Rom 7-Two Words We Don't Like

| Two Words We Don’t Like: Law & Sin! Romans 7:12-13

October 1, 2006 (ESV) 12The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.  PRAY Scripture Memory:Romans 8:1 (NIV) – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Intro:Words are interesting… Ten Words That Don't Exist,But Should... AQUADEXTROUS (ak wa dex' trous) - (adj.) Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off with your toes.AQUALIBRIUM (ak wa lib' re um) n. The point where the stream of drinking fountain water is at its perfect height, thus relieving  the drinker from (a) having to suck the nozzle, or (b) squirting her(him)self in the eye (or ear).CARPERPETUATION (kar' pur pet u a shun) n. The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string or a piece of lint at least a dozen  times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then putting it  back down to give the vacuum one more chance.DISCONFECT (dis kon fekt') - (v.) To sterilize a piece of candy you dropped on the floor by blowing on it, assuming this will somehow "remove" all the germs.ECNALUBMA (ek na lub' ma) n. A rescue vehicle which can only be seen in the rearview mirror.EIFFELITES (eye' ful eyetz) n. Gangly people sitting in front of you at the movies who, no matter what direction you lean in follow suit.ELECELLERATION (el a cel er ay' shun) n. The mistaken notion that the more you press an elevator button the faster it will arrive.FRUST (frust) n. The small line of debris that refuses to be swept onto the dust pan and keeps backing a person across the room until he finally decides to give up and sweep it under the rug.LACTOMANGULATION (lak' to man gyu lay' shun) - (n.) Manhandling the "open here" spout on a milk container so badly that one has to resort to the "illegal" side.PHONESIA (fo nee' zhuh) - (n.) The affliction of dialing a phone number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer. 1. The LawWhy we don’t like itWhy we need itHow we misuse it 2. SinWhy we don’t like itWhy we need to understand itThe good that can come from it 1. The Law☞  Why we don’t like itØ    Because it reveals our short-comingsIt makes us look bad, like pointing out where we fell short…Ø    Because it tell us what we can and cannot doWe have already looked at this…Ø    Because we know that we cannot fully keep itIt just isn’t FAIR that we should be given a standard to keep that we are incapable of keeping! ☞  Why we need itReview from August 27th1. The law shows us our sinfulness (it reveals our short-comings).2. The law brings our sinfulness to the surface (it tell us what we can and cannot do).3. The law brings us to see our need of grace (we know that we cannot fully keep it). In v. 11 Paul describes what happened to Him when He understood this concept as being “put to death” (NIV). In v. 9 he says, “I died” (NIV).In other words he finally realized how helpless he was to justify himself through the law. He finally saw how hopeless his sinful condition was.Q: So, why is that a good thing?Because it only then that we are ready to hear and embrace the gospel. As long as we are doing all right, we are prone to trust in ourselves…☞  How we misuse it (How sin deceives us with regards to the law Boice )Ø   Sin causes us to look at the law in terms of externals.Sin gets us to misuse the law, convincing us that as long as we have not sinned outwardly and visibly, we are all right, forgetting that with God the thoughts and intentions of the heart are all important.Ø   Sin causes us to reduce the law to something manageable. (…at least for us)Ø   Sin causes us to pick and choose which parts of the law we will accept and which parts we will reject.Ø   Sin causes us to look at the law as an impossibly high and unrealistic standard, that it is unreasonable, impossible and unjust.Sometimes sin changes its tactics and tells us that everything is hopeless and we might as well keep on sinning. In other words, we misuse the law as an excuse for our disobedience. We think along the lines of: Since its standards are impossible for us to keep, why bother?Ø   Sin tells us that since we cannot fully obey the law and since grace is our only hope, it does not matter whether or not we are holy. It says, “Why don’t you go on sinning so that grace may abound?”  |   | Ø   Sin deceives us by making us angry at the law, feeling that God is against us if he prohibits anything. (…like our children when we say “No”)If He were for us, we think, He would let us do what we want to do and be happy. (Derisive remarks about “morality police”)Ø   Sin tells us that the law is oppressive, It convinces us that the law is keeping us from developing the wonderful gifts and talents we have within us, all of which would emerge if only we did not have to be held back by God’s commandments.Ø   Sin makes us think we are above the law.Sin makes us think very highly of ourselves. It makes us ask why we should be bound by any law. Why shouldn’t we become what Friedrich Nietzsche called a “superman” or a “superwoman” and be a law unto ourselves?Like the temptation to Eve: If you eat the fruit that God told you not to eat…Ø   Sin causes us to view the righteousness which the law describes and prescribes look drab and unattractive. (Puritanical)Ø   Sin causes us to ignore the consequences of willful disobedience to the law. It whispers what Satan said to Eve, “You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). It says that the most preposterous idea in the whole world is hell, forgetting that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of hell more often than anyone else in the Bible. (D. Martin Lloyd Jones)2. Sin☞  Why we don’t like itØ    Because we do not understand itWe tend to think of sin in terms of the more blatant acts of violence such as criminals do. To say that I am a “sinner,” in the minds of many, is tantamount to saying that I am a criminal.We tend to think of sin only a horizontal plane, when in reality it is first and foremost vertical.Ø    Because we understand it only too wellMark Twain…Sin is often, although not always, that which is true about us that we, ourselves, do not like.Ø    Because we want to feel good about ourselves and othersWe WANT to be able to trust people. It is a horrible world where there is no trust, no righteousness. We desperately want a world where there is no sin… If we lose the hope that there is something better for us in the future…Ø    Because it is uglyIt is not pleasant to look upon that which is ugly. We prefer the happy endings. ☞  Why we need to understand itØ    Because it is biblicalØ    Because it is a necessary prerequisite to understanding graceJohn Gerstner, Pittsburgh Theol. Sem.’s retired Professor of Church History, was preaching on Romans and expounding on the law. After the service when he had gone to the back of the church, a woman approached him. She was holding up her hand like this…She said to Gerstner, “Dr. Gerstner, you make me feel this big.”Gerstner replied, “But Madam, that’s too big. That’s much too big. Don’t you know that that much self-righteousness will take you to hell?”Ø    Because only then can we have it dealt withOnly then can we find relief from the guilt and the weight of uncertainty. Only then can we experience true forgiveness and peace with God and with ourselves.Ø    Because only then can we really begin to make progress against itOnly then can we take steps to overcome our sinful tendencies. ☞  The good that can come from itØ    When we finally understand this picture of sin, we die. – So how is that good?!?Until we die to ourselves and to sin, we will not live to God. We CAN not.We cannot see or understand resurrection until we first see and understand death.The Old Testament MUST precede the New – Death, death, death. Judgment on sin and disobedience… and yet God NEVER gives up!As we understand and embrace our total sinfulness, then, and only then, we begin to understand and embrace the fullness of God’s love.The beauty of God’s love and mercy can only be fully seen in contrast to our sin and the judgment we rightly deserve.Comparing the brightness of a flashlight in a dark room with the headlights of a car… and with the sunComparing one Jr. High athletic team with another… and with D-1 college or pro teams. Challenge:Are you willing, this morning to face up to your utter helplessness and sinfulness before a holy God?Are you willing to humble yourself before Him and trust HIM only for forgiveness and righteousness?Are you willing to acknowledge His law as holy and good, committing yourself to grow in your knowledge and understanding of it, both in order to conform to it as well as to remind you of your ongoing need for God’s grace in your life? PRAY   |