The Battle Within! Series

"The Battle Within"

"Knowing Our Enemy" series - Part 3

Text: Gal. 5:16-17; Rom 7:21-23 & Selected

Cross Creek Community Church

July 9, 2000

God’s Word is Powerful, Relevant, and Up to Date!

Galatians 5:16-17 "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."

Romans 7:21-23 "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 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."

Part 1 - KNOWING OUR ENEMY - Sin

Part 2 - KNOWING OUR ENEMY - World

Part 3 - KNOWING OUR ENEMY - Our Old Nature

It is one thing to accept what Christ has done for us - but quite another thing to experience our salvation as personal and real.

* How many believe it is good to read your Bible everyday?

* How many believe it is good to pray every day?

* How many believe it is good to faithfully attend your Church?

* How many has bad habits as a Christian which you struggle with?

Probably everyone would answer YES - I believe that! Now we are beginning to see the crux of our message.

Paul said, the things I know I should do - I don’t do; The things I don’t want to do - I do!

This morning we are going to examine our "inner battle" - the conflict which takes place inside of you. As a Christian we have everyday struggles between our old nature and our new nature. We’re also going to learn from God’s Word how to gain the victory for this type of battle we all struggle with.

The first thing we will look at, are our two natures.

1. The natural, unsaved man is DEAD in sin.

Ephes. 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

* There is no "little spark" of goodness in our naturally born selves - we are dead.

* God says that we are dead in our transgressions and sins. How dead is dead?

* DEAD - totally unable to produce life or righteousness, or to come back to life - dead.

Romans 3:10-12

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good,

not even one."

* We are alienated from God, Hostile to Him, Our sin makes us totally deprived and wanting.

* The whole human race stands before God lost, dead in our sins.

2. The unnatural, saved man is ALIVE in Christ.

Ephes. 2:4-5 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.

* Praise God - God steps into the picture, by sending His only Son Jesus.

* God made us alive in Christ by His grace (unmerited favor, we were DEAD & He made us ALIVE).

* Through the power of the Holy Spirit the fallen Spirit of man is regenerated, new birth, born again, born anew, saved, literally ’born from above’ - God the Holy Spirit does a miracle within us. Personal Salvation.

Titus 3:4-5

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

* God the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer. 1Co. 6:19; Rom 8:5-11; Eph. 1:13-14; Jn. 14:17 and many other passages.

1 Cor. 6:19

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Ephes. 1:13-14

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession--to the praise of his glory.