Battling the Law

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

July 27, 2014

Romans 7

Battling the Law

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction

Last week we saw how Baptism killed and buried your sinful self and then raised up as a new person in Christ. Today we'll see how the sinful flesh still lives inside each of us and so often wins so many battles in our lives. And this battle isn't over until physical Death kills us and Jesus takes us into His everlasting Life.

I.

Nursery rhymes and fairy tales are filled with many battles between good and bad. And many bad decisions are made. Goldilocks' momma educated her to know that stealing is wrong, but she still steals the porridge. The Three Little Pigs' momma taught her first and second pigs that brick is better, but they're lazy and build with straw and sticks. Being educated and knowing good from evil is no guarantee of doing good.

Paul captures this losing battle with our knowledge of good and evil, in other words, the Law, by writing,

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

Romans 7:19-20

Blaming the Devil for making-me-do-it is a cop-out, but Paul revealed that there's some truth to it. The sin, the sinful self that lives inside you, completely defeated by Christ in Baptism, yet still dwelling inside you, is the cause of your sinful deeds.

This seems illogical: we like things black and white. We want to see ourselves and those around us as either mostly good or mostly bad. But our sensible approach to other people crashes into Holy Scripture.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

Romans 7:21-23

II.

Think of how often the story of Goldilocks is told. And every time she always grabs the bowl, chair, and bed. You're Goldilocks. So often you long to be with people who are not your spouse. So often you lose your temper at strangers and machines and banged toes. So often you want to help the people you care about, but end up saying cruel things to them. What's wrong with you?

Baptism washed us clean and innocent for the sake of Christ's death on the cross. But we remain sinners and prove it so often. So for most of our lives each of us are at the same time a sinner and a saint.

This truth is important because our way of seeing people gets us into trouble. Because fundamentally, while we'll say that we are not perfect, we always see other people as bad and ourselves as good. We see the sins of others sharply. We can figure out their problems easily and opine that if they'd only stop doing X, Y, and Z, then they'd be so much happier.

The problem with this view is that Jesus is nowhere. When our view of the world is about people and our behavior and whose fault everything is and what my rights are, then Jesus has no place among us. We don't need Him. We can't have Him around, because His very presence on the cross demands an explanation. And He says, "You will never be winning this battle against the Law. You will never be winning this battle with other people. You will never be justified by excusing your own sin and damning everyone else."

And He also says from the cross, "I have won the battle for you. Until I return and bring you home, the battle will go on inside you, but you have already won, because I have already won. I died only for sinners, which means that I died for you."

Nursery rhymes and fairy tales can educate you about good and evil, but they'll never win anything for you. Our daily battle with our sinful self is a painful teacher, but by faith will teach to flee again and again to the One who has won.

He died and won.

He rose to proclaim victory.

He is coming back to take you out of this losing life and bring you into everlasting victory with Him.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.