The Victory




Hello there!

Today, we're going to go over something, that you've most likely never heard of before in your life. Something some of you may have dreamed of, some of you may have thought of for a moment then brushed out of your mind, and some of you may very well have never considered even once in your lives.

Yet, it is the most fundamental and critical truth that exists in Christ. Without this message, you will never be able to please God. Without this message, being not only heard, not only believed, but acted upon, you will never be able to be completely what God wants you to be, and you will never grow in Christ.

Some of you may be tempted to call me either judgmental or prideful when you hear the topic of today's message. Many of you will be told to shut your ears to what I have to say, and many of you may do just that. However before you would consider giving in to that little voice, I would caution you with the words of the Spirit's voice, saying "Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good."

And again, "To the law and the testimony, if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them." The Word then, does not tell us to ignore those things that conflict with our current sentiments or ideals, but instead to prove them by the Word of God, to test their validity, not by feelings, not by personal experience, but by the Word. Are we in agreement on this, before we continue?


Alright then. Remembering what we just agreed on, the topic of today's message can be bound up in one word : Victory. Though perhaps this wont give the complete concept for those that haven't experienced it. In that event, I will use another word, the word that makes people cringe in this day of lukewarm proselytes, claiming to be disciples of Christ while cherishing idols of Satan.

Sinlessness.

Can it be done? Can any of us, in this world of sin and sinners be expected to give up *all* sin, when temptation lies at the door constantly? And let's not forget our sinful nature, our inherent tendency to sin. This isn't even mentioning how weak our flesh is no matter how hard our Spirit may want to serve God. And lest we forget, so many of those figures in the bible had their points of weakness, where they fell into sin and repented!

Friends, Satan is a master at twisting the truth. How many of the conditions I just listed, are in scripture?

All.

How many of the conditions I just listed, are we able to overcome in Christ according to those selfsame scriptures?

All.

Yet, you will never see that part of the story, you will not hear it from your leaders, your pastors, your churches or your brethren. You see, Satan has this world in such a hold at the moment, that even the *word* "sinless," if applied to any other than Christ himself, creates a wave of shocks and whispers. Picture, for just a moment, where the world lies right now : You believe sin is wrong. You believe it is sin to say you do not sin. While maintaining this, you believe that Christ cleanses us from sin.

A break comes into the chain very quickly, and there is a reason for this. There is no chain; it is an illusion of Satan, designed to keep you from the person you are invited to be in Christ. What I am going to share with you today will change your life. It may change it in ways far better than you could ever imagine, or it may change it to utter darkness, depending on just what you do with the information presented to you today from the holy scriptures. But one thing is for certain; by the time you walk out of here today, you will have been called to abide in Christ - I pray that all of you will answer.

I will begin with a simple question. What is the difference between a treatment, and a cure?

A cure fixes our ailment immediately, a treatment simply controls the symptoms.

I will ask again, what is the fundamental difference between something being created, and something being evolved?

Biblical creation happens in an instant, evolution takes time: involving a series a ups and downs until something higher is attained.

Then I ask you friends, what is Christ? Is He the cure, or the treatment for sin? How are we renewed in Christ; are we created new, or evolved?

Then how can anyone dare say that we will be treated by Christ of our sinfulness, slowly working and cleansing until Heaven? How can any dare say that we will go through a series of high points and low points with Christ, sometimes slipping into sin, in the end having evolved into a better Christian?

I want to share with you early on a verse in 1 John. That verse reads as follows : "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (1 John 3:9) I am going to tell you something right now that many of you might not like. Many of you may even become offended. I ask you to remember the agreement we came to earlier, that we will put emotions and experience aside, and rest in the Word.

If you are still sinning, you are not yet born of God. You are not converted, you are not a new creature, and you do not have Christ abiding in you. I am not saying this to put you down, or to put myself up on a pedestal, but because you need to know you do not have Christ, in order to know you need to get Him.

I know that many of you have been Christians possibly your whole lives. Many of you accepted Christ and were 'saved' many years ago. And, friends, I am not placing blame on you for receiving a leavened, watered-down version of the true, unpolluted gospel as it is in Christ Jesus.

I am asking you, however, that as we continue you will consider the scriptures presented carefully. At the end I will go over, one by one, all of the common questions or objections to the victory over sin; so be patient. Afterwards, we will have a question and answer time where, if anything you have to ask has not been covered, I invite you to raise your voice and be heard. Or, if you don't want to talk publicly, I invite you to talk to me after the sermon privately. As for now, let's open our bibles, set aside our pride and/or emotions, and let the Spirit of God - by the scriptures of the selfsame author - lead us to the truth.

We have gone over 1 John 3:9 already, so lets turn now to the book of Romans, chapter 6. Yes, the whole chapter. It reads as follows :

"Romans 6:1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2. God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7. For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Now, that chapter spoke in quite some detail, about what it means to be dead to sin. The reply comes back, "But thats what we strive to be, I mean, the old man still climbs out of the coffin once in awhile! We all fall from time to time!"

Well, for this scripture has a plain and clear answer. "'For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun."' (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6)

Are the dead rising of their own power? Are they laying in wait, looking for their chance to strike? No. They are dead, and know not any thing. They have perished, and all their thoughts and emotions are gone, no more, non-existent. Did you know that only God can give life? Of course you did. Did you know that only God can re-give life? Thats one that not too many people have realized : Nothing can be ressurected, save by God Himself.

If our old nature is dead, how can it make us sin? If we are dead to our flesh as Paul states, how can we be overcome of it? Speaking of being overcome, Peter has this to say : "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." (2 Peter 2:19)

And again Paul, asking a question that seems to have an obvious answer, says "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (Romans 6:16)

And again, the words of Christ himself! "Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." (John 8:34)

I believe from these verses alone, we can establish that if we are sinning, if we are overcome, even once, we are slaves to sin. It owns us. Satan has overcome us, he has bought us, and we are under his control. How can we not be? He can overcome us and make us do what he wants; he can get us to sin.

Brethren, how many of you, being honest now with yourselves, with me, and with God, are the servants of sin and of Satan at this very moment?

We know, for Christ says clearly, that we cannot serve two masters. We will hate one and love the other, or love one and hate the other. Friends, you cannot serve both Christ and Satan. If you are sinning, you are serving sin, Satan has overcome you. And if we cannot stop sinning through Christ's power, then we are not bought with the blood of Christ. Yet what does scripture have to say?

"'For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:20) How can we glorify God in our body and our spirit? Romans 8:8 tells us that those that are in the flesh cannot please God. Tell me, whose servants are we to be? How can we escape the bondage of Satan? Who will deliver us from the hold of Satan? I ask you to return with me to John chapter 8.

"Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:34-36).

What a promise!!! The servant of sin may be free from bondage *to* sin, if the Son shall set him free. Has the Son set us free? What did He come to do? Scripture is not by any means silent on this point! John has this to say : "'He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8)

Now, turn to the book of Matthew "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21).

Christ has come to set us free! We were in bondage to Satan, to sin and to death, and He came pay our price, to set us free from bondage. "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." (Romans 6:18)

Is everyone following so far? To take a summary of the points made up to now : If you commit sin, you serve sin. Christ came to free us from sin. If Christ frees us, we serve righteousness. Conclusion : If we are free in Christ, we will not commit sin.

I would like to pause for a moment, and answer any questions or objections about what we have covered so far. I will take time at the end to answer the verses covered in other areas of scripture, so please wait until after that point to ask any questions unrelated. But for right now, if anyone has anything to ask or say on the logic of the last summary, anything on the topic of servants of sin vs righteousness, please speak up.


Alright, now to continue. I believe I have established from scripture at this point, very clearly, that if we are the servants of Christ, we will not sin. Now, I would like to go into the matter of how this is accomplished.

Friends, you would not believe the number of people who say to me that they are happy being sinners under grace, and that I am saying I am justified by works, or by keeping the law. This is not so. First of all, there is no such thing as a Christian sinner. Scripture never once refers to a convert as a sinner, not *once!* The only sinners under grace are sinners who have not yet entered into the victory of Christ, and need to become converts under grace.

Secondly, we are not justified by the law. We are saved by grace, this much is true. What does this mean? Does "Grace" mean we will constantly fail and constantly be picked up? I would say no, and scripture bears plain witness that we do not sin, by reason of being under grace. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the truth of being under grace.

1) Adam sinned. We can agree on this, right?

2) As a result, a corrupt tree being unable to bring forth good fruit, the kind of "tree" Adam was, changed. He brought forth children with a sinful nature, which every last one of us inhereted.

3) Due to this nature, all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God (Past-perfect tense - completed action.)

4) Because of this, man cannot be saved by works, because all have failed at some point in the past. Thus, Christ came and died, paying our price so we could be redeemed by *Grace*.

Now, with those 4 points I believe we all agree. Here is point 5, which Satan has spared no measures to keep out of your hands and hearts.

5) By dying, Christ gave us power to keep the law by grace.

Friends... Grace is not the substitute for obedience. It is a wonderful principle of God that Satan has twisted and wrenched in the minds of men, to where they believe and teach that being under grace equals falling down and, by grace, being picked up. This much is true. However they go beyond the true and plain word of God, by saying that this is a repetitive process; that we fall down and are picked up by grace over, and over, and over, and over...

I would like to share with you a revelation. The same grace that picks you up from being a fallen, face in the mud sinner; keeps you up, as a victorious, shining child of the Redeemer.

Jude, in his closing praise of our Lord in his letter, says "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (Jude 24-25). This is the only place in scripture where the words "Keep" and "Falling" appear together.

I do not obey by any power of my own, and you will not obey by any power of your own, should you decide to accept the gift that Christ hung bleeding and beaten on the cross to purchase for you individually. He himself did not obey by any power of His own, but by constant dependance on the Word, and on His Father. Tell me then, did Jesus "cheat?" Did He use His divinity to keep from sinning? Is He not our example? How can He be our example if He had even one advantage over us?

No, He did not cheat. He suffered as a man and was tempted as a man, and as our example, He was sinless. He was upheld by the Father, this is the example He leaves for us, and the example I invite you to walk in. He will hold you up, and keep you from falling. He will present you faultless before the throne of God, if you let Him. He did nothing we are not able to do by that same dependance.

Now, I am sure you are wondering at this point, what about that fallen nature we inherited from Adam? Well, scripture has an answer for this too. You see, Adam is the man by whom sin entered the world, and by him, all die. Christ was the "second Adam," and in Him life re-entered the world, and through Him, all who seek life have it. When we are first born after the first man, we inheret the first man's fallen nature. What of the second?

"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:4)

Isn't that an amazing promise? Not *only* are we created new in Christ, our very nature changes! We are truly made in the image of God, when we inheret the nature of Christ. We are born in the second birth, to the second Adam. And we inherit the second Adam's divine, unfallen, unsinful, untainted nature. The nature of Jesus Himself.

Remember what we covered earlier : The old man dies. Our old nature, our sinful man, the man that partook of the first birth, dies at conversion, he is nailed to the cross, and we are created new in the image of Christ. You know, some people even have this one half right. I spoke to a preacher over the phone some time back, we'll skip over his name, but he told me "The way I see it, there are two __ ___s. There's the one that sins, and theres the one that dosnt sin, the spiritual nature." I asked if he meant flesh and spirit, and he said "Right, exactly." Now, this preacher had half of the gospel of Christ. He had heard of being created new, but he had not heard of being dead to self. He had not heard of Romans the sixth chapter.

You see, that preacher was exactly right in what he said. There were, and last I heard of the situation, still are two of that man walking around. And why? Because he hasn't died to his old man yet. Almost everyone in this room right now has two people warring inside them, and I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about from experience. You have that part of you that wants to do right, God's will, thats always telling you that you shouldn't be going and doing that, or you should go say something to someone... And then there's the other part, self, the flesh, that's telling you to forget it, go ahead and do it, it will feel good, it will be easier, it will be more comfortable.

Boy, wouldnt you just love to get rid of that voice? That one that's always trying to get you to do something you know is wrong? Well, Guess what? The entire reason Christ died is so you can let Him nail that flesh to the cross, then create you new in an instant - not a minute, not an hour, but the instant the word is spoken - to walk after the Spirit, and the Spirit alone.

Now how is this done, you might be asking. How do I get Christ to nail me to the cross? What do I have to do to die to self? Friends, these questions all have one simple answer. You will be amazed, it is so simple, that many people cannot bring themselves to acceptance. And why? Because this simple task, is the one thing that the very question "What do I have to do?" implies they are not of the mind to do.

Give up.

You are going to fail, as often as you try. And do you know why? Because so long as your trying, self has not died yet. How can it? Its still trying to win the war! Let me share something with you. I would like from the audience right now, 3 ways that a person can take his own life.


Now, notice that crucifixion was not on that list. There is a reason for that. It is physically impossible, for a human being to crucify themselves. It cannot be done. Friends, you can ** yourself, you can ** yourself, you can even, if your clever enough, hit yourself with a car. But you cannot crucify yourself. The only way for your flesh, your sinful, old, broken nature to die on that cross, is for Christ the savior to put you there. And he cannot crucify you if you do not allow Him to.

This is the only war that is won by giving up, because the war has already been won. Christ came to this world to destroy the works of the devil, and His mission *has* been accomplished. It has been accomplished in my life for one, and it can be accomplished in yours, if you make the decision to once and for all surrender all to God. Give up, brothers and sisters. Its the only way to win, because when you give up, it is Christ carrying you over the ravening wolves, not you trying to run through them. Allow Him to put you on the cross, that you may die His death, and after suffering in the flesh, rise to life in the Spirit.

"Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." (1 Peter 1:4)

I would like to invite you, if any of you would like to, to accept this gift now. It is His promise, and His working in the lives of all who will ask and accept. Remembering the words of Peter, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:4).

By what do we partake of the divine nature? By what do we escape the corruption of the world? By the promises of Christ. Those promises are there, they have been made. I have only shown you a small fraction of the great and many promises made to those who accept victory in Christ, and all that needs be done to have them in your life, to have Christ in your life, and to be His, completely, now, is to accept those promises. Claim them and walk in them, as the lame man, rise, take up thy bed and walk; Go and sin no more.


Now, it is time to do what I have alluded to a number of times so far today, and get into the arguments given against the victory, or maybe it would be better to say, the common questions that people have regarding this message and its validity. I believe I have shown that scripture is clear on this subject just from the little bit we have had time to go over, however scripture (we know) does not contradict itself. It is no argument in favor of anything, if a person is presented with a scripture opposite their current stance, and they simply give another scripture that seems to contradict and support their views.

Scripture must be in unison, and it is neccesary for any teaching of God to be in complete accordance with all other teachings. So that being said, we will now, one by one, go over the "contradictory" verses that are readily given by people upon hearing this message.

1) 1 John 1:8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Answer : Now this verse is probably the entire reason I said what I did before starting, about a verse seeming to contradict not being a proof of anything. I am involved in internet evangelism often, and I have been banned out of chatrooms for "Adding to scripture" for seeking to explain this verse. No attempt was made at any explanation of the verses cited for the victory - This verse was enough, it was over in their minds. Now, of course the fault is not on this verse, after all, all scripture is inspired of God. However I will caution you against ever for any reason, hanging to a single scripture and ignoring a pile of others. Know that all scripture agrees, and this verse very much agrees with the victory, as did it's author.

Now, having said that, I apologize if that seemed to drag on, or avoid the issue, but it is a point that needs to be made. It is for that reason I encourage you to, please, *ask* if you have any questions, *speak* if you have any objections. Anyway, moving on to the verse. I had better re-quote it at this point : "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8).

Now, John in his letters has a particular style of writing, where he re-emphasises a point over and over to drive the meaning home. This verse is no exception, and is a perfect match for 1 John 1:6, and 1 John 2:4. These verses read, "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:" and "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

In each of these, John was writing to Christians who were being influenced by the belief systems of a people known as Gnostics. Now, among other equally unscriptural things, Gnostics taught that if you were "saved," nothing you did was considered a sin, regardless of the law. Some traces of this belief have even seeped through into Christianity today, in the form of "once saved always saved" ideaologies. Essentially, if you were saved, anything you did was above being considered sin, regardless of how depraved your actions actually were.

To these John writes, if you say you have fellowship but walk in darkness you lie, that if you say you know Him and keep not His commandments you lie, and, once again, if you say you have no sin, *while sinning* you deceive yourself. John does not completely contradict himself a mere 2 chapters later, in the *same* letter, by saying "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."(1 John 3:9), and once again, true to John's style, "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." (1 John 5:18)

And how do those, even those who said they did not sin while sinning, *actually* cease to sin? "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

2) 1 John 2:1. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Answer : Another verse from the same book, this one takes much less searching to see how the misapplication is made. You would be amazed at the number of people who, reciting this verse, say "that ye sin not, but if any man sin..." In doing this they completely change the words and meaning of the verse, though many times without even realizing it, to fit their own concepts.

The verse does not read "but if any man sin," it reads "And if any man sin." And, beginning of a new sentence. Different word in Greek. ("But" is De, "And" is Kai.) That is to say, Sin not. And, (beginning of a new statement,) And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. If any man is in his sin, if any man has not come to Christ, we have an advocate. Furthermore, the word "sin" here is used in the "Aorist" tense, and should be translated from Greek into a past-perfect tense - That is, an already past, completed action. It is the same tense as the verse that reads "For all have sinned."

3) Romans 7. Now, I realize most of you don't have Romans 7 memorized, neither do I. So, the odds are that a great many of you right now have a verse in mind from this chapter, without even knowing it is from it. For this reason, lets go over the 7th chapter of Romans, remembering we read Romans 6 earlier today.

"Romans 7: 1. Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2. For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 5. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. 11. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. 14. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

Answer : Wow! I'll tell you, this chapter seems like a cache of verses against the victory concept. But, now now, before we get too hasty lets remember what we started off with : All scripture must be in accordance. Also keep in mind, I am not trying to attack any of you, only bring you to the victory Christ has offered freely to those who accept : If you are seeking a verse to prove me wrong, I must ask, why would you want it to be wrong?

Now, on the the chapter of Romans 7, and all the verses therein. Before I start, I would like to call your attention back to what we read earlier in Romans 6 - the chapter right before this - regarding death to sin, no longer walking in sin, serving righteousness, being freed from sin, etc. I would also like to point out, that divisions (that is, chapters and verses) were added by translators sometime down the line, and most likely with good intentions. However, remember that fact as we move on, as it will prove crucial to a full understanding of this apparent contradiction, on the same page of our bibles.

Paul had a method of speaking Greek where he would set the tense, and then speak in present tense for the rest of the story. This is used in English from time to time as well, let me give an example. Can anyone tell me, what is wrong with the following statement :

Last week, I walked out of my house and onto my lawn. I look around, nothing is happening so I go down the street about 2 blocks. I dont see anything interesting, so I turn around and walk back home.

Anyone?


Absolutely nothing. I set the time-frame as last week, and for the rest of the statement, I spoke in present tense, as if it was happening now, when, as I said at the start, it occured a week ago. Now, the question is, does Romans 7 have a tense setting verse? Yes; Romans 7:5. "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death."

The rest of that chapter, and the series of verses composing it, are a present-tense account of a past-tense experience, in this case, "When we were in the flesh." Remembering what we covered earlier about divisions being added, lets turn now to Romans 8:1, where we are brought back to present tense, Paul saying "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Romans must at the least be read from 6 to 8 as one continuous message, as its theme is : Victory over sin (Romans 6) - Contrasted with the past life in the flesh (Romans 7) - The great rest found in Christ and His victory after we no longer live in the flesh (Romans 8).

If you are still unconvinced, or you are interested in even further evidence, please speak with me after the sermon about a list that was compiled by brother David, with a point by point contrast of the statements of Paul in Romans 7, and his statements in every other book. In fact, every single one has at least one contrast in the very same book of Romans; it is by no means logicial to view Romans the 7th chapter as anything other than presented here today, and if there is something I have missed, again, there will be a question and answer period after this section of the study is over.

4) Paul said "I die daily," he obviously had a constant, day by day struggle with his flesh.

Answer : You know, one of the best ways to clear up a misunderstanding in scripture is to simply read the verse thats troubling you, as well as the verses around it. Context is an amazing thing. In this chapter (1 Corinthians 15) Paul is addressing Christians who were being influenced by the beliefs of the Sadduccees, who as we know, did not believe in the ressurection. Naturally the whole chapter is great for further clearing up the meaning, but, for right now, just the verse in question, and the verses before and after are more than sufficient.

"And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die."(1 Corinthians 15:30-32)

It is painfully obvious that Paul is *not* talking about any death to his flesh or old self, but instead that he is prepared, and not only that, but would *rejoice* to die daily for Christ, a physical, actual death, as shown by standing in jeopardy every hour, and fighting with beasts in Ephesus. And why? Because he had a full confidence in the ressurection spoken of in the verses leading to this point.

5) But Paul said he was the chief of sinners!

Answer : This verse is found in 1 Timothy 3, verse 15 : "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

By virtue of what does Paul consider himself the chief of sinners? Verse 13 tells us : "Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief."

Paul, by virtue of his past life counted himself the chief of all sinners, but not by any means is this verse implying he still sins, or that he is now the chief of sinners for his actions; After all, this *is* the same Paul who said he lives in all good conscience before God and men. (Acts 23:1, 24:16)

6) Peter walked with Christ for three and a half years and still denied him three times; are you saying he was not converted?

Answer : "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:31-32)

Strange as it may seem, as the words of Christ Himself testify, Peter was not converted until after Pentecost. This also rings true that, there may be many here who have walked *with* Christ for many years as Peter did, who have felt Him many times as Peter did, and who fullheartedly believe as Peter did... But if you have done these things, these alone do not mean conversion, and you still need to do as Peter eventually did when he understood, allow Christ to convert you, create you a new creature, His workmanship.

7) What about King David? Scripture calls him a man after God's own heart, but he still sinned with Bathsheba.

Answer : David was faithful inasmuch as he knew, and followed the light he was shown; however he also did many other abominable things before coming to conversion: he lied, pretended to be crazy, killed, and deceived the high priest to escape capture (Which later got the high priest and his family killed.) We find that this behaviour does not last, and Psalms 119 (After David's conversion) records such statements as "I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, and have kept thy law," and "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word."

I would now like to invite anyone that has any questions to please ask them now. If you are unsure about this message, if you have a reservation about allowing Christ to make these promises reality in your life, if there is a verse or thought troubling your mind, I would ask you to please make it known now, and we can find the truth in the word of God.


Ok now that there are no more questions, I would like to close with the following thought. You must be born in order to grow. If you are in sin, if you have not surrendered yourself, there is no growing into this decision; it is a decision to be made now. If you are in sin, you have not been born, and you need to choose right now, to allow Christ to create you new. Do not wait, do not put it off. Today is the day of salvation. All you have to do is ask Christ and trust, abide in His promises. It is by them you are healed, and by them you can walk out of here today, knowing that you are a new creation, sinless in Christ by His power, and that you will not fall by His power. It is a decision to be made right now, and I invite every one of you that would, to please accept the gift He has bought for you - To let Him create you new, for you can do all things, through Christ which strengtheneth you.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

May God bless and be with you all.


- Luke