September 21, 2024 -- Romans 7:21 -- Powerless against sin?
/So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lives close at hand.
Romans 7:21 ESV
Among the many privileges of prison ministry one stand out joy is the opportunity I have to teach a Christian 12-Step program called: “Overcomers”. As you may be aware Alcoholics Anonymous started as a Christian response to the sin of alcoholism. However, to accommodate men and women of different faiths, or of humanists, the material was changed from Christian to material that can be used by all people. The Overcomers material is a nod to the original work of AA. That material has been reworked to assist Christians in their walk toward a life free from addiction and this by the power of Jesus, in Whom alone all our strength is found.
Step One: “I admit I am powerless over the issue controlling my life”. Do you see how that is taken directly from the word of God? Paul expressed this exasperation. Earlier in this same chapter he exclaims: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” Romans 7:15 ESV. Sin is life controlling. It is expressed in addictions like pornography, alcoholism, sexual addiction, promiscuity, profanity, anger, gluttony, gossip, greed, drug use and every other vice that Scripture describes as sinful.
The concept of Jesus as your rescue story will be crazy talk to you if you do not acknowledge the chains that bind you and the sins that leave you incapable of taking control of your life. The good news is not good news until you are able to see the depths of your depravity, the lengths to which you are going deeper into more wickedness. You will not seek help until you realize your blindness to your own condition. It is the gift of the Spirit of God to awaken your soul so that you cry out to Jesus acknowledging this helplessness you experience in your fight against sin.
Interestingly, it is among church-going fellow Christians where this can be hardest sell. Many Christians think, since Jesus has taken hold of their life, they are not really so bad anymore. They are blinded to the depths of their need for Jesus. This is foolishness. The flesh is hostile to God. The desires of the heart are still bent and wicked. What is required is a constant submission of one’s will, desires, thoughts and actions to the Spirit of God Who leads you to Jesus, in Whose life you die to sin and in Whose resurrection you rise to newness of life. Through Jesus you are clothed with His perfection (He lived completely without sin from conception to His death on the cross, therefore He is the One punished in your place for your sins.) So, Jesus’s sinlessness is credited to the believer. That is the one-time fact of justification.
However, the believer, like Paul expressed it in Romans 7, experiences an on-going battle against the flesh. After receiving the justification, the "Not-guilty" verdict of God the Father, the Christian needs to grow in holiness. This on-going activity is called "sanctification". The victory one receives is found in Jesus only. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (I John 1:9-10 ESV). What freedom there is in confession. You can acknowledge the hopelessness and helplessness you experience every day as the same parade of sins bogeys over your mind and heart. The Spirit making you aware of such sins, humbles you and fills you with hope, knowing that as you confess such sins and your powerlessness against them, the more you are emptied of sin and scrubbed of your baked in pride so that the life-giving resurrection power of Jesus takes hold of your heart.
Today, Father in heaven, today all over again, I confess how much I need You in my battle against the flesh, against my wayward thought-life, and against the persistent sins that seem to choke the life out of me. Thank You Father in heaven, for the inexpressible gift of Jesus, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. Spirit of God, give me bold confidence infused in holy hope that as often I as confess my sin, the Savior’s reconciling blood is applied to the fullest measure. Triune God, I admit I am powerless over the sin controlling my life. Lift my eyes to where Christ is seated at Your right hand so that I will know in the deepest part of my guts that He is One, the Only, Mediator between me and You, Dearest Father, Who as the Spirit testifies to my spirit, this same Jesus is praying for me. King of Glory, to my weakness and powerlessness bring the strength of Jesus work and the empowerment of the Spirit’s presence in my life—bring this to bear in me so that I will walk as a forgiven Christian, offering my life in thankful service. Amen.
https://youtu.be/H5rysOYt6Dw?si=P8ruZNu6BfJzJJ4X I Need Thee Every Hour
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