Me, Myself, and Jesus

They are then asked to complete tasks together, like eating a bowl of soup, combing their hair, brushing their teeth, washing their face, writing something down, etc.

The game is fun to play and funny to watch because the arms and the body belong to two different people. In other words, it is as if those arms have a mind of their own:

The concept is funny to us and borders on the ridiculous because you and I like to think that we are in control of ourselves.

My arms do what I tell them

My feet do what I tell them

I only do the things that I want to do/say the things I want to say/think the things I want to think

TRANSITION:

As we have moved through the book of Romans, we have been challenged to examine everything about ourselves.

We have seen that all of us are born with a basic knowledge of God, our creator, and that we can see evidence of Him in His creation around us

We’ve talked about how sin entered into the world, and how, by our own choice, each and everyone of us have sinned- we have broken God’s law and fall short of glorifying Him as He created us to do

The whole world suffers the consequence of our sin against God

There is nothing that we can do on our own to make up for what we’ve done wrong

We’ve talked about the purpose of God’s law, which brings us understanding of our wrongdoing and our desperate need for salvation

We’ve talked about the penalty of death that we deserve for our sins

We have seen that, because of God’s great love for us, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on our behalf to pay for our sins, so that we can have forgiveness of sins

that, in Christ, we die to our sin and come alive with Christ so that we now serve a new master.

And in all of these things, we have continually been pointed to evaluating our lives with eyes wide open because the fruit of your life shows whether or not you are saved

Your works do not save you, but if you are saved, you will have works

Your life is producing one of two things: good fruit or bad fruit

The fruit your life is producing reveals the master you are serving

This discussion of what we do and what that means is exactly where we find ourselves this morning, as we return to Romans, chapter 7

Romans 7:14–25 NASB95

For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Pray, invite the church body to sit.

*LISTENING GUIDE OUT

This is a tongue twister of a passage: Many people find this confusing, and so they respond to it in one of two ways:

At best, they kind of gloss over it, without digging in too deeply

At worst, they use what they perceive Paul to be saying as an excuse for carnal living

The confusion is understandable, because Paul seems to be contradicting himself

I do what I hate, but don’t do what I love: This would seem like an easy fix

He seems to say I love God, but keep sinning! If Paul couldn’t stop sinning, I’m okay in my sin as well

But in this passage, what we find is a fabulous explanation of our nature as human beings and why we so desperately need Jesus.

To help us better understand it all, we’re going to break this down into three basic parts. Let’s look at the first one:

Romans 7:14–17 NASB95

In this first section, what we need to see is this:

My actions are controlled by my master, and the master I chose is sin

The critical piece in understanding this entire passage is right here: You and I are slaves to sin by choice

We may be powerless to get out of slavery on our own, but we chose to go into it

A slave doesn’t base actions on right or wrong, but on the master’s will

There is an inner longing, a desire deep within us to be right with God, but our master forbids it

We were made in His image

The truth of His goodness is all around us

We know the truth when we hear it, and the truth is confirmed every time we break God’s Law, but we can do nothing to stop ourselves

The reason this is so important is that my will power is never going to be enough to stop me from sinning against God. My desire to do good will never get me there. I need transformation. You need transformation. We need a new master.

Let’s continue: Look at verse 18 with me

Romans 7:18–20 NASB95

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

The proof is in the pudding, right? Actions speak louder than words

What we see when we continue to sin and to do evil against God’s Law is our second point this morning, that,

My service to sin proves that there is no good in me

In our heart of hearts, each and everyone of us wants to believe that we are good people

Illustration: Doorway survey at Walmart: everybody is a good person.

It calls back to the fact that we were made in God’s image

but what does verse 18 say? NOTHING GOOD DWELLS IN ME!

in my flesh, in this earthly man, there is nothing good.

In other words, there is no such thing as a good person

I may want to do good. I may intend to do good, but my will is not enough

John 15:5 NASB95

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Jesus told us that if we want to make good fruit, we have to abide in Him

Apart from Jesus, we are incapable of doing any good at all

We caused the predicament, so we can’t lean on our inability to stop as an excuse

“That’s just the way that I am”

If we want to do good, to see good fruit in our lives, there is only one solution:

He must be our home

We need a new Master: Look at the last section of the text, starting in verse 21:

Romans 7:21–25 NASB95

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

The last point that I have for you this morning, and the solution to this conundrum is this:

Making Jesus my Master is the only way I can make good fruit

If you and I want to do good and not evil, we need a new Master, Jesus Christ

It isn’t enough to merely claim freedom! We have to walk in such a way as to follow our new master.

You can agree with the law without obeying it- Illustration: seat belts

Darkness and light cannot occupy the same space; and our actions come out of the heart:

Matthew 15:19 NASB95

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

We need a new heart and a new nature that can only come through Christ Jesus our Lord

1 John 4:4 NASB95

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

This is not an easy fight. Overcoming sin is a war that you must wage

Ephesians 6:12 NASB95

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

This section in Romans points us to the fact that we are incapable of doing good on our own

Jesus didn’t come simply to free you from your chains, He came to be your new Master

He came to lead you away from how you once lived and into doing good works and sharing Good News

INVITATION:

On our own, you and I are left to fight a war we can’t win

We have no recourse but to cry out with Paul, “O, wretched man that I am!”

Only Jesus can free us from this war of sin

This morning, Don’t be content to stay as you are: choose to follow a new Master

Choose to follow Jesus into the life and ministry you were created to do

Come to Him today, and let Him give you a new Nature!

And if you already know Jesus as Savior, it is time to let Him be Lord

Don’t just sing that you are saved, and pray that you are saved, but live like you are saved

All of us are making fruit in our lives. This morning, won’t you let your fruit be good?