have we been so angry and frustrated at our sin?
So we often think that our struggle against sin is unique,
but we take a closer look at history,
we find that we are not only studying historical facts
or theological ideas in the past,
but rather many go through similar experiences as our own.
So let's look at a man, Augustine of Hippo.
It's a town, it's a place for an animal, obviously.
Of his struggle with sin and what God did in his life.
So go through his history, go through the Bible,
and see the change and call us to do the same thing.
We will learn how when we treasure Jesus more than pleasure,
he brings us more joy.
So just to make Augustine's story a little bit easier to understand,
going through at point one,
I want to tell you his life story with an Australian twist.
So Augustine was born about 1700 years ago
in a small town of Zagast known as Algeria.
So it's a little bit like being born in a little Aussie country town.
Augustine was a son of a pagan father called Patricius
and a Christian mother by the name of Onika.
Patricius was a civil servant,
so he was respectable and had a well-paid job.
So, Monica's family thought it was a great idea
to marry someone with connection to the government
and knew that their daughter would be well provided for.
So it's a bit like what happens with the arranged marriages these days
in many parts of the world.
So Augustine, being Patricius' son,
is expected to land a good plum job, government job.
So he couldn't get a good education in that little town.
So when he was 11 years old,
he was sent to boarding school at Madura,
a larger town about 20 miles south.
So just like many people growing in the country,
he was sent to a boarding school to get a better education.
So afterwards, a rich guy supported him
to further his education in Carthage.
It's a bit like getting a scholarship
and going to a big city like Sydney.
So just like for those that move from a small city
to the big smokes,
and Augustine is getting to be of age.
So although he heard the gospel
through his mum, who is a Christian,
and through many of his friends during his studies,
he was attracted to the lifestyle of a big city,
and has taken up a concubine,
and had a child.
So just like many people these days,
he was in a de facto relationship,
and had a kid out of wedlock.
So let's take a look at Augustine's life so far.
So like many people growing up in this area,
he was expected to get a good job,
to study hard,
but at the same time,
he wanted to rebel against his mother's wishes,
and experience the pleasures of a big city.
So we can see that his desires
are pretty much like our desires.
So what's the thing that made Augustine
turn his life around?
So we actually need to look at
how Augustine views his own struggle against lust.
So if you look at point two,
on Augustine's struggle against sin,
Augustine reflected his own conversion experience,
and we can see it in a book called
The Confessions of Augustine,
which outlines his struggles.
So the thing we have to realise is,
in Roman times,
it's actually not uncommon
to get a concubine before you get married.
So the thing that stirs Augustine
to think about sin
is not what is expected in society,
because that's pretty much normal,
or at least not unusual,
but rather,
it's actually his inward reflection
of whether he can control his lust.
So you can actually see
how Augustine views his lust in The Confessions.
He describes his sexual impulses as negative.
So he reflects the image of disease,
disorder, and corruption.
So I'll just pick up a couple of quotes
to see how he describes his lifestyle.
For almost nine years followed,
in which I wallowed in the mud
of the deep and darkness of falsehood.
In another place, he says,
and what was it that delighted me
except to love and be loved?
But I did not hold on to the righted measure,
so I did not distinguish
the serenity of love
from the mist of lust.
Both boiled confusedly together,
and created off my weak age
through the steep paths of desires,
and sank me into the whirlpool of crimes.
In other places,
Augustine describes his desire as
chains, thorns,
a seething cauldron,
and an open thaw that must be scratched.
Desire for Augustine is almost a compulsion,
an irrational impulse
that he feels incapable of controlling
without God's help,
a bondage that he is too weak to escape.
So let's pause here for a moment,
and I encourage us all to take an honest look at ourselves.
So do we have a continuing pattern of sin,
which can be likened to an addiction?
It doesn't have to be loved,
which is what Augustine struggled with.
It can be an addiction to greed,
or to power,
or to pleasure,
or something else.
When we struggle against these sins,
do you echo Augustine's sentiments
that it's a bondage that we are too weak to escape from?
For those that have struggled with sin,
have you tried to stop that pattern?
Have you heard of that advice?
Snap out of it.
Let me tell you of the danger of your particular sin.
And let me tell you how you can help yourself in that situation.
And I'm sure that that advice doesn't work.
The reason why that advice doesn't work
has to do with our human nature.
And Augustine has plenty to say about that.
So we're up to point three.
So he faced a monk called Pelagius.
And Pelagius was a rung that was going around the Roman Empire,
teaching that the human race was not entirely sinful.
According to Pelagius,
there was a residue of uncorrupted goodness in every man.
It was properly nurtured,
could win the soul back to God.
So that idea that Pelagius was teaching
was also actually quite popular in the Chinese culture.
In fact, in one of the most famous Chinese texts,
it's called the Three-Character Classic,
or San Zijing.
Actually, the wiki entry is quite accurate.
Accurate.
This one is so famous,
even the ABCs overseas know it.
And these are one of the couple of poems that I know.
But let's have a look at what it says.
I'll say it in Chinese and explain what it means in English.
So it says,
So what does it mean?
It means that he's saying that people are by nature good at birth.
So all people, the nature is similar.
But the habits make them different from each other.
So it seems that Pelagius,
and a popular traditional Chinese view,
is quite alike.
That people have some goodness in them,
and if you teach them the right thing,
people can find the good in themselves and change.
So how does the Bible answer that question?
Are people inherently good?
So that all you need to do is teach them something,
and draw the good in the sinner,
and lead them to Christ.
So let's see how Romans chapter 7
answers the claims of Pelagius,
and the claims about human nature.
So a bit about the context of Romans
is that Paul is the writer of the book,
and the context of Romans is that
he spans the first two and a half chapters or so,
describing how everyone in the world is sinful.
And the next two and a bit chapters
are about how to have a right relationship with God
by trusting in Jesus.
So chapters 6 to 8,
and we are smack bang in the middle,
is about how we live
in the state of being right with God.
So this chapter is about Paul's struggle with sin.
So firstly, does Paul think that
people are inherently good?
So from the passage we read,
this is what Paul says.
In verse 8, it says,
For I know that good itself
does not dwell in me,
that is, in my sinful nature,
for I have the desire to do what is good,
but I cannot carry it out.
So we can see that Paul thinks
that there is nothing good within himself
that dwells in him.
He gives the reason for that,
and he gives an illustration of that
because he has no ability
to carry out what he knows is right.
In verse 21, it says,
So I find this law at work.
Although 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 me,
waging war against the law of my mind,
making me a prisoner of the law of sin
and work within me.
So we have to modify
that three-character classic
according to the Bible.
It will be
So people are,
by nature,
evil,
or fallen.
So some of us,
a lot of people don't know
whether this passage in chapter 7
is written to describe
Paul's struggle with sin
before or after he became a Christian.
But from verse 22,
as well as the structure
of the book mentioned above,
it's a pretty clear indication
that he describes
the struggle as a Christian.
Since a non-Christian
wouldn't by nature
delight in God's law.
But this should astound us even more.
So the thing
that helps us to overcome sin
is not the label or the tag
whether we are Christian
or non-Christian.
A Christian,
if we rely on our own power,
even if we are educated
about God's law,
we cannot obey the law.
Our sinful nature
would try to go right up
to the limit of the law.
So that's always the case.
When you see the speed limit at 60,
some of us will ask,
is there a GST bonus
when there's a police
set up the speed camera?
So our nature
is always to push against
the law and try to break it.
So from this passage,
we see the ability
to obey the law
is not whether you carry the label
whether you're a Christian
or non-Christian.
It's about what's inside of us
and who we rely on.
Since there's nothing good
inside us,
we have no ability
to obey
by our own strength.
And more education,
whether it's moral education
or otherwise,
does not help
because the problem
is in our own
inner nature.
For the ability
to obey the law
and change
is seen in Romans chapter 8.
So if you read
from the side of Romans,
it says,
Jesus frees us
from the condemnation
of the law
because he has done
what is needed
to be done by the law
by obeying it completely.
I'll read a bit
of Romans chapter 8
verses 1 to 4.
Therefore,
there is no condemnation
for those
who are in Christ Jesus
because though
through Christ Jesus,
the law of the Spirit
who gives life
has set you free
from the law
of sin and death.
for what by the law
was powerless
to do
because it was
weakened by the flesh,
God did
by sending
his own Son
in the likeness
of sinful flesh
to be a sin offering.
So this passage
answers
what Pelagius
is actually teaching.
Because Pelagius
think that people
are inherently good,
one of the things
that he taught
was that
when Jesus died,
it wasn't
for our sins
as a sacrifice.
It was an example
of selflessness
that we should imitate,
that we have to
draw our goodness
to imitate
that example.
But what does
the Bible say?
We are sinful.
So what do we need?
We need someone
to not just be
an example
to us.
We need someone
to be a sin offering,
someone that pays
for our sin.
And in this way,
Jesus frees us
from our sin.
What is more,
we can see that
from this passage,
Jesus does not only
save us,
when Jesus saves us,
he changes us.
We see that
in Romans 8,
verse 5,
that those
who live
according to
the Spirit
have their mind
set on what
the Spirit desires.
What he's saying
is that Jesus
has the power
to free us
from being trapped
by sin
by giving us
the Holy Spirit.
And the Spirit
helps us
to change,
to live for
a different master
if we rely
on the Spirit.
So can we see
that the struggle
with sin
is not whether
we have enough
self-control,
but whether we have
been relying
on God's Holy Spirit
so that we have
the ability
to live for God,
our new master.
Of course,
I don't mean
that Christians
can live perfectly
sinless,
because although
we are free
from the penalty
and the power
of sin,
we presently
experience the
presence of sin.
So,
what is said
in Romans 8
somewhat reflects
Augustine's experience.
I will read
a little bit
of his biography
to see how
Augustine has been
freed from the
grip of sin.
Having been
exposed to
various friends
that challenged
him on the
gospel,
Augustine was
filled with a
growing sense
of personal
inadequacy,
realizing how
empty his life
so far has been,
and fell into
a state of
despair.
He was torn
between the
monastic ideal
on the one
hand,
and the pleasures
of this world
on the other.
Wanting to
embrace the
gospel,
but finding it
too hard to
abandon his
lifestyle.
It was then
when he was
in this condition
that he heard
the child's voice
saying,
take up and
read.
So much
confused,
he reached for
a portion of
the scriptures
that he had
in hand
and read.
let us walk
properly as
in the daytime,
not in
orgies or
drunkenness,
not in
sexual immorality
and sensuality,
not in
quarreling and
jealousy,
but put on
Lord Jesus
and make no
provision for
the flesh to
gratify his
desire.
When he read
these verses,
all his pent-up
emotions broke
down,
and he
surrendered his
life to
Christ.
Can you see
that when he
read the Bible
and saw what
Jesus is
compared to
his life,
and he relies
on Jesus
through the
Holy Spirit
to be freed,
that he
finds so much
joy.
He wanted to
live freely
in the daytime,
and it's only
Jesus through
the Spirit
has given him
the power
to be free
from his
lustful
desires.
So I
want you to
help us to
see what
this joy
that Augustine
experienced and
what is preached
through the
Bible means
for us
individually and
as a church.
So firstly,
I want to ask
a question for
ourselves.
Are there
anyone amongst
us that feels
just like
Augustine did,
that we have
a sin or
an addiction
that we can't
shake off?
As we can
see in Romans,
the answer is
not to try
harder to
have self-control
or to obey
a law or
to fix
ourselves in
some other
method.
Instead,
the only way
that we can
be rescued
in this
state is
to turn to
Jesus.
Because Jesus
has saved us
from condemnation
and the Holy
Spirit helped
us to change.
Trusting in
Jesus and
relying on
the Holy
Spirit's
power means
that God
has the
power both
to save
us and
to change
us.
So Jesus
has the
power to
set a new
path for
us.
So if you
are interested
or convinced
just like
Augustine did
1700 years
ago, that
only Jesus
can change
your life,
or you're
curious about
how this
path is
like,
please fill
in the
card in
front of
you and
tell us.
James, who
was trading
the service
or myself,
will be
happy to
talk to
you after
the
service.
And if
you fill
in the
card, we'll
respond to
you.
So please
take this
opportunity.
Secondly, I
want to talk
about how
we invite
people to
church or
share the
gospel.
So I
want to pose
this question.
Are we
functionally
Pelagian?
So I
explain what
I mean.
When we
try to
think of
people to
share the
gospel or
who to
invite to
church, we
might think,
this guy, he's
beyond help.
He's so
different from
me.
I don't
know what he's
been doing
last night.
He'll be too
sleepy, too
drunk.
He won't be
interested in
church.
I'm not going
to invite him.
I'll invite
this more
moral neighbor.
He's more
like me.
Maybe it's
just easier
for God to
convict and
convince us
person of
the gospel.
Do we
sometimes do
that?
Of course,
there might
be other
reasons why
we don't
invite people
that are
not like
us.
Perhaps we
are scared
to talk
to them.
Perhaps we
are feeling
uncomfortable
or judgmental.
But when we
understand the
full power of
the gospel in
saving and
changing people,
we have the
confidence to
invite anyone
to church.
So I
want to ask
you, if
you really
believe the
gospel has
the power
to save
and to
change,
how does
it affect
who you
invite to
church?
In the
bookmark that
James is
saying, how
does it
affect the
person you
put on the
bookmark that
you want to
pray for?
So thirdly, I
want to paint a
picture of
church.
What would it
look like if
we really
believe in the
power of the
gospel to save
and to change
us?
So I
want to tell
you about
the church
I visited
in Dallas.
So I
went one
day earlier
than the
rest of the
team to
visit my
friend Calvin
and one of the
things he did
was he brought
me to a
church called
the Watermark
Church in
Fort Worth
on a Monday
night because
I missed the
plane on Sunday
so not due to
me, due to
Quantis.
But there
were 500
people gathering
in that
auditorium.
But on a
Monday night,
it wasn't a
church service.
There's a
ministry called
Regenerate.
So this
ministry models
itself after
Alcoholic
Anonymous'
12-step
program.
But instead
of using the
traditional
addiction program,
they replaced
each element
in the
element of
the gospel.
In fact,
the first
step of the
program quotes
Romans 7-18.
And it states
that we have
to admit that
we are powerless
to overcome
our addiction,
brokenness,
and sinful
patterns.
That in our
own power,
our lives are
unmanageable
and unimaginable.
So they
advertised this
ministry openly,
not just for
Christians, for
non-Christians as
well.
And people
throughout Dallas
and Fort Worth
come to this
place.
So they
break people
up into
small groups.
And it was
in a group
of about
20 men.
And they
share all
types of
problems.
Domestic
violence,
marital
unfaithfulness,
and many
other patterns
of sin and
addictions.
And the
church was
open and
ready to
minister to
these people.
people.
So if
everyone here
at church
believes in
the power of
the gospel
of Jesus
and the
Holy Spirit,
that he
has the
power to
save and
change us,
what would
our church
look like?
In order to
represent a
diverse community
of Chastwood,
it can't be
just about
ethnic diversity.
It needs to
be a diversity
of social
economic
background.
And church
is not just
for the
moral
middle-class
person.
If we
can, by
a church,
be a church
that welcomes
people of
every background,
every type of
sin and
addiction,
and share
Jesus with
them,
we can
let Jesus
change them.
And we
can truly
echo the
vision that
treasuring
Jesus is for
the joys of
all people.
a
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