Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Romans 7. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- There is a great deal of consternation and internal conflict in the life of a Christian. Since we do not like confusion and contradiction, we tend to try to ignore and marginalize much of this mental and spiritual turmoil – it is after all quite wearying and toilsome.
- In our text, the Apostle Paul describes this inner conflict in great detail. I’ve always been quite appreciative of his honesty. Without such a description which carries God’s authority with it, we might think that we are going insane, or that we are utterly without God’s Spirit and blessing.
- Paul describes the reality that goes on within all of us, at least within those of us who are genuinely Christians. When we turn away from this reality, try to ignore it or bury it away, we are not helping ourselves. Rather, we are resigning ourselves to a superficial way of life and a shallow and hypocritical relationship with God.
- It is true, that if we keep up this truthful conversation with God we will come to the same conclusion as Paul did: “Wretched man that I am!” But if we continue to hear God’s side of the conversation we will also be assured and strengthened by the reality that “God will deliver us from this body of death through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is not exactly Christianity 101, but perhaps more of an upper level or even graduate course. But it does teach us and produce within us “THE BEGINNING OF GOOD.”
- So let us consider that:
I. Of Ourselves, Our Flesh, All Is Lost And We Are Utterly Incompetent For Good
Text: “The law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.”
A. So The Reality Is That We Often Do What We Don’t Want To Be Doing
Text: “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
B. So Also We Cannot Do The Good That We Want To Do
Text: “I do not do what I want . . . I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”
C. So We Are Left In Confusion And Futility
Text: “I do not understand my own actions. I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
Text: “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”
D. And So We Must Come To Christ For Rest And Help
Text: “Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Gospel: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Statement: Now this is a conflict that only Christians experience – those of the world do what they want and eagerly strive for the things that we hate. They are not concerned with the evil that dwells within them – they are only concerned by the laws which threaten punishment for their evils. And if we turn away from this struggle, get rid of the conflict within us, the result will be that we no longer hate what we do but embrace it, and we will become dead again to all good. But if we engage the struggle and wrestle with it, we will experience the inner turmoil that Paul describes in our text – and we will be perfectly prepared to heed Jesus’ invitation, eager to receive His rest for our souls.
Application: So what is His “yoke” and His “burden” which He places upon us? First, He takes away the heavy load of sin and guilt that lays upon us with His gracious mercy and forgiveness. He is “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world,” and we all have a boatload of these sins which threaten to crush and destroy us each day. Second, He assures us of His ongoing love for us, His deep care and concern for our salvation. As we learn of His love, this lays a gentle burden upon us – to love as we have been loved. And while love is a heavy burden to our sinful nature, His love changes our hearts and moves us and compels us to love. He becomes the strength and power for our love – lifting and carrying this burden for us and within us. This is “THE BEGINNING OF GOOD,” and without it there is absolutely no real and genuine “good” in the world.
Transition: This is not a removal of our conflict – Paul wrote of this inner turmoil and conflict as a Christian. In fact, only a Christian has this conflict, for only those who know and believe God’s love have a hatred and aversion to sin and great desire to do what is good. And so:
II. It Is Only In God’s Love And Salvation That We Receive Christ’s Yoke
A. It Is In The Experience Of God’s Love, His Gift Of Forgiveness, Salvation, And Eternal Life, That We Begin To Truly Delight In Good And In Love
1 John 4:9-11 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the blood atonement for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
B. Only In God’s Gracious Mercy And Forgiveness Are We Delivered From This Body Of Sin And Death
Is. 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
C. But This Wisdom Is Hidden From The Worldly Wise, The Impenitent And Unbelievers, And Is Revealed Only To Humble Repentant Believers, Who Are Like Children In Their Faith And Trust In Jesus
Gospel Lesson: “Jesus declared, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding have revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will.”
Statement: If we know Jesus, God’s gracious and redemptive love in Jesus, then Jesus has revealed the Father to us – and there is no greater blessing. This is His yoke and burden – the pain of genuine repentance and acknowledgement of our sin to be sure – but the joy of living in His forgiveness and mercy. This does place upon us the burden and yoke of love, a desire for what is good and a hatred of evil, but Christ’s own love lifts and empowers us to ever greater love. And this is “THE BEGINNING OF GOOD.”
Application: So let us come to Jesus, to be delivered from this body of death. Yes, it involves mental and spiritual consternation as we address the reality of sin and evil within us, but it results in the peace and joy of God’s gracious love and salvation, the yoke of Jesus. Then we will continue hating what is evil, and desiring what is good – even though we often have the frustration of “not doing what we want, and doing what we hate.” But this is the life of repentance, the Christian life, and “THE BEGINNING OF GOOD” within us. Indeed, it is the source and power of all good in the world.
Conclusion: There is no merit or blessedness in living in this consternation, and it is obviously Jesus’ will that we find peace, rest, and recovery in Him. But without the experience of the consternation there is no experience of His relieving and renewing peace. In fact, there is no integrity or “walking in the light as He is in the light” apart from recognizing our “wretchedness.” “But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God grant such blessedness and good to each of us, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting. Amen.