Keep On Struggling.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] in Jesus’ name, amen.

[0:03] Amen, we’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:06] Welcome, my name’s Nate, I’m one of the pastors [0:09] here at Village Church and it is good [0:11] to be with you this morning. [0:13] I hope you’ve been having a good Independence Day weekend [0:16] and we’re gonna be jumping right back into our series

[0:18] going verse by verse through the letter [0:20] of Romans this morning, so you can go ahead [0:22] and turn to Romans seven. [0:24] The last time we met two weeks ago, [0:26] we had a great picnic last week, [0:28] but when we were gathered two weeks ago,

[0:30] Steve talked about the war on sin [0:32] that Paul describes in this chapter [0:34] and so you can actually consider this week [0:36] a little bit of a part two to that. [0:38] We’re gonna be continuing our discussion [0:40] of what that war on sin looks like here

[0:43] in Romans chapter seven and how exactly [0:45] do we wage that war on sin and what it’s gonna come down to [0:48] is a lot of struggle and I think what Paul has for us [0:51] in this chapter is super, super helpful [0:53] with some things that we all struggle with [0:55] in the Christian life.

[0:56] And what we’ll find in this section of scripture [0:59] is that a big part of fighting sin is understanding [1:01] that we’ve got a new identity in Jesus [1:04] that’s separate from our old sin identity [1:06] and we need to learn to think correctly [1:08] about our new identity in Jesus

[1:10] and how we think about our sin now [1:11] that we’re followers of Jesus. [1:14] But before we get back to chapter seven, [1:16] we need to take some time here [1:17] just to set the stage a little bit [1:19] and remind us of some of the things that Paul talked about

[1:23] back in Romans chapter five and six, [1:25] because those, five and six, [1:26] because those are just gonna be crucial for us [1:27] to understand the point he’s trying to make here [1:30] in chapter seven as he discusses his struggle with sin. [1:33] But remember that a major theme

[1:35] of those two chapters, five and six, [1:37] was Paul explaining everything that was accomplished [1:39] through the death and resurrection of Jesus [1:41] for the believer in Jesus. [1:44] We were dead to our sins, but Jesus rose again, [1:47] he’s alive and because he’s alive,

[1:49] we can be alive too if we put our faith [1:51] and our trust in him. [1:53] With Jesus, we have a future hope [1:55] that he will raise us to new life [1:57] and that hope is so secure and so certain [1:59] that the Bible actually talks about that

[2:01] in terms of we were once dead to sin, [2:03] but now we’re alive in Jesus. [2:06] And so in chapters five and six, [2:07] Paul presents all of this very vivid, [2:10] very stark imagery of death and life. [2:13] There’s not really a lot of middle ground there.

[2:15] We were once dead in our sins, we were once dead [2:18] and now we’re made alive, alive to Jesus [2:20] in this new life that we’re to walk in. [2:24] And being made alive in Jesus also makes us, [2:26] he says dead, many, many times he says [2:28] it makes us dead to our sins,

[2:30] the ways that we once lived. [2:31] And now we can worship God like we were made to do, [2:33] we can live for God’s purposes and be obedient [2:36] to the things that God’s called us to do. [2:38] He says we’re a new creation, the old is gone. [2:41] We’re to walk now in this newness of life

[2:44] that Jesus has made us alive to. [2:46] And this contrast between death and life [2:48] in chapters five and six is very stark [2:51] and it’s supposed to be that way. [2:52] Without Jesus, there’s only death, [2:54] but with Jesus we have life

[2:56] and we have the only true hope that there is. [2:59] And so we’ve got this very vivid, stark imagery [3:02] of what it means to be saved, moving from death to life. [3:05] We’re supposed to be dead to our sin now, [3:08] yet we still sin. [3:09] And that’s the problem that Paul’s addressing

[3:11] in Romans chapter seven. [3:13] If this process of being brought from death to life [3:16] is so vivid and it’s so certain and it’s so sure, [3:20] why do we still continue then after that [3:22] to struggle with sin? [3:24] If we’re supposed to be dead to sin,

[3:25] why does sin seem to be so alive still in our life? [3:29] And that’s what Paul’s addressing in chapter seven [3:31] is why I think it’s so helpful for all of us today. [3:35] I’ve been in all different kinds of small groups [3:38] and Bible studies over the last 15 years. [3:40] And every time, once the group gets to that place

[3:43] of being real with each other [3:44] and talking about what they’re really struggling with, [3:46] it always comes up that one of the biggest frustrations [3:49] that we have as followers of Jesus [3:51] is this very concept that we believe [3:55] what Jesus said is true.

[3:57] We believe his word. [3:58] We believe that the life that he would have us live [4:00] of obedience and following him on mission [4:03] and obeying his commandments, we believe him, [4:05] that that would lead to the best life [4:07] we could possibly have.

[4:08] And yet at the same time, [4:10] as true and as certain as we believe those things, [4:13] we still struggle to do that [4:15] in the day in and day out of everyday life. [4:17] We still sin, we still fail to pray [4:19] like we know that we should.

[4:20] We still fail to read God’s word [4:22] like we know that we should, [4:24] like we know that we’re gonna get so much out of it [4:26] and yet why do we read it so little? [4:28] There’s this frustration of the truth that in our core, [4:32] we believe is true about everything that Jesus says

[4:34] and yet at the same time, [4:35] why do we fail to act on that belief? [4:38] Why do we fail to follow through [4:40] on those promises that God has for us? [4:44] And so I think that frustration is really evidenced [4:47] here in Romans chapter seven from the apostle Paul,

[4:50] who we would all kind of categorize as a super Christian, [4:54] this guy who was so on mission, [4:56] so got what the Christian life was about [4:58] and yet he had that same struggle. [5:00] Why is he failing to do the things that in his core [5:03] and his inner being, he wants to do so bad to serve Jesus?

[5:07] There’s this tension between the promises [5:09] that we see in scripture [5:11] and all that Jesus’ resurrection gives us [5:13] and what it means to be brought from death to life [5:16] and we know that those promises are true [5:18] and the language of the Bible is so vivid

[5:20] and so certain about our victory over sin. [5:23] It seems like we should see this massive immediate change [5:27] but we still struggle and we still sin [5:29] and so the question of why is that [5:32] is what Paul’s addressing in Romans seven. [5:34] That’s why I think it’s so helpful for us today.

[5:36] So let’s jump in, we’re gonna kind of do [5:38] a little bit of a review and then finish out the chapter. [5:41] We’re gonna start in verse 15 in Romans chapter seven. [5:46] So there Paul says, [5:47] “’For I do not understand my own actions, [5:50] “’for I do not do what I want,

[5:52] “’but I do the very thing I hate. [5:54] “’Now if I do what I do not want, [5:56] “’I agree with the law that it is good. [5:59] “’So now it is no longer I who do it, [6:01] “‘but the sin that dwells within me.’” [6:04] So like I said, this is a little bit of review

[6:06] from our last message in Romans [6:08] but I just wanna remind us the struggle with sin [6:11] is a very real struggle and I think again, [6:13] we can all relate to this. [6:15] I’ve never been in a small group or a Bible study [6:18] where people don’t relate to this struggle

[6:20] and Paul is talking about that exact struggle that we have. [6:23] We believe in Jesus, we trust in Jesus, [6:25] but we still sin and we don’t understand our own actions [6:28] because we’re doing this very thing [6:30] that we know in our inner being we hate. [6:33] Remember the same guy who in chapter five and six

[6:36] wrote all this vivid language [6:37] about being moved from death to life. [6:39] He’s the same guy that now in chapter seven [6:41] is writing this struggle that he’s having [6:43] with doing the very things [6:45] that he just finished writing about

[6:46] that he knows are so true that he wants to do. [6:49] He’s not always seeing that change happen. [6:52] And so then if you look at verse 16, [6:55] what Paul’s pointing out here [6:57] is really key to where we’re headed. [6:58] The fact that he doesn’t want to sin,

[7:00] that means that he agrees that the law is good. [7:04] And what that means right there is Paul has changed [7:06] because people who are still dead in their sins [7:09] don’t agree that the law is good. [7:10] Paul in his, what he considers kind of his real self, [7:14] his inner being, his mind,

[7:15] he believes that the law is good. [7:17] He believes that sin is gonna harm him. [7:20] So he has seen real change, [7:22] but then right there in verse 17, [7:24] he says, but I’m not doing it. [7:25] And he even kind of says it in an interesting way.

[7:27] It’s not him that’s doing wrong. [7:29] It’s the sin inside of him that dwells inside of him [7:33] that it does what he doesn’t wanna do. [7:36] And so the first thing that I want us to see this morning [7:38] is when we’re alive in Jesus, sin no longer defines us. [7:42] Because what’s happening here in Romans 7

[7:45] is Paul’s talking about an identity change [7:47] that’s taken place in the life of a believer. [7:50] Paul’s identity has changed. [7:52] He used to be dead in his sin. [7:54] He used to not think that the law was good in that way. [7:57] He used to sin without having any thought about it.

[8:01] And now he doesn’t, he doesn’t wanna sin, [8:03] but he’s conflicted over it. [8:04] His identity has changed. [8:05] He used to be dead to sin. [8:07] His sin used to control him. [8:09] But he’s not dead to sin anymore.

[8:11] He wants something different. [8:12] And what’s happened is sin doesn’t define who he is anymore. [8:15] And he kind of recognizes now on the other side [8:18] of salvation, sin used to define who he was. [8:20] Sin used to be all that he was. [8:22] All he was gonna ever face was judgment for his sin,

[8:24] but that’s not the case anymore. [8:26] And so his sin no longer defines him. [8:30] That’s not who he is now that he’s alive in Christ. [8:33] But he’s still got that old sin nature dwelling in him. [8:36] And there is a separation here between Paul [8:38] and who he considers his real self to be,

[8:40] his identity in Christ, [8:41] who he really is, secure forever in Jesus, [8:44] and the sin that he still struggles with [8:46] in this world here on earth. [8:48] And he’s got the separation between, [8:50] you can see it in his writing,

[8:51] between himself and the sin that dwells in him [8:53] that he’s struggling with. [8:56] And so kind of fleshing that out, [8:58] I think is really gonna help us understand [9:00] how we are to struggle with our sin, [9:02] and how we are to wage that war on sin

[9:04] that Steve talked a lot about the last time we met. [9:08] But as we’re trying to figure out [9:09] what’s going on in this passage, [9:10] one thing I wanna kind of cut off right here [9:12] is we have to be clear that Paul’s not [9:14] giving an excuse for sin.

[9:15] That’s not his intention. [9:17] He’s not trying, in that verse 17 there, [9:19] he’s not trying to minimize the seriousness of sin. [9:22] He said twice in chapter six, [9:24] should we keep on sinning so we can get more grace? [9:26] And his answer to that was absolutely not, by no means.

[9:29] That’s an absurd idea. [9:31] People who are born again in Jesus, [9:33] people who are alive and dead to their sin, [9:35] they don’t think that way. [9:37] So you can’t take the language that Paul’s using [9:39] and say that sin is not a big deal

[9:42] because it’s not us doing it. [9:44] There in verse 17 where Paul says, [9:45] it’s no longer I who do it, but the sin that dwells in me. [9:48] He’s not using that as a way to kind of get out [9:50] from the consequences of his sin. [9:52] That’s not what he means.

[9:54] He’s never said that he’s not responsible [9:55] for his sin at all. [9:57] It’s not that he doesn’t think his sin is a big deal. [9:59] His very frustration in this last half of Romans seven [10:03] is because of how big a deal he thinks his sin is. [10:06] That’s why Paul is so frustrated with it.

[10:10] He’s just thinking about his sin in a very different way now. [10:13] Sin is in him, but it’s not his identity. [10:15] He doesn’t view it as who he is anymore. [10:18] Let’s read on in verse 18. [10:20] I think this comes even more clear. [10:23] He says, for I know that nothing good dwells in me

[10:25] that is in my flesh, for I have the desire [10:28] to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [10:32] For I do not do the good I want, [10:35] but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing. [10:38] Now, if I do what I do not want, [10:40] it is no longer I who do it,

[10:41] but the sin that dwells within me. [10:43] See that same phrase there at the end. [10:45] Paul is clearly a conflicted man in this passage. [10:48] Is he not? [10:49] I mean, he is. [10:50] In previous chapters, he’s just been talking about

[10:52] how he’s dead to sin now and a slave to righteousness. [10:56] He was once a slave to sin, now he’s a slave to Jesus. [10:59] And now here, it’s almost like he’s saying [11:01] that he can’t help but still sin sometimes. [11:04] He says he doesn’t have the ability [11:06] to carry out what is right.

[11:08] And that really seems to conflict [11:10] with the idea of us having victory over sin [11:13] and the death to sin that we see Paul describing [11:16] in chapter six, that stark language [11:18] of being brought from death to life, [11:20] we were talking about earlier.

[11:22] Sin sure seems to still be alive to Paul here [11:25] in these verses, doesn’t it? [11:28] But if we look a little closer, there’s a key difference. [11:30] And it’s in that way that Paul’s talking about his sin now [11:33] as something separate from himself. [11:35] Notice verse 20.

[11:36] Paul says it’s no longer him disobeying, [11:39] it’s the sin that dwells inside of him. [11:41] And what’s happening here is Paul [11:42] is no longer defined by his sin. [11:45] Again, when we’re alive in Jesus, [11:47] sin no longer defines us.

[11:49] This life that Jesus has brought about in Paul [11:51] has so changed him that the sin nature he still has [11:55] and still struggles with feels completely foreign to him. [11:59] This conflict with the other passages in scriptures [12:02] about this idea of going from death to life, [12:04] it actually, I think, helps us to understand this passage

[12:07] because it can be hard to understand [12:10] how we can be dead to something [12:11] but still struggle with it, as Paul is seeming to do [12:15] right here. [12:16] But what’s happening is before Jesus, [12:18] our sin was who we were.

[12:20] We were tied to it, we were responsible for it, [12:23] and ultimately, and this is the big thing, [12:24] we were going to pay the penalty for it. [12:27] But when we get Jesus, when we share in his resurrection [12:30] because of our faith in him, [12:31] Jesus takes on the penalty for our sin.

[12:34] That sin is paid for, it’s not who we are anymore. [12:38] And our sin becomes separate from us [12:40] like Paul is describing here because Jesus has paid for it. [12:43] He’s paid for it in the past, [12:44] he’s paid for it in the present, [12:45] he’s paid for it in the future.

[12:47] And so that sin nature that has, in a very real way, [12:51] died on the cross with Jesus is no longer who we are, [12:55] even though we’re still gonna be struggling with it [12:57] because Jesus has paid for it, it’s not us anymore. [13:00] And so it’s almost as if Paul is feeling [13:02] this foreign entity called the flesh and sin is in him now

[13:06] and doing what he doesn’t agree with. [13:08] And so he doesn’t make an excuse for it. [13:10] You don’t see him make an excuse for it [13:12] anywhere in this passage, but because he’s in Christ [13:14] and because Paul is a new creation, [13:16] this indwelling sin is still in him,

[13:18] but at the same time, it’s this foreign thing to him [13:21] and it doesn’t define who he is. [13:25] Let’s look at this from a little bit of a different angle. [13:28] I don’t think I need to prove to anyone in here [13:31] that we still sin. [13:32] I mean, I think that’s something that we get.

[13:34] If you’re married, ask your spouse, we still sin. [13:37] Like we get that we still sin. [13:40] But one of the biggest problems that often arises [13:44] as an objection to this passage in Romans seven [13:46] and trying to figure out what Paul [13:48] exactly is talking about here,

[13:50] is it seems like this conflicts way too much [13:52] with other verses that say that we’re set free from sin. [13:56] For instance, a lot of times a passage [13:58] that will be brought up in objection [14:01] to figuring out what Paul’s talking about in Romans seven [14:03] is first John one verse five.

[14:06] So go ahead and look at that. [14:08] It’ll be on the screen and you can turn to it. [14:10] And John, in first John one five says, [14:13] this is the message we have heard from him [14:15] and proclaim to you, [14:17] that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

[14:21] If we say we have fellowship with him [14:22] while we walk in darkness, [14:24] we lie and do not practice the truth. [14:27] But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, [14:29] we have fellowship with one another [14:31] and the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us from all sin.

[14:35] So see right there, it says Christians [14:36] can’t walk in the darkness. [14:39] That’s proof that we’re not gonna struggle with sin [14:41] like Paul does here in Romans seven. [14:43] He must be talking about something else, right? [14:45] Well, just read on to verse eight in first John one.

[14:49] There John says, if we say we have no sin, [14:52] we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. [14:55] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just [14:57] to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us [15:00] from all unrighteousness. [15:01] If we say we have not sinned,

[15:03] we make him a liar and his word is not in us. [15:06] My little children, I am writing these things to you [15:08] so that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin, [15:12] we have an advocate with the father, [15:14] Jesus Christ the righteous.

[15:17] So I don’t really see a lot of conflict here [15:19] in what John is writing with what Paul is writing [15:22] in Romans seven. [15:22] Actually, I think it lines up very well together. [15:25] John is saying we shouldn’t sin, [15:27] we can’t walk in the darkness and have fellowship with God,

[15:30] but we do sin and for that very reason, [15:32] that’s why we need the righteousness of Jesus [15:35] to cleanse us and Jesus does that. [15:38] And after he does that, because he does that, [15:40] we shouldn’t want to sin anymore after that. [15:43] But if we do and we will,

[15:44] which is basically what John says there, [15:47] Jesus is there and he’s our advocate [15:48] and he will be advocating for us, [15:50] continuing to give us his grace and his righteousness. [15:52] So John is just saying, yes, [15:54] sin is not a part of the believer’s life.

[15:56] There can have no place in the darkness for the believer, [15:59] but you’re gonna sin and that’s why you need [16:01] Jesus’s righteousness. [16:02] That’s why you need him to continue giving you [16:05] his grace and being an advocate for you. [16:09] So here’s the thing, we know that when the Bible talks

[16:12] about being dead to sin, again, [16:15] that phrase death to life all over Romans chapter five [16:18] and six and many other places in scripture, [16:20] when the Bible talks about being dead to sin [16:23] and brought to new life, [16:25] it’s not talking about never sinning.

[16:28] So what’s the Bible talking about then [16:29] when it says that we’re dead to sin? [16:32] Does that simply, does being dead to sin [16:34] simply mean that we sin less? [16:37] I don’t think that really fits. [16:38] The idea of just moving from I used to sin a lot,

[16:41] now I sin a little bit less, [16:43] it doesn’t really seem to fit the word picture there [16:45] of being brought from death to life. [16:48] So what’s the scripture talking about [16:50] when it says we have new life in Jesus [16:51] and we’re now dead to our sin?

[16:54] I think the answer we find in Romans seven [16:58] is that being dead to sin looks like struggling with sin [17:01] like a person who has sure victory over it [17:04] because of the victory Jesus has won, [17:05] like a person who does not identify with that sin anymore [17:09] because it’s not who he or she really is

[17:12] because they’re now a new creation in Christ. [17:14] That struggle, that not identifying with sin anymore [17:18] is who we are. [17:19] Seeing ourselves as a new creation in Jesus and our sin [17:23] as a separate thing that is not us anymore, [17:25] that struggle, I think, is what scripture means

[17:28] when it’s talking about being dead to sin. [17:31] I go ahead and turn with me back to Romans seven [17:34] in verse 21 and we’ll keep going here.

[17:38] Paul says, so I find it to be a law [17:41] that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand [17:44] for I delight in the law of God in my inner being [17:47] but I see in my members another law [17:49] waging war against the law of my mind [17:51] and making me captive to the law of sin

[17:54] that dwells in my members. [17:57] So look at some of the language Paul uses here. [17:59] He says his inner being delights in the law. [18:02] So that’s who he considers himself to be, [18:05] his real self, it delights in the law. [18:06] He doesn’t want to sin

[18:07] but his body is waging a war against his mind. [18:11] So he’s talking about his body is waging a war [18:14] against the real him and there’s this deep struggle in him [18:17] to serve and follow Jesus. [18:19] And I think what we see here from Paul [18:22] is what being dead to sin looks like in practice

[18:25] in the here and now and where we find ourselves [18:29] in life following Jesus after he saved us. [18:31] This is what being dead to sin looks like. [18:33] It’s an intense struggle with sin [18:35] and understanding that though we still have [18:38] indwelling sin in our bodies,

[18:39] it’s not a part of who we really are anymore. [18:43] And sin doesn’t define us because Jesus has paid for it now [18:46] and his promise to remove sin from us completely [18:49] in the future is so sure it’s as if we can speak [18:52] about being dead to sin in the here and now. [18:55] And so because of that, the next thing I want us to see

[18:57] this morning is that people who are alive [18:59] will keep struggling. [19:01] People who are alive will keep struggling. [19:03] When we start to recognize our struggle with sin, [19:07] that’s exactly the time we need to keep pressing forward [19:10] towards following Jesus and towards continuing

[19:13] in that struggle. [19:14] And that’s the time when we need to think [19:16] like Paul thinks in Romans seven, [19:17] this sin that we’re struggling with [19:19] is not who we really are anymore. [19:20] It’s separate from our real self.

[19:22] It doesn’t define us. [19:23] We need to press forward in following Jesus [19:26] and waging war against that sin [19:27] and all those ways Steve talked about [19:29] in the last part of Romans seven. [19:32] But I’m afraid a lot of times

[19:34] when we really recognize our struggle [19:36] is the time when we back off, [19:38] when we start to feel like something’s wrong [19:40] in our spiritual life. [19:42] And so this morning, if nothing else, [19:43] I want to encourage you to keep struggling.

[19:45] And I wanna spend some time looking at how [19:48] we can struggle well with that sin [19:50] that doesn’t define us anymore. [19:52] Because if you’re struggling, you’re alive. [19:54] Dead people don’t struggle. [19:56] Alive people struggle with sin.

[19:58] And I think what this passage is saying [20:00] to us this morning is if you’re alive in Jesus, [20:02] you are dead to your sin, [20:03] but you’re still gonna have to fight it [20:05] until that future hope when Jesus returns [20:07] and makes everything new.

[20:09] So keep on struggling. [20:10] The struggling is how you know you’re alive [20:12] and a live person would never allow this foreign thing, [20:15] this sin nature to invade their life [20:18] and just control them. [20:19] A live person wouldn’t put up with that.

[20:21] So if you’re struggling, it means you’re alive. [20:23] Dead people don’t struggle. [20:26] And I don’t think we can keep struggling [20:27] unless we identify sin as something foreign to us [20:31] like Paul does in Romans seven. [20:33] Paul’s language in Romans seven,

[20:35] sin is this alien thing coming into his life [20:37] that he doesn’t want there. [20:39] And I think we’ve gotta learn to think of sin that way [20:42] because otherwise after a while, [20:44] what happens mentally, what happens in our lives [20:46] is we just give up.

[20:48] We just throw our hands up and say, that’s it, [20:49] I can’t do it. [20:50] This is just who I am. [20:53] God’s just gonna have to still love me anyway, I hope, [20:56] because even though there’s all these verses that say, [20:58] if I’m his child, I’ll follow his commandments,

[21:01] I’ll walk in new lists of life, I just can’t do it. [21:04] The sin is who I am. [21:06] So it’s just gonna have to be the way it is. [21:07] I hope Jesus still loves me. [21:09] He does still love you, [21:10] but that’s not the attitude that we’re supposed to have.

[21:13] Like we’re never supposed to have that attitude. [21:15] And I think seeing our sin as this separate, [21:18] foreign, alien invading force in our lives, [21:20] it’s not supposed to be there anymore [21:22] because now we’re defined by Christ. [21:23] That’s what helps keep us from having that attitude of,

[21:27] this is just who I am, God’s gonna have to love me anyway. [21:30] We need to fight our sin like Steve talked about last time. [21:34] In Romans seven gives us the encouragement [21:36] to keep struggling like Paul because sin’s not who we are. [21:39] And in our inner being, and I think we can relate to this, [21:42] in our inner being, we don’t wanna sin.

[21:44] And we cry out and say, Jesus, I don’t wanna do that. [21:46] I don’t wanna struggle with that, but I keep doing it. [21:50] And so Jesus has separated us so completely from that sin [21:54] that now the indwelling sin is this foreign thing [21:57] that we have to fight. [21:59] It’s not who we are.

[22:00] And that should be an encouragement [22:02] because I think that’s describing the reality [22:04] that we all live in. [22:05] People who are alive keep struggling. [22:08] I think the question kinda comes up, [22:11] should we struggle as much as Paul seems to struggle here?

[22:15] And some would say that Christians shouldn’t struggle [22:17] to that extent or be frustrated and that conflicted. [22:21] And this is the apostle Paul who’s writing this [22:24] at the height of his maturity. [22:26] He’s writing the book of Romans and he’s that conflicted. [22:29] So some people would say, well,

[22:30] I think Paul’s maybe describing an immature Christian [22:33] or maybe even a believer right before they become [22:35] a Christian. [22:36] I don’t think that’s the case here. [22:38] I think that really misses the point actually [22:40] because I don’t think struggling as much as Paul seems

[22:43] to be struggling at the end of Romans chapter seven [22:45] is a sign of immaturity at all. [22:48] I think Paul’s explaining the tension in these verses [22:50] that we need to recognize in our own lives [22:53] if we’re following Jesus and if we’re growing [22:55] in our maturity.

[22:56] And that tension is that the closer we get to Jesus [22:58] and the more of our life we sacrifice for him, [23:01] the more we devote to Jesus, the more intently aware [23:04] we become of our own shortcomings and our own failures [23:08] to live up to the life that he would call us to. [23:11] And so the more aware of our sin we become,

[23:13] the more mature we become. [23:15] So I think it makes perfect sense that Paul is in this place [23:18] in Romans seven. [23:19] He’s frustrated because he wants to be rid of this sin. [23:23] And I think the way that Paul struggles [23:25] with his sin is important.

[23:26] He doesn’t dismiss it. [23:28] And we know this because of how frustrated he is by it. [23:31] So look at the conflict and the anguish in that passage [23:33] there, but he also does not identify with that sin. [23:37] And then twice he says, it’s not I doing it, [23:39] but sin in me.

[23:41] We’ve already seen that he’s not making an excuse for sin. [23:45] We have other verses that make that very clear. [23:48] And if he was just making an excuse for sin, [23:50] he wouldn’t be nearly so frustrated. [23:52] I think what’s happening here is Paul is voicing [23:54] the frustration of a maturing Christian

[23:57] that longs to be rid of their sin nature [24:00] that they’ve been saved from, [24:01] but they’re still struggling with. [24:04] And so I think that’s the attitude [24:05] that we’ve got to learn to take with our sin. [24:07] It’s not who we are.

[24:09] We want to be rid of it. [24:10] We need to, that kind of helps us, I think, [24:13] know how to fight sin in all the ways [24:16] that we talked about the last time that we met. [24:20] So here’s how Paul finishes up this passage [24:22] in Romans seven, verse 24.

[24:25] I think this is just as important as everything else. [24:27] He almost cries out here at the end. [24:29] He says, wretched man that I am, [24:31] who will deliver me from this body of death? [24:34] Then verse 25 says, thanks be to God [24:36] through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[24:38] So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, [24:41] but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. [24:44] In these last few verses, [24:45] we see Paul’s frustration really coming out [24:49] with his own sin. [24:50] Paul hates his sin.

[24:51] He knows that his sin is death. [24:52] He calls himself a wretched man. [24:55] But despite the sin in his flesh, [24:57] Paul’s gonna struggle to serve God with his mind. [25:01] And but the key is to remember and to see, [25:03] where does Paul turn when he gets to that point?

[25:06] Who will deliver him? [25:07] Says, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [25:10] So lastly this morning, [25:11] I wanna make sure that we remember [25:12] there’s always more grace found in Jesus for the struggle. [25:17] There’s always more grace found in Jesus for the struggle.

[25:19] Part of struggling has got to always be getting [25:21] to that point where we say, you know, Jesus deliver me. [25:26] At the end of the day, [25:27] it’s only the grace of Jesus that saves us. [25:29] It’s only the grace of Jesus that will keep us. [25:31] But the good news is that grace is limitless.

[25:34] That grace is endless. [25:35] You don’t have to limit the amount of times [25:38] you can go back to grace for your struggle. [25:41] Jesus will deliver you. [25:42] I think that’s what Paul’s saying loud and clear here. [25:44] Of course, our hope and our desire

[25:46] and what we see is that we grow and mature over time. [25:50] And by God’s grace, [25:51] the things that we’re struggling with tomorrow [25:52] are not gonna be exactly the same things [25:55] that we’re struggling with today. [25:56] But we’re always gonna need to go back to Jesus’ grace

[26:00] for our struggle. [26:02] Sin is sin and it all separates us from God. [26:05] And we need to struggle with all of our sin [26:07] and we need grace for that struggle. [26:10] There’s always more grace to be found in Jesus. [26:13] And if you’re a follower of Jesus, if you love him,

[26:15] you’re gonna keep struggling. [26:17] And you’re gonna keep struggling. [26:18] I think the way that we’re gonna learn to struggle [26:20] is to see our sin as a foreign thing [26:22] that does not define us anymore. [26:24] And this thing that we then can fight against

[26:27] because it’s not who we are. [26:28] We’ve got limitless grace in Jesus to do that. [26:32] What I wanna do for these last few minutes [26:35] here this morning is I wanna look at a few thoughts [26:37] of ways that we can struggle better as a church [26:41] with our sin.

[26:43] And I think some things that, again, [26:45] this is really part two of last time we met [26:48] because some things that Steve talked about, [26:50] when we think of struggle, it’s not even just our sin. [26:53] James says, if we don’t do the things [26:55] that we know we should do, that’s sin too.

[26:57] So a lot of our struggle with sin [26:58] is not living the lives of mission [27:01] that we know that Jesus has called us to. [27:03] And I think as you’re a maturing believer, [27:05] that becomes a huge part of your struggle. [27:08] This life that you know that God’s called you to,

[27:10] that you still fail through prayer, [27:12] through studying his word, [27:13] through just loving others to live up to. [27:16] So that’s a huge part of our struggle too. [27:18] And how can we struggle well as a church? [27:20] The first thing I wanna remind us of

[27:22] is we’ve got to struggle in community. [27:25] If you’re alive in Jesus, you’re gonna struggle, [27:27] but you’re not supposed to struggle on your own. [27:30] You were never supposed to struggle on your own. [27:32] That’s what the church is for. [27:34] And so at Village, we want to struggle with you.

[27:36] We want Village to be a community [27:38] where people are not putting on fake smiles [27:40] and acting like everything’s okay. [27:42] When we know, for all of us, everything’s not always okay. [27:47] So struggle in community with us. [27:49] We wanna be a place where we can struggle together

[27:51] so that we can get more of Jesus together. [27:54] And I think one thing that’s really become clear to us [27:57] is that we don’t want community at Village Church, [28:00] where everyone just makes each other feel better [28:03] about their sin and there’s no struggle in that at all. [28:06] Especially for our generation,

[28:07] community can very quickly become a bunch of people [28:10] sitting around a room, [28:12] sharing where they fall short with each other, [28:14] and then praying and being thankful [28:16] that they all fall short and can feel good about that. [28:18] That’s not community if we don’t get to the Jesus part.

[28:22] It’s good to share where we fall short with each other, [28:25] but the reason we should be sharing that [28:26] is so that we can encourage each other to pursue Jesus [28:29] and to struggle well with our sin and to fight sin. [28:33] That’s the kind of community we wanna make here. [28:36] Let’s make a community where we ask questions,

[28:40] not to feel good about how introspective we are, [28:43] but we ask questions because we actually believe [28:45] that the God of the universe has answers. [28:48] That’s the kind of community we want, [28:49] where we’re more concerned with molding our lives [28:51] around Jesus and what he would have us do

[28:54] than feeling good about the lives [28:56] that we’ve already created for ourselves. [28:59] That’s the kind of struggling community [29:01] that we want Village Church to be. [29:03] And you can jump into community [29:04] any number of ways here at the Village.

[29:07] Village groups are all having cookouts right now [29:09] during the summer. [29:09] It’s a great time. [29:11] Go to several cookouts, meet some Village groups, [29:14] join one of them and get to know those people. [29:18] It’s the perfect time to join a personal discipleship group.

[29:20] Get in the word with some other people [29:22] that you can really study with. [29:24] Join a serve team to meet more people. [29:26] There’s all kinds of opportunities. [29:28] Look in your handout, look on the city, [29:29] look on the website.

[29:30] Jump into community here with us at Village. [29:33] We want that to be who our church is. [29:38] Finally, another thought. [29:40] So we’ll spend a little bit more time on this one, [29:42] but I think it’s important. [29:44] Don’t use struggle as an excuse

[29:46] for not obeying the mission of Jesus. [29:48] We’ve gotta make sure that we don’t use our struggles [29:50] as an excuse for not obeying Jesus’ mission. [29:54] Of all the things that I got from Romans seven [29:56] and the struggle that Paul has there, [29:58] this is the one that really probably impacted me the most.

[30:01] Alive people are going to struggle. [30:04] Dead people don’t struggle. [30:05] We’re always gonna be struggling [30:06] with some part of our same nature, [30:08] but we have limitless grace for that struggle in Jesus. [30:12] And Paul’s struggles that he described

[30:14] in Romans chapter seven did not in any way [30:17] keep him from the mission that God had for him. [30:19] I think it’s amazing that the same guy [30:22] that’s talking about all these struggles here [30:24] in Romans chapter seven is just about [30:25] to write Romans chapter eight.

[30:27] It’s this awesome treatise of life and the spirit [30:30] and everything that we have hope in Jesus for. [30:34] Paul’s just about to write that [30:36] right after he writes wretched man that I am. [30:38] You know, how much I’m struggling with my sin. [30:41] I think that’s a picture of someone

[30:43] who’s not letting their struggles be an excuse [30:45] for engaging in the mission of Jesus that God has for him. [30:49] And we need to be the same way. [30:50] We shouldn’t use our struggles as an excuse. [30:52] I see this playing out in the life of the church [30:55] in several different ways.

[30:57] Some people seem to use the excuse [30:59] that they’re just not good enough and God can’t use them. [31:02] And if that’s your thought today, [31:04] you just need to be encouraged [31:05] and you need to be reminded of grace. [31:09] Fight sin like we talked about last week

[31:11] and then get in the game. [31:14] Yes, we gotta take our struggle seriously. [31:16] Whatever you’re struggling with, [31:17] you need to take it as seriously as Paul does, [31:19] but don’t believe the lie that God doesn’t have mission [31:22] for you to be engaged in because your life

[31:24] isn’t all perfect and neat right now. [31:26] It’s never gonna be. [31:28] So jump in wherever you are if you’re a follower of Jesus. [31:31] Serve others, arrange your life to be in discipleship [31:34] and build a church. [31:35] Don’t use this thought of inadequacy

[31:38] to excuse yourself from the mission [31:39] because God has limitless grace for you [31:42] and he wants to start working through you [31:44] right where you are. [31:45] But for others, and this is probably the more common, [31:49] I see folks using struggle as an excuse

[31:51] for not obeying the mission. [31:53] And it really has a lot more to do with [31:56] the effects of struggle in the world as a whole [31:58] because why do we struggle? [32:00] Because sin is in our lives. [32:02] Well, broaden that out to a little bigger picture.

[32:06] A lot of the reasons that the world is the way it is [32:08] is because sin is everywhere. [32:09] The world’s chaotic because of sin. [32:12] And our lives are never going to be neat [32:15] and tidy and perfect. [32:16] And there’s a danger in all of our lives

[32:19] to wanna wait until everything is just arranged just so. [32:23] We’ve got the job we want, the kids are going [32:25] how we want them to go, our house is in good shape. [32:28] All these things are just arranged just so. [32:30] And then we’ll really start serving the mission of Jesus [32:32] like we know he’s called us to.

[32:34] Well, guess what? [32:35] It’s never gonna happen. [32:36] Our struggle is never going to allow that to happen, [32:39] but the struggle of everyone else in this world [32:40] is never gonna allow that to happen. [32:42] We’re never gonna be less busy than we are right now.

[32:45] There’s always gonna be just one more big project [32:47] to get done. [32:48] Mission’s never gonna be convenient on our schedule. [32:51] And so we’ve gotta stop allowing struggles [32:53] to be an excuse for why we’re not engaging in mission [32:56] like we know that God’s called us to.

[32:59] There’s always gonna be something coming up. [33:01] So make mission and make following [33:04] and pursuing discipleship in the church your priority. [33:07] You’re not struggling well if you’re not doing that. [33:10] There’s something else to learn here [33:12] with not making an excuse about struggle.

[33:15] And that’s this idea that we kind of, [33:18] I think inherently like to hear [33:21] that other people struggle just like we do. [33:24] We recognize that we struggle with our sin, right? [33:27] And that’s a frustration and we don’t wanna do that. [33:29] And so it’s good to hear Paul in Romans seven saying,

[33:32] the things that I don’t wanna do are what I do. [33:34] And we can identify with that and say, [33:36] yes, I feel the same way. [33:38] Well, here’s the thing. [33:39] There’s 150 other people in this room [33:42] that deal with the same thing.

[33:43] And so they also do things that they don’t wanna do [33:47] and that sin is going to affect you. [33:50] On top of that, of course, the whole world, [33:52] every person in it struggles with sin. [33:54] If they’re believers, they’re struggling with sin [33:56] that they don’t wanna do.

[33:57] Some people, of course, aren’t even believers [33:58] and they’re just out there sinning. [34:01] There’s sin in the world and it makes things, [34:04] it makes conflict, it makes things uncomfortable. [34:08] It means that our life is never gonna be this just perfect, [34:11] nice, wonderful, peaceful place where we can just rest in

[34:15] and then really get engaged with the mission [34:17] God’s called us to. [34:18] We’ve gotta recognize that the same struggles we have [34:21] are the struggles that our brothers and sisters [34:23] in Christ have. [34:24] And so because of that, that needs to make us

[34:26] more forgiving, it needs to make us more understanding, [34:29] it needs to make us look around and realize [34:32] that we’ve gotta jump in on mission now [34:34] and we can let go on some of these hurts [34:37] and some of these ways that we kind of feel [34:40] slighted by people that keep us out of mission.

[34:43] I’ve unfortunately met too many people [34:45] that use the excuse of other people’s sin [34:47] to keep them from following Jesus how they should. [34:51] Jesus paid for that. [34:52] He’s covered it. [34:54] And if they’re believers, they’re struggling with things

[34:56] that they don’t wanna do, just like you do. [34:58] So we’ve gotta forgive and we’ve got to not allow [35:01] those conflicts to keep us from engaging in mission. [35:06] Our hope for joy in this life is realizing [35:09] that it’s not about this life. [35:12] You won’t be able to struggle well

[35:13] if you’re looking for a hope in the present [35:15] that does not exist. [35:17] Our ultimate hope is that one day Jesus is gonna return [35:20] and he’s gonna make everything new again [35:22] and we won’t sin anymore and people won’t sin against us. [35:25] And that’s our hope and it’s so sure that we can live now

[35:29] like it’s the reality we’re headed for. [35:31] You can try to find hope just in making this life better [35:34] and making this life more comfortable, [35:37] but that hope is never gonna come through for you. [35:41] A lot of people try it that way, [35:43] but in the end it won’t work.

[35:44] Trial’s coming, frustration’s coming, [35:46] you’re gonna lose a job, you’re gonna get sick, [35:48] your kids are gonna frustrate you, [35:50] it’s gonna break your heart. [35:51] Your hope cannot be in this life, [35:54] just being comfortable and nice.

[35:56] Our hope ultimately has to be in Jesus [35:58] and in him making all things new. [36:00] And ultimately the key to struggling well [36:03] is realizing that our struggle is because [36:05] our true hope is in Jesus. [36:08] Because our true hope is in Jesus and his return

[36:11] and his making all things new. [36:13] That’s why we can struggle with this life now [36:15] because we know that this isn’t all that there is. [36:18] Our struggle with sin is because we long for that day [36:20] when indwelling sin won’t be with us anymore [36:22] and we can fight it.

[36:24] And our dissatisfaction with this life [36:26] and being unable to make it just what we wanna be, [36:28] that’s there to drive us to Jesus [36:30] and he’s the only one who can satisfy. [36:32] So we struggle because this life [36:34] isn’t what we were made for,

[36:36] but Jesus is coming back, [36:37] he’s gonna make all things new. [36:39] And that’s our true hope [36:40] and that’s why we’ve gotta keep struggling [36:42] until he returns. [36:44] So that’s what I’ve got for us this morning.

[36:46] As the band comes back up, [36:48] I just wanna talk a little bit [36:51] about our struggle in communion. [36:53] Because we take communion every week [36:55] here at Village Church [36:56] and it’s meaningful every week

[36:57] to center us on the cross, [37:00] to center us on the price that Jesus paid for our sin. [37:05] But I think especially on a week [37:06] where we’re talking about our struggle [37:08] and we’re reminded that we can always [37:10] go back to the grace of Jesus for all of our struggles.

[37:14] This is when we really, really need to be focused [37:17] on the communion table that’s offered to us. [37:19] If you’re a believer in Jesus, [37:21] these tables are open to you. [37:22] And I’ve heard in the past, [37:24] people that just express frustration

[37:26] when you are struggling with things in your life, [37:28] should you take communion. [37:30] And the answer to that question is, [37:32] if you’re repentant, [37:33] if you’re identifying with Paul here in Romans seven, [37:36] that’s not who you want to be.

[37:38] And you are repenting and you’re sorry for your sin [37:41] and you want that limitless grace of Jesus, of course. [37:44] These tables are open to you. [37:45] This is to remind you [37:46] that Jesus is always there with his grace [37:49] to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[37:51] So when you’re ready, go ahead and come and take communion.