Iliff and Saltillo UM Churches
July 3, 2005
“Why Freedom is Possible”
Romans 7:15-25
INTRODUCTION: When we talk about freedom in our Christian life, we are referring to freedom from the slavery of sin--not freedom to live any old way we please. Today’s scripture was written mainly to Christians who were struggling with the pull of sin. Paul says in verse 15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do.” We goes on to say, “It is not that I don’t want to do what is good, but I just can’t carry it out.”
1. Freedom Is Possible: How do we know that freedom from the slavery of sin is possible? There are several reasons.
People say, “I’ve tried everything and nothing works. Paul realized that knowledge didn’t work, trying to live up to the law didn’t work, self determination or turning over a new left didn’t work. He is saying, “I am at the end of my rope.” Do you ever feel this way?
He gets to the point of desperation when he cries out, “Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (verse 24). He does not say “what” will but rather “who” will rescue me.
He knows the answer because he quickly replied, “Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 25). Jesus not only “can” but “does” rescue us.
Freedom is possible because of what Jesus did on the cross. Most of us don’t comprehend the power of the cross.
Colossians 2:14 says, “He forgave us all our sins having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross. Having disarmed the powers and authorities he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” What does that mean?
He gave us freedom from a long list of laws and regulations. The written code was a business term meaning a certificate of indebtedness in the debtor’s handwriting. This refers to the Mosaic Law and all of its regulations under which everyone is a debtor to God. He canceled the written code.
When we try to solve problems independently of the power of Christ and the enablement of the Spirit, it just doesn’t work. We can’t live up to rules and regulations. Jesus has conquered sin once and for all. Jesus has the better way to do things in spite of our wanting to figure out a better way for ourselves. He offers us a better covenant than we could ever come up with.
Story: The Fox Hunter
An old fox hunter had been extremely successful, but finally decided to retire and go south for the winter. Before he left for his first winter in a warmer climate, an energetic young man came to him and asked how to become as successful as the old hunter was. He offered to buy the old man’s shop, his hunting rights, and even his secrets for successfully hunting foxes. The old hunter agreed. He sold the young man all his goods and carefully told him all the secrets to his great hunting success.
When the old man returned in the spring, he looked for the young man and asked how his first season as a fox hunter had gone. Discouraged, the man admitted that he had not caught a single fox. The old man pressed further: had he followed the instructions given him?
“Well, no,” answered the young man. “I found a better way.”
He disarmed the evil powers and authorities triumphing over them leading them in a triumphal procession. A Roman general would declare evidence of complete victory by marching his captives through the streets of the city for all to see. Christ triumphed over the devil and all of his cohorts by what He accomplished for us on the cross.
Story: In a dream Martin Luther found himself being attacked by Satan. The devil unrolled a long scroll containing a list of Luther’s sins, and held it before him. On reaching the end of the scroll Luther asked the devil, “Is that all?”
“Oh, no,” came the reply and a second scroll was thrust in front of him. Then after the second came a third. But now the devil had no more.
“You’ve forgotten something,” Luther exclaimed triumphantly. “Quickly write on each of them, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ God’s son cleanses us from all sins.”
He not only forgives all of our sins but he also our advocate. He promises to fight for us--to speak up for us. He is like our lawyer. I John 2:1 says, “He is our advocate with the Father.” Our Mediator. The One who speaks up for us. Who speaks to God in our behalf.
I John 1:4 says, “My little children, these things I write unto you that ye sin not (habitual sin). And if a man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation (or atoning sacrifice) for our sins.
We know that Jesus has conquered sin once and for all and he promises that if we look to him we will not have to continually give in to sin. We don’t have to habitually sin over and over again. We can have freedom through Jesus.
2. Why Doesn’t Freedom Come Automatically?: Some people think that when they become a Christian that they will have smooth sailing from there on out. No more struggles, no temptations, no financial problems, no conflicts...But this idea is not scriptural. The old sinful nature is not eradicated just because we become a Christian. The old sin nature is still there trying to get the upper hand. There is a conflict going on just as Paul describes in this chapter. The sin principle is there--it is not necessarily a specific sin but just the human sin nature that lures us to give in to temptation. It lies dormant or relatively inactive in a person’s life until temptation arises and then we give in. The sinful nature keeps a person from doing the good he desires to do. It is not that a person is attempting to escape responsibility. We want to do better so it is not defiance or rebellion or indifference. Rather it is putting your finger on the real culprit--indwelling sin--the sin principle.
The invader has managed to secure more than a foothold--he roams the place considering it his home. Sin is an unwanted tenant for the Christian; but with this master in control, no matter how the person tries within himself to get free, he just can’t carry it out.
A lot of new Christians who experience the conflict, say, “I just might as well give up!” Sometimes they just quit and fall back under the slavery of sin. Paul realizes that freedom does not happen automatically. There is a state of war going on and he finds himself captive.
3. How Do You Make It Work?: We have scripture to support the fact that freedom is possible through Jesus and what He did on the cross for us, but it seems as if in reality we have a hard time grasping this concept. We cave in to the temptations that come our way, we blow it again and again. We, like Paul, desire to do good but do the opposite. We fail to have victory over sin so much of the time. How do we make it work for us? If freedom is possible, how do we come into this freedom?
A lot of the time we do not cooperate. We hold up the process by preferring to go our own way instead of God’s way. In our sinfulness we think we can pull one over on the Lord. We have a tendency to cover up our sins. This is because the old sinful nature is still there.
Story: The drunk husband sneaked up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he’d pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife.
“You were drunk last night weren’t you!”
“No, honey.”
“Well, if you weren’t, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?”
The sinful nature is not eradicated just because we become a Christian. Becoming a Christian does not stamp out all sin and temptation. Being born again takes a moment of faith, but becoming Christ like is a lifelong process. As we grow as a Christian, the old sinful nature becomes increasingly subdued. As the Christian learns by grace to walk in the Spirit. We are never released from the necessity of choosing to go God’s way rather than our own.
The new life of Christ is in you. Matthew Henry said, “Let the life that is in you with the new birth work itself out and express itself in all your thoughts and actions and relationships.
It is not just a matter of regulating the old earthbound life but digging it out by its roots and utterly destroying it. In this way the new life in Christ will have full control over the believer.
Romans 6:14-18 says, “Sin shall not be your master because you are not under the law but under grace...You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” You are going to be a slave to something--either to sin or to righteousness.
Phillip Brooks once said, “No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude. There is no such thing as an entirely free man conceivable.”
Romans 6:6 says, “for we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” Verse 22 says, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness and the result is eternal life.”
CONCLUSION: Freedom is possible because of what Jesus did on the cross--breaking down the barriers that kept us from God, disarming the principalities and powers that held us captive, forgiving our sins and canceling the restrictive written code of the law, and becoming our advocate.
Freedom doesn’t come automatically because the old sinful nature is not eradicated when we become a Christian. There are still struggles and conflicts.
We come into freedom as we yield to the Spirit and live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When we make daily decisions to go God’s way rather than our own way, we see the old sinful nature coming under the control of our new master, Jesus, and becoming stronger and stronger to enable us to defeat sin.
Remember that Freedom is Indeed Possible for us because of Jesus.
