The Gospel is Struggle
I’m sure we’d like the story to read more like a fairy tale. “I accepted Jesus as my Saviour and lived happily ever after. Never sinning again.” Well, as you already know, the reality is somewhat different than that. The gospel is struggle. The Christian life is challenging. Living for Jesus is a fight. From the moment we are saved, we are engaged in a multiple-front spiritual war with the most ferocious fighting happening within us. In our own flesh. As we look at Romans 7:7-25, we’ll study one of the most clarifying passages in the Bible on ongoing sin in the Christian’s life.
Complete Livestream
Sermon Notes
The Power of the Gospel (Romans 1-8)
The Gospel is a Struggle
Todd Dugard
Romans 7:7-25
Sunday, February 7, 2021
Living out the gospel is a struggle…
…not because I’m confused about what’s sinful (v. 7-12)
Exodus 20:17
Deuteronomy 30:14
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…but because I’m at war with my own flesh (v. 13-20)
At the same time saint and sinner.
Martin Luther
[Paul’s words in Romans 7] depict vividly the inner conflict characteristic of the true Christian, a conflict such as is possible only in the person in whom the Holy Spirit is active, and whose mind is being renewed under the discipline of the gospel.
Charles Cranfield
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…but I win when…
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…I delight in God’s Word (v. 21-22)
Psalm 1:1-2
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…I admit my frailties (v. 23-24)
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…and I adore Jesus (v. 25)