Wrestling with Sin

Introduction

Ephesians 6:12 begins by saying, “For we wrestle...” It goes on to share what we are not wrestling against—flesh and blood enemies. However, it continues in demonstrating how Christians are called to engage in spiritual warfare. The truth is most Christians are engaging in spiritual warfare and don’t even know it.

When you make up your mind to do the things of God, understand spiritual warfare is probable.

I want to begin this series entitled Wrestling to speak to the feeling that we are always wrestling against something. The goal of this series is to discover ways we can overcome the strongholds in our life. This series is for those who feel they are always wrestling against something. Even when you feel things are getting better, something else comes up and challenges your peace and favor.

Wrestling with Sin

The key thing that we find in Romans 7 is: not the problem of doing sinful things. Rather, it is the struggle of wrestling with who we are and how that impacts what we do. However, this wrestling match is probably unlike any other wrestling match we will discuss in this series, because this wrestling match is a match with oneself.

Essentially Paul describes the wrestling match as one’s inability to do what they want to do for what they do not want to do (Romans 7:14-24).

1. Any difficulty with sin is essentially a struggle within oneself.

2. My humanity causes me to live in the flesh

3. My fleshly nature leads to sinful desires

4. My sinful desires leads to sinful deeds

5. My sinful deeds leads to spiritual death.

a. My sinful nature necessitates the law of Moses.

b. My sinful nature takes advantage of the good law, and makes what I am not supposed to do enticing.

Solution: Death and the Holy Spirit

1. Death will Christ frees us from the law (Romans 7:1-4).

2. Death into Christ has freed us from condemnation (Romans 8:1)

3. The work of the Spirit frees us from sin and death (Romans 8:2)