O make me Thine indeed, Thou
blessed Son. I need Thee, O I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. O bless me now, my Savior. I come to Thee. OK, I want you to keep your place
there in Romans 7, if you still have it. And turn to 1 John, 1st epistle
of John, chapter 3. I really don't have a text tonight,
one particular place that we'll stay, but we're going to look
at Romans 7. We're going to look at a psalm. We're going to look at several
verses of Scripture. Look at 1 John 3. 8 says, he that committeth sin
is of the devil. Do you remember in John chapter
8 where the Lord said in verse
34, whosoever committeth sin is a servant of sin. And then he went on to say, if
the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Sunday
morning we looked at that. We looked at what he, what we believe he meant by that,
what he's saying there. Here it says, he that commit
a sin is of the devil. All right. Backup page and it
says in 1st John, verse 1. 1st John 1, look at chapter 1,
verse 8. 1st John 1, verse 8. If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in it. Verse 10. If we say that we have
not sinned, We make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Now, are those scriptures contradicting
themselves? Why? God forbid. The confusion is with us, not
in the word of God. We're the ones that don't properly
understand it. Now listen, there's nothing that gives a
believer, a true believer, more trouble, more problem, causing him or
her more grief than the sin that is within them. Not only seeing that David said
when David confessed in Psalm 51. He said, my sin is ever before
me, not sins. Not what he does, those acts
of sin, he said, my sin. What I am. You see, what we do is the product
of what we are. actions result from the sin that
dwelleth in us. All right? Well, what does John
mean by he that commit the sins of the devil? What does our Lord mean when
he says he that commit a sin is a servant of sin, yet when
the Son sets them free, they're free indeed? Well, like I say, this Now I've got
some people's attention in here, I'm sure, because there's nothing
that gives a believer more problem, nothing he struggles with more
than sin that's within. And it causes him or her to doubt
their salvation. And it causes them to cry out
with the Apostle Paul there in Romans 7, O wretched man that
I am. Paul didn't say, O wretched man
that I used to be. He didn't say, I used to be a
sinner, there in Romans 7. He said, O wretched man that
I am. In 1 Timothy 1, verse 15, he
said, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,
that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom
I am the chief, he said. Not I used to be the worst sinner,
but I am the worst sinner. Now I believe only a true believer
understands what he means by that. Yet they go through the
same thing. And a true believer says, when
will I ever be over this? When will I ever be free from
this sin? What will it take to rid me of
this. That's what Paul said in the
end of Romans seven, that who shall deliver me from this body
of death, this flesh. And then when we read verses
like 1 John 3 and John 8 there and Then it really troubles us
and confuses us, doesn't it? Whosoever commit the sins of
the devil. So then we really are troubled
by that. And then we hear, to top it off,
we hear these people out in the world who have supposedly have
religion and these, I call them super-Christians, you know, they're
living a victorious life. And we hear them talk about how
they have victory over certain things, over everything. And yet the believer, he doesn't
feel like he has a victory over anything. He feels worse now
than he was before the Lord saved him. Now, have I got anybody's
attention? I know. Look over Psalm 73. Psalm 73 with me. We're going to look at Psalm
73. What are you smiling for, Stan?
John told me. He told me you two were talking
about this very Psalm today. And that's the way the Lord works,
isn't it? or three witnesses. John told me he and Stan were
talking about this very psalm today in Romans 7. And those
are my two, the two places we're going to deal with tonight. Psalm 73, now David is a man
after God's own heart. Nobody in here will deny that.
David was God's, one of God's choice men. God chose to name his son after
David, son of David. God chose for his son to come
through the line of David, the seed of David. David was one
of the choice man. He was a man after God's own
heart. God loved David. David loved
his God. But look at this, and see if
this doesn't describe your feelings, all right? And this just reveals
how things really are. Psalm 73, look at verse 1 and
2, "...truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean
heart." But as for me? My feet were almost gone. My
steps had well nigh slept. Surely God's good to the good,
but me? I got real problems. And my biggest
problem was me. Our brother Henry Sword one time
said this, and he said, sometimes I try to run away from my problems,
and when I get there, I find out that I'm still there. The believer's biggest problem
is not the world, it's itself. Look at verse 5. Verse 5, David
says, now the world, he says the world, they're not in trouble
as other men. Neither are they plagued like other men. They just don't seem to have
a problem with the things I have problems with. They're living
the victorious life. Verse 14, look down there. He
says that they're not plagued as other men, but all day long
I've been plagued. Chastened every morning. I'm plagued all day. Now keep
your place there. Mark that well and turn over
to Romans 7. All right? Back to Romans chapter 7. And
Paul is going to more graphically describe the believer's struggle.
We just read that. Romans 7. Keep Psalm 73. We're going to go back there
in just a second. Paul said in Romans 7 verse 18
and 19, and see if this is not your heart's cry. David just said this, didn't
he? I know that in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. The will is present with me. I want to do what's right,
but how to perform that which is good, I just, I can't. Verse 19, the good that I would,
or what I want to do, I do not. But the evil which I would not,
that's exactly what I do. Anybody in here have that problem? Let me tell you something. Every
true believer has that problem. If they don't have that problem,
they've got a real problem. Look at verse 21. I find then
a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. Read
on. I delight in the law of God after
the inward man, but I see another law in my members warring against
the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity to the law
of sin which is in my member. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me? Now that you. Now back to form seventy three
again all right is that you. He said there in Romans 8 and
verse 23, he said, we groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption
to wit the redemption of our body. Groan within ourselves. Oh, wretched man that I am. Do you groan like that all the
time? Waiting for the redemption. Oh
Lord, remove me from this. Remove this from me. Who shall
deliver me? But this is what David was saying.
Long time before Paul. Look at verse 16. David said. These thoughts when I thought
to know this, it was too painful for me when I thought about this,
it was. Do you have a marginal reference
there beside? Too painful. What does your reference
say in your margin? It says it was labor in my eyes. When I thought about all this,
it just, it made me labor and heavy laden. I just labored under a, and heavy
laden under this guilt, laboring in confusion and doubt. labor
and struggling and confusion and doubt, heavy laden with the
burden of my iniquity. He said in Psalm 38, he said
that my iniquities are gone over my head. They're as a heavy burden. They're too heavy for me. That's
what David said. But didn't Christ say, now listen,
didn't Christ say, come unto me, come unto me, all ye that
labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Didn't he
say that? I'll give you rest. Didn't Christ say, believe Didn't
the Word say, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt
be saved? It doesn't say, Do anything.
It says, Believe. Didn't He say that? Doesn't the
Scripture say, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and
him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out, under no
circumstances, for no reason cast that person out? sinful
though they be." Didn't he say that? Yes, he did, and he cannot
lie. This is the reason we approached
that John 8 when the Lord said, If the Son
shall make you free, you're free indeed. We talked about that
woman caught in the act of adultery now, and she was brought before
And everybody in there thought they were saved but her. Everybody in there said she's
guilty. And the law says stone her. And they brought her to Christ
to see what he would say. Now this is the son of God. This
is the one that wrote the law. This is God. The one that wrote
the law. And everybody in there said now
the law says kill her. We say she's guilty. We caught
her in the very act and they said to the son, what do you
say? Now, she's guilty. She's guilty. She deserves to be killed, stoned,
according to the law. According to the law, she deserves
to go to hell. What do you say, they said to
the son of God? He said, I say she goes free." And everybody in there was condemned.
Now isn't that good news, Senator? If the Son shall make you free,
you're free indeed. He says, I say. Who is he that condemneth? Christ
died. I say unto you, if you believe,
listen to me, this is the best news any sinner could possibly
hear. If you believe, trust, cast your
sinful soul on Jesus Christ. Lay your dirty, sinful hands
on the head of that scapegoat. Your sins are gone. You're justified. You're declared
innocent of all wrongdoing. Now you haven't done a thing.
He's done it all. He's just said it. And who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. But wait a minute, they're guilty.
God says, no they're not. And you haven't done a thing. That's because salvation is not
us doing anything. Salvation is totally in what
Jesus Christ does for sinners. Totally. That's the reason he
went to that bloody Roman tree. Because God said nothing less
than shedding blood is going to put away sin. And that's the reason Christ
came down here to this earth, not to show us how to live, but
to live for us, to live a perfect life for his people. They can't do it. With man, it's
impossible. This is what Paul is saying.
This is what David is saying. And I find in myself the inability,
the total inability to do what is right. And it seems like I
only do what's wrong. It's sin that's in me. Who's
going to deliver me? The Deliverer. How am I going
to be saved? He's going to do it all. How
am I going to be accepted by God? Accepted and beloved. How
am I going to be righteous before God who loves only righteous
people, righteous things? I'm going to be made righteous,
imputed Christ's righteousness is going to be charged in my
account. Everything he did is charged to the account of God's
people. They didn't have anything to
do with it. That's what Romans 4, the whole of Romans 4 is talking
about. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by works
of righteousness he did. And then he went to Calvary's
tree and paid for every sin they did commit, are committing, or
ever will commit. Now that's salvation. That's
good news to a sinner. Only to a sinner. Self-righteous? No. Not good news. But sinners,
it is the best. That's what makes gospel gospel,
people. That's what makes gospel gospel. Good news, indeed. Well, look at verse 17 here in Psalm
73. Look at verse 17. David said, I thought about all
this and it was so painful for me until I went into the sanctuary
of God. I went into the church house
and I understood. Then I understood. When I heard the word, when I
heard the gospel, I understood. Look at verse 18. Surely thou
didst set them in slippery places, cast them down into destruction."
Now the world, the world out there, not the religious world,
but the world that's going after the world, you know, that's just
totally after the lust and pleasures of the flesh, and that's all
they're after. They're getting it. This is what David's talking
about. He said their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more
than their hearts could desire. Why? Because God's given them
what they want. The world. And what are they
going to get with the world? They're going to get what the
world's got coming to them. God's going to burn it down.
But on the other hand, the religious world It's going about to establish
its own righteousness. Why? To be seen of men. For their own vain glory, for
their own personal glory. They're going to get what's coming
to them too. And God said, I won't share my glory with another. They're on shifting sands. Sinking
sand. The world is on sinking sand,
shifting sand, and anybody who doesn't build their soul and
all their hopes of heaven on Christ the solid rock, their
faith, so-called, is on shifting, sinking sand. If they're building
their hopes for heaven on anything about themselves, they're going
down. Sinking sand. Where do you stand? Where do you want to stand before
a holy God someday? On Christ the solid rock. All other ground is sinking sand. Listen to me. John Bunyan said
this. John Bunyan, one of my favorite
writers, wrote Pilgrim's Progress and The Holy War and many other
books. And David here said, I thought
about this is so painful for me. Until I went into the sanctuary
and I heard the Word of God, then I understood. I understood. John Bunyan said this and I read,
I wrote this and I read it years ago and I never forgot it. As
a young believer, it really did help me. He said, Satan, the devil, said he, now he's crafty. Scripture talks about him being
wily, the wiles of the devil. He knows human nature, he dealt
with Adam, he dealt with Eve, he deceived Eve, and so on. And
he's been dealing with human nature ever since, and he knows
how to deal with human nature. The devil, John Bunyan said this,
said the devil, he takes a person who is resting in their own works of
religion, resting on their own righteousness, or the thinking
that they are commendable to God. He says he takes that person,
that's a false refuge. That's a refuge of lies. He says
he leaves that person alone. He leaves that person alone,
because he's got them right where he wants them. In other words, if anybody's
trusting anything or anybody but Christ, they're gone. They're
lost. So he leaves them alone. He doesn't send temptations and
problems and they don't struggle with the play. The same. He leaves them alone. Why would
he why would he send. Evil and fear and temptations
and all that to be only there. They're lost there in religion
that is a refuge of life. And he leaves them alone so that
they think this is what they think they think they're too
good not to be safe. God be saved. I'm free from sin. But then he said, Bunyan said
this, he takes an old sinner who's trusting in Christ for
his salvation, totally, completely trusting in Christ and Christ
alone. Believing he's come to Christ
for his salvation. And he said Satan bombards him
or her, just bombards them constantly with temptations and trials and
accusations so that they think they're too bad to be saved. They think, ain't no way I could
be saved and have these struggles. Now is that you? Which one of
you? Huh? I tell you, based on the Scriptures,
Scripture says by the deeds of the law, no flesh is going to
be justified before God. By the works of the flesh, no
man's going to be justified, no woman's going to be justified,
no one's going to be declared innocent, but by the faith of
Jesus Christ. If you're trusting Christ, You're
on solid ground. You're on solid ground. And I'm
sure if you trust in Christ you have terrible, terrible struggles
with this flesh. Constant. The Lord said to his disciples
one day. He just got through dealing with
a rich young ruler. Who was a moral and upright young
fellow. You remember? You remember the
story? The rich young ruler came and said, good master, what must
I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved? And the Lord said, you know the
commandment. Love God and love your neighbor and do not commit
this and that and the other and so forth. And the young man said,
all these have I done for my youth up. He must have been a pretty fine
fellow, didn't he? He kept the law. But when the Lord got through
with him, he went away sorrowful, didn't he? And then he turned
to his disciples and he said, How hardly should they that have
riches enter the kingdom of heaven. Now that went a lot deeper than
the riches of this world, material riches. Now that's those who
think they're rich in good works, rich in righteousness, and don't
realize they're poor and needy. Well, he said, it's easier for
a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man in
a kingdom of heaven. And the disciples were amazed.
They said they were amazed. And then they said, Lord, who
then can be saved? They weren't poor. They weren't
beggars. Who then can be saved? He said, with men it's in... What'd he say? He didn't say
with me and it's going to be hard, but somebody will make.
It's impossible. It's impossible. The Scripture
says without faith it's impossible to please God. Without faith
it's impossible, not hard to please God, but impossible to
please God. What's faith? Looking to Christ. Looking to him what he did that's
faith. Not faith in your faith is faith
in him. Looking to him and him alone
for all and all that he did as your salvation that's right.
And without that God said it's impossible to please him. Why?
Because God looks on the heart. And when he looks at the heart
what he sees is a sinner. Then look on the outward countenance,
oh, we look good to men, but not to God. Well, David said, I was like,
I woke up, verse 20, look at it, he said, I was like a dream,
as a dream, and one awakest, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou
shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was greed, I was
pricked in my reign, I was such a fool, ignorant, I was just
a beast, a dumb ox is what I am. Verse 23, look at it, this is
it. Nevertheless, I am continually
with thee. Thou hast tolden me by my right
hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel, and thou shalt receive me to glory. But God is the strength of my
heart. I'm not trusting in my heart
or my works or anything. My flesh and my heart faileth. That's what Paul said, didn't
he? I don't find anything in here or outside good. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me? Christ is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever. Verse 28, it's good for me to
draw near to God as a sinner. I put my trust in the Lord God
that I may declare all of His works. I'm going to declare His
works. The self-righteous, listen, the
self-righteous are going to declare their works before God someday.
And they're not going to stand. He's going to cast them out.
Some people are actually going to stand before God someday.
This is what Christ said. Actually going to stand before
God someday and say, well, we did this, we did that, we did
many wonderful works in your name. And he's going to say,
I never knew you. Cast him out. They're going to be so deluded
into thinking that they're good people, and that God accepts
them because of what they've done, that they're going to plead
it. They're going to plead these things before a holy God, and
he's going to say, I never knew you. Cast them out. They're going to talk about their
works and be cast out. The believer is going to declare
Christ's works, and they're going to be led in. You remember Roland Hill's dream?
An old preacher named Roland Hill, he said, I dreamed that
I went to glory and was met at the gate and was
asked this question. The Lord asked me this question,
Roland Hill, what right do you have to enter my ism? And Roland Hill said, I have
no right at all. I'm here on the rights of another.
I'm here by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He said, Come
by Him, and I've come in. God said, Come on in. But a man that comes and says,
Well, I've done that. Well, look at me. I've tried
my best. God says, It's not good enough. You did it for your own
glory. Cast him out. Let that be established in your
heart. Paul said in Hebrews 13, it's
a good thing that the heart be established with grace. It's a good thing that the heart
be established with grace. Why? Because by grace are you
saved. Not by works. By grace you're saved. He said
it twice in case we didn't hear it the first time. by grace. You say it's a good thing that
the heart be established with grace. Why? Because it's sure. Because it's by grace that the
promise might be sure for all to see. Because if it's by works,
then nobody going to get in. If it's by grace, an old sinner
can come right on in. You better be established with
grace. The heart established with grace. Ah boy. Listen to Psalm 34 verse 22. None of them that trust in thee
shall ever be guilty. None of them that trust in thee
shall be guilty. No, that's gospel. That's gospel. That's good news. Ah, boy. Now back to Romans 8. Now quit
with this, OK? Romans... Back to this sin problem. Turn over to Romans 8. Romans
chapter 8. This sin problem we were dealing
with. What about that verse that says,
He that commit a sin? You haven't answered that fool.
Well, let me try. Christ hath made us free. He
said that the Son shall make us free, we're free indeed. Now
Christ, look at Romans 8. Christ hath made us free from,
look at verse 34, from condemnation. Now if he makes you free from
condemnation, there is therefore Now, no condemnation. Verse 34, who is he that condemneth?
It's Christ that died. That's what he said to that woman.
Woman, where are thy accusers? She looked up and said, I can't
find them. He said, neither do I. And when the, in that great day
when we stand before God, although we have been guilty, they're
going to look at the books for something on us and it's not
going to be because he's blotted them out. They're all covered
in blood. No sin's going to be found on
the face. That's what, where is that verse, John? It says,
they look, he looked, shall look for the, in Jeremiah, he shall
look for the iniquity of Israel and none shall be found. What are you laughing about?
Well, When the Lord turned our captivity,
then we were like them that dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter."
That's what Psalm 126 says. Free from condemnation, free
from the law. Look at verses 3 and 4, Romans
8, 3 and 4. What the law could not do in
that it was weak through the flesh. Now, there's nothing wrong
with the law. Oh, the law's good and holy and
just and true and perfect, and if a man could keep it, he'd
go to heaven. I mean, if a man could keep the
law perfectly, he'd go to heaven. But we can't. Why? The weakness
of the flesh. Read on. So what's going to happen? Well, God's sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and foreseeing condemned sin
in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. See, He's made unto us wisdom,
righteousness. The righteousness of the law
was fulfilled in us. Wait a minute, it's not me, it's
Christ in me, my hope of glory. Not me, it's not what I'm doing.
Not by works of righteousness I'm doing. But He's freed us
from the law. See, when God first wrote the
law, He said, Just do and live. Nobody can. The wages of sin is death. Christ came down into the law
on the testimony. He said, I'll do it. I'll do
it. In the volume of the book, it's
written of me. I come to do thy will, O God. Who for? For all those that God gave him
to do the will of God for. I come to fulfill thy law, magnify
the law, and make it honorable. And God is well pleased for his
righteousness, say. And he's pleased with me for
his righteousness, say. Does that make sense to you?
Oh, it's all plain to him that understands it. Well, free from
the laws, a covenant of worship. Now, God does not say to me,
this do and live. He says, look and live. Huh? He doesn't say, this do
and live. Now, he says, look unto me and
be ye saved. Just look. Don't do anything,
just look to Christ and be saved. Oh, he makes us free from ignorance. Romans 10, and we don't have
time. I wish we did. I wish we had another hour. Oh,
we do. I could keep you, couldn't I? Well, I'm not. Don't worry. I'm
not like that other Paul who preached all night long. But we could. Romans 10 says there's a people
that are ignorant. They're going about to establish
their own righteousness. have a zeal for God and things,
but they're ignorant of God's righteousness, going about to
establish their own, he says. But he says, now Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes it.
And he frees us, frees the believer from that ignorance. The believer
is no longer ignorant. He sees that he can't get to
God doing anything, and he's only going to get to God and
the Christ doing everything for him. That's ignorance. It's ignorance
if a man thinks he can or woman thinks they can do anything that
God will accept. Because why? God looks on the
heart. God doesn't look at us. God doesn't see as man see it. We judge according to the flesh.
God doesn't. He looks at the motive, the heart.
He said the thought of foolishness is a sin. He said, a man shall
be held in account for every idle word. Idle word, that means
idle word. What are we going to do? It's
not what we're going to do. It's what Christ is going to
do for us. And he says, I've done it, come unto me. You're
laboring, heavy laden. Come, I'll give you rest. Labor to enter into that rest.
Hardest thing a man or woman can ever do, ever going to have
to do, is to rest in Jesus Christ for their salvation, and not
believe that there's something they're going to have to do.
It's impossible, unless God reveals it, reveals And this, finally, Christ frees
us from the dominion of sin, the reigning, ruling principle
of sin. And this is the sin, our Lord
said, he that committed sin, or that is continuous in a life
of open evil and sin and debauchery and so forth, dominion of sin. You say, wait a minute, we're
just talking about that. captivity to sin. I'm confused. Paul said, I do what I don't
want to do, and I don't do what I want to do. I'm confused. But
don't be confused. Don't be confused. You remember
that woman, back to that woman again, that Christ said, woman,
it was a, she was a harlot. She was a prostitute. And Christ, now this, that'll,
this'll tell you who he saves. He said he didn't condemn her.
Now, she hadn't done anything yet. She had... I'll tell you
salvation by grace then. All right? But then he said to
her, he said, Woman, I don't condemn you. Now go and sin no
more. Didn't he? Go and sin no more. Didn't he? Now, did she sin again? Well, she's a sinner. But she didn't go back to being
a prostitute again. You can bet that. Couldn't she? She didn't go back and continue
in that sin from which the Lord delivered her from. See there? Well, how, how did she not continue
by her own resolve by saying, well, I'm just not going to do
this anymore? No, the spirit of God, that's
what Romans eight talks about. Verse fourteen, as many as are
led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Verse nine,
you're not in the flesh, but in the spirit, it so be that
the spirit of God dwell in you. Well, wait a minute, does she
have any fleshly lust anymore? Did she get over that? Well,
sure she had these problems with the flesh. That's what Paul said
and Romans 7. Sure she did. Every man and woman
is a flat liar, says he doesn't. Just a flat liar. We're so reprobate
that he's lost. But she was no longer given to
it. She was no longer going to give
herself over to it. Here's the key. First, turn back
to Romans 6. I lied to you. I'm sorry. I lied
and told you I was going to quit. Right there. Romans 6. Let God
be true in every man and liar. Romans 6 verse 19. 19, he said, I speak after the manner
of men because of the infirmity of your flesh. As you have yielded
your members servants to uncleanness, to iniquity unto iniquity, even
so now yield your members servant to righteousness unto holiness.
When you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.
What's he saying? Well, the key word there, yield. Yield. You see, when a person is dead
in trespasses and sin, they're totally ruled by sin. Totally
ruled by sin. And they never give righteousness
a thought. They never give God a thought.
In my own experience, while dead in trespasses and sin, I never
gave God a thought until God thought on me and brought me
to myself like a particle. I never gave God a thought, and
my conscience didn't bother me. The old saying is, if it feels
good, do it. That's the way a person that's
dead in sin will do. They're not smitten. They're
not in trouble. They're not plagued. It doesn't
bother them. Whatever they want, they go after.
Whatever they feel like, they do it. They totally yield to it. You
understand what I'm saying? They totally yielded to it. Any
temptation? Not a temptation. It's just what
they want. They yield to it. But now, look at verse 21. What fruit had ye then, and those
things were of you now? Shame. You see the key word there
now? Shame. Struggle. Why? Why is there a struggle?
Why is a believer now struggling, ashamed of these things? There's
another law in there now. There's a new creature in there
now. There's a new creature created in the image of Christ Jesus
in there now. And there's two laws in there
living in the same house now. And they're fighting all the
time. There's flesh lust against spirit and spirit against the
flesh. He said, Sin shall not have dominion
over you. shall serve the younger. The old man shall one day be
in subjection to the man, one day. But until then, we find this
law of warring in our memory. Paul said, and we don't take
this wrong, but Paul said in Romans 7, Talking about marriage,
1 Corinthians 7. Talking about marriage, he said,
it'd be better if you'd remain unmarried. He said, because those who get
married are going to have trouble in the flesh. In other words,
when you're living alone, You know, you don't have any
problem. You don't have any problem. You don't have anybody to argue
with, no trouble. Nobody to butt heads with when you're living
alone. When you get married, you've
got two people. Now, don't lie to me. Don't sit
there and say, y'all don't have a problem. Everybody does. Every
man and woman does. You've got two different personalities,
don't you? You've got two different personalities.
They say opposites attract, and that's generally the ones who
get married. Well, what's going to happen when opposites attract? Boom! If it wasn't for the love
or the grace of God and the love that he creates, they wouldn't
stay together. It's no, it doesn't surprise
me that marriages don't last a day. It surprises me that any
of them do last. Knowing the nature, or knowing
our flesh and knowing what we are by nature. It's the grace
of God that any true marriages are made in heaven. So here,
but here's the, here's the illustration I'm trying to give. When we're
without Christ, marriage is sin, the world, and
the devil, and flesh, you know, no problem. No problem. No problem. Everything going along smoothly. And then you get married to another. You've got problems. One fellow
said he's like two men living in a three-story house. One lives on the third floor
and one lives on the first. And every now and then they'd
get together on the middle floor and just have a battle. And that's the way it is with
a believer. That's the way it is. He's got a new nature. creating
the image of Christ Jesus. With his mind, he serves the
law of God. With his new man, he loves the
law. He loves what is right and good and holy and just and true,
and that's what he wants to be and what he wants to do. But
then there's this old law of warring in his memory, bringing
him into captivity of the law of flesh and sin, and this warring
of flesh, lust against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh,
so he cannot do the things that he would. It's constantly a battle. Who shall deliver me? We've grown
waiting for the redemption of our body. Christ said, well I
put away the sin that would condemn you. I put away the law that
would condemn you. And someday I'm going to rescue
you entirely from the presence of sin itself. And there'll be
no more sin. You're going to come with me,
and you're going to be just like Christ, and dwell in a place
wherein dwelleth righteousness, and nothing that maketh a lie,
and no more struggle. The war is over." Because why? Christ won the battle. That's why. All right, let's stand and I'll
dismiss this in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you in the name of Christ. That's why we say what we do. That's the reason we plead his
name. That's the reason we meet in his name, pray in his name,
because it's Christ. It's Christ. Christ is all and
in all. He's all our hope. all our plea. Our salvation is totally dependent
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and we come to you, O God, believing
on, casting ourselves on the Lord Jesus Christ, looking to
who he is, where he is now, what he has done, and depending and
believing that you will be true to your word, that you'll receive
all that come unto you by Christ. Sinful though we may be, yet
in Christ there's no condemnation and there is acceptance. How
we thank you. Make this more than just doctrine
in our head. Make it the joy and rejoicing
of our heart, the good news indeed. In Christ's name we have met
together. Amen.