War is Hell (Romans 7:14-25)

The Battle of Normandy, also known as D-Day, was the deciding battle in the liberation of Western Europe from under Germany's control. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. The Allies crushed Germany, but victory came with a heavy price. Over four thousand, four hundred allied soldiers perished on the sands and in the water at Normandy Beach. Over 869 thousand were killed in World War II. Blood and treasure was spilled for the sake of freedom. War is hell. Just ask the survivors. I knew a survivor of D-Day. He was a member of the greatest generation; a man who was brave and blessed to have survived. A mutual friend, who knew him well, once told me that he would never talk about the war because of the hell that it was.

Today, there is another war claiming thousands of lives each year. In the U. S. alone, 44,965 people die by suicide yearly, and for every one suicide, 25 more people attempt suicide and fail. That's over one million Americans who have no hope and are looking to end their despair by ending their life. This raging war is in all people, and if left unchecked, some come to the place where life is not worth living. Exactly what are the opposing sides that war within each person?

I. The Conflict of Two Natures

In verse 14, Paul reveals the two warring factions; the spiritual nature and the fleshly nature. The spiritual nature originates from the Holy Spirit who takes residence in a person when he or she confesses sin and a need for a relationship with Jesus. Paul writes that the Law is spiritual because it is able to make us see our sin and our need for a Savior. He continues to write that the Law is good and that he concurs with the Law. The second nature, the fleshly nature, is the sin nature that is within people from their birth. The flesh is the opposite of the spiritual. Paul calls the flesh evil and says that there is nothing good in the fleshly nature. The sin nature causes people to practice evil (verse 19) and to be in bondage with no hope (verse 14). Paul describes the war within, "For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want." Even Paul, a practicing Christian, has a war within himself. Like Paul, believers know right from wrong, but we often fail at keeping sin at bay. For Christians, dealing with sin is not a matter of knowledge. We know some of our behaviors are wrong, but we continue to behave in sinful ways. When we understand the cause of the conflict, that is when we can be free to appropriately deal with sin, not as a head matter, but as a heart matter.

II. Cause of the Conflict

There are two opposing natures, and one of the natures is the sole cause of the conflict. Paul confesses that the Law is good and he has the desire to do good, but the sin that dwells within him causes hm to do the evil that he does not want to do. Therefore, the fleshly nature that Paul calls evil is the cause of the conflict. No better illustration of this is in the story of Cain and Abel found in Genesis 4. Each brother brought to the Lord an offering, Cain, one of fruit of the land, and Abel, the first of his flock. God accepted Abel and his offering, but he rejected Cain's. This made Cain extremely angry, and God said to him, "Why are you angry and dejected? If you do what is right, you will be accepted, but watch out! Sin is crouching at your door eager to control you!" Eventually, Cain allowed the sin that was crouching at his door to control him, and he killed his brother, Abel. Like Cain, all people are born with a bent to sin. Are we all without hope? By God's mercy and grace, we are not hopeless because through Jesus, we can find the cure for the conflict.

III. The Cure for the Conflict

In verse 24, Paul describes himself as a wretched man, and he questions who would be able to set him free from a life dominated by sin and death. In the next verse, he thanks God, and acknowledges that his hope and his help is found only in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Take a closer look at Cain and Abel. After God tells Cain to watch out that sin is crouching at his door, he tells Cain what he must do in order to defeat the sin that is near. "You must subdue sin and be its master." The struggle with sin is real, but the cure is not in the struggle, it is in surrender. One must surrender to Christ all sin, fear, worry, and anything else that keeps him or her separated from God. Exactly how can we conquer sin and win the battle? John Wesley used the acronym ACTS to accomplish just that.

A: Admit your sin nature. You have to know your opponent, or you will never be victorious.

C: Confess your sin and ask for forgiveness. This gives you a clear path to a relationship with Jesus Christ in whom all our hope and happiness exists.

T: Thank God for being the source of all that is good and right. Paul put it this way, "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord!"

S: Seek and keep on seeking God's will for your life through prayer, Bible study, and any other activity that will draw you closer to the Lord.

John H. Sammis, a successful businessman who later became an ordained Presbyterian minister, wrote the words of a familiar hymn that holds the key to our winning the war that rages within us. It is not clear the scripture the hymn was based upon, but hymnologist, Kenneth Osbeck cites 1 Samuel 15:32 as the possible text. "And Samuel said, 'Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to harken, better than the fat of rams.' " This hymn is concerned with trusting God's word and obeying his will. The last verse reveals the ultimate reward for the victorious, "We will sit at his feet, or we'll walk by his side in the way."

Yes, war is hell, and the conflict within oneself can feel like war too. However, the war within is winnable. We are not perfect, but we are forgiven. The emptiness we feel caused by our fleshly nature can be filled through our Lord, Jesus Christ. That is where peace begins and is sustained as we trust and obey. Amen.

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