The Epistle to the Romans is Paul’s theological magnum opus with the eighth chapter being the pinnacle of the work!  The ascent turns sharply upward in chapter six where Paul teaches that a life of victory over sin is God’s plan for every believer.  “Sin shall not have dominion over you,” is the thunderous declaration of the great apostle.  Chapter six ends on a high note.

But then comes the sometimes confusing seventh chapter where some well-meaning believers conclude that a life of defeat is the norm.  Didn’t Paul himself confess in v19, “For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do”?  Reading those passages in the last half of the seventh chapter have led some Christians to throw in the towel in their fight against sin.  If Paul himself couldn’t get victory over sin, who are we to think such a thing is possible in our lives?  Reading chapter seven we quickly forget chapter six.

But that conclusion is based on a misunderstanding of Romans 7.  After charging us to live in victory over sin in the sixth chapter, Paul goes on to explain in the seventh chapter how that goal is humanly impossible.  Why?  Paul explained in v23, “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.”  The law of sin at work in us is stronger than our best efforts to overcome it.  The story of the Jews in the Old Testament is proof of that!

To find the answer don’t close your Bible at the end of chapter seven and walk away with a mindset of spiritual defeat.  Read on to chapter eight!  The answer is in the second verse, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”  The indwelling Holy Spirit can accomplish on my behalf what I could never achieve on my own!  Now read on to v4, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Did you hear that?  The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us as we depend on the Holy Spirit within.  When we depend on the flesh, we fail.  When we depend on the Spirit, we win!  The rest of the eighth chapter goes on to develop that thought and ends with this victorious note, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Reject outright and fully all thoughts of a mediocre Christian existence.  God the Father did not conceive the plan of salvation and Jesus did not die on the cross so we could experience partial victory.  The Holy Spirit didn’t take up residence in our lives to slightly improve our win-loss record against sin.  Settle for nothing less than complete victory, “For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:18)!

Pastor Todd Weston

I have a suggested activity for you that you might actually enjoy.  

• Step 1 - go to the beach.  (I told you it would be enjoyable!)

• Step 2 - begin building a sandcastle near the water’s edge.

• Step 3 - after a wave destroys part of your newly built sandcastle, start rebuilding.

• Step 4 - repeat step 3 until:  a) it gets dark;  b) you run out of sand, or;  c) you give up in total frustration, demolish the sandcastle yourself and go home.

I’ve got news for you.  That’s life!  

I’m the kind of guy who likes to get his ducks in a row.  The problem is they keep getting out of line.  My sandcastles keep getting partially washed out to sea.  So I rebuild, and rebuild, and rebuild, and rebuild…

It’s only taken me fifty-four years to resign myself to the fact that life is a state of constant transition.  In his book, Good To Great, Jim Collins described life in the twenty-first century as “Constant whitewater.”  There are a million moving parts all happening at once.  If you are one of those rare people who thrives on chaos then what I am describing will make you happier than a woodpecker in a lumberyard.  But if you like things neat and orderly then, like me, you are going to have to make some adjustments.

The adjustment is the realization that everything about life on earth is temporary.  I think God made it that way so we wouldn’t get too attached.  Think about it.  How many places have you lived over the years?  How many places have you worked?  How many cars have you owned?  How many churches have you attended?  How many friends have come and gone?  How many family members have you said goodbye to?  You get the point.

Nothing in this world stays the same.  But Jesus does!  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  What a comfort it is to know that.  

Also, remember what God said in Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I will do a new thing.”  Rather than resisting change, realize that the Christian life involves constant transition for God is always moving us onward and upward.  God is always at work in our lives for good (Phil. 1:6).  Rather than view change as an interruption, see it as an improvement.

As a Christian, life is one adventurous ride!  So strap on your seatbelt and learn to hold on loosely to the things of this life.  Set your gaze forward and say with Paul, “Reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13b-14).

Pastor Todd Weston    

They are everywhere!  I’m talking about distractions.  They come in all shapes and sizes and draw the mind in another direction.  When it comes to some areas of life, distractions are harmless enough.  When it comes to your spiritual life, they can prove to be disastrous.

The thing about distractions is that they aren’t necessarily bad things.  They are just things that get in the way.  The Hebrew writer referred to them as weights (Hebrews 12:1).  The danger lies in their ability to steal away our focus and divert our time and energy to lesser things.

Notice in that passage the writer put weights alongside besetting sins.  Satan has both weapons in his arsenal.  Some people are brought down by besetting sins.  Others get distracted by weights.  They resist the bad stuff of life only to succumb to the good stuff that draws them away from the important stuff.  Whether it’s besetting sins or weights, in the end the result is the same.

By it’s very nature a distraction creates inner conflict.  You feel pulled in two directions, at least at first.  The more you yield to the Spirit, the weaker the pull of the distraction will be.  But the more you give in to the distraction, the fainter the voice of the Spirit will grow.  

Case in point:  The more a person yields to the distractions of life that lead them to skip church, the easier it will be to resist the future urgings of the Spirit to corporate worship.  If they keep it up, regular church attendance will become a thing of the past for them. 

So what can we do to resist the distractions that are sure to come our way?  We can remember!  

That’s what God told the Children of Israel to do in a most unusual way in Numbers 15:37-39.  In this passage God told Moses to tell the people to attach tassels to their clothes with a blue cord.  Why blue?  Because blue is the color of heaven.  Attached to the every day clothing of the Jews was a constant reminder that they served the God of heaven!  Whenever tempted with earthly distractions, all they had to do was look at the tassels and blue cord and remember theirs was a heavenly calling.

So is ours.  Remember who you are in Christ and what your life is really all about.  Remember to say “no” to the many good things so you can continue to say “yes” to the really important things.  And remember that Satan doesn’t have to entice you to commit one of the seven deadly sins to bring you down.  All he has to do is slowly draw you away with a distraction.

Pastor Todd Weston