No Longer A Slave: Who Can Deliver Me?

Introduction

If you have your Bibles, please turn them to Romans 7. And as you do that, I would like to begin the lesson with an illustration/parable:

I would like you for a moment to picture your life as a room.

Beautiful hardwood floors are swept clean. Sunlight streams through windows. Photos of family and friends hang on the walls. The furniture is arranged just how you want it—for maximum usefulness and comfort. The room is peaceful. It’s just right.

But in a corner hidden by shadows, in a tiny crack between two floorboards, a small, ugly weed has sprouted.

It’s so small. It’s easy to hide. You can cover it with a rug or chair. You can ignore it and downplay its significance. There are so many other good and beautiful things to enjoy in the room of your life.

But the weed grows … and grows.

Its thorny, twisted vines steadily spread across the floor and climb the walls. They wrap themselves around tables and chairs. They even grow over the windows—blocking out the sunlight. Now no part of your room is untouched. Everywhere you turn, the weed has invaded and is choking out life. You feel like a prisoner.

Explanation of parable

The weed in this story represents sin and what it can do in your life if left unchecked. This story illustrates well some wise words regarding sin: that sin will always take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. When we decide to sin, we cannot imagine at that very moment the impact that it can make in our lives…

When a sin enters your life, it may, at the beginning seem so small and insignificant. It is in the shadows. It may be a secret… something you or I are just playing with and can easily be kept hidden. We may make excuses or justifications for its presence. But over time this small and insignificant weed grows, and grows… and grows… the sin that you and I thought “wasn’t a big deal” has now overtaken our lives. It is impacting everything. It is changing us. It takes away our joy and it begins to remove our ability to fight other temptations that we face. It makes us ashamed, so we begin spending less time in prayer… Maybe even less time in scripture because we just don’t find the same joy as we did before when we read it. And it can get to the point that this one sin that began as “insignificant” has completely taken away our hope and makes us feel worthless and without meaningful purpose in life… Feeling trapped… like a prisoner. And nothing that you or I do may do feels like it is able to remove the weeds/sin… It is like the sin has become our master…

May this describe you right now? Is it the case that you have left a sin go unchecked and that this sin has led you to slowly drift away from the LORD to the point where you feel lost? Or is there maybe an addiction in your life that has enslaved you, such as pornography, drugs, food, etc...? Are you asking yourself time and time again: How can I get out of this? Well, the series I am beginning today is designed to answer this question: How can I find freedom again? How can I find my way out of this huge hole I have dug myself into…

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Romans 7

Let’s take a moment and look at Romans 7 this morning. I would like us to apply this passage to the situation that I have been describing, but I would like us to keep in mind the context of this passage. In Romans 7 & 8, Paul provides a contrast between 2 people, the man who is under the law in Romans 7 is contrasted to the man who is in the Spirit in Romans 8. He gives this contrast to further clarify his argument of chapter 6 — that the Christian should not use God’s grace as an excuse to sin. To do so would return you to the spiritual condition that chapter 7 describes.

I would like to read with you verses 9-24 of Romans 7.

“9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the 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. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

Paul describes a serious situation in this passage… There was a time in his life - presumably when he was a child, that he was alive apart from the law. But then he learned and understood God’s will — he learned what sin was and began to understand the guilt of sin. The what happens in this passage is that sin takes control, even using the law against him to deceive him, enslave him, and kill him.

TRANSITION

Look at some of the phrases that Paul described himself while being under the law:

In verses 9-11, he talks about the power of sin - that sin used the law to bring death to him and to kill him. He has been deceived

Also in verse 13, Paul says that sin produced death within him.

In verse 14, he states that he was “of the flesh” and “sold under sin.”

And then in verses 15-20, he described himself under the law as one who has lost control… like sin has taken over. He keeps on doing what he doesn’t want to do. The sin that he says dwells within him has taken over (17). No good dwells in him (18). He is losing the battle to do what is right. Sin is dominating him and enslaving him (23).

This man cannot get out of slavery. He is in a hopeless battle.

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Now at times we may read this and say to ourselves, “Man, I can relate with you there, Paul! This is how I feel right now! I feel like I am fighting that same losing battle.” Maybe you can say this right now about your life… Are you in a vicious downward spiral falling deeper and deeper into sin? Do you feel like you just cannot get out of your current situation — that you cannot get out of the sin that has captured you?

Now if you feel this way, I want you to listen very carefully. This is important, and this point is very sobering to consider. If you read this passage and say that you can relate to what Paul says here right now, remember that this passage is not talking about a faithful spirit-filled and spirit-led Christian. This passage is talking about someone who has no control… sin has become the one in control. this person has been imprisoned and enslaved. This man in Romans 7 is lost and hopeless and needs rescued.

If we would claim to be Christians and we can see ourselves in Romans 7 - if we can identify with this man - then we need help. Just as this man Paul describes here, we are desperate because we are fighting a losing battle that we cannot win on our own. We need someone to deliver us…

The Answer - The Deliverer

Thankfully Paul gives us the answer to how to get out of this condition… Thankfully, he shows us how to achieve victory and freedom…

“24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24 ESV).

Do you see what the answer to getting out of slavery is? Well, let me answer this question first, “Do you see what the answer is not?” Who is not the deliverer?

You! You are not the answer to getting out of slavery… Sometimes this may be what we think. Here is how I can get out of this enslaved state: “If I just add a few more minutes of prayer then I will be able to overcome this.” or “If I just read or study a little more than I can get this sin out of my life.” Or “If I just serve a few more people, then I will be able to have the strength to battle this.” Do you see the issue with all of these statements? Though they may on the surface sound nice, they are ultimately looking at self as the answer to the problem. .If we can only keep the law, then we can get out of it on our own. When we have this attitude, all we are doing is trying to put a band-aid on a problem that really needs a radical life-saving surgery to solve. Just trying to “make-up for our sin” by trying to add a few things back in is like trying to pull a large weed out with a plastic fork or a toothpick. These are often the tools that we try to use to change deeply rooted habits with mere willpower, personal resolutions, and self-centered, worldly sorrow… It is just not going to work… And the reason why is because you and I are not the answer to the problem. Yes, it is true that we have to do things to get out of this prison. We will talk about many changes that we need to make, but we need to understand that we first need to change our mindset about how deliverance comes. But we need to begin all over again by first seeing that we are hopeless on our own. We cannot get out of our enslavement to sin solely by our own will-power and strength. We are desperate for help.

So what is the answer? Who can deliver us from this body of death, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” God is the answer. The work that Jesus has done for us is the answer. We are desperate for His grace.

Lord willing we will talk more about our mindset and our need for grace in the coming lessons, but I want us to see the answer right now if we can identify with the man in Romans 7. You may feel hopeless now, but there is an answer. There is a path to deliverance if you desire it and are willing to sacrifice self in order to achieve it in Christ.

We Need God’s Grace!

So if you are in the hopeless and enslaved condition of this man in Romans 7 because you have not yet obeyed the Gospel or you have returned to sin and have become enslaved all over again, then please pay attention to what I am about to say… No matter how worthless, wretched, and hopeless you feel right now, God has not left you without a way to escape your prison & to be freed from the sin that has enslaved you. God’s offers grace to you! Paul, in Romans 3:23-24, says this:

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24, ESV).

This is what the message of the Gospel — the good news about Jesus is all about. For those who are enslaved and lost in sin, Jesus offers freedom and forgiveness to you through His sacrifice.

Whether you have not obeyed the Gospel or you have been re-enslaved to sin, you are unable to pay the ransom in order to get out of slavery and to remove your sin. Only the blood of Jesus can do that. Jesus paid the ransom to get you out of slavery. He gave his life on the cross so that you don’t have to remain in your current condition. What you need to do today is to decide that you want to be freed from slavery and to allow Jesus to fully remove every sin from your account.

Grace for the Non-Christian

If you have not obeyed the Gospel yet, my encouragement to you is to make that decision today. Make the decision today to repent — to stop living your life all for yourself and to confess Jesus instead as Lord and Master. In Acts 2:38 Peter says to those who have not obeyed the Gospel, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” If you repent - if you decide to make Jesus the ruler of your life, you can have all of your sins removed by the blood of Christ by being baptized. And if you do this, there is a great promise for you. Not only will you be freed — no longer a slave, but Jesus has also promised to give you what you need in order to overcome temptation and sin in the future — the Holy Spirit — God’s presence within you to empower you and strengthen you to overcome. That is God’s promise to you if you will obey the Gospel today.

Grace for the Re-enslaved

And if are one of those who have obeyed the Gospel but have fallen. If you have been re-enslaved to sin, there is still hope for you also. God desires every prodigal son (or daughter) to return to Him. Your sin and rebellion has not changed the fact that he loves you and desires to give you mercy. In 2 Peter 3:9, Peter, speaking to Christians — those who have obeyed the Gospel — says that God is being patient with you — with us — because he does not want you or I to perish in our sin. He desires that each of us who wear the name of Christ to come to repentance.

God’s grace is so powerful. It brings forgiveness and transformation. God’s grace can wipe your slate clean, and it can empower you and equip you to gain victory when you are tempted.

Invitation

My hope and prayer for you today is that you make the decision to seek freedom. Don’t allow sin to continue to harden your heart and to keep you away from gaining freedom in Christ. Don’t leave today without being able to say to yourself and to other, “I am no longer a slave. I have been forgiven by God’s grace.”