Winning the Struggle
Romans 7:21-25
Introduction
In the Wesleyan Church, we have what I believe to be a healthy emphasis on what we call holy living.
We feel that the Bible’s commands regarding a Christian lifestyle are valid, and are pleasing to God. And so we discuss these, believing that God knew what He was talking about.
However, I do have some brothers and sisters in Christ who feel that such talk amounts to legalism, and that we should focus more on the freedom we have in Christ.
And I agree to a point. We are free in Christ, and that’s a wonderful thing. But we also need to be careful that in our desire to live lives of freedom that we don’t ignore or minimize the need for holy living.
Holy living is not easy – it’s a struggle. And it’s a struggle that the apostle Paul knew intimately.
He describes it in our passage for today, and I hope that as we read this, and work our way through it, that you will find not only that Paul relates to the everyday struggles of followers of Christ, but that there is hope in the midst of that struggle.
What do we do when we are faced with temptation, particularly if it’s a temptation in an area that maybe was a huge temptation for us before we came to Christ? Maybe it had such a grip on you that it was a defining characteristic of who you were.
You were an alcoholic and now find yourself tempted to go back to that lifestyle. Or maybe it’s pornography, and you find yourself struggling against those old temptations.
Well let tell you, you’re not alone. Believers can struggle with these things and it’s not always easy, let me tell you.
But I also want to tell you that there is hope. And I think we can find it here in our passage this morning.
So please read this aloud with me, okay?
RO 7:21 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!
I want to suggest three steps you can take to win the struggle that wages in the lives of those who desire to follow Christ wholeheartedly.
I think you’ll find this practical and down-to-earth, and that you’ll be able to walk out of here today with something you can use right now.
The first step in winning the struggle against sin is to…
Recognize the struggle.
Look back at verse 21 –
When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
Verses 23-24 also bring it out –
…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!
You really want to win the struggle? Let me give you a small piece of advice: quit kidding yourself about the struggle. Too many people either think they’ve got it all together, or they think they need to put up some front out of fear they’ll be looked down on.
Look, even the apostle Paul struggled. I want you to notice something here. Paul uses the present tense in his words.
He doesn’t say, “When I wanted to do good, evil was right there with me.” No, he uses the word “want” instead of “wanted,” and “is,” instead of “was.”
What a wretched man I am!
Some feel that this is Paul describing his life before he came to faith in Christ and the before he came to the point where he turned his life fully over to Christ so he could receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, empowering him to no longer struggle with sin.
And while I think there is some merit to that, I’m not entirely convinced this is the case.
Besides, I have yet to find the honest Christian who hasn’t faced this struggle at times, even after following Christ and being Spirit-filled for many years.
Is it possible? Sure! And maybe there are some. But can anyone honestly tell me that the struggle against the sinful nature died completely when you invited the Spirit to fill you completely?
Folks, it’s a struggle. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, but it can be a struggle.
Temptation to sin is always around, and the enemy is working very hard to trip you up.
In his book, The Prayer of Jabez, Dr. Bruce Wilkinson relates the following story:
“I’ll never forget overhearing a conversation in seminary between a fellow student and my mentor, Professor Howard Hendricks. The student was excited to tell Dr. Hendricks how well his life was going.
“’When I first came here,’ he said, ‘I was so tempted and tested I could barely keep my head above water. But now – praise God! – my life at seminary has smoothed out. I’m not being tempted hardly at all!’
“But Hendricks looked alarmed – not the reaction the student was expecting. ‘That’s about the worst thing I could have heard,’ he told the surprised senior. ‘That shows me that you’re no longer in the battle! Satan isn’t worried about you anymore.’” (p. 64)
I am of the opinion that temptation is a normal part of the active Christian’s life. Obviously, that temptation takes different forms for different people, but it’s there.
If you are not being tempted by the enemy to sin against God, you are probably not living a life of intimacy and effective service for Christ.
Does this mean we should run out and court temptation? Should we go to places or read things that will lead us into temptation just so we can say we’re being tempted? I don’t think so!
Believe me, temptation comes enough on its own, if you are seeking to follow Christ whole-heartedly.
But as I mentioned in the message about freedom, you don’t have to fight the temptation. You can leave it.
2 Timothy 2:22 –
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
1 Corinthians 6:18 –
Flee from sexual immorality.
1 Corinthians 10:14 –
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
Does this sound like we’re to turn around and put up spiritual dukes and fight it out? No! We are to flee these things – flee from temptation. Run for your life!
This doesn’t mean that we’re to live in fear of temptation, it’s just that we refuse to allow it to have our attention and focus.
When you are focusing on the temptation, you are much more likely to fall into the trap.
But listen – one of the most dangerous things you can do is to fool yourself into thinking you are above temptation. It’s just not true. Even Jesus was tempted. Listen to Hebrews 4:15 –
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
Folks, if Jesus was tempted, and if one of God’s desires is for us to be made into His image, as we see in Romans 8:29, then you’d better believe that God is going to allow temptation to come your way.
How will you respond? Will it be with the losing proposition of a spiritual tug-of-war, or will you drop the rope and run?
“But Brian, what about the fact that Jesus quoted Scripture – He didn’t run!”
Okay, you’re right. So if you’re as strong as Jesus, the Son of God, and you can stand a frontal assault the way Jesus did, then go for it. But I don’t pretend to be Jesus and I’m quite honestly not up to that kind of fight.
I do quote Scripture when tempted, but I do it while I’m fleeing the scene!
“But Brian, what about where it says to ‘resist the devil and he will flee?’
Good point. But notice that it doesn’t say to resist temptation. We resist the devil when we refuse to allow his temptations to have their way in us.
Let him get tired of the fight – don’t let him have it.
The first step in winning the struggle is to recognize it and run. The second step to winning the struggle is to…
Recognize the result of sin.
…making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
Romans 6 tells us that when we are outside of Christ, we are slaves to sin. In Christ we are free.
But all too often, those who follow Christ yield themselves to sin, and are captured by it. It’s like voluntarily putting the chains back on, even though they are not ultimately attached to the wall of the cell.
And the more that sin goes unchecked, unconfessed, and unrepented of, the easier it gets, and before you know it, you are caught in the trap, with almost no hope of escape.
Think about an animal trap for a moment. What brings the animal to the trap? Is it just the desire of the animal to have a limb snapped because he had nothing better to do?
“Hey, what’s this? Cool! A steel trap! And boy, do those teeth look sharp. You know, I’ve got this overwhelming urge to step in that thing, just because I’ve heard that it’s fun and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be eaten and turned into a hat.”
No! Traps are either baited or disguised, right? They are either hidden or made to look attractive.
That’s what sin is made up to be. It’s either hidden behind something “innocent,” or it’s disguised as something beneficial.
Sin is attractive. If sin wasn’t attractive, it wouldn’t fool as many people!
And when we follow that attraction, we fall into the trap. And the worst of it is, even those who are following Christ can be sucked into the prison of habitual sin if they are not careful.
What are some other results of sin?
* It can hurt the way you appear to others and their opinion of you as a Christian. Ask any fallen televangelist!
* It can hurt your relationships with people.
Probably everyone here can think of a time when a relationship was strained because one of you hurt the other, right?
And ultimately,
* It can hurt your relationship with God.
Just as sinning against someone else damages that relationship, so too, your relationship with God can be damaged.
You aren’t as close as you once were, and maybe you have even been afraid to come to God to restore that relationship.
Here’s the bottom line here. Sin is detrimental – it’s detrimental to you, to others, and to your relationship with God.
And when you recognize this, you are more likely to avoid the prison of a sinful lifestyle. Recognize the result of sin.
Let’s look at the last step in winning the struggle against sin, and that is to…
Recognize the remedy.
Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!
God is our rescuer. Now that’s good news! God doesn’t just look at us and our struggles, shake His head and go, “Man, when will this guy ever get a clue? When is he going to straighten out his life and be perfect?”
God already knows of our struggles, and He knows we can’t win on our own, so what does He do?
He makes the remedy.
First, He sent His Son to die for our sins, saving us from the penalty we deserve, and breaking the power of sin in our lives, so we don’t have to live as slaves to sin.
Second, He gave us His Holy Spirit so we might be empowered to live holy lives before God.
Listen to Philippians 2:13 from The Living Bible –
For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants.
How’s that for cool?
And here’s how it says it in the God’s Word translation –
It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.
That is good news, isn’t it? We can’t do it on our own, so God works for us and with us.
And the only thing stopping Him is…you. You have to want it so bad that you’re willing to let God have it all.
What does that mean? Well, let’s park there for a moment, okay?
When you gave your life to Christ, you were saved from the penalty you deserve for your sins. Your sins were forgiven, and you were given a home in heaven.
You were also given the Holy Spirit, to live in you. And that’s a wonderful thing.
But there comes a time in your relationship with God when you need to make a decision – a huge decision about just who’s going to run the show. Over in chapter 12 of Romans, we find verse 1, which says…
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
When you come to a point when you are willing to give yourself totally to God, lay yourself on the altar, so to speak, and dedicate your entire life to Him, that is offering yourself as a holy sacrifice.
And I mean more than just dedicating your Sunday mornings to God, I mean the whole enchilada. You dedicate your family to God. You dedicate your money to God. You dedicate your career to God, telling Him He can use you any way He wants, whether it’s through your current career or something else. You dedicate your plans to God. You dedicate it all to God.
Get the picture? When this happens, then the Holy Spirit goes from just residing in you, He becomes the owner, able to do whatever He needs to do in you to make you more like Christ.
In the Wesleyan Church, we call this “entire sanctification.” You give over everything, and the Holy Spirit fills everything.
And it’s at that point that you can finally have real victory in the struggle. Why? Because the Holy Spirit has a free rein to help want to obey God and to help you do what He wants, and to drop the rope and get away from the trap of temptation.
Conclusion
So let me ask you: are you ready to get a move on in your struggle against sin?
Are you tired of fighting against temptation only to lose? Are you tired of looking in the mirror and saying, “What a wretch I am?”
Now you have the opportunity to take a huge step forward by allowing the Holy Spirit to fill you all the way. So that God won’t just be “in” you – He’ll fill you past the point of overflowing.
If that’s what you want, then now’s the time.
In just a moment, I’m going to pray a prayer that you can pray along with me, placing yourself on the altar of your heart, allowing God to take total control, and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill you.
But there may be some of you here today who still have to take that first step – accepting God’s offer for forgiveness of your sins and a home in heaven.
The Bible is clear that everyone has sinned and is in need of forgiveness. And as you’ve seen today, that need for help is still active among those who call themselves Christians.
And just as there’s no way that a follower of Jesus can be perfect in his own power, neither can you wipe away your own sins and be perfect so God will let you into heaven.
And in the same way that God made the remedy for the Christian to win the struggle against temptation and sin because we can’t do it on our own, He has also made the way for you to be made clean.
He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for your sins and for mine. And He has made an offer that anyone who calls on Jesus for forgiveness and a home in heaven will have it, believing that Jesus died and rose from the dead for their sake.
Have you done that yet? If not, then I want to pray for you as well. In fact, what I want to do is pray first for those who would like to leave here today knowing for sure that they will be in heaven someday, and would like to call on Jesus as their Savior.
Then I want to pray for those who are ready to lay their lives on the altar of surrender to God, and ask the Holy Spirit to fill them for holy living and effective service for Christ.
And after we pray, I have a few instructions for those who have prayed to accept Christ’s gift of eternal life. We have some literature we want to give you that will help you firmly establish that new relationship with God.
Let’s pray.
