Romans | Week 4 | Joshua Paul | Echoes Church

the book of Romans. Over the last few weeks, if you have been here or maybe you've missed some of it, we've already covered chapters one through five. And as we move forward together today, I thought we could all maybe use just a quick refresher

of what those five chapters are about. So just real quick, Romans chapter one, essentially this big idea of the problem of sin. See, we are all within sin. We are born into it. It has broken all of humanity and separated us from God. Chapter two talks about the reach of sin, that no one is exempt from it, neither the rebellious or the religious. We're all born into it. Romans three then actually shows us the solution of sin, that Jesus accomplished what none of us ever could on the cross. And Romans four then kinda takes a turn. It talks about the pattern of faith that we are made right with God by faith, not works through

Jesus on the cross. And Romans five then is the results of said faith. It then brings us peace, confidence, and hope. But then maybe the question for us is, if Jesus has forgiven me, if grace does cover all of my sin, past, present, and future, if I have been made right with God through Jesus, then why do I still struggle?

Why do I still battle these temptations? Why do I still find myself doing the things I know I shouldn't be doing? Why does this old me continue to show up? Well, that's what we're gonna unpack today in Romans chapter six and seven, and as we do, let's start together by praying. Lord, we thank you for your word.

God, we thank you for who you are, what your son Jesus has done for us, something we never could. Lord, as we go through this text today, I'm just asking, would you search our hearts? Would we wanna be in a posture where you allow us to be honest and open with you?

For those that may have walked into the room today feeling stuck, God, would you give us hope? For those of us that may have walked in feeling defeated, Lord, would you show us grace? For those that may feel weak or weary, Lord, remind us that we're not alone. God, we just ask that you speak to us clearly today.

God, we come before you, Holy Spirit. We give you permission to have your way in and through us, and it's in the most mighty and powerful name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. Amen, church.

Well, I wanted to start by asking a question. Have you ever allowed yourself to become something that you never wanted to become in the first place? See, I'll I'll give a couple examples for me. Maybe when you were newly married, you know, you were adventurous, spontaneous,

outgoing, man, were in the honeymoon phase, and you thought, I'll never allow my family, my marriage, our honeymoon phase, this new love to go away. We'll never be the boring couple. See, my wife and I met at a country bar. We got married two months later. See, we were always down for a good time,

but here's the thing, for some of us, that's maybe how we started, but now the typical date night is Uber Eats, sweatpants, a rerun of Grey's Anatomy, and everyone's in bed and asleep by 08:30. I'm

not mad about it though. My wife and I have been married for over fifteen years now. We still love going out, being adventurous, making memories, but sometimes the greatest night of the week for us is playing Uno in bed, and we're watching season seven of Virgin River on Netflix right now. So you know, I'm all for it. Those nights are great.

Maybe for others of us, and I was like this once too, you don't have kids yet, you're out to eat at a restaurant, and you notice a family having dinner, but the kids are on their electronics,

and you're like, man, when I have kids, I'm never gonna let my kids use electronics at the table. So y'all are chuckling because you know. Fast forward a handful of years, now you are out to eat with your family, the food is taking forever, your kids are having an absolute meltdown,

and you're thanking God for Bluey on an iPad because it's his greatest gift to mankind. Can I get an amen? Amen. I just need a little distraction. Come on now. We get it. I get it. And most of the time, these these moments, I'll never become that, and then you do, man. Most of the time, they're funny.

They're light hearted. They're relatable. They're harmless. But sometimes, it's a little more serious. Maybe for some of us in the room today, it's, I will never lose my temper like I saw my dad used to.

Maybe for some of us, it's, I will never allow my marriage to get that far gone. I'll never allow it to go to that place like I've seen in other marriages. Maybe for some of us, it's I will never look at that stuff again. Maybe for others, it's I will never drink that much anymore. Maybe it's I'll never act or behave

like those people act and behave. But then one day, you catch yourself doing the very things you once told yourself you never would. See, we're making the very same choices. We're falling into this very same patterns, and then we find ourselves asking, How did I get there? And then the question becomes, Why do I keep going

back there? This is what Apostle Paul is wrestling with as we continue in the book of Romans. He's asking this question, and it's important for us to to have some clarity here. He's not asking this as an unbeliever. He's not asking this before he met Christ. He's asking this question as a devoted follower of Jesus.

See, the greatest battle in your life may not be the one around you, but the one actually happening within you. The greatest battle in all of our lives may not be the one of distractions in the circumstances around us, it may actually be the one happening within us.

See, Paul looks at his own life, and he's saying, why do I keep doing the things I don't wanna do? Why is there this battle happening inside of me? Why does the old me keep showing up? And if you've ever asked yourself those questions, I have asked myself those questions. I want to just give you a little permission

to show yourself some grace. See, you are in good company. Apostle Paul is addressing this very thing.

And so today, we're gonna talk about this big idea of the war within, and the first thing we need to acknowledge is the war within us, it is real. The war within all of us, it is real. And we'll start in Romans seven, we'll then move back to chapter six and come forward again, but Romans seven verse 15, Paul says,

I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. I think we've all been there at some point. Paul is clearly telling us he has been there, and he is there. This is the author of 13 books, the epistles of Paul, these letters. The author

of some of these books in the Bible, he struggles just like you and I. The war within it, it is real. He reiterates this struggle a few verses down. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

He continues this in verse 21, I have discovered this principle of life, that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God, I love his law with all my heart, but there is another power within me that is at war. See, church, the war within, it is real.

The greatest examples of Christ followers throughout scripture were not the ones who ignored this or tried to hide this. They're the ones that actually addressed it and confessed it. We have examples all throughout scripture, Old Testament, New Testament.

A few quick ones. King David, New Test excuse me, Old Testament. He is known in scripture as a man after God's own heart. How many of us would love to be known as a man or a woman after God's own heart? Yet he's also known to commit adultery and murder. Peter, was a disciple of Jesus,

he was literally in the presence of the the God made flesh, the man of Jesus. He knew him personally, intimately, physically around him, yet he still denied him three times heading to the cross. Paul, was given apostolic authority to write scripture, wrote nearly half of the New Testament.

Yet he's telling us here, I still do what I don't want to do. We have to remember that the Bible is not a collection of perfect people. There's one perfect person in a whole mess of broken, but surrendered people. Yet somewhere along the way, we, as a people group at large, have created this westernized, cultural,

modern version of Christianity, where we believe we have to look transformed as opposed to actually be transformed. But throughout scripture, those that experienced transformation always started with confession first. See, the strongest in their faith, man,

they're not the ones that hide the war within. It is real. They're the ones who acknowledge it and surrender it. And think with me just for a moment. What if what if the greatest evidence of spiritual maturity was actually not that you stopped struggling with things, what if the greatest evidence of spiritual maturity

is actually that you acknowledged it and you confessed it?

See, the Christian life has never, never been about chasing perfection. It has always been about confession and then transformation. Tim Keller once said it like this, We are more sinful

than we ever dared believe, yet more loved than we ever dared hope. We are more sinful than we could ever comprehend or articulate or believe, yet more love than we could ever desire or hope, and that's what Paul is addressing.

He wants to show us how broken we really are, yet how free and loved we really are, and both exist together at the same time. They are both real, And this is why that matters. Yes, salvation happens in a moment, but transformation, sanctification becoming more like Christ, happens over time, yet we get stuck somewhere

here in the middle of that. See, there were these studies done at Duke University, how they were just studying the behaviors of people, and they came out with this research, this report that says nearly 50%, almost half of our actions are more habitual than conscious. So what that means is we will inevitably become

the patterns of things in our life based on habit, not based on our choice, and that's what makes sin so binding, so overpowering, because it's not a singular misstep or just this one event that took place. It's this pattern that forms, this process that continues to manipulate and reform us into the very thing we never

wanted to become in the first place. So my question for all of us, for just a moment, if you would think with me, what battle do you keep losing over and over and over again?

What struggle in your life, what habit or hang up just seems to keep pulling you back in again and again? What version of yourself do you despise, yet your choices keep making you more and more like? See, I had a friend once say this, If you're not changing it, you're choosing it. If you're not changing it, you're choosing it.

See, we all have stuff that we want to change, yes, but the reality is we are allowing ourselves to continue to become something if we do not choose to address it and change it. What you continue to tolerate today, it will shape who you are tomorrow.

Your pattern in life, as the Duke studies would show us, whether they're habitual or conscious, what you continue to do and tolerate today will shape who you become tomorrow. But what we need to recognize is this war that's happening within us, it's actually not about good behavior and bad behavior.

Those are just byproducts of something else. The war within you is actually competing desires. See, every temptation in our lives that then leads to every sin in our lives, Those very things, that is what is at war. It's these competing desires because we want more of something. We want to experience more pleasure.

I want to experience more control. I want to experience more success. I want to live a lifestyle of more comfort. I want to be in a place where I get more attention. Eventually, you're gonna say, I want more than God.

We have to be careful, though. We have to be careful, because whatever captures your affection will eventually shape your direction. The very things that capture first your attention will then turn into an affection, and that will then shape the direction of your life. And if you're anything like me,

maybe you're just at this point, you're just asking, well then, why? Why is there a battle at all? Why is there this struggle? Why is there this war within? Why do I want to do what is right, but I continue to do what I know is wrong? Well, Paul's answer actually may surprise you. See, the war within you, yes, it's real,

but next, the war within you will begin to reveal some things in your life. The war within reveals not just sin, but it reveals what and who is ruling you. See, Romans six six says this,

we know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.

See, before Christ, we didn't even realize there was a war because sin ruled over us, but after Christ, we can acknowledge it now, we know the war within is real, and it's beginning to reveal some things in our lives. And then verse 16, he says, Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?

Again, don't read this passage talking about behavior. Paul is talking about authority. He's talking about identity. See, many people will go on in their lives trying to modify behaviors, but those are just byproducts. God wants to transform us from the inside out. He wants to transform our identity

because we're no longer fighting for something. Fighting for something is behaviors to achieve something I want. Fighting from something, victory that we've already been given through Christ on the cross, is an identity that we step out in freedom and victory from, not for. And maybe that's the motivation or encouragement

we needed, but how do you put that into practice? Because when, not if, when we get caught up in the same old stuff that we've done over and over again. Though we know we shouldn't be doing it, then we're at some point, you're just gonna ask, Well, why can't I change? Why can't I change?

Well, I'm gonna tell you, your willpower, it's never gonna be enough. It's never gonna be enough. Just you wanting it is never going to be enough. Let's be honest about this real quick. Just practical example. How many of you guys text and drive? We're in Churchill, sinners. Come on now, we can all admit. I know we do.

Alright. So here's the thing. I know it's not only against the law, I know it's incredibly dangerous. I know I shouldn't do it, yet I still do. If my phone is in my lap, on my center console, in the cup holder, if it's within reach, without even thinking about it. Habit, again, habitual. It'll end up in my hand.

So here's what I did.

Required very little effort. Amazon did all the work. I go to Amazon, I'm like, I need to get a little phone clip thing to put in my truck. I'm not talking about a cool one that like is magnetic, and it floats, and it charges, and it's like another multiple screen view thing. No. This thing is dorky and cheesy looking. It's like a gross little clip right into my air freshener.

Here's why I did it though. I knew I needed to break a cycle and force myself to think about what it is I was doing. If I want my phone, I have to physically unclip it to get it out. I have to think about making the choice, and that helps stop doing something I know I don't want to do. And we hear that,

we acknowledge that, that our willpower will never be enough, but it's interesting, taking something physical and practical, how many of us approach our spiritual lives the same way. See, we keep telling ourselves, well, next time we'll be different.

Next time, I won't do that again. Next time, I will be stronger. Next time, I won't give in. But then we change nothing in our lives, and then we act surprised when we're doing the very same things again. We will never out willpower our sin, because it has nothing to do with strength or effort.

It has everything to do with surrender. See, before Christ, sin ruled you, but after Christ, we'll go to verse 14,

sin is no longer your master. See, it's not saying that sin won't be present. Paul's saying that sin's no longer your master. He's not saying that the temptation and struggle won't be there anymore. He's saying that sin no longer has the power to rule over you.

And because that's true, we then maybe ask ourselves, well, why doesn't God just remove it altogether? Why doesn't God just take this battle, this war within? Why doesn't He just make me into who He desires me to be? Why doesn't he just skip this whole process altogether?

We need to be clear that God does want you to be free, but he ultimately wants to form you. God does want you to experience freedom, but he ultimately wants you to experience formation because we've been broken by sin. See, the war within will reveal those things within us, and next, the war within will refine us.

See, the war within, that struggle you're going through actually becomes a tool of formation. If you allow it, if you choose it, God will use it. He will not waste it, but we have to surrender it to him. There's this thought from C. S. Lewis, and he captures it so well.

God is more interested in making you holy than making you comfortable. It's pretty uncomfortable to read that, but if you just if you sit in it for just a moment, man, God is more He's more interested in making us holy, complete in Him than comfortable in our own circumstances.

So think about this for a moment with me. Think about working out for a second. So Pastor Daniel, the last couple weeks, used this gym analogy, he's been out here flexing on us with those threes, if you saw him, those three pounders,

and we prep our messages separately, but then I send him my notes, it's like, bro, you hit this two weeks in a row, like now I have to use the same analogy, I almost was gonna bring a heavier weight just to try to flex on him, like upping it to the five or the 10, but I just didn't think Mountainside Fitness would be thrilled about me stealing one of their dumbbells,

but here's what I wanna point out. Just think about working out. Think about when you are doing reps, and you begin to feel resistance. You begin to feel the struggle. At that point, no one questions what's going on. No one thinks, oh, something must be wrong. No, resistance, man, that's the goal.

The struggle is actually what's growing your strength. You are getting stronger because of the resistance that you are facing. Why do we assume spiritual growth is any different? We literally do it physically. Why do we think spiritual development and growth is any different?

It's it's this mindset shift that we have to make, because we experience resistance in our spiritual lives, and and automatically, we're like, oh man, God's gone. He's abandoned me. I can't trust him anymore. Something must be wrong. What if God is doing in us spiritually what we do physically?

He wants to use the resistance to form something new in you. He wants to make you stronger through the struggle that you are facing, and the goal isn't to ignore it. Again, it's this mindset shift. We have to think about it differently. Romans six verse 11, so you also should consider yourselves

to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ. Paul's not saying you are dead. He's saying consider, to think of yourselves as dead. In other words, what he's trying to articulate is believe what God says is true, even if you think or feel differently. Your feelings are not the authority of your life.

They can, and at times will, lead you astray. Yet we live in a world and a culture that says, live your truth. Your identity is based on your feelings. But think about this with me. Some days, you're gonna feel free, and some days, you're gonna feel trapped. Some days, you're gonna feel close to God.

Some days, you're gonna feel distant from Him. Neither one of those examples change what is true. So we have to consider, we have to think of ourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive through God.

Our feelings are not facts. They can be helpful indicators, but they're terrible at direction. We go on to verse 13, and he then says, alright, so here's what you gotta do. Give yourselves completely to God. He's not saying try harder,

work more at it, be better, live your best life now. No, he's saying give yourselves completely to God. Through this war within, give yourself to him. The war within does not mean that God is absent from us. The war within might be the very evidence you need that God is active within you.

The war within doesn't mean that God has left you, the war within means God is doing something if you allow him to. But then we're at this point, We've given our life to Jesus. We begin to practice and live a life of surrender. We start to allow him to form us from within and out, yet there's still moments where we reach

the end of ourselves. And that's where Paul is right now. If that's where you are right now, you're in good company. Maybe you feel like you're at the end of yourself, and you think there's no hope, there's no grace, there's there's no way I can get through this. Paul, who wrote half of the New Testament,

is there with us right now. And if you begin to allow the war within to refine you, next, the war within redirects. The war within redirects our attention. See, Paul says here, Romans seven verse 24,

Oh, what a miserable person I am. Just kinda went right there. But who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? I mean, you read that verse alone, man, that's not a man that's pretending. That's not an individual chasing perfection. That's not a man trying to manage his appearance to those around him.

That's a man who has reached the end of himself. Who else has been there? I've been there.

But the war within, if we allow it to, will redirect us to the answer. And he says it here, and I can't help but exclaim it because there is an exclamation point. Thank God the answer is in Jesus. Thank God the answer is not me, it is him. Thank God it's not about what, but who. Thank God that it's Jesus. There is no habit

or behavior or discipline or book or pastor or podcast or anything in the world that can save you. Can they be helpful? Helpful? Absolutely. Use the tools you have available to you, but nothing will save you. Thank God the answer is Jesus. It's not me, it's not us, church.

But so many of us, man, we spend years trying to become stronger, to become more resilient, to become more disciplined, incredible attributes and good behaviors. But the Christian life has never, at its core, been built on sufficiency. The Christian life, at its core, is built on our surrender to Jesus.

See, the strongest man in the room right now is not the one who thinks he needs nobody. The strongest man in the room is the one who desperately knows he needs somebody, and it's Jesus. The strongest woman in the room right now is not the one who thinks she needs nobody.

It's the woman who so desperately knows she needs somebody, and the answer is Jesus. Have you reached the end of yourself? Have you allowed yourself to? We have to quit trying to save ourselves. We have to stop fighting a battle that has already been won at the cross.

December 1944, this is World War two. A 22 year old intelligence officer was sent to a small island in The Philippines. His commanding officer gave him a direct order, hold your position, do not surrender, we will come back for you. September 1945, almost a year later, the war ends with the surrender of Japan,

but no one told the intelligence officer, or at least he refused to believe it. See, leaflets were dropped from airplanes over the jungle in this area. He thought it was fake propaganda, so he didn't trust it.

Neighboring villages in his area were making public announcements about it. He thought they were lying to him to trap him. The rest of the world was moving on, and he was choosing to stay in the battle that had already ended.

Yet as time went on, entire nations were rebuilt, technology had advanced, the world was evolving and changing. He continued to fight something that already ended. Finally, in March 1974, nearly thirty years later, his original commanding officer returned to the jungle, found him,

officially relieved him of duty, and only then did he finally surrender. Thirty years choosing to fight a war that had already ended, choosing to fight a battle that had already experienced victory, yet he continued living as though it all depended on him. And I wonder how many of us are doing the same thing.

The battle over sin and death has been won. Victory is ours. The tomb is empty two thousand years ago as it is empty now to this day, yet we're still fighting as if the outcome depends on my willpower, my strength, my effort. But Romans six, man, it's so clear.

Sin is no longer your master. And Romans seven, come on now, Thank God the answer is Jesus. Here's where our hope is. Romans eight, we're gonna dive into it next week. There is now no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus, our Lord. But in the middle of the battle, in the middle of the struggle,

in the middle of the war happening within us, and we have victory in Jesus, But are you willing to surrender what you're going through to him? In just a moment, we're gonna dismiss, but I just wanna actually invite our prayer team forward right now. Because whatever you're going through, you're not alone. I

can confidently say whatever you're going through is not a surprise to someone else. It is not a surprise to God, but are we willing to surrender it to him to allow him to use it? Because it is real, it will begin to reveal some things.

If we allow him, it will refine us, and then it will ultimately direct us to thank God the answer is in Jesus. But you will only experience as much healing as you're willing to be honest first. So after we dismiss, man, if you need prayer, don't carry that by yourself anymore. Don't carry that struggle by yourself anymore.

Allow yourself to confess it and experience healing through it. Lord, we come before you now. God, I thank you that the battle doesn't belong to us. I thank you that it doesn't belong to me. I thank you that it doesn't define who we are. Lord, that in you, we are accepted, we are forgiven, we are loved, we are free.

Remind us of the grace you have given us. Teach us to surrender, to live boldly in and from the victory that has already been found at the cross. May we trust you wholly with our lives, Lord. May we walk away confident with peace and hope that it is not ours, Lord, it is yours. Have your way in and through us.

We lift this up in the powerful, beautiful, precious, magnificent name of Jesus, and all God's people said, amen.