+ INI Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – Year A June 29 & 30, 2008 +
Romans 7:15-25
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)
“I am so sick of this! I am so tired of this! It makes me miserable! I’m not sure I can take this anymore! What am I gonna do?!” Are there things that you’re tired of, that you just don’t want to deal with anymore? Are there people that you get a little tired of dealing with? Are there issues that you’re just really sick of having to face again and again? Are there health problems that you’re just plain tired of struggling with? Wouldn’t everything be better if all of it would just go away, or at least go our way? the people around us, the government, society in general, our finances, our health, our situation. Right? No, I’ll tell you what I’m sick of. What I’m sick and tired of is not around me, but within me. I’m sick of myself and my own sinfulness.
Just think how much different it will be without our sin. In heaven, finally being rid of sin, forever! Beautiful. Wonderful. Peaceful. We will have rest from our enemies, rest from our pain and suffering, rest from dying and grieving. Nothing will trouble us there. We will have rest from this knock-down, drag-out fight with sin.
I, Paul, know that fight first-hand. Yes, I, the apostle Paul, sent by Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, struggle with sin. Not just in my days as Saul the persecutor, either. No, I, Paul, the Apostle, can’t wait to be rid of my sin. I’m sure you know what I mean.
I have this inner conflict going on inside me all the time. There’s this conflict between what I want to do and what I actually end up doing. I do not understand what I do. It’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing; I know all too well. What I mean is that I don’t approve of what I do. Incredibly frustrating, isn’t it, Christian? For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. I have good things in mind that I have every intention of carrying out; but the sinful things that I hate and despise – that’s what I end up doing.
Now, I want you to understand how God’s law fits in. The law is totally powerless to get a single good work out of me or to move me a single inch toward heaven. The law is not gonna solve this conflict I have. But it’s not because there’s anything wrong with the law. Of course, the law is good! It’s God’s gift! The fact that I don’t do what the law says, doesn’t mean I disagree with it. In fact, if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. The fact that I condemn my own sinful actions is proof that I am completely on board with the law.
The reason I don’t do what God’s law says, the way I want to, is that sin carries out its evil within me and in spite of me. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I’m not trying to dodge accountability or make excuses for my sin. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. My point is that I have 2 selves, really. The new self has been born of water and the Spirit in Baptism, and thrives on God’s love and forgiveness. That new self wants to do what God says in his law. But there’s my old self, that’s just as sinful as it always was, as hell-bent on defying God as it ever was. So these 2 selves battle within me; but only 1 of them is really me. I identify with my new self, the one that trusts in Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life, and loves him dearly. But the old self gets in the way.
That’s what makes me so sick of this, so miserable about it! For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. As our dear Lord himself said: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. My will is on board with God, but I can’t execute. Instead, I get no rest from my struggle against my sin. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. I’m in conflict with myself. And yet, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So here’s the bottom line: I can’t escape this pattern, just like a law of nature. When you throw something up in the air, it comes down again. Same thing with me: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. No matter what I do or how hard I try, I never get any rest from this stinking little parasite sin, sticking its grubby little hands in to mess up everything I do.
And I’m so sick of it! I want so badly to be free from sin, to walk in God’s commands. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. My new man loves God, the wonderful, gracious God that loved me and saved me through Jesus. My real self wants nothing more than to cheerfully serve my Savior by doing what’s pleasing to him. So I offer the parts of my body to God as instruments of righteous. But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. That stinking old sinful self is always there, launching its attack on all my best intentions, hijacking this pitiful jar of clay named Paul. I am so sick of my sin. I am so frustrated with my sin. I am so desperate and so anxious to be rid of that old self!
What sins are you sick of struggling with, dear Christian? Do you ever try to sit down to pray, and find that keeping your thoughts focused is like chasing a fly around the room? Do ever want to study God’s Word, and find that it’s a physical battle with yourself to stop, open the cover, and read? Do you want to mend fences with a family member or friend, and find your own bitterness, resentment holding you back, saying, “you’re really in the right and shouldn’t have to give in!” Do you ever go to write an offering check, and find that your sinful nature conjures up images of everything you could have done with that money instead of giving it to God, and tells you how reluctant you should be to give up what’s rightfully yours? Do ever have someone interrupt your day to ask a favor, and even as you go willingly and cheerfully to help, you hear your voice in your mind saying, “Alright, let’s get just this over with, and get back to what I was doing”? Do you ever have the desire to be a faithful worker in your job; but find that when break-time comes, you want to stretch it as long as it’ll go; that when you get distracted from your work, you realize it was no accident? Do you ever sit down at the computer, and find your mind and mouse clicking their way into the gutter? Do you ever try to keep your cool, but then find that anger building up like steam until it blows its top? Do you ever notice that when you’re talking to someone about someone else, those certain negative things that you wanted not to mention just slip their way out of the mouth? Do you ever find yourself thinking, at even your most shining moments, “if people only knew…what I’ve done and the thoughts I have…”? Do you ever get sick of your self, sick of your own sinfulness? Do you ever feel yourself sinking slowly into despair and desperation, terrified that when your time comes to leave this life, all that sin will come slamming back onto you with the weight of God’s own punishing hand?
Then, say it with me, Christian! What a wretched man I am! Helpless! Weak! Weary! What hope do I have? Where can I turn to find relief and rest from this battle with myself? Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Only God can help. Only God can save. Only God can give rest from sin. Like it says in Psalm 62: Find rest, O my soul, in God alone. Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Dear Christians, when your hearts find no rest because of your sin, lift up your hearts! We lift them up to the Lord! He will take care of them and give them rest. He will lift our burden with his forgiveness in his precious body and blood in his Supper. Our dear Savior never gets sick of forgiving, never gets tired of being gracious, never gets sick of us and says, “I’ve had it with you – you’ve sinned once too often.” No, dear Christian, what does our dear Savior say? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus has lifted our sin off our back, placed it on himself, nailed it to the cross, buried it in his tomb, and left it there when he rose again. He has carried our burden when he lived his life perfectly, free from sin, in our place. And in place of the heavy yoke of guilt and the fear of God’s punishment, Jesus gives us a light and easy yoke that doesn’t weigh us down, but gives us rest. He gives us his forgiveness and his peace. Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Finally, dear Christian, we will find ultimate rest in the bliss of heaven that Jesus won for us by his life, death, and resurrection. No more problems. No more pain. No more death. No more sin. Though we battle with sin every day of our earthly lives, it’s just a matter of time. Jesus has won the victory over our sin. And every day, he provides us with peace and rest for our soul by his sweet forgiveness. Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
