WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.100 Church, we are going to jump right into it this morning. Take your Bibles, if you would, and turn to Romans chapter 7. 00:00:07.099 --> 00:00:14.300 We're continuing on in our series on when in Romans, going from the back of Paul's epistle to the front. 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:18.759 Romans chapter 7, we're picking it up in verse 7. 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:30.439 So we covered the first six verses of Romans chapter 7 last Sunday, and we celebrated some incredible news that Jesus has activated the death clause. 00:00:30.880 --> 00:00:35.979 We are no longer bound by sin and death. We're no longer under any legal obligation. 00:00:37.100 --> 00:00:43.500 To the law of sin and death, and instead, we now belong to a living Savior. 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:49.079 And that was the good news from last Sunday. We're going to pick it up here in verse 7. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:01:00.060 And the first few verses, down through verse 13, this revelation that we are free from the law of sin and death raises a natural question. 00:01:00.060 --> 00:01:10.780 So if we're dead to the law, and the law could not fulfill the mission of bringing us to Christ, then does that mean that the law is bad? 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:15.400 Let me just ask y'all. Church, is God's law bad? 00:01:16.020 --> 00:01:18.280 Good. You passed the test. Good job. 00:01:18.740 --> 00:01:23.980 If anybody was unsure of the answer, just listen to what the person next to you said. They were right. 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:27.420 Is the rule book evil? Of course not. Absolutely not. 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:29.840 So let's pick it up here in verse 7. 00:01:30.020 --> 00:01:40.040 If you're able to, would you just stand with me for this first reading of Scripture, Romans chapter 7, verses 7 through 13. 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:43.880 Romans 7, 7 through 13. 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:47.000 Paul says, 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:51.319 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? 00:01:51.819 --> 00:01:52.679 Of course not. 00:01:53.140 --> 00:01:56.679 In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:02.199 I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said you must not covet. 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:05.459 So you see, the law itself is holy. 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:10.120 And its commands are holy and right and good. 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:13.120 Now, if you would, skip down to verse 13. 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:17.980 Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation. 00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:22.460 So we can see how terrible sin really is. 00:02:23.420 --> 00:02:30.099 It uses God's good commands or law for its own evil purposes. 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:31.759 Would you bow your heads with me? 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:38.819 Lord Jesus, I pray that you would enlighten us to what Paul was writing to this church in Rome so many years ago. 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:44.000 Apply it to our context here today in 2026. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:49.500 God, just teach us what your spirit would have us to understand from the Scriptures. 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:56.060 And prepare our hearts to remember you and your sacrifice by observing the Lord's table today. 00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:57.180 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:02:57.520 --> 00:02:57.780 Amen. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:02:58.439 You may be seated. 00:02:58.560 --> 00:02:59.300 Thank you for standing. 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:00.300 Amen. 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:00.300 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:01.300 Amen. 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:04.960 So Paul is explaining that the law is like a clean mirror. 00:03:06.100 --> 00:03:07.380 Doesn't lie. 00:03:07.760 --> 00:03:09.840 Reveals exactly what it's seeing. 00:03:09.920 --> 00:03:16.560 If you walk into the bathroom in the morning, anybody walk into the bathroom and look in the mirror sometimes early in the morning? 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:19.540 How many of you just love what you see looking back at you? 00:03:19.539 --> 00:03:19.780 Yeah. 00:03:20.419 --> 00:03:22.519 Probably not too many of us. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:26.840 Look, if you don't love what you see, it's not the mirror's fault, right? 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:28.519 You don't get mad at the mirror. 00:03:28.519 --> 00:03:36.199 So the law is a mirror to reveal the truth about us, sometimes the hard, maybe ugly truth, right? 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:41.319 The mirror didn't put the image there. 00:03:41.399 --> 00:03:43.219 It just revealed the image. 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:45.459 Then, man, it gets heavy. 00:03:45.460 --> 00:04:00.159 As Paul says, once that command came or the law came, sin used those good commands to trip us up, to show us how we could never obey them, how ugly it really is. 00:04:00.620 --> 00:04:03.659 That's where Paul leaves us at the end of verse 13 there. 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:14.260 He leaves us staring into the holy mirror of Scripture, completely exposed, realizing just how dirty we are. 00:04:14.259 --> 00:04:17.740 Now, before we go any further, can we pivot for a minute? 00:04:19.159 --> 00:04:22.539 How many of you have heard of the imposter syndrome? 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:25.139 Anybody heard of imposter syndrome? 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:28.339 Anybody want to venture a definition? 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:30.339 No, that's all right. 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:30.920 I have one prepared. 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:40.279 It is a psychological term for the nagging, exhausting fear that you don't measure up, you aren't good enough at whatever you're doing. 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:47.719 You aren't actually as qualified or as smart or as prepared or as good as people think you are. 00:04:48.059 --> 00:04:49.419 Maybe in your job. 00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:51.259 Maybe in a relationship. 00:04:51.859 --> 00:04:58.239 Maybe in some kind of status or honor that's been bestowed upon you, and you think people just haven't quite figured out yet. 00:04:59.059 --> 00:05:02.119 That you're not actually equipped for this at all. 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:09.360 It's the constant anxiety that any day now, people are actually going to figure it out. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:11.819 They're going to find out the truth about you. 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:16.399 They call this imposter syndrome in psychological terms. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:20.399 And it starts out with a project or a piece of work, for instance. 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:22.780 And then it goes to anxiety, self-doubt, worry. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.500 And then there's usually two responses that can come out of that. 00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:29.300 You either procrastinate because you don't have the motivation to actually prepare. 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:33.500 You don't think that you're really good enough and the work you're going to do isn't really going to work anyway. 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:35.220 Or you over-prepare. 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:40.420 And you do so much work because you think that you're not really good enough and you don't really know what you're doing. 00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:43.899 And either way, you somehow accomplish it. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:46.660 And then a feeling of relief comes in. 00:05:46.699 --> 00:05:48.019 And then you get some positive feedback. 00:05:48.620 --> 00:05:50.199 Whew, I got through it. 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:51.339 I got past it. 00:05:51.339 --> 00:05:53.579 But then what happens? 00:05:54.239 --> 00:05:57.979 Either through effort or through luck, you accomplished it. 00:05:58.019 --> 00:06:05.439 But then it gets down to you ignore or you push away the positive feedback you got because you don't think you really earned it. 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:07.399 You don't think you really deserve it. 00:06:08.179 --> 00:06:10.239 And then you get up to feeling like a fake. 00:06:10.559 --> 00:06:11.479 You doubt yourself. 00:06:11.659 --> 00:06:14.219 Sometimes that can trigger depression or anxiety. 00:06:14.479 --> 00:06:17.319 And then it just starts the cycle all over again. 00:06:17.379 --> 00:06:19.500 And a lot of people live that way. 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:20.860 Maybe some. 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:22.519 I'm not going to ask for a show of hands, all right? 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:25.279 You don't need to reveal that about yourself right now. 00:06:25.339 --> 00:06:28.420 But maybe some of you have struggled with that at certain points in your life. 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.060 You know what can trigger that in the life of a church? 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:35.819 Taking communion. 00:06:37.399 --> 00:06:38.699 Taking the Lord's Supper. 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:43.959 Keep imposter syndrome in the back of your head. 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:49.839 Then would you flip over, hold a finger, put your little Bible ribbon marker that you're not sure what to do with. 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:52.199 Put that right there in Romans chapter 7. 00:06:52.299 --> 00:06:54.859 And let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 00:06:55.299 --> 00:06:57.120 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:00.819 We will get back to Romans 7 in just a minute. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:04.859 But let's take a little detour over to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:07.240 Look down at verse 27. 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:16.460 While you're turning there, we're about to read a terrifying warning from Paul about the Lord's Supper. 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:17.439 Everybody look up front. 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:21.819 See the nice looking silver communion trays here. 00:07:21.960 --> 00:07:24.600 They're laden with the bread and the juice. 00:07:24.900 --> 00:07:26.560 We're going to pass out in just a little bit. 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:32.300 But the Moors work tirelessly on that whenever we have Lord's Supper time. 00:07:32.420 --> 00:07:34.800 We appreciate the service they do for the church. 00:07:36.860 --> 00:07:38.040 1 Corinthians 11. 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:42.340 Paul gives us a terrifying warning about the Lord's Supper. 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:46.720 This passage has made me feel like an imposter sometimes. 00:07:47.579 --> 00:07:49.720 It might have made you feel like an imposter. 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:51.240 Maybe you didn't have that word for it. 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:55.319 But you sit there in the pew knowing you're about to take communion. 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:57.660 Knowing your week was sinful. 00:07:58.860 --> 00:08:00.160 Unless you're lying to yourself. 00:08:00.400 --> 00:08:01.280 Your week was sinful. 00:08:01.460 --> 00:08:02.240 Just like mine. 00:08:02.960 --> 00:08:05.180 Maybe your morning before church was sinful. 00:08:05.340 --> 00:08:07.120 Anybody get in a fight on the way to church this morning? 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:08.060 You don't need to raise your hand. 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:10.019 It happens. 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:13.579 Sometimes the devil likes to put the squeeze on on Sunday mornings 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:16.139 when you're trying to prepare your heart for what God is going to do 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:20.620 when gathering with the body of Christ at the church house. 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:26.480 You realize why you might be fooling the other people sitting next to you 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:29.060 or sitting near you and they think everything's fine. 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:31.900 You know that everything's not always fine. 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:33.680 And yet here it comes. 00:08:34.060 --> 00:08:35.000 Lord's Supper time. 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:36.120 Communion time. 00:08:36.580 --> 00:08:37.279 What are we going to do? 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:40.680 Let's look at 1 Corinthians 11 down in verse 27. 00:08:40.860 --> 00:08:42.340 So anyone, watch this. 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:48.500 Anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily. 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:50.940 That's the big scary word. 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:52.919 Are you worthy of it? 00:08:53.740 --> 00:09:01.320 If you eat or drink unworthily, you are guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:06.720 Anybody want to sin against the body and blood of Jesus this morning? 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:07.620 I don't think so. 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:09.799 That scares the fire out of me, right? 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:15.519 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:20.700 you are eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself. 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:23.320 That's terrifying, y'all. 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:27.640 And then he goes on to explain it a little further. 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:32.840 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some of have even died. 00:09:33.560 --> 00:09:39.540 Can you imagine sitting in the room in Corinth when the letter from Paul is being read? 00:09:39.539 --> 00:09:47.399 And they're looking over at sister so-and-so who's been having some health problems saying, 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:52.139 I bet you that's why she's having health problems because she took the Lord's Supper unworthily. 00:09:52.939 --> 00:09:54.799 We don't need to fall into that trap. 00:09:54.919 --> 00:10:02.759 We have no idea why God allows our brothers and sisters in Christ or sometimes us ourselves to go through certain trials. 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:05.039 But Paul said this could be one of the reasons. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:08.519 Unworthy. 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:09.959 That's a heavy word. 00:10:10.699 --> 00:10:11.599 God's judgment. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:13.179 That's a scary thought. 00:10:15.299 --> 00:10:23.199 It's no wonder we can sometimes feel like imposters sitting in the pew getting ready to take the Lord's Supper. 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:26.139 So what does he mean? 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:33.959 Does he mean that if I eat this cracker with sin in my life, I'm drinking damnation to my soul? 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:35.120 Is that what he means? 00:10:35.780 --> 00:10:36.620 Let's go back to it. 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:37.019 You're right. 00:10:37.139 --> 00:10:37.879 It's not what he means. 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:38.340 Good job. 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:41.180 He's ahead of the game. 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:41.840 Romans 7. 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:43.200 Let's go back to Romans 7 now. 00:10:44.160 --> 00:10:45.200 Romans chapter 7. 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:47.940 We got down through verse 13. 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:50.740 Let's pick it up now in verse 14. 00:10:51.680 --> 00:10:53.700 And we're going to go down through 23. 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:56.040 We've got two simple truths to take away here. 00:10:56.840 --> 00:10:57.440 Number one. 00:10:58.139 --> 00:11:01.759 We will always struggle with sin. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:06.120 Now, I'm sorry if that's not the news you wanted to hear, but it's the truth. 00:11:06.819 --> 00:11:10.019 And if we're being honest with ourselves, we probably know that about ourselves. 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:13.539 We will always struggle with sin. 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:15.379 Sin is a defeated enemy. 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:21.360 When you got saved, like the choir sang about, by the way, it's one of my favorite songs. 00:11:21.460 --> 00:11:22.019 I love that. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:24.379 So, whosoever idea that was, Greg, that was awesome. 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:25.080 Thank you for that. 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:27.379 Wonderful song, and they did a great job on it. 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:40.139 When you get saved, meaning you're saved from the captivity of sin, you're saved from being bound by sin, and you're saved from the ultimate punishment for sin or consequences of sin. 00:11:40.460 --> 00:11:44.820 And God rescues you, brings you into his kingdom. 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:47.139 He's, you're one of his children. 00:11:47.439 --> 00:11:49.240 That's what we're talking about when we say getting saved. 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:53.299 And it's only possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:11:54.620 --> 00:11:59.360 So, when that happens, you are freed from sin. 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:01.320 You're freed from the bondage of sin. 00:12:01.419 --> 00:12:02.100 But guess what? 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:04.159 Sin is still around you. 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:05.080 Right? 00:12:06.060 --> 00:12:14.759 We don't have our perfect, glorified bodies that God promises someday that's going to live forever, and we're going to be free from sin, and everything's going to be happy and wonderful forever. 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:16.319 We don't have that yet. 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:18.720 We're still bound by this flesh. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.960 So, sin is all around us, on the outside, and guess what? 00:12:23.379 --> 00:12:24.860 Sin is still on the inside, too. 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:26.980 Because your mind is still sinful. 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:30.259 Your heart, your desires are still sinful. 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:37.259 And that's why the Bible says the heart is deceitful, wicked. 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:41.720 Nobody can truly understand its desires. 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:43.220 It'll lead you astray. 00:12:43.220 --> 00:12:43.300 Okay? 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:50.639 So, little side note, when the Disney movies say just follow your heart, not the best advice in the world. 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:51.139 Okay? 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:52.600 Not the best advice. 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:56.800 Follow God changing your heart. 00:12:57.420 --> 00:12:59.139 It says he wants to capture your heart. 00:12:59.420 --> 00:13:00.440 Change the way you think. 00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:02.680 But that's a process. 00:13:03.040 --> 00:13:04.360 That's a journey over time. 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:10.399 He's going to walk this road with you, and he's going to change you little by little. 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:13.600 During that time, you're going to struggle with sin. 00:13:14.319 --> 00:13:15.360 It's going to happen. 00:13:16.779 --> 00:13:20.000 Galatians chapter 5 and verse 17, Paul writes about it this way. 00:13:20.079 --> 00:13:24.919 He says, the spirit and your desires are enemies. 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:25.919 They ain't friends. 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:27.000 They ain't friends. 00:13:27.199 --> 00:13:28.179 They don't get along. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:33.620 The Holy Spirit of God and what you want are not simpatico. 00:13:34.339 --> 00:13:35.699 They're not working together. 00:13:35.959 --> 00:13:37.099 They're at odds with each other. 00:13:37.439 --> 00:13:39.259 They're always fighting each other. 00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:43.319 They're keeping you from doing what you feel you should. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:53.000 What the spirit himself reveals to you that you should do. 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:56.039 But your sinful desires get in the way. 00:13:56.819 --> 00:13:57.600 It's a struggle. 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:02.919 Paul paints this as a struggle right here in chapter 7. 00:14:03.539 --> 00:14:05.519 What does he say in verse 15? 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:08.460 I do not understand what I do. 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:10.659 You ever been there? 00:14:11.079 --> 00:14:13.019 I don't understand what I'm doing right now. 00:14:13.819 --> 00:14:15.939 I've been there more times than I'd like to admit. 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:21.159 He says, the things I want to do, I do not do. 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:24.539 But what I hate, that's what I do. 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:30.740 For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:33.819 You see, the trouble is not with the law. 00:14:33.820 --> 00:14:35.300 Back it up in verse 14. 00:14:35.680 --> 00:14:37.120 The law is spiritual and good. 00:14:37.220 --> 00:14:39.220 The trouble is with me. 00:14:39.800 --> 00:14:41.140 I'm all too human. 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:42.840 I'm a slave to sin. 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:44.740 I don't really understand myself. 00:14:44.920 --> 00:14:46.900 I want to do what's right, but I don't do it. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.060 Instead, I do what I hate. 00:14:49.400 --> 00:14:51.960 But if I know that what I'm doing is wrong, 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:55.140 this shows that I agree that the law is good. 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:58.620 How would you know that what you're doing is wrong if there was no law? 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:02.460 If there was no rule, you wouldn't know you were breaking it. 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:04.759 So the law was good. 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:09.060 It was necessary to show us what was wrong, to show us what was right, 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:12.320 to show us what was wrong, to bring us to God. 00:15:12.539 --> 00:15:14.600 He says, so I'm not the one doing wrong. 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:15.460 Verse 17. 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:18.539 It's sin living in me that does it. 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:19.740 What does he mean? 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:21.600 I'm not the one doing wrong. 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:23.080 Is he trying to pass the buck? 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:26.860 Is he trying to get an escape clause here? 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:29.600 He said, well, it's not really me. 00:15:29.660 --> 00:15:30.620 He can't get mad at me. 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:31.280 It was sin. 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:35.680 Because he's learned he has a new identity. 00:15:36.980 --> 00:15:40.379 The new him is not the one doing this. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:42.220 It's the old flesh. 00:15:42.920 --> 00:15:48.960 You see, Paul believed in a unique way that God had changed him. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:52.840 God had made a new Paul. 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:55.120 He went so far as to change his name. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:57.820 He went from Saul to Paul. 00:15:58.560 --> 00:16:00.180 He said, this is a whole new me, y'all. 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:02.420 This is new birth. 00:16:03.300 --> 00:16:06.460 And the new me is not the one doing these things. 00:16:06.800 --> 00:16:11.500 It's the sin of the old Saul that's still living with me. 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:13.700 It's a struggle. 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:17.540 So this is where you and I live. 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:19.900 We struggle with sin. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:23.920 This is the raw reality of the Christian life. 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:28.320 We try to paint ourselves as good, upstanding, moral, ethical people. 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:31.520 Truth is, we all struggle with sin. 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:34.840 Often, we all struggle with the same sins. 00:16:36.040 --> 00:16:39.580 And then you have this sinful culture because of it, right? 00:16:39.580 --> 00:16:44.200 But Paul is describing a violent inner civil war. 00:16:44.540 --> 00:16:46.240 His mind loves God. 00:16:47.300 --> 00:16:48.800 God is changing his heart. 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:52.680 And the spirit in him loves God and is driving him towards God. 00:16:53.000 --> 00:17:01.400 But his old life, his old habits, his old sinful flesh keeps pulling him back, dragging him backwards. 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:06.220 And Galatians talks, kind of fleshes this out for us. 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:09.039 So Paul realizes he's a walking contradiction. 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:13.680 Anybody ever heard church people called hypocrites before? 00:17:14.620 --> 00:17:15.180 Yeah. 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:17.299 It's because there's a struggle going on. 00:17:17.700 --> 00:17:18.900 We know what's right. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:20.860 We just don't always live it, you know? 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:22.680 It is a contradiction. 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:30.620 And we pray for God to continue to change us, to make us less hypocritical, less contradictory. 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:36.420 And we don't need to paint the picture for others that we're above all that. 00:17:37.120 --> 00:17:38.060 Be vulnerable. 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:39.019 Be transparent. 00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:40.460 Say, yes, it is a struggle. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:42.920 No, I don't always practice what I preach. 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:45.480 No, I don't always do what I know is right. 00:17:46.120 --> 00:17:48.080 I will always struggle with sin. 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:49.340 But God's helping me. 00:17:49.339 --> 00:17:51.740 God's changing me little by little. 00:17:51.819 --> 00:17:53.779 And the more you're around me, the more you'll see it, right? 00:17:54.839 --> 00:18:09.159 So if you feel that way, if you've got sin that you just can't shake, if you've got problems that seem to be weighing you down and you can't seem to just give them over to God, you're in good company. 00:18:10.459 --> 00:18:11.199 Paul was there too. 00:18:12.159 --> 00:18:13.039 He lived there. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:29.579 If Paul struggled with that gap between what we know we should be and who we are in Christ and then what we actually do and think and say, and there's a gap there, that struggle doesn't mean you're not a child of God. 00:18:30.159 --> 00:18:34.899 That struggle does not mean that you're not a real, genuine follower of Christ. 00:18:34.900 --> 00:18:37.460 It means you're struggling when you follow. 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:44.180 And you go look at the followers of Jesus, those 12 disciples and the others who would travel along with him, you'll see them struggling too. 00:18:45.300 --> 00:18:49.440 It means you're alive and God's working in you. 00:18:49.780 --> 00:18:54.980 If you didn't care about it, if you weren't bothered by it, that's when you're worried. 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:57.160 That's when there's cause for concern. 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:03.299 But when the struggle is going on in your heart, you know that the Holy Spirit is in there saying, no, no, no, no. 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:04.940 That's not the real you. 00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:05.940 That's the old you. 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:08.299 Come live this way with me. 00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:09.940 Number two. 00:19:12.860 --> 00:19:14.839 Let's go back to Romans 7. 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:16.160 Let's skip down to verse 24. 00:19:18.579 --> 00:19:21.339 Oh, what a miserable person I am. 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:22.240 Isn't that great? 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:24.779 Paul had a way with words, man. 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:26.500 What a miserable person I am. 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:28.819 Let's back up to verse 23. 00:19:29.399 --> 00:19:33.160 There's another power within me that is at war with my mind. 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:37.619 This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 00:19:37.899 --> 00:19:39.899 Now you understand why he's calling himself miserable. 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:42.160 Oh, what a miserable person I am. 00:19:42.420 --> 00:19:49.480 Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 00:19:49.980 --> 00:19:52.720 How many of you love to see your favorite sports teams dominate? 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.600 How many of you actually get to see your favorite sports teams dominate? 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:57.740 It's hard, right? 00:19:58.559 --> 00:19:58.880 Yeah. 00:19:59.600 --> 00:20:03.519 Back in the old days when we were Dallas Cowboys fans, those were fun. 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:05.400 It's been a long time. 00:20:05.400 --> 00:20:12.780 Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 00:20:13.780 --> 00:20:16.019 Sin and death is winning down here. 00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:17.460 That's what it feels like. 00:20:18.120 --> 00:20:19.460 Feels like they're everywhere. 00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:22.940 Feels like the darkness just swallows up the light. 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:24.620 But the opposite is true. 00:20:25.620 --> 00:20:27.840 The light will always pierce the darkness. 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:41.240 That's why that war, that struggle inside us as light bearers, as human torches, as the candles and the candlesticks, as the lamps, 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:45.779 as the city on the hill, as the salt of the earth. 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:51.460 There's all these illustrations and examples of what God calls his people and how we're supposed to be different in this world. 00:20:51.660 --> 00:20:59.879 That's why it's so important, that struggle within us, that we learn to let Jesus win. 00:21:00.420 --> 00:21:02.480 That we learn to let the Spirit win. 00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:06.180 That less and less we get pulled back. 00:21:06.180 --> 00:21:08.500 We're always going to struggle. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:13.039 But you can win more victories than you lose. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:15.960 You can win more battles than you lose. 00:21:17.060 --> 00:21:19.100 Jesus already won the ultimate victory. 00:21:19.840 --> 00:21:21.820 And God does change people. 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:26.480 Can we just get a testimony about that? 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:33.140 How many people think through your life, think through those whose testimonies you've heard, whose stories you've heard, 00:21:33.140 --> 00:21:37.140 and you believe in your heart that God can change people? 00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:38.960 Would you just testify that by uplifting hand? 00:21:40.040 --> 00:21:42.240 You can put your hand down, then God can change you too. 00:21:43.360 --> 00:21:43.780 He can. 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:47.320 If he can change them, he can change you. 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:50.780 And if he can change you once, he can do it again. 00:21:51.180 --> 00:21:53.860 If he can change you in one area, he can do it again. 00:21:55.320 --> 00:21:56.920 So point number two is this. 00:21:58.360 --> 00:22:00.920 Jesus makes us worthy. 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:10.700 This brings us right to the climax of this entire passage. 00:22:12.360 --> 00:22:17.800 The power that makes me a slave to sin is the sin that's still in me. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.100 It's so miserable. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:25.080 Who's going to free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:26.220 Everybody look. 00:22:26.420 --> 00:22:28.120 Every eye down in the Bible, if you would. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:29.620 Verse 25. 00:22:29.619 --> 00:22:32.699 Thank God. 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:37.719 The answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. 00:22:38.179 --> 00:22:39.419 Who's going to free me? 00:22:39.639 --> 00:22:40.599 I'm miserable. 00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:43.219 I'm being dominated. 00:22:43.579 --> 00:22:44.899 I'm getting run out of the gym. 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:46.159 I'm getting run off the field. 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:49.599 I'm losing the battle over and over and over and over again. 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:52.779 Who's going to free me? 00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:54.159 Who's going to win the victory? 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:59.779 Thank God the answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:01.019 So you see how it is. 00:23:01.320 --> 00:23:03.259 In my mind, I really want to obey God's law. 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:06.700 Because of my sinful nature, I'm a slave to sin. 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:08.759 But listen, what did Jesus do? 00:23:08.980 --> 00:23:10.840 He came to set the captives free. 00:23:11.140 --> 00:23:12.860 He came to break the chains. 00:23:13.080 --> 00:23:14.779 He came to end the slavery. 00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:16.500 He came to liberate us. 00:23:16.540 --> 00:23:17.519 He came to free us. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:20.539 That's why all this freedom language is all throughout the Bible. 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:27.019 From the Old Testament prophets in Isaiah, all the way up through the New Testament, ultimate prophet of Jesus himself. 00:23:27.019 --> 00:23:29.599 Saying, I came to bring freedom. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:30.099 Why? 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:31.680 Because you are a slave to sin. 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:33.299 It will always be a struggle. 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:36.079 But I hold the keys to your chains. 00:23:36.579 --> 00:23:37.700 I can free you. 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:40.119 And because of that, you're worthy. 00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:42.500 You're worthy not because of yourself. 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:44.160 Not because you freed yourself. 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:45.740 Not because you kicked the bad habit. 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:49.799 Not because you finally figured out how to make people like you. 00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:53.500 Not because you finally figured out the solution to your marriage. 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:57.319 Or you figured out some middle ground where you and your kids could live in peace. 00:23:58.200 --> 00:23:59.839 Not because of any of that. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:03.480 You're free because I freed you. 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:08.359 You're not a slave anymore because I came to set the slaves free. 00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:13.180 So I make you worthy to take the Lord's Supper. 00:24:13.180 --> 00:24:19.060 I make you worthy to remember me and honor my sacrifice. 00:24:19.620 --> 00:24:22.740 Not because of you, but because of me. 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:25.759 He shouts the answer. 00:24:26.580 --> 00:24:32.779 Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:24:32.840 --> 00:24:35.480 And then over in Colossians, Paul writes about it again. 00:24:35.560 --> 00:24:37.120 He says, the Father, look at this word. 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:37.700 I love this. 00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:40.340 The Father has, what's that highlighted word right there? 00:24:40.339 --> 00:24:42.980 The Father has qualified you. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:45.539 Anybody ever felt unqualified? 00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:47.480 Yeah. 00:24:47.939 --> 00:24:50.599 Anybody ever felt unqualified to take communion? 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:52.319 I have. 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:54.939 I was a preacher's kid growing up. 00:24:55.779 --> 00:24:58.059 I was in church more nights than I wasn't. 00:24:58.199 --> 00:24:59.359 Seemed like during the year. 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:01.799 Practically lived at the church house. 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:06.700 But I knew I was unqualified. 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:10.819 The Father qualifies us. 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:12.839 Because of the Son. 00:25:13.919 --> 00:25:22.200 The Father has qualified you to share in his inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of God. 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:25.819 God, you can take communion if you're a child of God. 00:25:27.220 --> 00:25:33.600 Your heart might be pulled away by the things of the flesh and the world and you're struggling. 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:35.640 God, I failed some battles. 00:25:37.120 --> 00:25:41.580 But you've got to come in as a humble child of God and say, it's not about me. 00:25:41.940 --> 00:25:42.940 It's about Jesus. 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:46.660 You know what can unqualify you? 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:47.820 What can disqualify you? 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:51.559 If you're coming in thinking you're worthy of it. 00:25:52.100 --> 00:25:53.680 You're coming in thinking you're qualified. 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:57.140 I lived a pretty good life this week. 00:25:57.940 --> 00:25:58.820 Boy, I've come a long way. 00:25:59.580 --> 00:26:00.299 I've arrived. 00:26:00.600 --> 00:26:01.240 You know what Paul said? 00:26:02.100 --> 00:26:03.100 I've not arrived. 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:05.259 I've not been made perfect. 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:07.160 I'm not complete. 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:09.360 I'm a work in progress. 00:26:10.019 --> 00:26:13.800 How many of you can testify that you're a work in progress and God's still working on it? 00:26:13.800 --> 00:26:14.060 Yes. 00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:14.460 Good. 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:14.960 Good. 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:16.720 That we're in the same group here. 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:17.620 We're in the same boat. 00:26:17.840 --> 00:26:18.180 All right? 00:26:18.320 --> 00:26:21.980 And that's what qualifies you for communion. 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:25.360 That's what qualifies you for the inheritance of God. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:36.519 So you might have thought that examining yourself to see if you're worthy means reviewing your week to see if you lived well enough 00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:38.059 to earn a seat at the Lord's table. 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:44.139 You might have thought that your inner civil war was too messy, too intense. 00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:45.799 You're losing too many battles. 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:47.639 So you let the plate pass you by. 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:53.099 You don't want to eat and drink judgment on yourself. 00:26:53.099 --> 00:27:00.719 But when we take that warning from 1 Corinthians and we lay it next to the further information Paul gives here in Romans 7, 00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:03.159 we see it actually means the opposite. 00:27:04.399 --> 00:27:06.379 In Romans 7, Paul examines himself. 00:27:06.639 --> 00:27:09.779 He finds out he is a wretched man. 00:27:09.919 --> 00:27:10.559 Did you see that? 00:27:11.379 --> 00:27:13.219 He said, I'm a wretched man. 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:16.519 I'm a miserable person. 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:19.500 I like that word wretch. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:21.620 You know what it makes me think of? 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:24.640 Amazing grace. 00:27:25.319 --> 00:27:30.180 How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 00:27:32.360 --> 00:27:38.180 And that's why we've saved it until now to reveal the title of this sermon to you. 00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:45.160 If you want to take the Lord's Supper with us in just a moment, if you want to take communion with us in just a moment, 00:27:45.840 --> 00:27:47.940 you've got to be wretched but welcome. 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:55.539 You've got to recognize you are wretched, but you are absolutely welcome at God's table. 00:27:57.340 --> 00:27:58.480 I'm thinking of that verse. 00:27:59.180 --> 00:27:59.960 Amazing grace. 00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:01.360 How sweet the sound. 00:28:01.840 --> 00:28:04.380 Doesn't say it saved a stand-up church member like me. 00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:07.820 Doesn't say it saved a pillar of the society like me. 00:28:07.819 --> 00:28:11.159 He said it saved a wretch like me. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:12.259 That's who Jesus came for. 00:28:12.859 --> 00:28:16.399 He came to seek and save those who were lost, not those who had it all figured out. 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:18.960 What does that word wretch mean? 00:28:19.639 --> 00:28:28.119 Probably hard to see that, but it says an unfortunate or unhappy person, a despicable or contemptible person. 00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:38.679 I think at some point, if not all the time, you and I have been unfortunate, unhappy, despicable, contemptible. 00:28:39.339 --> 00:28:43.599 If you don't realize or acknowledge that about yourself, you're deceiving yourself. 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:45.959 That's what a wretch is. 00:28:46.659 --> 00:28:49.379 Paul said, I am a wretch. 00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:50.539 Trust me. 00:28:51.740 --> 00:28:53.399 I know what's going on in my heart. 00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:58.719 I'm not just talking about my past when I was killing Christians and trying to stamp out God's church. 00:28:58.720 --> 00:29:03.819 When I was Saul working hard against God. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:05.140 I'm not just talking about that. 00:29:05.600 --> 00:29:06.680 He said, I'm talking about now. 00:29:07.100 --> 00:29:09.299 When I don't do the things that I know I should do. 00:29:09.420 --> 00:29:12.100 And I find myself doing all the things I know I shouldn't do. 00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:13.460 I'm a wretch. 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:16.220 But Jesus makes me worthy. 00:29:16.740 --> 00:29:19.720 I can stand before God because of Jesus. 00:29:20.380 --> 00:29:21.319 Luke chapter 5. 00:29:21.879 --> 00:29:22.819 Jesus said this. 00:29:23.379 --> 00:29:24.960 Healthy people don't need a doctor. 00:29:25.619 --> 00:29:26.359 Sick people do. 00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:34.639 I have come, Jesus said, not to call those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:38.039 I'm not going to have you raise your hands, but how many of you know you're a sinner this morning? 00:29:38.399 --> 00:29:42.819 How many know there's been sin in your life, in your heart, and you're in need of a Savior? 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:48.519 Every day of our lives, child of God or not, we are sinners in need of a Savior. 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:52.579 The only difference is the children of God, they have access to the Father. 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.839 They have that Savior. 00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:55.920 He's ready and welcome at any time. 00:29:56.279 --> 00:29:59.879 The ones who have not yet received Him, they're not the children of God yet. 00:29:59.960 --> 00:30:00.839 He's calling them. 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:02.359 He's extended the invitation. 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:04.119 And that might be some of you this morning. 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:10.160 You might be sitting there while God has extended the invitation to you, and He's still calling out to you and saying, come to me. 00:30:10.259 --> 00:30:12.379 And you're still thinking, well, I've got to get my life in order. 00:30:13.379 --> 00:30:14.920 I've got to be faithful to church. 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:16.839 I've got to quit cursing. 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:20.459 And I've got to quit going out and drinking or whatever my bad habit is. 00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:22.720 I've got to clean this up before I can come to Jesus. 00:30:22.819 --> 00:30:25.000 And He says, no, I need wretches. 00:30:26.539 --> 00:30:28.500 I need those who don't have it put together. 00:30:28.980 --> 00:30:30.339 I'm going to help you through the struggle. 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:32.799 Your whole life is going to be the struggle. 00:30:33.179 --> 00:30:36.879 But the good news is Jesus wants wretches. 00:30:37.359 --> 00:30:38.379 Would you bow your heads with me? 00:30:38.380 --> 00:30:41.940 We come to His table. 00:30:41.940 --> 00:30:41.940 00:30:44.340 --> 00:30:45.980 Not because we're good enough. 00:30:47.220 --> 00:30:51.480 But because He's made us worthy. 00:30:53.300 --> 00:30:54.920 Because He's qualified us. 00:30:57.780 --> 00:30:59.200 We come to His table. 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:03.080 Not because we earned it this week. 00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:07.900 But in the middle of our wretchedness, we know where to go for forgiveness. 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:17.759 And His sacrifice, His death, His resurrection, His offer for cleansing, for new life, for being made new. 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:19.559 That means so much to us. 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:23.319 We've got to pause as a church and honor Him. 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:24.400 Remember Him. 00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:26.180 Say, God, thank you for this. 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:27.220 It's everything to me. 00:31:28.180 --> 00:31:30.039 Your body that was broken for us. 00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:31.599 Your blood that was shed for us. 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:33.140 It means everything to me. 00:31:33.220 --> 00:31:35.519 That sacrifice, I couldn't live without it. 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:38.019 I couldn't make it with you.