Who’s winning the wrestling match inside of you? The truth is, no matter how long you’ve been a Christ- follower, in this world we will never be so mature in Christ as to no longer see sin in ourselves. The accusation that the church is full of hypocrites is only true if we claim to be without sin.
No, we are sinners saved by grace! We are no longer under law, but under grace. And having been saved by grace, we are being sanctified, made holy by God’s grace too. So, again we ask, “What good is the law?” In Romans 7:7-25, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that the purpose of the Law for the Christian was never to deliver them from sin, but to expose their sin and drive them back to total dependence on Christ. We can understand that the purpose of the law is not to deliver us from sin, but to expose our sin and drive us to total dependence on Christ.
Law-keeping doesn’t set us free from slavery to sin, nor does it empower us to keep from sinning after being set free. This brings us to Chapter 7 where Paul shows the necessity of being released from under the law in order to overcome our “sin problem.” Because as it turns out, law-keeping does not make us righteous, but more apt to sin.
In Romans 7:1-6, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that their new way of life was not about law-keeping, but loving and serving the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. We can understand why our new way of life is not about law-keeping, but loving and serving the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Romans 6:1-14, he charged us to remember “who we are.” We are “in Christ.” Now, in Romans 6:15-23, he will challenge us to remember “whose we are.”
In Romans 6:15-23, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that they must choose who would be their master, would they continue under sin’s authority or would they surrender themselves completely to God’s lordship through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We can surrender ourselves completely to God’s lordship through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
For the first 5 chapters of Romans, Paul has worked this gospel message out for us, showing how: (1) We are all sinners in need of salvation (Rom. 1:18-3:20), and (2) The only way to be saved is to receive God’s justification by faith in Christ apart from works (Rom. 3:21-5:21). Now, we turn to Romans 6, where Paul will move from the theme of the salvation of the sinner, to explaining the sanctification of the saint.
In Romans 6:1-14, Paul wrote to the saints in Rome that having died to sin with Christ, they were set free to respond to God’s sanctification through faith in Christ. As believers, we can respond to God’s sanctification through faith in Christ.
There is a great battle raging for our allegiance. Will you be ruled by guilt or grace? This battle began in the Garden of Eden. Guilt is both a status and a feeling. Adam felt and behaved guilty because he was guilty. He had broken God’s law. His guilt made him feel ashamed. We are guilty of breaking God’s law too. And guilty people feel shame. Shame can move us to repent and turn to God, but often we are reluctant to repent. In Romans 5:12-21, Paul wrote to the saints in Rome that they no longer had to be ruled by guilt, but could reign in the grace of God received through faith in Christ.
Wouldn’t you like to experience peace, hope, joy, love, and reconciliation in your life? Many of us search far and wide just to find one them.
Is your life full of anxiety and care? Do you need peace? When you think about the future, are you filled with hope or despair? Do you need some hope? How about love and reconciliation? Is your life filled with broken relationships? Wouldn’t you like some help restoring them? In the book of Romans chapter 5, Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that they should rejoice in their justification by faith in Jesus Christ. We can rejoice in our justification by faith in Jesus.
The claim of Christ is not only for “Christians.” It is for everyone. This may go against today’s culture, but we believe that faith in Christ is the only way to be made right with God. Christ is the only path to God. In other words, the only way to receive God’s justification is by faith in Christ Jesus.
In Romans 4, the apostle Paul put forth the Old Testament examples of Abraham and David as evidence that God’s justification has always been by faith alone.
Are you right with God? Every religion asks this question. And all of them but one, give the same answer–– it depends on your spiritual report card. If you have good moral and religious grades, then God will accept you. But this is not the answer given in Christianity. Authentic Christianity actually informs us that we are not right with God and that there’s no way that we can get right with Him on our own. So, God sent His Son Jesus to take the test of life and got a perfect score. His spiritual report card has straight “A”s! And God offers to exchange Christ’s perfect report in place of our failing one. In Romans 3:21-31, the apostle Paul told the Romans that the only way to receive the righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ. We can understand why the righteousness of God can only be received by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
We are all born with a kind of moral compass, an intuition for right and wrong, called a conscience. We even have a desire for justice and accountability in this world. From our earliest memories, we have a desire for fairness. Yet, the world is not fair. And justice doesn’t reign. Unfortunately, our idea of justice tends to be more for everybody else, while we make excuses for our own sin, calling them mistakes, shortcomings, bad habits, etc. But rarely, sin.
Paul has something to say about God and human accountability. In Romans 3:1-20, the apostle Paul concluded that all humanity–– whether the pagan Gentile, the self- righteous moralist, or the outwardly religious–– all humanity is accountable unto God for their sin and therefore in desperate need of the gospel. We can be convinced that we are all accountable unto God for our sin and in desperate need of the gospel.
Why do we need this gospel which grants us the “righteousness of God?” Well, that’s the question that Paul spends the next portion of his letter answering. From Romans 1:18 all the way up to Romans 3:20, Paul explains why everyone needs the gospel. In Romans 1:18-32, we looked at why the irreligious and Gentile pagan need the gospel. Last Sunday in Romans 2:1-16, we discussed why the moral, self-righteous need the gospel. Today, we’ll be looking at Romans 2:17-29 in a message we’ve entitled, “God and the Religious,” discussing why the outwardly religious, whether it’s Judaism or Christianity or any other religion, will not make us right with God. The religious need the gospel!
We live in the middle of the Bible Belt. I thought about titling this sermon, “God and the Bible Belt.” Because people who live in the Bible Belt need the gospel. Just because you’re an flag-flying, BBQ-eating, church-going, American, that doesn’t mean you’re right with God. True Christianity is not about religion, but a relationship. Outward religion does not please God. In Romans 2:17-29, the apostle Paul told the Jews that their outward religion would not make them righteous before God. We can recognize that outward religion will not make us righteous before God.
