Sin Management

A couple weeks ago I was at a college retreat and I was the Sunday morning speaker. The theme of the retreat was "If God Really Loves Us..." and the theme verse was from Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8 is one of my favorite Bible chapters. I go there whenever I am feeling down about myself and my faith, and I start believing God couldn't love a sinner like me. So I was happy to preach on it. But the part that struck me was how chapter 7 and chapter 8 work together. I think I had noticed it before but had forgotten, and it was much stronger this time. So here's what I've learned:

Romans 7:7-25, and go ahead and read 8, because that is instrumental to understanding 7.

This whole section hinges on 8:1-2, "Therefore, there is no comdemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Romans 7 is about living under the law of sin and death. That whole section about doing what I don't want to do and not doing what I want to do is not about the Christian struggle, it's about the human struggle of living under the law by our own power. Here are three stories to illustrate:

Story 1-I remember this story from a youth rally I went to in high school. I don't remember what the speaker was talking about, but this stuck in my mind. When he was a kid he really wanted one of those miniature car electric racetracks. You know, the ones with the yellow gun and you push the trigger and the cars shoot around the race track, and do a loop if it's a fancy one. Well he got one for Christmas, and his dad helped him set it up. He played with it for a little bit, and then his dad had to go do something else. As his dad left the room he said, "Son, whatever you do, never lick the race track." Now this is advice is certainly true, except that the concept had never entered into the child's mind--until now. So his dad left the room and the first thing he did was, of course, lick the race track. It was quite a shocking experience. Had his dad never given him this advice, he would have never thought about it. "...For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'Do not covet.' But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveteous desire. For apart from the law sin is dead. (7:7-8)"

Story 2-Randy Harris and I had a similar experience regarding school band. He was speaking at the ACU lectureship, and it may have been on this section of Scripture, but I don't remember. He gave me the context for this observation. When I was in 6th grade band I decided to play clarinet. I wanted to play drums but the line was too long so I took my second choice. I ended up getting my clarinet about 2 weeks after everyone else, so I was a little behind. The first day I had it I didn't know how to play any of the notes, so I kept blowing a G, which is the note that plays with no fingerings. Half way through the song, she stopped and asked, "Who just keeps playing G?" In my adolescent awkwardness and embarrassment I didn't answer. I knew it was me, I didn't know how to play anything else. We started the song again and the same thing happened. But this time she was really mad and she singled me out. I apologized. Then she yelled at me to "quit playing wrong notes!" What helpful advice. I would love to, I just have no clue how to play the right notes. The law tells us to quit playing wrong notes. That's not always helpful. I blame this teacher for my not being able to play New Orleans dixie today, oh, and my total lack of motivation and caring, and complete lack of skill, and big slow non-dextrous fingers, etc. So what, I like autoharp better anyway, so there.

Story 3-Here's the clincher. What can you learn to ignore by concentrating on? The battle goes something like this: "I shouldn't lust, its bad. Ok, no lusting, no lusting. What is lusting again? Oh yea, I shouldn't do that. I'm not going to think about the things I'm thinking about. Hey mind, quit lusting! Get away from those thoughts. Whew, that was close. What was I trying to not think about? Oh yea....-----------------------------CENSORED-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------STILL CENSORED--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------WOW, REALLY REALLY CENSORED-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. Ahh man, I did it again. I'm such a loser. I need to concentrate on not lusting." And the cycle happens again.

That's the power of the law, and putting ourselves under it is what leads to that whole discussion about what I want to do and can't do. But that is not the struggle of the Christian life, that is the struggle of living by the law-the law of sin and death.

Now go to 8. Those first two verses make a major switch. Chapter 7 is all about living under the law of sin and death, it's not Paul's struggle or everyman's struggle, it is trying to achieve morality through my own power struggle. It is the "under the law" struggle. Chapter 8 is all about the law of the Spirit of life. And this is where our thoughts should be. Not on what we shouldn't do, but on who we are and whose we are. We are God's children, adopted through His blood. Let us concentrate on Him.

It comes down to focus, are we focused on our own morality, or are we focused on the Father who gives us our identity, strength, and even Himself. Self-focus will cause us to fall, lose hope, give up altogether, or at least believe that we are terrible people. But God never intended a life of sin management. He intended a more than conquoring life as we become full sons and daughters of the perfect Father. Why would we ever want to put ourselves back under the old law? Besides, if we are focused on Christ, we won't be focused on our own weakness, shortcomings, and sinfulness. That will help lessen temptation.

That is GREAT news. I have been chosen by the Creator, He has made me worthy through Christ, and He has put His Spirit in me. He has invited me to bask in His glory, and He is fighting my battles with me and for me. He is teaching me how to play right notes. And He is for me. That is something I can concentrate on.

 (Started writing to Led Zeppelin-In Through the Out Door; Most of it was written to Rich Mullins-The World as Best as I Remember It, Vol. 1, and proofread to the harmonica of John Popper in Blues Traveler-Straight on Till Morning)