The Deliverer from Sin

This is the manuscript of the eighth and final sermon in the "7 Deadly Sins" series. 

Who is to deliver us from the power and presence of sin? Let us thank God that through Jesus Christ and the precious gift of the Holy Spirit we can have deliverance now from the power of sin, and ultimately, we will have complete redemption and salvation from the very presence of sin.

Scripture Reading:

Romans 8:31‭-‬39 NIV What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Introduction

Last week we finished the last of the seven deadly sins in the list compiled by Pope Gregory I in about 600 AD as I said at the beginning of every sermon in this series these seven deadly sins  aren't specific sins but categories of sin that are attitudes that affect character and conduct, and they are continually condemned in Scripture and as a matter of fact all sin is deadly, unless we repent, and the Lord forgives and cleanses us.

Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here’s the full list. 

1. Pride

2. Anger (Wrath)

3. Envy (Jealousy)

4. Impurity (Lust) 

5. Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)  

6. Slothfulness (Laziness)

7. Avarice (Greed)

We started with pride, which is the beginning of all sin, then we talked about anger which if not controlled is a sign of weakness, which can lead to personal harm, rob you of self-esteem, can impair your thinking or attitudes, and can lead to evil actions. Next, we discussed envy or jealousy which expresses itself as a covetous feeling toward another person’s attributes, possessions, or stature in life. Next was impurity or lust which we defined as a powerful desire, a craving, abnormal appetite, not only for physical but for spiritual satisfaction.  Next was gluttony or lack of self-restraint which we said is the sin of excess and intemperance. Seeking to satisfy our senses and our greed while disregarding the needs of others.   The sixth sin was slothfulness or laziness.  We said that slothfulness is excessive physical laziness or the failure to utilize one’s talents.  Slothfulness is found in the workplace, schools, government offices, churches, everywhere, and we concluded that every one of us should always do our best.  Maybe being slothful is more about our relationship with God.  We should work as though God were our employer.

Ephesians 6:7‭-‬8 NIV Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

Last week we talked about avarice or greed, which was the seventh deadly sin. Greed is selfish motivation. It is the desire for more things, or lusting for more material things than God determines is best. Greed can apply to money, fame, possessions, attention, compliments, gifts, and even more.  One bible commentator describes greed as a “ruthless self–seeking and an arrogant assumption that others and things exist for one's own benefit.”

We’ve been talking about sin for the last couple of months and today we are going to wrap up this series with "The Deliverer from Sin”.

Text:

Romans 7:24‭-‬25 NIV What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

In Romans chapter 7 Paul paints a picture of the tragic failure and disappointment of a believer who tries to find peace of heart through human effort to keep the holy law of God. Paul declares that anybody who seeks to overcome the seven deadly sins in willpower and human effort alone will experience the despair of repeated failure.

There are two powers that claim the right to rule in the heart of man. Paul described these as “flesh” and “Spirit.” 

By the term flesh Paul is referring to our human nature, which is defiled by sin. It is that part of our human nature that provides a foothold for sin. It is the inward tendency that we all have to drift downward rather than to move upward.

The Apostle John calls it the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and pride of life.   We talked about it in our sermon "The Fourth Deadly Sin: Lust. 

1 John 2:15‭-‬17 NIV Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Flesh” here refers here to the depraved human nature that governs a person’s will, reason, and emotions. The lust of the flesh is any temptation or sin that appeals to our physical appetites. It is any sin that gives people sinful pleasure and attempts to satisfy our emotional senses and physical desires through sin.

The lust of the eyes is coveting and desiring something that belongs to someone else.  It may be their spouse, or girl or boyfriend, it may be their position at work, or in the church it may be their position or spiritual gift(s). It may be their clothes or their home, or any number of things.   

The pride of life amounts to the arrogant, proud dependence on your own achievements, intelligence, resources, or wealth.

When Paul spoke of “the Spirit,” he was speaking of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who comes to live within the believer at the moment of conversion and salvation and makes it possible for the child of God to grow in Christlikeness.

Yielding to the unregenerate nature described as “flesh” is the road to ruin. Recognizing and responding to “the Spirit” is the road to life and peace.

We don't have time today, but I want you to read all of Romans chapter 7 because it describes the pain and disappointment, the failure and despair of someone who tries to live a Christian life without a conscious dependence on Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit.  

The next chapter, Romans 8 begins with “no condemnation” 

Romans 8:1‭-‬2 NIV Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

And it closes with “no separation.” 

Romans 8:38‭-‬39 NIV For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The contents of Romans 8, and i want you to read all of it too, declare that there need be no defeat in the Christian life. 

However, it should be recognized that Christian victory over sin is not automatic and inevitable. We must accept responsibility for our spiritual response to the indwelling Spirit.

Romans 8 contains twenty references to the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  See if you can find all of them when you read the chapter.  It is through this living, present power of the Holy Spirit that we are to be delivered from the tyranny of sin. 

From Romans 7 into Romans 8 we move from the powerlessness of defeat to the promise of victory. We move from spiritual depression to spiritual delight. We move from a sigh to a song. 

The indwelling Holy Spirit makes possible spiritual victory and conduct that reflects the grace and the glory of God.

I. The indwelling Spirit sets us free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1‭-‬4 NIV Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit of God liberates us from the law of sin and death and makes it possible for believers to live righteously. When sin would serve as an oppressive tyrant, the Holy Spirit comes in to deliver us with a strength greater than the law.   

Paul says that the law was like our guardian 

Galatians 3:23‭-‬25 NIV Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

II. The indwelling Spirit delivers us from the weakness of the flesh

Romans 8:5‭-‬13 NIV Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Even after we have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior, we are still plagued by the power of an inward tendency to sin. This is where the devil seeks to do his work in the hearts and lives of believers. Paul was declaring that through the power of the Holy Spirit we can have victory. 

In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul affirmed that instead of serving the flesh, we can reap the harvest of the Spirit if we will trust in him and walk in him and obey him.

Galatians 5:16‭-‬26 NIV So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

III. The indwelling Spirit provides leadership for God’s children

Romans 8:14 NIV For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

The Holy Spirit wants to lead us in thought and word and deed. By faith we are to recognize and obey these divine impulses that could have no source except the heart of a loving God. The Holy Spirit is the creator of a quality of life in which the will of God is loved, accepted, and obeyed.  

Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

IV. The indwelling Spirit gives testimony to our divine position as children of God

Romans 8:15‭-‬17 NIV The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

The Holy Spirit communicates with the believer that he or she is now a child of God and a member of the family of God.

As Satan tries to defeat us by tempting us to fall into any of the seven deadly sins, we need to firmly grasp our new relationship with God in order that we might overcome evil and achieve victory.

V. The indwelling Spirit is God’s pledge of our final and complete Redemption.

Romans 8:18‭-‬25 NIV I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In Romans 7 Paul described the despair of the person who finds it impossible to overcome the seven deadly sins by human strength alone. Here in these verses, in chapter 8, he told of the glorious expectation and the assurance of the final victory God has provided for those who trust Jesus Christ as Savior. God not only promises us victory over our evil nature in the present, but he promises us final and ultimate and complete redemption.

The Holy Spirit is our guarantee.

Ephesians 1:13‭-‬14 NIV And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

VI. The indwelling Spirit aids us in our efforts to pray according to the will of God.

Romans 8:26 NIV In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

All of us have difficulty praying properly. Paul said that it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who wants to deliver us from the seven deadly sins, to aid us in our prayer life.

VII. The indwelling Spirit makes intercession for us according to God’s will 

Romans 8:27‭-‬28 NIV And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

No one can overcome the flesh in human strength alone. No one can overcome an evil nature by trying to obey the law. Our help comes from God. 

1 Corinthians 2:10‭-‬12 NIV these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

The Holy Spirit not only seeks to aid us in our prayer efforts, but Jesus intercedes in heaven for us according to God’s will.

Romans 8:34 NIV Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Hebrews 7:23‭-‬25 NIV Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Conclusion

Who is to deliver us from the power and presence of sin? Let us thank God that through Jesus Christ and the precious gift of the Holy Spirit we can have deliverance now from the power of sin, and ultimately, we will have complete redemption and salvation from the very presence of sin.

Romans 6:15‭-‬23 NIV What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let's pray 

Almighty God, It is the Holy Spirit who reminds us of Your Words, Your commands and Your goodness and He empowers us to walk in love and in obedience. Thank You for sealing us with Your Spirit as an assurance that we are Your children and that You will never leave us nor forsake us. It is Your Holy Spirit who fills us with the Father’s love that we may grow in wisdom and in knowledge of God’s love as well as to become love and be a blessing to the world. Thank You Father for You have secured us in Your love, guidance, and protection through the Holy Spirit. We are thankful and blessed that Your Spirit dwells inside us and our utmost desire is to always be in fellowship with You and experience Your wonderful presence, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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