“Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24)

That’s the lament the apostle Paul expresses in that well-read, but often misunderstood passage we all like to point to in order to justify why we continue to live as ‘sinners saved by grace’. Yep...better read yesterday’s message first if you missed it.

To hear the plethora of modern day ‘gospels’ explain it...Jesus came to earth some 2000 years ago to ‘make a payment...for all past, present and future sins’, then He hands everyone who ‘accepts Him as personal Savior’ a ‘get out of jail for free’ card so they can go to heaven after they die. Oh...it would help some if you join a local church and read your Bible on a regular basis; but this idea of being set free to ‘go and sin no more’? - Sorry...He was just kidding and got caught up in the moment and didn’t really mean that.

And the amount of people today who have basically been presented with such a ‘gospel’ is staggering. No wonder Jesus warned of widespread deception coming in the last days (Matt. 24:4-5), and Paul would later explain how that would show up- 2 Cor. 11:3-4, 14-15.

Contrary to popular thinking - Paul did NOT...continue to struggle with sin, failing to ‘overcome’ as we have all been called to do, by Jesus. (Rev. 3:5,21)

Now that does not mean he (or any of us today) don’t battle with ‘temptation’ to sin. Of course we do, which is why we are told to ‘resist the devil’ when he shows up to entice us (James 1:13-16) which he will do on a regular basis. He did the same thing with Jesus too, who was ‘tempted in every point as we are, yet did not sin’ (Heb. 4:15). That’s why He encourages us to come to Him when we are in need so He can help us out in overcoming everything the enemy throws at us (Heb. 2:18; 4:16).

Oh, but you are one who believes we can never go and live without sinning anymore after we come to Jesus and become a ‘new creation’? (2 Cor. 5:17). If that’s the case, then maybe we better tap the brakes on quoting Phil. 4:13 all the time....just saying.

Now, for those who do finally begin ‘see the light’...and ‘come to the knowledge of the truth’, and you do surrender your whole heart to Jesus and commit to following Him (as every believer is admonished to do); what happens ‘IF’...you do stumble along the way and ‘sin’? Good news...He has you covered (1 John 2:1). But please circle that passage where it says “IF”...you sin, not ‘when’, as many people tend to read it. And when I mention coming to the ‘knowledge of the truth’, that does make for a good Bible study if you want to look up 1 Tim. 2:4, 2 Tim. 2:24-26, 3:7, Heb. 10:26-27 and then John 8:32-36.

I am so thankful for the blood of Jesus that was shed for me and for His unfailing mercies and goodness. I don’t continue to live with the mindset that I am still a ‘sinner’ and that I’m going to continue to practice sin. But if...I do stumble and sin...it’s comforting to know of His ‘blessed assurance’, sort of like how I am thankful that I have car insurance...and renter’s insurance...and life insurance. I don’t plan on having to make use of those policies on a regular basis...but in the event of unforeseen circumstances...it’s comforting to know I am covered. Hello?

And I’m sure some will take offense to this analogy, but if you are calling your auto insurance company every other month filing another damage claim because you had another ‘accident’...do you know what that company will eventually do? Now go read Heb. 10:26-27 one more time.

God never designed, planned, or intended us to remain as ‘sinners’...who continued to practice sin (Rom. 8:29). I don’t care how busy you are doing great things in the ‘name of the Lord’...do you know why those people in Matt. 7:22-23 were turned away by the Lord? They continued to practice sin!

If you want to deal with the ‘sin problem’ once and for all, then deal with the root of this sin problem that lies within your ‘old man’ with a ‘sinful nature’. That is the ‘wretched man’ that Paul was crying out seeking deliverance from in Romans 7:24 before continuing on in chapter 8 explaining how one does this. He (the old man) needs to be put to death; which is exactly what the Holy Spirit begins to lead us to do (Rom. 8:13), and this is exactly what the true ‘children of God’ do IF...they are led by His Spirit (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:24).

At best, we give this topic a fair amount of ‘lip service’; but we just fall short in doing it all the way...sort of like what King Saul did when he was commanded to exterminate completely... a group of people along with all their livestock; the Best OT analogy I know of too. (1 Sam. 15).

We were not advised to dial down this ‘old man’, nor to just put him on a leash or in a cage. We are instructed to ‘put him to death’ and everything associated with him. (Rom. 6:5-7; Col. 3:5-9; Eph. 4:20-24). And that is exactly what those who ‘belong to Christ’ have done! (Gal. 5:24).

I’ve mentioned this before, but if you read through Romans 7:1-6, Paul actually makes the case, using the law and marriage as an example...where if we claim to be the ‘bride of Christ’ while our ‘old man’ is still alive...we are to be called an ‘adulteress’. James uses similar language in his letter as well (James 4:4). Just something to consider as we continue to address this very important topic.

Aside from ignorance and a lack of knowledge, do you know another reason why we might be slow to getting around to dealing with this ‘old man’ and its nature? There might be something we are loving ...more than we love God. I mean, the rich young ruler was honest enough to reconcile that as he turned and walked away from Jesus (Matt. 19).

If we continue to see ourselves as ‘sinners’ and acknowledge that our ‘old man’ is still alive and active today as we struggle in our faith walks...that might be the reason there is so much struggling, to begin with. We’re carrying a ‘stowaway’ passenger...and the sooner you deal with him, the sooner you might find that place of rest and peace and freedom that has eluded you. I know I’m speaking from personal experience now, myself. And friends... it doesn’t have to be that way. Meet me back here tomorrow if you want to know more.