Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Let’s pick up where we left off on our lessons on being disciples of Jesus Christ.  Last time we left in the midst of a lesson on our attack on the love of God, our sin.

Read Romans 7:15-24 and see if you ever feel like this.

15 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. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law,confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 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. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 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. 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 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. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

I call this “The Romans 7 Syndrome.”  Remember, we sin when we miss the mark of God’s holiness. If you’re like me, I am frequently doing what I do not want to do and neglect what I should be doing.  What can we do?  Romans 7:25a, 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.  God has given us a clear view of the bull’s eye and help to hit it.

Notice several things from James 1:13-15, 19-25, 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law,the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

  • We are personally responsible for our sin (verses 13-15).  We choose to obey or  disobey God.
  • We are not objective about what we are like.  We are easily deceived and tell ourselves stories about the facts.  However, the Bible is a mirror that reflects exactly how we look to God.  But don’t let that intimidate you.  Spend time looking into God’s mirror.  It actually frees us from the burden of sin and gets us closer to the bullseye.
  • Verse 25 is the remedy.  We must humbly and intently accept God’s Word.  It is a mindset we develop.  Romans 8:5-8, 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  God’s Word, the Bible, helps us change our thinking that leads to a change in our actions (getting rid of sin).
  • The KEY is to do what God’s Word says, not necessarily what everyone else says.

“The Heaven and Home Hour Radio Bulletin” asked, “How does a worm get inside an apple?   Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from the outside.  No, scientists have discovered that the worm comes from inside.  But how does he get in there?  Simple!  An insect lays an egg in an apple blossom.  Sometime later, the worm hatches in the heart of the apple, then eats his way out.  Sin, like the worm, begins in the heart and works out through a person’s thoughts, words, and actions.”

I learned from Dean Trune this formula…Thoughts determine Attitudes, Attitudes determine Actions, Actions determine Habits, and Habits determine Character.  If you have any hope of keeping sin out of your life you must change your thinking.  Spend much time in God’s Word.  It will transform your thoughts.

Next time we will look at what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Until then Discover Discipleship.