The Answer to the Conflict in My Heart is Jesus Christ (Rom. 7:14-25)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” May God’s unprecedented blessings be upon you today, may the Word of God be imprinted, rooted, and natured, become the absolute blessing for those who are worshiping in the church, in their homes, and especially in the four regional churches. The title of today’s message is, “The Answer to the Conflict in My Heart is Jesus Christ.” Nonbelievers don’t have this kind of conflict. The only conflict that they have is physical, “Should I do this or do that?” However, there is a conflict that comes to us after we accept Jesus Christ, and if you think about this incorrectly, it’s like a new conflict that comes to you now. In the past, I used to act boldly, but now, I’m a little more hesitant. In the past, if I didn’t get along with someone, I would just fight with them, but now that I believe in Jesus Christ, it’s not so easy anymore. So, it feels like I can’t fight, but I can’t not fight. I want to fight, but I know that’s not right. So now that I believe in Jesus Christ, it almost feels like I’m losing my edge or I’m getting this conflict. From a man’s perspective, it almost seems like I’m losing my masculinity.
However, we must remember through today’s Word that, if a saved child of God has a conflict, this is it. It’s not about what you do, this or that, just choose either. There is a true and real conflict that is actually coming to my heart. We are reading through the book of Romans, which is a letter that Paul wrote towards the end of his walk of faith, and even then, he says there is a conflict in his heart. What is that conflict? There might be some people who are listening to the message, thinking, “What is there to be conflicted about?” The more you live a religious life, you lose that sense of “thirst,” because a religious life is all about being centered on yourself and choosing a religion for your benefit, so there is no conflict. On the other hand, if you truly live your walk of faith, then the more mature your faith becomes, the more you will have conflict inside. This is something that happens the more you have faith. In the past, I used to live almost recklessly, but now that I am gaining more and more faith, I’m becoming more careful. In the past, I used to just say whatever I wanted recklessly, but as my faith in Christ developed, the more I began to think about the other person’s perspective. This is normal to happen, the more we believe in Jesus. Do we have to keep living our walk of faith in that state? Paul is saying today, “No.” Yes, there is a conflict inside of us, however, we have an answer. Whenever your conflict changes into an answer, there is incredible peace and joy inside of us.
1. Law
1) Spiritual (Rom. 7:14)
(1) Recognized as sin (Rom. 7:13)
Rom. 7:14 says the Law is spiritual, and that is because God gave us the Law. Even before we received the Law, we had the Original Sin that we received from Adam’s Original Sin. What is the meaning of “Original Sin?” It is my inner nature of wanting to reject or oppose God.
(2) By the commandment, sin deceived me (Rom. 7:11)
The reason why God gave us the Law to begin with is to diagnose our inner state. Just like when you go to a hospital, you can get an MRI or a CT scan to see your internal body, ever since human beings are born, we have Original Sin inside of us, and that is why the Law will reveal it. However, the Law is not given to us by humans; it is given by God, that is why it is spiritual. It is through this Law that sin is revealed, and I myself am unspiritual and physical, sold as a slave to sin. What does this, “unspiritual” mean? In Gen. 6, it says that the sons of God became mortal, so when the Bible talks about being flesh, physical or mortal, it’s not only talking about the physical world, but living for a purpose that is not for God.
(3) Sin put me to death (Rom. 7:11,13)
So, what does it mean that Paul was unspiritual? It means he did not live for God’s covenant or His Word; instead, he was dragged as a slave to sin. In that kind of spiritual state, what are such people’s actions?
2) Me
(1) I do not understand what I do (Rom. 7:15)
(2) For what I want to do, I do not do (Rom. 7:15)
(3) What I hate I do (Rom. 7:15)
Rom. 7:15 Paul says, “I do not understand what I do, for what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do.” I want to be nice to them, but when I see them, I hate them,” and imagine if that’s your husband or wife that you feel that towards, how hard is that? “I really want to love them but I can’t. I love my children but when I hear them talk, it’s very weird.” So, these things happen in every area of our lives, so that our lives end up going in a direction we don’t want.
3) Sin living in me (Rom. 7:17)
(1) It is no longer myself who do it (Rom. 7:17)
Rom. 7:17 says, “As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but the sin living in me.” Are these words just comfortable for me to place the blame on? No, we need to know there is sin inside of me. When we’re talking about “sin,” don’t just think about the word, “sin,” but think about the power and the pull that sin has to drag our lives. In other words, there is a power inside of me that wants to deny Christ. I want to follow God but inside of me, there is an inner nature that goes in the opposite direction. That is actually Satan who is pulling me with great power through sin. I don’t want to do drugs, but there is a power that pulls me in that direction, against my will. I don’t want to drink alcohol anymore, but I keep getting pulled by a power I can’t overcome. I don’t like depression, but there is a power of depression that drags me against my will. That’s why our life has no choice but to suffer. Doctors try to diagnose, but they don’t know why this problem came; they say, “You have addiction,” or, “You have depression,” but the Bible is revealing the cause of that through Paul.
The Bible is the Word of God that diagnoses a human’s inner state. In your everyday life, you can diagnose your inner, spiritual state by the Word of God. Because I don’t even know myself, who is the real “Me”? The moment I was born, I was dragged around by the inner nature of Original Sin from Adam; then, do I have the answer? The answer is not in Rom. 7:16-17. We have to keep being dragged by depression. There are some kids where if a parent tells the kid to do something, the kid will say, “I don’t want to do it just because you told me to do it,” and some people tell me, “I don’t want to do it because you specifically told me to do it, pastor. If you hadn’t told me to do it, I would have done it anyway, but because you told me to do it, I don’t want to.” That’s the inner, spiritual nature. The devil and the evil spirits act through sin to prevent us from following God’s Word. That means there is something inside of us. That cannot be solved by anything manmade. If you are going down the freeway and then you all of a sudden get a panic attack, you have to all of a sudden pull the car over. It would be great if you can make it off the freeway safely, but if your panic attack sets in too quickly, then you can get into an accident. Is that happening because I did something wrong? There is something inside of me that I’m not aware of that moves me. Is there medication for that? It’s not from people.
Today, there is no other solution other than Jesus Christ. Before we get to that answer, it keeps explaining our inner state.
(2) Good itself does not dwell in me (Rom. 7:18)
Rom. 7:18, Paul says, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature,” meaning, the desire for me to live, not according to God’s covenant and Word. Therefore, I have a desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
(3) Keep on doing evil (Rom. 7:19)
Rom. 7:19 says “no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” Rom. 7:20 says, “Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin living in me that does it.” As soon as I was born, I was born with sin. My thoughts, my heart, my emotions are all going in the direction opposing God. However, when I align with God, that is when we enjoy the peace and joy God gives us. Inside of our spirit, the Holy Spirit lives. However, our thoughts, our emotions, and our will play differently. My thoughts, my emotions, my heart, they still have everything from before I received salvation, so they are dragged by sin, and that is why my body becomes used as an instrument of unrighteousness.
But when the Spirit of God controls my thoughts, my heart, and my emotions to align with God, my body becomes a weapon of righteousness. Why do I have to live like this? If I believe in Jesus Christ, I’ll go to heaven anyway, so do I have to live like this? This has nothing to do with salvation, salvation is guaranteed as soon as you believe in Jesus, but why do we have to live in this kind of conflict? There is a reason.
First, living a life following God’s Word pleases God and God has called us to glorify God. What do you think would happen if the Creator and the Mover of the entire universe is pleased through me? Then, His peace and His joy come upon us. On the other hand, if we are not aligned with God’s heart, thought, and emotions, then we are always troubled.
The second reason is because as we follow God’s Word, there are blessings on this earth because blessings come from God. The blessings follow in the direction that fulfills God’s Word.
The third reason, after we die, it becomes our heavenly reward. These are the reasons we try to live our lives following God’s Word. There are some people who have salvation but it’s an embarrassing salvation. Even after they believe in Jesus Christ, they live completely for themselves, for the physical world, and then they die. For that person, their salvation is shameful because even though they have salvation, they give evil influence to everyone around them. That’s very shameful. We are not living our walk of faith nor our lives to be shameful. Let us please God, the devil will tremble in fear. But this is what happens when you please God.
2. 2 sides of me
1) Law at work (Rom. 7:21)
(1) I want to do good (Rom. 7:21)
Rom. 7:21, Paul says, “So I find this law at work: when I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” This is something doctors can’t know; only God can know our inner state. How does Paul know this? God is giving His Word through Paul, it might seem like the Bible was written by people, but it was actually God working through the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself through His Word. That is why the words of Christ are life and Truth. When the words of Christ completely take over our thoughts, our heart, and our spirit, then we come to life. Do you know how simple humans are? The moment they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their entire lives changed. Even one second before Satan began to work on them, when they looked at the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they remembered God and His promise, but one second after Satan worked upon them, they saw that it was pleasing to the eye, good for food, and desirable for gaining wisdom, and they wanted it.
(2) Evil is right there with me (Rom. 7:21)
So what do you see and how do you see it? That determines everything in your life. As you look at the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, you need to remember God and His promise, but instead, if you look at the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, if you think, “Oh, I can actually be like God and I can be a very powerful person,” then no matter how much that person accomplishes or earns, they will fail. Do you know why? Because the moment we begin to look at the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and we want to eat it for ourselves, then we are filled with shame because we are naked, and then the result of that is that the family will begin to blame one another, “It was because of the woman,” and the woman says, “It was because of the serpent.” Neither of them take accountability for losing hold of and breaking hold of God’s promise, they always blame others. No matter how much they make financially, it’s barely enough to make a living.
What about their next generation? Cain was a murderer, so this spiritual state gets relayed. How do you see things? How do you see the field of America today? No matter how hard you try to live your life, if your eyes are not aligned with God, you will fail. But if you look at everything through God’s Word, that is a blessing. So, no matter how much of a superpower nation this is, God will work here. This means that no matter how powerful people become and how much they claim they don’t need God, the people and the churches that have the gospel can do the world evangelization movement. I have a problem in my life”—how do you see it? Will I fall into the circumstance or situation, or will I look at it through God’s covenant? This determines someone’s life. When God tells you to have hope, it is not a useless hope that comes from people, you must have hope looking at God’s promise. That is a blessed person. Do you think walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death is failure? David didn’t see it like that. In fact, he saw God being with him in the valley of the shadow of death. Your eyes will change your life. Why? Because the Lord is with me, that is our power. God is my background, God is my future, God has the power to change my past into blessings.
Do you have those eyes? Or, are you living your walk of faith but your eyes are exactly as they used to be, you just have more Biblical knowledge now? It’s different. Koreans are really good at ice skating, there would be these 5000 meter races, and the first winner went very slowly, and the people in the beginning would race forward, but the person who would get first place had confidence. They knew exactly when they had to accelerate, so they went forward with confidence. Then, after the last few laps, they go to skate at the outer side of the rink, they would pass everyone. It’s because they have extra power, so there was a big gap between the first place and the second and third place. That person already knew they were getting first place, so what does it mean to believe in Jesus? It’s the same. Yes, inside of us there is conflict, however, the end is guaranteed.
(3) Old self, new self (Eph. 4:22,24)
We’re children of God. No matter what situation I face, God is with me, there is nobody who can overcome God. We must have assurance of this. Your situation is not that important. Your problem is not important; God is important, and when God is inside of us, that person is blessed, only that person will shine the light, and the devil is broken down before that. The more you live your walk of faith, the more this faith piles up. Whatever you’re worrying about right now will go away. What you’re so conflicted about will go away. How could that problem try to exert strength over God? Inside of me, there is a law of death as well. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist. Without a doubt, we have a sinful nature, I’m not saying we don’t. But God is giving us one answer. God is never telling us to live our walk of faith in difficulty with many conflicts.
2) Me
(1) In my inner being, I delight in God’s law (Rom. 7:22)
Rom. 7:22 says, “My inner being delights in God’s law.”
(2) Another law at work in me (23, Gal. 5:17)
(3) Prisoner of the law of sin (Rom. 7:23)
Rom. 7:23, “But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin. I am a wretched man. Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” The more you live your walk of faith, the more this comes out. If you have no sense of this, either you have not received salvation or you are living a religious life. The more successful somebody becomes, the more careful they are with their body, they are no longer reckless. I’m sorry to talk about unhoused people, but if you look at these main streets, they are walking around not looking at the signals because they don’t care if they die. It’s because they don’t think they are important, but the more somebody believes they are important, they will surround themselves with bodyguards to protect themselves, and the more important they believe they are, they will buy a strong car that will be protected in accidents.
3) My state
(1) Wretched man (Rom. 7:24)
(2) Can’t come out of the law of death (Rom. 7:24)
(3) Life without answers
The more I live my walk of faith, the more my heart becomes sensitive to these things. “Oh, did I give this person a scar?” We start thinking like that. “Did the environment I created today accidentally hurt somebody else?” However, people who don’t have this walk of faith, they don’t care, they do whatever they want, but instead, we keep thinking about God, we keep thinking about others. That is not losing your masculinity; that is gaining more maturity. When we’re little children, all we have to do is cry and scream to get whatever we want, but the older you get, the more you shouldn’t do that; you shouldn’t just scream about what you want, you have to also think about what your parents want, same thing at your job. When you don’t know anything you think that you’re everything. You think you’re the only one who knows what’s going on, and all of your superiors seem foolish, but that’s because your inner person is immature. When a person becomes more mature, they won’t speak so rashly, there’s something different about them. The older people get, the slower they are to move. When people are young, they move very quickly, and that’s not only because their body is stronger so they can move faster, it’s also a sign of a level of maturity. The older people show more maturity because they say, “In my youth, I tried this way and that way, and it turns out, this way is right.”
So in today’s passage, why is the Apostle Pual conflicted in his heart? The more mature you become, the more natural it is. Then Paul says here, “I am such a wicked, wretched man.”
3. Our Lord Jesus Christ
1) Thanks (Rom. 7:25)
(1) In my mind, I am a slave to God’s law (Rom. 7:25)
(2) In my sinful nature, a slave to the law of sin – Greed of flesh (Rom. 7:25, Gal. 5:15)
(3) It is finished on the cross (Jn. 19:30)
Rm. 7:25, “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is where we find our answer. “I can’t do this, I can’t do that, but I have one answer. I know the fact that through Christ, I have been set free from all the curses of sin, Satan, hell, and death, and as evidence that Jesus Christ has finished it, the Holy Spirit lives within me, and that is where I put my hope. That has greater strength than any power in the world. This is a power that Satan cannot budge against, because the spirit of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is with me. It’s like a child who feels so peaceful and confident as soon as they are embraced by their mother. God is guiding me, and we trust in Him; we entrust our lives to Him. I may not know or understand, but I believe the Lord is with me and He is guiding me. When my thoughts, my emotions, and my heart are aligned with God, I am filled with His peace and joy, as this happens again and again and this piles up, your mental problems will no longer afflict you.
And no matter how strong your drug is, it cannot overcome this power and this joy. So the more you live your walk of faith, the more you change into a new person. “What about me? I still do drugs now. Every time I’m stressed, I still go to alcohol. You can’t change that with your own strength anyways. So I’m hoping, while you drink or do drugs, call upon Christ. I’m not telling you to keep doing that, but I’m saying, you’re dragged against your will so there’s nothing you can do about it anyway. Accept that Jesus Christ is with me now. I am weak but God, give me Your strength. A lot of students study with their own strength, and if they want to become elite, they cannot study the way everybody else does, they have to lose sleep or do something to do better. If that continues for too long, their thoughts and their body will collapse. Yes, they might become successful, but their thoughts and their heart are very strange. Do not do that; Christ is the answer, your studies, your job, Christ is the Answer. “What happens if I believe in Christ?” The Lord is with you, the Lord is strength, power, and wisdom. He is the Creator Who created me, He is the Creator God Who can create something out of nothing, even now, and our lives will move according to that. Stake your entire life on this one thing.
Matthew 22:37 says to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, this is the first commandment, and the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. How can we love God? How can we live the gospel? How can I have a relationship with Love, with Christ Who is my groom? We stake our lives on this. Then, everything else including your relationships with people will be resolved. The people and things you’ve hated so much will change. If you hate people, how can you be blessed? Don’t you think that’s true? I have a cat in my apartment, and this cat picks up on who likes him and who doesn’t and if there’s someone who spoils him, he goes up and lays down on his back, but if somebody ignores him, he doesn’t even approach. The same thing for us, no matter what we’re doing, whether we run a business or are in school, if we receive grace from God, we can give that to others. So imagine, this partner, even before you start your business, they already feel peaceful and open to you, do you know why? Because the goal I’m working with is not just to make money or to do business with, it’s that person, what does that mean? I’m praying for this other person’s soul, I’m running my business to help that person’s spirit. Then of course, that person comes to life and we call that, “Missions.” This is how we’re bound to live, how? To love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. There is no answer other than the gospel, love Christ. Love the fact that the Lord sits with you, go all into this. There is no other answer. The more you try something else, it won’t work. We must be satisfied with the gospel, satisfied with Christ alone, He will guide my entire life, so stake your life on only believing in Him. Then, I hope you will stand as a witness of what will happen next. This is the answer Paul found in the midst of this conflict.
2) Me
(1) Died with Christ (Gal. 2:20)
(2) With the Lord in the resurrected life (Gal. 2:20)
(3) Indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 3:16)
3) Holy Spirit
(1) Filling, Working of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26,27, Ac. 1:8)
As we go into Rom. 8, we’ll talk about the Holy Spirit. This is what our life is like. To organize again, inside of me, there are two forces fighting, the physical that is centered on me and the Holy Spirit. So, the two sides are always fighting, the side that wants to do what I want to do, centered on me, and the side that wants to do what God wants to do, and the solution to that fight is not with me; it is with Christ. Yes, it is only through Jesus Christ that I’ve become a child of God and I’m on the side of God. God is with me, God blesses me and guides my life. Don’t just know this with your brain—be sure of it, go all into this.
(2) Spirit, Soul, Flesh becomes one – Guidance of Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:18)
(3) Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)
Then God will resolve everything and everything else will come to life. That’s what today’s Word is about.
Conclusion
1. Time of concentration (Power) – Morning
That’s why, as soon as you wake up in the morning, think about God and concentrate on His Word. Think of the cross of Christ. Yes, I’m a child of God and God is with me now, and God will fulfill God’s mission to me. May the Holy Spirit of God completely control my thoughts, my heart, my emotions, so that I and God are one, then your physical body will be used as a weapon of righteousness for God for the rest of the day.
2. Time to change the stream of the field (Prayer, Evangelism) – Afternoon
Then, during the daytime, you’ll pray to save other people and your thoughts will go in the direction of saving. If you’re wondering, “How can I make more money or more profit through this person?” You’ve already failed. No matter what you do, that is a failure. “Oh, how can I save that person? Even if I’m at a loss, I’ll save them,”
3. Time to check my state (Word) – Night
And then at night, it is a time for you to analyze and reflect upon your state that day. For athletes, they are constantly examining their bodies. For us Christians, we must always be examining our spiritual state based on what happened that day, and then you restore that state through God’s Word again. This cycle repeats every day. Then everywhere you go, I believe God’s blessing and glory will be revealed and people will be saved. May you and I have victory throughout the week.
Message Prayer
Let us pray, because there is a Word God is giving to us specifically. You must not lose hold of that Word. Hold onto that Word specifically, until the very end, in prayer, and keep walking with that Word, through prayer, throughout the week. So it’s about the Word and prayer, and about prayer and the Word, then when you come back next week, you’ll have evidence. Let’s hold onto the Word we’ve received and pray.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We have returned Your material blessings as offering. We thank You for we were dead, but through Christ, we are made children of God. Though there are two laws that fight inside of us, we believe we have already been liberated through Christ and desire to live with the guidance and the working of the Holy Spirit. Through our prayers, may the forces of darkness in this region be broken down and the Kingdom of God be established. We believe You will bless the hands that have given the offering with the economy of light to do world evangelization. We believe that in this worship, You have given us the power to heal diseases we are not even aware of. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Bible reading, writing
2. 10/19 – Outdoor worship, Location TBD
3. Start of registration for RCA (Washington DC)
4. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
To our loving and living Father God, we thank you for giving us Your Word through the precious pastor whom You have raised up. As we live our life, we will face many events and many conflicts, but we thank You for giving us the answer that Jesus is the Christ. We believe that the Triune God Who has saved us is our background, our future, and our power. We believe that when we walk within this path, all the conflicts and problems will be turned into blessings. We believe that when we come to our answer in these problems, we will stand as a witness that only Jesus is the Christ.
Now may the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of our Father God, and the indwelling and fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all the people of God, the people of Antioch Mission Church, and those who are worshiping in the regional churches, upon all the families, the future generations, the missionaries, and the fields that need the gospel from now until forever always, amen.