(Read Romans 7:14-25)
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing.” In our last message we looked at how God provided a perfect Law to imperfect people to help us realize how imperfect we are and how we stand in need of a Savior. Without that Savior, Jesus the Christ, we would be doomed. And even after being Born-Again, we need God’s help to transform our mind (the way we think), emotions (the way we feel), and will (the way we make decisions) to line up with God’s will. The following passage highlights the struggle many believers have with sin:
“So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”
So what does this mean to you today? Just two things today:
1. You can be Born-Again and still be carnal. Once you are Born-Again the supernatural is supposed to be natural to you. You are no longer naturally the way you were. Your nature changed the instant you were Born-Again, but while you are Born-Again in an instant, the process of learning how to live like whom God already made you is a process. So wherever your life does not line up with God’s will for you, in that area, you are not natural (because you are supposed to be naturally supernatural), in that area you are carnal. The word carnal is a reference to the flesh and it refers to things that you do that align more with your life prior to Christ than how you should be living once you are in Christ. Carnal Christians are still Christians (thank God for His Grace), but they are not living like the men and woman God wants them to be, because they are more influenced by their old ways than their new life.
2. The power of sin was dealt with by Jesus on the cross, but the influence of sin must be dealt as you willingly die to self and renew your mind. Once you are Born-Again your spirit is made new and it is completely perfect. However, there are three parts of you. You are a spirit, you possess a soul and you live in a body. Your spirit is new, but your soul and mind are not. You will get a new body some day and you have already received a renewed spirit. Your spirit WAS changed instantly, your soul NEEDS TO be changed progressively, and your body WILL BE changed eventually. Therefore, your focus every day should be on the renewing of your soul, which is comprised of your mind (your thinker), emotions (your feeler), and will (your chooser). While Jesus already broke the power of sin from off of your life, the renewing of your mind is the only way to break sin’s influence so you can live the life God wants you to live.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me more and more about Your amazing, unyielding and undeserved Grace. It is only by Your Grace that I am not consumed. You loved me, even before I did anything to please You. You sent Your Son to die in my place, even before I lifted one finger in praise towards You. You saved me by Your undeserved Grace. And even after being saved, I have done many things that were not pleasing in Your sight. Jesus broke the power of sin from over me, but the influence of sin is still something I had to deal with. When I was Born-Again my spirit was made new, and Your Spirit bore witness with my spirit that I am a child of of the Most High God, but my mind was not made new. I was saved, but I still had sinful desires, thoughts and ways. My new man, in my old body, needed a new mind. I willingly submitted myself to the process of mind renewal; and I continue to do it daily. Every day I pick up my cross, I die to self, and I follow You. This is the only way I can die to my old ways and the only way I can live free from the influence of sin. I am Born-Again, but I don’t want to be a carnal Christian. By faith I declare that I shall arrive at the point where my mind (the way I think), emotions (the way I feel about things) and will (the way I make decisions) will all line up with Your Word. At that point siin will have no power OR influence over me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
