Romans 7

Introduction

OK, so we are continuing our study series called “Important Chapters of the New Testament.”

The recent situation of having to be broadcast only meant that I had the opportunity to look back in the catalog of past messages and find what I consider to be some of the most important chapters that we’ve studied through.

Hopefully, by the time everyone is feeling comfortable with getting about regular life, we’ll be able to resume our chapter by chapter study of the New Testament.

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So far, in this series, we’ve studied:

The epistle ofJude, dealing with false teachers.

And then there was Revelation 6, dealing with what is mostly known as the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse.

Also Hebrews 7, and how the Old Testament character Melchizedek prefigures Christ.

And also 1 John 3 and love in the Christians life … and then we continued with the theme of love, studying 1 Corinthians 13.

That was followed by a 2 part study through 2 Timothy chapter 2 looking at the expression of grace in a believer’s life.

After that, we looked at the purpose of the law in Galatians 3.

In a study of “Important Chapters of the New Testament” there is no possible way to leave out Romans 8 … but I realized that it’s nearly impossible to study Romans 8 without chapters 6 and 7 … but it’s impossible to do those without chapter 5.So, here we are …

Three Sundays ago we began a study through chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, looking at “the implications of the revelation of God’s righteousness.”

We completed chapter 6 last Sunday, so we are moving into chapter 7 today.

Hopefully by the time we are done with Romans 8, everyone will be comfortable with coming back to services and we’ll be able to start back where we left off in the Gospel of Matthew.

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By the way … and I have to bring this up even though I don’t want to.

When all this started and we suddenly could not gather together for church, many of us continued to give online and by mail.

And that allowed us to keep going.

Whether we are meeting here or not, we still have to pay rent, utilities, broadcasting fees … and we still give into missions.

But last month’s giving was way down.

I’m hoping we can get giving back to where it needs to be to keep everything going here.

Now, we can stop doing this and I can certainly find something else to do … if that’s how the LORD is leading.

But there are very few churches that study the Bible as we do … not leaving anything out … in fact, what we do is not far off from auditing a college level Bible course.

If we stop as a church then I know for a fact that this kind of Bible teaching will be gone from this area.

So, that being said, if you do not give, but benefit from this ministry, please pray about giving.

Under the law, it was a violation not to give.

Under grace, it’s a matter of stewardship and Lordship … an attitude that Paul says allows us to give with a joyful heart, not having to be compelled to do so.

So, I don’t want to compel you … I just am making you aware of the need.

You can give online … very simply and easily and even set up automatic monthly giving by going to www.calvarybirmingham.com and clicking on “Giving.”

Or you can also mail your gift to Calvary Chapel Birmingham, 1738 Morgan Park Road, Pelham, AL 35124.

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I really don’t like talking about giving, so … Enough of that.

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Psalm 19:8 NKJV

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

Introduction:

There is a war that is being waged.

Inside of us are two natures.

Before we received Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, only the flesh ruled.

The flesh lived for and went after it’s own desires.

It sought self gratification only and was incapable of having a relationship with God.

But when we were saved, Paul tells us in Galatians 4:6:

Galatians 4:6 NKJV

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

So then we have a part of ourselves that is spirit – a part that has a permanent relationship with God.

But the flesh has not gone away.

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1. If you keep up with world events, you can easily get the feeling that a very large conflict is eminent.

Today we see that nations are posturing.

And there is a tremendous amount of friction within every nation … battles of culture and ideology.

Governments, if they ever did, seem to no longer be representing the people.

Fear and greed seem to have our leadership held captive.

There is a great churning going on in this world.

2. There is also a conflict happening in the church.

A conflict between sin and righteousness.

Christians, afraid of being different, try very hard to imitate the world.

Christianity is being changed by the culture RATHER THAN changing the culture.

Instead of Christianity advancing on the world, the world advances on the church and blurs the distinctions between the lifestyles of the saved and unsaved.

3. And there is the conflict in every Christian, between flesh and spirit.

For many Christians, a white flag has been raised in the conflict between flesh and spirit.

More and more they are being conformed to this world rather than being transformed by the renewing of their minds.

If that trend is to be halted, we must recognize the conflict that is there between flesh and spirit.

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The Greek word for “flesh” in the New Testament is sarx, a term that can refer to the physical body.

However, when speaking of our sin nature, “flesh” equates to affections and desires that run contrary to God.

The Bible says that humanity’s nature, both the physical and spiritual, were originally good, … but with the introduction of sin, both were adversely affected.

The end result of sin is a nature often referred to as the “flesh” in Scripture - something that opposes God and seeks sinful gratification.

When we come to Christ, the body … the flesh, doesn’t go away.

It’s not like in that late 90’s movie Pleasantville where as soon as people discovered “life” they turned from black and white to color.

The reality of coming to Christ is that on the outside you at first don’t seem any different.

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What happens inside, however, is all out war.

The old nature that ruled before is now troubled by a new nature.

These two natures have to live together until we go to heaven.

And they don’t get along too well.

The flesh still wants to gratify its desires, while the spirit wants to draw close to God.

Please do me a favor.

EXAMPLE: I want you to close your eyes. (Be uncomfortably silent for a few minutes.) I’m still here. No peeking. Is everyone’s eyes closed? Good.

Stop thinking about eating.

Now, did you start thinking about eating?

No, what if I said chocolate or cheesecake?

We are so easily moved by suggestion … and there are a lot of suggestions that come our way all the time.

We may have placed ourselves on a diet … but then we think, “Well, we all need a cheat day.”

That’s much like we do in our spiritual lives.

We start making a list of stuff that we can’t do and we begin to focus on those things.

And the more we focus on those things the more they start looking attractive, we start getting interested in them.

Our thought life gets tied up in thoughts about them.

Then we find ourselves trapped in a pattern of thinking about them.

Finally, we sink into them and though we may desire not to do those things, we have a hard time not doing them.

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The Bible says that living in the flesh produces a number of unfortunate consequences.

First, Scripture states that those who live according to the flesh, and who never desire change or repent from their sinful behavior, will experience separation from God both in this life and the next.

In verse 21 of our last chapter, Paul explained that the outcome of sinful practice is death.

Galatians 6 says, “he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

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Galatians 6:8 NKJV

For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

Secondly, scripture warns that a person becomes a slave to his/her flesh nature leading to a destructive lifestyle and degenerate living.

The prophet Hosea observed, “They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind.”

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Hosea 8:7 NKJV

“They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; It shall never produce meal. If it should produce, Aliens would swallow it up.

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The battle between flesh and spirit is what Paul focuses on in Romans chapter 7.

In chapter 6 Paul helps us realize that we have died to sin by putting it to death on the cross of Christ, … AND that we should no longer offer ourselves as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness.

BUT … That is easier said than done – and Paul knows it.

So, here he compares the two natures that battle within us … and Paul shows us a way to defeat the flesh and give superiority to the spirit.

And that is the goal of our study this morning, … To understand the existence of these two natures and how we can subvert the flesh in favor of the spirit.

To those ends, in our study, we are going to look at:

1. The authority of the Law

2. The purpose of the Law

3. The inability of the Law

And, finally, we are going to talk about:

(4) 8 ways to effectively wage war against the flesh.

But first, let’s pray:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for this new morning, the breath that you have placed in our lungs, the beats of our hearts … You are truly the Living God Who is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. We ask that as we enter into our study of Your written Word that You would give us wisdom and understanding. We pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

BODY PART 1

V1-6

So, here in verses 1-6, we have that first division of our text for this morning which is (1) The Authority of the Law (1-6).

Paul begins this chapter with: A practical example of how the law ceases to have authority in the event of death.

In this Illustration we have two people who are married.

While the husband is living, the wife is bound to him.

But when the husband dies, she is then free to re-marry.

That makes perfect sense, right?

A. The wife represents the believer in Christ.

B. The second husband represents Christ.

C. But the identity of the first husband seems a mystery.

Yet … not really … in fact, if you have been keeping up with our study through the previous 2 studies, you can probably make an educated guess.

If the second husband is Christ and the wife is the believer in Christ, then the first husband (which the wife is no longer yoked to) must be Adam.

This tracks well with the flow of what Paul explained in chapter 5 where there were 2 headships.

Those 2 headships are:

the first Adam, who brought sin into the world

and the second Adam, Who is Christ.

Paul explained to us that the law was given in order to control that nature which we have inherited from the first Adam.

But, as the Apostle Peter expressed at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, the law was a yoke “which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear.”

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Acts 15:10 NKJV

Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

The demands of the law had to be met, but man could not meet them.

Instead, Christ fulfilled the law and died on the cross for our sins.

By believing in Christ we are no longer joined to ‘dead in sins’ Adam, and we are joined to the living Christ.

The first husband is dead.

The second husband always lives.

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As we have seen in our last two chapters … we died with Him and we have been raised with Him.

It is He who is the second husband who enables us to bear fruit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

The Christian is not under the law, but under grace.

There is a story that has been handed down since the time just after the civil war.

Just before the Civil War, a plantation owner died.

His wife was devastated.

She did not want to let go of him, and she had him embalmed, … stuffed … and placed in a glass display case in the foyer.

As you can imagine, her friends were troubled by this and very concerned about her mental welfare.

They intervened and suggested that she get out of town and take a vacation.

Well, she did that and while gone, she met a wonderful man and married him.

He had not been to her home, as she lived alone and he felt it would be inappropriate to do so.

So, after they were married, he carried her across the threshold of her home where they would live together … but, guess who was there staring at them?

They both quickly decided it was time to bury him.

I don’t know if that is a true story, but it is true that there are believers who are trying to keep the law around in a display case.

They try to keep the law by the strength of that old relationship.

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Now the Jews would have thought that obeying the law meant that, “As long as I didn’t do anything wrong, I am okay in God’s sight.”

But Jesus came to reveal that the law isn’t physical – it’s not “what I do or don’t do.”

Instead, it is spiritual – it’s about my attitudes.

Jesus declared that you can’t have a good standing before God by obeying the law – and that’s the point of the law.

The law should tell us to give up on trying to win points with God by what we do or don’t do.

To try to do that is ridiculous because we are joined to Christ and it is now our duty to please Him.

Paul says that We died to the law; but in Christ, we arose from the dead and are now “married” (United) to Christ to live a new kind of life!

And, again, it is He who enables us to bear fruit.

That is, good works befitting our position in Christ.

You can’t bear fruit to God by obeying the law – by obeying any law really – the 10 Commandments, or some other moral code.

Paul tells us that the fruit of our flesh is, “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21).

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Galatians 5:19–21 NKJV

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

That is due to the fact that all flesh is preoccupied with itself.

To bear fruit to God we must have His Spirit living and working inside us.

Paul goes on in Galatians to say that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

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Galatians 5:22–23 NKJV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

John chapter 15 records that Jesus said: If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.

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John 15:5 NKJV

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Peter wrote, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)).

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1 Peter 1:3 NIV84

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

New birth into a living hope ... Not death, but a living hope … new life and it’s not in the law, but from the law of sin unto death.

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Christianity is about forgiveness and salvation ... rebirth and new life that never ends ... It’s about:

(1) Looking forward,

(2) Living forward and

(3) Loving forward.

It’s not a struggle to the top or the attainment of some level, but it’s a simple abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us.

So the key here is abiding in Christ, instead of relying on ourselves, our fleshly nature.

So, what does this mean for us?

Well, it is true that we have been released from the law.

But, we are now “Married” or united with Christ.

We no longer bear a responsibility to the law.

We have a new union with Christ and a need to carry out our responsibility to that union.

This is not about a set of rules.

This is not about striving to reach some set of standards.

When we start viewing all of this as a new call to the meeting of requirements we miss the point.

This new responsibility of our union with Christ is an act of service done out of love and appreciation for God.

The law is an act of rules, this new law that we are under once we accept Christ, is a marriage relationship characterized by a desire to please the other.

The relationship is not about rules, it is not about meeting requirements, it is about serving each other with love.

That is the type of love and respect we are to show toward Christ.

You move from the legalistic, “What do I have to do” attitude, to a submissive, may I even say ‘ready and willing attitude.’

And that is a great realization for us this morning.

Because we are no longer slaves to the law, but belong instead to Christ, we can serve God not out of a requirements, but out of love.

Jesus’ death (and our death with Him) has released us from the nature to which we were enslaved.

Before I became a Christian I sinned because I was a sinner – I had no choice.

Now, Christ has made it possible for me to choose – I can choose not to sin.

Instead I “Serve in the new way of the Spirit.”

The new way is that the Spirit of God now rules my heart – and I rely on His power within me to guide my life, not the passions that once ruled me.

So how does that relate to God’s law?

Does it still exist?

Does it matter?

Next, Paul gives us a startling reality – something that should set each of us free.

BODY PART 2

V7-13

Now we are in our section designated for (2) The Purpose of the Law (7-13).

Here, Paul responds to any potential critics before they even address him.

He knew what his readers would now be asking.

That is, “What is the purpose of the law then?”

“Are you saying that the law is sin?”

“Are you saying that the law is bad?”

Paul has already addressed the purpose of the law.

But for good measure, Paul reminds us that the Law functions to point us to Christ by pointing out our inability to follow it.

The first purpose of the law is to reveal sin.

Without the law we would not know what sin is.

Paul uses the illustration of covetousness and maybe he even struggled with it.

The law said, “Thou shalt not covet” and so Paul knew that covetousness was sin.

Remember with me back to Mark 10.

There, we have the story of the rich young man.

And He said he was a good person.

He never broke any of the major rules.

But then Jesus got to the heart of the issue.

This young man coveted.

More then anything, he loved his possessions.

When Jesus called him out about it, he went away sad, not willing to give up his stuff.

This man had not realized that he was in sin.

Jesus did not use the law to save him.

Jesus used the law to convict him of his sin.

That man then had the option to repent or to stay as he was.

The second purpose of the law is to awaken sin.

Verses 8-9 enunciate this and our children illustrate it.

Have you ever told a 2 year old not to touch something?

What’s the first thing they do?

They go out and touch it.

I’ve heard parents joke about how to get their kids NOT to do something by encouraging them to do it.

Kids will often do the opposite of what we tell them.

And that’s the way the law works.

When we hear we aren’t supposed to covet, our flesh says “Man, I really want something I don’t have.”

Our nature is that in everything, we want to know how far we can go before we sin.

How many glances can I take before its sin?

How far can I go before its sin?

We have this constant desire to break rules.

** “Do not touch” signs in museums make me want to touch.

Speed limit signs make us want to go 5 mph above the posted limit.

I seem to have lost it, but I used to have pictures of a couple of friends from a trip to Israel standing on the other side of a “Do not enter” sign.

We want to do that which we are told not to do.

But you might make the argument that “If I only do wrong when I know its wrong, then let’s do away with the law and I won’t do wrong any more.”

In other words, Let’s blame the “Do not cross” or “Do not touch” signs.

To that matter, why have those rules in the first place, if their very existence makes us want to break them?

A rational person sees how ridiculous that idea is, but let me point it out anyway.

You see, using that argument means we should do away with all speeding laws so that nobody gets any more speeding tickets.

But it doesn’t work that way.

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Just because knowing the wrong makes us want to do it, doesn’t make the law wrong – it points out sin.

The third purpose of the law is to show the sinfulness of sin.

The law helps us to know that which is sin and that which isn’t.

We don’t find justification by obeying it.

In fact as we studied last week, Jesus gave us righteousness apart from the law through His pure life and willing sacrifice.

So we can use God’s moral law as a way to gauge our behavior – but always trust in Jesus to create that rightness in us.

This is where legalism can easily come in.

We may worry about not being able to do this or that.

We may question how far is too far and stuff like that.

But that kind of constant analyzing of boundaries never produces holiness.

In fact, analyzing of boundaries promotes temptation and also a “at least I’m not as bad as him” attitude.

We choose what laws are most important and then we grade everyone else based on that.

What that kind of legalism does is produce problems.

People understand that there is such a thing as sin, if not by the external law, by the internal law of conscience.

What we often fail to realize is the sinfulness of sin.

We excuse sin as “mistakes” or “weaknesses” and because of that, we do not take sin seriously.

In fact in many “seeker sensitive” churches today, you will rarely hear the word sin … but instead “mistakes” or “failure” are softer and less likely to cause someone to not want to return to church.

With the exception of a few, most people like to think that they are “good” people.

We like to think that we don’t do anything bad.

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You know what, … I should restate that.

Most people like to think that they are “basically good” people.

We like to think that we don’t do anything “really bad.”

But the law is the great

(1) Revealer of sin,

(2) Awakener of sin, and

(3) Amplifier of sin.

And it’s (4) fourth purpose is to lead us to Christ.

But we can easily get legalistic about it by focusing on staying away from the “big stuff.”

When we base our Christianity on what we don’t do, we overlook sin in our lives and we fail to realize how sinful our sin really is.

The next paragraph sums up our struggle against sin very well.

BODY PART 3

V14-25

So, we are now in the section of the text that is (4) The Inability of the Law (14-25).

In this section, Paul tells us three things that the law cannot do.

1. The law cannot change you.

2. The law cannot enable you to do good.

3. The law cannot set you free.

Maybe a handful of you remember the Laugh-In Show … I remember it from reruns and “classic tv” stations.

This comedian named Flip Wilson used to do this skit on the old Laugh-In show.

No matter what he did wrong, he always said “The devil made me do it.”

I think sometimes we act like that when we sin.

“Teacher, I copied off of his test because he copied off of mine.”

“Officer, I was going this fast because all the other cars were going that fast.”

I participated because my friend was doing it.

But the truth of the matter is … We do the things we know we shouldn’t do.

We don’t do the things we know we should do.

That’s not the devil, it’s not the speed other people are driving, and it’s not our friends.

Its sin in us … sin that needs to be confessed, forgiven, and cleansed by the blood of Christ through the work of His Spirit.

The law cannot change you.

The law is holy, just, good and spiritual.

These things are all true.

The Law will point out the things that are wrong, but the law cannot change you.

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Paul, a highly educated man who knew the law inside and out, says that the law cannot enable you to do good.

Using himself as an example, he says that:

What he wills to do he does not consistently do … but

What he does not want to do, that he does.

In other words, we may want to do well, but this nature that we have makes it hard to consistently do good.

Does this mean that you’re never able to do anything good?

NO!

This means that despite how hard you try, doing good remains sometimes illusive, and often inconsistent.

When we do good, the good things end up blemished, maybe by pride, maybe something else.

Ever notice how quickly you get sleepy when you start to pray, or how important some activity becomes when its church time?

The devil and those he directs may lead us to sin … but he cannot cause us to sin … that is something we do ourselvves.

That being said, he sure knows how to stack the deck against us.

The law cannot enable you to do good and the law requires perfection.

You try and try, but you still have this bad stuff in your life that will just ruin everything else.

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It’s rare that we get through a whole chapter in one service, but we’ve done that this morning.

Paul is winding this section of scripture up and here he gets to the conclusion.

He is a wretched man, who is trapped and as hard as he tries he cannot get free.

The law does not free you, the law convicts you.

Folks – there is a war going on inside of you.

When we pretend its not there … then sin wins every time – remember: Paul said that in our flesh dwells no good thing.

That sin nature is always there, always working, always “waging war”, trying to make us a prisoner once again of sin.

What a terrible position to be in … Prisoners, and the law cannot set us free.

And so Paul declares, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

Is there any way out – YES THERE IS!

Jesus provides the way to escape the rule of the sinful man.

What does this all mean to us?

Many people will try the way of living the best they can … basing their future on convincing God they should be saved because of their works.

They will try and try and try.

But they will fail.

And then, in order to feel better about themselves, start comparing themselves to other people.

THEN they can say, “Hey, I’m doing good.”

But an examination of the law leads to the realization that we:

(A) Have not kept the law …

(B) Cannot keep the law,

but rather (C) Fail by the law.

This is one of those situations where if you fail once your done … there is no second chance.

The law cannot save you!

When I was in lower school, teachers would sometimes bend rules to be able to offer students a better grade … sometimes a passing grade.

In college, however, most teachers were sticklers for grades.

Even if it meant passing or failing, a grade was a grade.

When the test grades were added up, what you got was what you got.

Period.

The law is the same, except that the only passing grade is a A++ … +.

It’s like that saying, “Give it a-hundred-and-ten-percent.”

You can’t.

We can’t pass by the law.

The good we have done is tainted by this war that goes on inside us.

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we go out and sin and then blame the “flesh.”

(Instead of saying “the devil made me do it,” saying “the flesh made me do it.”)

But we recognize the fact that:

1. There is a fleshly nature,

2. It lives in us, and

3. It wants us to sin.

So – how do we escape this warring that is inside of us?

CONCLUSION

Let’s take a whole look at everything and find out what all of this boils down to.

To do that, we need to consider holiness verses legalism.

Legalism – is asking what do I have to do.

Holiness – is asking what can I do that will honor God.

Legalism – is worrying about how good I am.

Holiness is admitting how bad I am.

Legalism – is comparing yourself with others.

Holiness is comparing yourself to God.

Legalism – is saying I never sinned that bad.

Holiness is saying I have sinned that bad

Legalism – is saving yourself.

Holiness is saying “Help me God.”

Legalism – is saying how bad that person is.

Holiness is saying “for all have sinned.”

Legalism – is saying, “Why do those people deserve my help?”

Holiness is saying, “I do not deserve the help God gave me.”

Holiness is not about a list of can’s and cant’s.

I do not want to fill your mind with stuff you can and cant do.

I want to fill your mind with God’s holiness.

I want your mind to go from, “How many times a year do I have to go to church” to “How can I serve God.”

That is the difference between holiness and legalism.

Are you struggling in this area?

I want you to take a long look at yourself, see if you are struggling and make the correct changes.

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As I mentioned before, this is war!

And we must wage war against the flesh.

I’ve borrowed a few concepts from warfare in order to apply them to this battle.

1. Understand the Purpose

In my lifetime I’ve never seen the US go to war without the government declaring some purpose for it … weapons of mass destruction, whatever.

For us – the purpose is simple:

Remember vs 18?

“I know that nothing good lives in me,” … that is, in my sinful nature.

We need to recognize that our flesh is bad and it will seek to kill us spiritually, if we let it reign.

2. Prepare

“An army travels on its stomach” – a famous saying that tells us we cannot just march into battle and expect to win.

You need provisions and support.

We prepare by:

(1) Reading and remembering God’s Word,

(2) Coming to fellowship,

(3) Praying,

(4) Worshiping.

3. Perform Reconnaissance

We need to survey the world that surrounds us (our universe) to be aware of:

What things will pull us toward the flesh, and What will urge us forward in the spirit.

Look out for mine fields of the flesh and avoid them.

The flesh doesn’t go away, it just goes into hiding.

4. Identify Friend or Foe

Many of us think we can handle the flesh – but you can’t change the flesh, you can only kill it.

That’s why you need to be aware of what’s flesh and what’s spirit in your life.

How do you do that?

There are some general guidelines – check out Galatians 5, and James 3, especially verses 17 and 18.

Basically, that which brings you and others closer to God is of the spirit, those things that drive you or others away is of the flesh.

5. Keep Lines of Communication Open – and Obey Your Commander’s Orders

Keep praying, keep talking to God, keep fellowshipping with other believers who are going through the same struggles as you.

It may not feel good to do battle against the flesh, but you are just following orders.

6. Watch Your Perimeter

When you think your life is pretty stable and the war with the flesh is over – that’s when you need to watch what’s going on in the perimeter of your life.

Your flesh, you see, may be dead, but it sure acts like it’s alive and will strike when you least expect it.

Paul said, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Do not read below:

1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

7. Don’t wait to be attacked

Don’t just sit around waiting for the flesh to rear its ugly head – attack!

Ask God to reveal areas where your flesh rules and then kill them – how?

8. Use Overwhelming Force – but not your force.

Galatians 2:20 NKJV

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Rely on the Spirit.

Ask His Spirit to fill you each day, every day.

Then, desire God, and let Him provide what you need when you need it.

Ephesians 3:16–17 NKJV

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Pray … Paul cries out to the Lord, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

In Revelation 3, speaking to the Lukewarm church of Laodicea, Jesus said:

Revelation 3:17–18 NKJV

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

We need to recognize our miserable state and turn to Jesus so that we can see the truth.

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Next week, we’ll continue into Chapter 8 … and that will complete our important chapters from Romans.

It is good to wrap up with Chapter 8 as it is really the answer to the heart cry of chapters 5,6, and especially 7.

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your love. How immensely thankful we are for Your grace and Your mercies that not only endure forever, but are new with every morning. Your name is holy in our hearts and we pray that Your name would be holy in all the world, to all people and in all nations. We desire Your kingdom and we seek to do Your will. You have provided, and we know that You will continue to provide according to our needs and we thank You. As You love us, teach us to love one another. And as You have forgiven us, help us to forgive one another. Lord, help us to have our treasures in heaven, rather than seeking after our selves here on earth. We ask that You would establish us in all good things. We ask that You would guard our hearts and keep our hands from evil and that You would protect us from the deceptions of our enemy the devil. Thank You for the trials that You graciously see us and grow us through. May You be glorified in our trials. Thank You for being our Great High Priest. Lord, we place ourselves before you to do Your will. Lead us in victory, and use us to spread knowledge of Jesus Christ to the unsaved world.

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