)
2. The Law can expose the sins that no one sees (7c) like coveting.
3. It can awaken sin within us, the forbidden fruit concept (8)
4. It clarifies and intensifies sin, showing how very ugly and repulsive to God it is and producing a conscious realization that we are spiritually dead (13).
5. It exposes that WE are the problem; we ourselves have a sinful disposition.
C. Implications of the Law awakening sin within us
1. In verse 9, Paul speaks of his Bar Mitzvah, I believe
(1) some have interpolated an "age of accountability" from this passage
(2) such a concept is consistent with Jewish belief, but we need to be careful
(3) but the Jews did have an age of accountability for obeying the Law
2. Although we gentiles do not usually have a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah ceremony, we do know that knowledge of right and wrong sometimes makes wrong seem more palatable; and age 13 is usually that age of transition.
„h Dobson says age 13 is the roughest age as we cross a threshold
„h Saint Augustine wrote about his pre-conversion life as a teen¡K he and his pals shook pears from someone else’s tree and tossed them to the pigs; they were not hungry, they just enjoyed doing wrong (source: John Stott, Romans)
„h The lure of forbidden fruit begins earlier with the cookie jar, perhaps
„h And it continues on into adulthood. I enjoy a game called "The Dictionary Game" because I can lie without it being sinful
3. The problem is not the Law, which is holy; it is our sinful, unholy nature, that impulse to sin we inherit (10-12).
4. In a Jewish book written several centuries before Christ, a Jewish theologian writes,
"Yet you did not take away from them their evil heart, so that your Law might bring forth fruit in them. For the first Adam, burdened with an evil heart, transgressed and was overcome, as were also all who were descended from him. Thus the disease became permanent; the law was in people’s heart along with the evil root" (4 Ez. 3:20-23) (cited in Romans by Joseph Shulam)
5. Because of that impulse to sin and the lure of forbidden fruit, it is best to tackle most sin indirectly. Aiming at overcoming a particular sin causes us to focus on that sin and often makes the situation worse.
that impulse to sin is not defeated by information alone; it is defeated by RElationship.
II. What the Law Cannot Do (15-25)
A. When Paul writes "I," is he referring here to (a) experiences he had before he was saved or (b) after. I say choice "C" both of the above
(1) we can think of the New Nature we receive at salvation as an "intensifying" of conscience, since both conscience and the new nature are described as "the law of God written on our hearts."
(2) so if what Paul writes sounds like experiences you have as a believer, join the club.
B. The Law Cannot Break the Sin Cycle (15-20)
1. It cannot stop self-sabotage (15)
2. It can give me the right values, but it offers me no ability to follow those values (16)
3. It cannot keep my sinful nature from controlling me (17-18)
4. It can help develop good intentions, but it doesn¡¦t empower us to carry them out (19)
5. It cannot keep sin from defeating me (20)
C. The Believer and the Lost Man are Both Caught up in a Vicious Cycle (21-24)
„h the battle is between our inner self and our sinful nature
„h the result: we are wrteched (24)
„h have you ever felt that way? Maybe you destroyed someone with your mouth., maybe you had to buy those clothes you could not afford, maybe you snapped at your mate and hurt him or her badly impatient with your kids or you let things go too long and now they are catching up to you because you just seem unmotivated¡K
D. The Good News is found in verse 25¡K.
„h The Good News is Jesus
„h Through a deepening relationship with Him, we can see significant, even if not complete, victory.
„h It is not through striving in our own will power that we overcome, but through Christ, meaning a vital walk with Him¡K
„h It is through that deepening relationship that we receive the Power of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Romans 8.
„h The way of Victory translates to this: concentrate on knowing Jesus. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Learn about Him, but through frequent informal prayer, study in the Word, and service, come to know Him experientially; trust Him and let Him stretch you; complain to Him, cry to Him, share Him with others, contemplate His Words; Jesus is still he answer!
Conclusion
1. That impulse to sin is not defeated by information alone; it is defeated by RElationship.
2. But the devil and your sinful nature do not want you to cultivate that relationship; neither does the world. The choice is yours.
