Sermon: The Believer and Sin (Pt 2)

The Believer and Sin (Pt. 2)
Romans 7:14-25
July 29, 2018

In August, 2011, Danya and Troy Donovan closed up their home of 13 years in Littleton, CO and traveled to Indiana to seek work. They winterized their home, anticipating they would be gone through the winter, and planned to return in the spring.

In March, prior to returning, they called their neighbor to check on the house and the neighbor informed them that someone had moved into their house — without their agreement or knowledge. The new family, a couple with two children, claimed they had legally bought the property and home for $5000 from a real estate agent named Alfonso Carillo who claimed that he owned the home by means of “adverse possession.” That is a legitimate Colorado law that states adverse possessors can become legal owners of a property if they live there for 18 years without dispute. Obviously, neither he nor the new family met that criteria, but they were there long enough that they had to be evicted by legal process. And in the midst of that process the squatter family declared bankruptcy. And someone in bankruptcy, according to Colorado law, can’t be evicted from a home, even if they are there illegally. Can you imagine the Donavan’s frustration?

The story does have a happy ending. In August, after five months of legal maneuvering, the Donovans received back their home. And the home was in good condition because the squatting family believed they legitimately owned the home, so they took good care of it.

This story has a parallel in the spiritual life. The believer in Christ, having been moved from the domain of Adam to the rulership of Christ also has an unwelcome guest in his life, and the unwelcome guest’s name is “flesh” and he is manifested through remaining sin in the believer’s life. This squatter has rightly been referred to as “the dark guest.”

Until the believer is glorified, he will have a battle with sin. The struggle against sin is real. And that is the focus of the passage we are now examining — Romans 7:14-25. In these verses, Paul says that like the battle a homeowner might have with an illegal squatter,

The believer’s life is a battle against remaining sin.

As we come to this familiar passage, we will see two laments made by Paul; we will consider those this morning (in preparation for communion). And then next week talk about the believer’s hope and the believer’s reality.

1. The Believer’s Lament: I Do What I Hate (vv. 14-17)

• The believer’s condition (v. 14)
• The proof of the believer’s condition (vv. 15-16)
• The source of the believer’s condition (v. 17)

2. The Believer’s Lament: I Don’t Do What I Love (vv. 18-20)

• The believer’s condition (v. 18a)
• The proof of the believer’s condition (vv. 18b-19)
• The source of the believer’s condition (v. 20)

3. The Believer’s Hope: Jesus Sets Us Free (vv. 21-25a)
4. The Believer’s Reality: Loving God and Battling Sin (v. 25b)

Download the rest of this sermon on Romans 7:14-25.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by tomorrow.