Living in Victory

In small group last night we talked about doing things you know you shouldn't do.  Knowing something is wrong, and doing it anyway--no matter how we like to dress it up, is sin.  We've all been there right?  We've even started out sentences with the words "well, I really shouldn't say this, but...."  Maybe gossip is king in your life, or pride.  Maybe you're so opinionated you couldn't possibly be viewed as loving.  Maybe you burst out in anger when you don't get your way.  Maybe you have a bad attitude and forget how fortunate you are.  It's frustrating at times isn't it?  

Here's the thing, if you are a believer, and by that I mean a FOLLOWER of Christ, not just a church member--you are free from the penalty of sin.  So, if that's true, why are we not also free from the power of sin?  Well...we are.  We can live in victory.  When we recognize God's presence, and depend on His power, we can live beyond ourselves and defeat sin.  Now, please hear me--we won't be perfect, but we can be overcomers'--and God can reside in us to help us along the way. 

Read Romans 7:14-25 

Having explained what the law is suppose to do, Paul now explains what the law cannot do.  The law cannot change you.  All of the rules in the world will not make you a better person.  

Something in human nature makes us want to go to extremes though doesn't it?  Since we are saved by grace some argue, we are free to live as we please.  Do whatever we want, after all God has to forgive us anyway right?  But we cannot ignore God's law others argue, we are saved by grace to be sure; but we must live under the law if we are to please God.  And so there is tension. 

The law is good.  It came from a Holy and just God.  It reveals God's holiness to us and helps us to see our need for a Savior.  The law was not some plan that failed.  It shows us our flaws.  It points us to grace found only at the foot of the cross. 

Paul became a Christian around A.D. 35 and wrote Romans around A.D. 57--so he had some experience as a Christian when he wrote this book, and he describes his own inner battle, showing us that the changes that need to take place in our lives do not happen over night.  Struggling with sin is not a new problem, and even some of the stellar church leaders struggled.  

It's difficult.  We've all been there.  Maybe as a new believer in Christ some sins were easy to shed at first.  Maybe we even wanted to get rid of them.  Then we started growing spiritually and setting standards for ourselves, and maybe we did may great for awhile.  Then, BOOM, everything collapsed.  We started to see deeper into our own hearts, and we discovered sins that we did not know were there.  We wonder if we are even capable of doing good.  And if we're not, what's the point of it all?  And, without even realizing it, we place God's grace on the shelf, and start living a life of legalism.  

What is legalism?  

It's the belief that I can become holy and please God by obeying rules.  It measures spirituality by a list of do's and dont's.  Not a new problem.  Read Matthew chapter 23.  

Jesus addresses the scribes and Pharisees, and He calls them hypocrites, sons of hell, blind guides, fools, robbers, self-indulgent, whitewashed tombs, snakes, vipers, persecutors, and murderers.  That's what the whole chapter is about.  

It's easy to read that, and forget something very significant.  The scribes and Pharisees were the most highly regarded religious leaders of their day.  They were well respected.  They were devout.  And they were not insincere--they were very sincere.  They believed in what they were doing, and they believed what they were doing was right and good, and so did everyone else.  These were people who genuinely believed they were doing God's work, obeying God's Word, and accomplishing God's will, yet they were deceived.  

Sort of depressing and terrifying all at the same time isn't it? 

But go back to the Book of Romans, and read Chapter 8.  

All of us struggle with sin.  ALL of us.  Our sins may look different.  But, we all sin.  But, as believers and followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit to help us find victory over sin.  

Paul gave us a contrast to explain.  
The unsaved person does not have the Spirit of God and lives in the flesh and for the flesh.  His mind is set on things that satisfy the flesh.  Now, this doesn't mean that an unsaved person never does any good, or that a believer never does anything bad.  I know lost people whose good works far out weigh the good works of many a pew sitters. And, we all know believers sin with the best of them, including myself.  It means the bent of their lives is different.  The mind set of the Spirit is all about eternal things.  Your body becomes the very temple of the Holy Spirit, and everything you do becomes worship.  

Paul says the key is to set our minds on what the Spirit desires.  Is that a bad thing?  The tempter would have us think that we are missing out on something wonderful when we abandon sin.  But when a man and woman get married, they automatically stop doing something's they used to do--like date other people!  We have an opportunity to have a relationship with Almighty God, and we act like it's a downer! 

With all of our scars, with all that is wrong in our lives, with all of the terrible consequences our sin has laid upon us--God still wants us.  We can trust that promise.

And when satan comes to each of our lives (and he will) and he says things like "you can't overcome what you did there," "you can't hide that mistake," "you don't measure up," "you shouldn't even be in worship today," "how can you possibly make a difference for the kingdom of God?"--when he bombards us, we can challenge him by saying "If God is for me, who can be against me?" 

Who will bring any charge against whom God has chosen?  It is God who justifies! 

We can live in victory because we are called spotless by Almighty God.  

What else matters? Claim the promises of God, and you can live in victory!