Sinning Has Been “IN” Since the Beginning: Time to Wipe It Out

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpgI7NWa1z8

Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our Sunday sermon. You will normally see us posted in written and live form on Sunday. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff. Our ministry was built on the truth of God’s love and sharing the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ Jesus in a way that we believe embraces the ways Jesus taught us to manage. We bring His Word to the many as opposed to the few, in order to continue the legacy created by the ministry of Jesus Christ. We wish only that God’s truth will be shared within His words as brought to us by the Spirit as it fills my heart, mind, and soul to be shared with my hands, but with His words alone.

You will find us in the following location: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com

Rev. Laura’s other sites: Facebook & Blogspot & Twitter & Linkedin

Wedding officiant page: Wedfolio

 

Prayer List: We have many on our prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their first names mentioned. Our prayer list grows or changes every week. This is our current list.

- Please pray for my son-in-law Douglas who is in the hospital for gallbladder surgery after suffering enough pain not to manage sleep overnight.

- Please pray for a colleague of my friend Jeff who had a heart attack yesterday.

- Please pray for a high school friend Kristie W.’s family. They lost her mother-in-law last night.

- Please pray for Evangelist Cal Jennings who has been suffering greatly with his health and his housing situation. May the solution that has presented itself be a beneficial one in many ways.

- Please continue praying for Evangelist Cal Jennings’ sister who has been undergoing rehabilitation after brain surgery.

- Please keep praying for my father-in-law Raymond Neff, who is still recovering from his severe chemical burns, but is thankfully home. He is improving some, but there are still issues with his health as a result of the burns.

- Please pray for my friend Mary’s entire prayer list, at last count there were nine she has requested prayers for.

- Please keep several friends and other family members in prayer for their trials and tribulations. They have each requested to remain anonymous for the time being.

        Several who are having money issues.

        One who is suffering from loneliness that keeps them from peace and patience.  

        Several siblings of mine have suffered serious issues with patience, frustration and unnecessary stress.

        A friend of mine has decided that they’ve had enough of what has been going on for far too long and it is time to do something about it.

        One cousin who is having a great many issues in their family, including two suffering cancer, other family issues especially difficult include several diagnoses that are a lot to process for them.

- Pray for those who have suffered from violent events around the world this past week, that they heal and do not have scarred psyches and that those who have lost their loved ones to violence find peace in the face of fear.

- Pray for comfort and solace to be shared with those who have said farewell to a loved one this week, known or unknown, and those who continue to mourn loved ones lost recently, including my friend Faith, her family and friends, and the family, friends, fans, and colleagues of Debbie Bolton.

- Be thankful for each day we live as we do not know what tomorrow brings.

- Pray for our nations that the voice of God be heard through the Spirit.

- Pray for our friends and families that their tomorrows bring blessings and pray our own be the same.

- Pray for those suffering as a result of the terrors that have occurred just this past week around this world.

- Pray for our sick and wounded that they may heal.

* Happy Birthday to my amazing Mama! Her birthday is on the 11^th.

 

Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer today on this beautiful Sunday is to have the Holy Spirit bring each of us the gifts of spiritual strength, joy and peace to our hearts, faith to our minds, and healing to our bodies, and souls this week and always. We pray for those who have had serious medical issues in our immediate families, colleagues, and friends this week. We pray for those who have suffered unjustly for things they could not control. We pray for those who have lost faith and live in paralyzing fear and sorrow. We pray for the homeless and the jobless in this world. We pray for the hungry and the malnourished. We pray for the mourners around this world today, whether it is a lengthy term for mourning or quite short. We pray in thanksgiving for all the great gifts that You have given us, even if we don’t always realize they are there. We pray in hope and patience for those things that are worrying us in our hearts and minds. For each of these we pray in Your Holy Name, through our Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.

 

Opening Song: Anne Murray ~ Put Your Hand in the Hand https://youtu.be/uHgBEj2-KMs

 

Sermon: Today we are completing the last verses of chapter 7 in the scroll of Romans. As we’ve already noticed previously, Paul is straight to the point in his letters. Romans is no different, even this far into the study we are pursuing. Let’s start here.

 

Romans 7:16-17 KJV – If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

NIV – And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

 

What Paul says here might actually confuse some people. Remember, sin is a constant occurrence on this earth. It was then, and hasn’t changed. We just have big, blatant, obvious methods toward sin. In the days of Paul and the other Apostles, yes, they could see the sin of others, but not always in themselves. The thing is, we have the same situations, just with modern technology in the mix. Without the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, we’d all be doomed. Teaching people how to recognize sin requires us to realize that the same sin is part of us. We see other examples of this thought process in the words of King David, James the brother of Jesus, and Paul’s examples from his letter to Corinth and his first letter to Timothy.

 

Psalm 119:127-128 KJV – Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

NIV – Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.

 

2 Corinthians 8:12 KJV –For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

NIV –For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.

 

James 4:5-6 KJV – Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

NIV – Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

 

1 Timothy 1:8 KJV – But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

NIV –We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.

 

Paul continues his explanation in this chapter regarding the depths of sin that always is considered a curse of the flesh, earthly in nature. He does, however, give us better ways to recognize how sin fights our willpower and wears it down.

 

Romans 7:18 KJV – For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

NIV – For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

 

Paul draws inspiration from the first Scroll of Scripture and a defining moment where God realizes when sin began to overcome the earth. It was, at the time, a serious concern. It’s one of the many reasons God chose then to act. Here are the leading edges of the time where God enlisted Noah into saving the best parts of His creation.

 

Genesis 6:5 KJV – And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

NIV – The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

 

Here we see God’s promise to never again destroy everything and everyone here on this earth. It is a promise that has been kept for many millennia since that moment.

 

Genesis 8:21 KJV – And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

NIV – The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

 

Paul reflects on the trials and tribulations that early residents of the earth and those written about in the poetic scrolls from specific points of view. Job and King David have these thoughts to share.

 

Job 14:4 KJV – Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

NIV – Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!

 

Psalm 119:5 KJV – O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!

NIV – Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!

 

Psalm 119:39-40 KJV – Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

NIV – Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life.

 

Psalm 119:115-117 KJV – Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.

NIV – Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God! Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. Uphold me, and I will be delivered; I will always have regard for your decrees.

 

Psalm 119:173-176 KJV – Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts. I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my delight. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

NIV – May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, Lord, and your law gives me delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

 

Paul draws more from his letter to the church at Galatia.

 

Galatians 5:17 KJV – For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

NIV – For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

 

The sins of the flesh. We’ve heard that phrase a whole lot in Scripture. It’s heard by fire and brimstone preachers many times over the centuries and millennia that have passed since the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior. Paul brings the seven troubles into sharp focus. In this case, he speaks of LUST. These seven troubles epitomize every single element of what SIN would be. Paul adds to the thought with this from the seventh chapter of his letter to Rome.

 

Romans 7:19-20 KJV – For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

NIV – For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

 

Paul again draws inspiration from the Gospel writer Matthew and the Word as spoken and shared by Jesus Christ our Savior. He adds to this with an observation that the Gospel writer Mark had as well.

 

Matthew 5:19 KJV – Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

NIV – Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Mark 5:5 KJV – And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

NIV – Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

 

Paul is reflecting on the anxiety and outright fear Jesus was feeling at the time. Hindsight is often perfectly viewed where in the moment at the time we miss more than we even realize. This is one of the reasons that Paul was extremely meticulous with his letters to the churches. It’s important for us to realize that, even if these ancient churches no longer exist for the most part, we, as members of a modern day church, have the same directive to teach and preach the Word in the way our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ laid out in those long gone days, weeks, and years.

 

Romans 7:21-22 KJV –I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

NIV – So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;

 

Something people have a hard time grasping is the fact that the inventor of the seven troubles is always working to wear us down. The devil that is Satan unleashed vanity, envy, lust, enmity, wrath, shame, and doubt by convincing Eve to blatantly ignore the law as God had instructed. In doing so, the chain reaction ended up having Adam and Eve expelled from the Garden of Eden and Satan was reduced to an equal to a serpent slithering across the earth. Original Sin is something every person on this earth is tainted by. It’s the reason we had to have Jesus Christ come into the mix. We hear from Ezra, Job, and King David here.

 

2 Chronicles 30:18-19 KJV –For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon every one That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

NIV –Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.”

 

Job 23:12 KJV – Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

NIV – I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

 

Psalm 19:2 KJV – Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

NIV – Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

 

Psalm 40:12 KJV – For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

NIV – For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.

 

Paul adds his thoughts from letters written to the church at Corinth and Ephesus. He includes references to his fellow apostles, Peter, the foundation of the church, named the “Rock” by Jesus Christ Himself.

 

2 Corinthians 4:16 KJV –For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

NIV –Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

 

Ephesians 3:16 KJV – That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

NIV –  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

 

1 Peter 3:4 KJV –But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

NIV –Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

 

Jesus tells us that the flesh is weak and easily drawn away from faith to live in sin and wickedness. Paul shares this exact thought here in this next verse.

 

Romans 7:23 KJV – 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.

NIV – but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

 

Paul points out that “sin” is a sentence we’re all serving on this earth. David, first King of the Jews, put into words this exact same thought. His son King Solomon added to this with his own thoughts as well.

 

Psalm 142:7 KJV – Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

NIV – Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

 

Ecclesiastes 7:20 KJV – For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

NIV – Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.

 

Paul adds references to his letter to Galatia.

 

Galatians 5:17 KJV – For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

NIV – For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

 

Paul then draws more influence from James the half-brother of Jesus, Peter, and one of his own pupils, Timothy, most often reflected upon as a teenager with a Jewish mother and Greek father from Lystra in what is now Asia Minor.

 

James 4:1 KJV – From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

NIV – What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?

 

1 Peter 2:11 KJV –Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

NIV –Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

 

2 Timothy 2:25-26 KJV – In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

NIV –Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

 

Paul laments about his inability to project what the Gospel was intended for in the teaching of the many over the few. He despairs about not being able to go to these cities in person. He does so throughout his letters, and the letter to Rome wasn’t any different. We see this in this next verse.

 

Romans 7:24 KJV – O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

NIV – What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

 

This reaction draws strength from early in the Old Testament Torah. It is added to, with the writings of Ezra as well.

 

Deuteronomy 22:26-27 KJV – But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.

NIV – Do nothing to the woman; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor, for the man found the young woman out in the country, and though the betrothed woman screamed, there was no one to rescue her.

 

1 Kings 8:38 KJV –What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

NIV –and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple—

 

Paul again draws influence from the first King of the Jews, David. We each must remember that every verse in Scripture connects throughout Scripture, so that we can learn from the lessons these men, women, and children, of all walks of life, learned from their faith, and the building or demolishing of that same faith.

 

Psalm 6:6 KJV – I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

NIV – I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

 

Psalm 88:5 KJV – Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.

NIV – I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.

 

Psalm 71:11 KJV – Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.

NIV – They say, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.”

 

Psalm 72:12 KJV – For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

NIV – For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.

 

Avoiding sin is never, ever, easy. In fact, probably without even realizing it, we’re all sinning as I speak right now. Paul points out this is why we need to look to the Word and the example Jesus provided for us. Being Spiritual Beings is what we are each meant to be. It’s no easy task to turn our back on the earthly sins that have existed all the way to our DNA for millennia. This is what Paul shares here.

 

Romans 7:25 KJV – I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

NIV – Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

 

Again Paul draws inspiration from King David, and also his letter written to the church at Corinth.

 

Psalm 107:15-16 KJV – Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

NIV – Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

 

Psalm 116:16-17 KJV – O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.

NIV – Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.

 

1 Corinthians 15:57 KJV –But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV –But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Paul also reflects on a large portion of his letter to Galatia. He does so to point out how the seven troubles can mess everything and everyone up. He does so this way.

 

Galatians 5:17-24 KJV – For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

 

NIV – For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

As we go about our week, let us all reflect on how to work against sin and wickedness. Now that’s something to think about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus taught us saying:

 

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Closing Song: Just As I Am https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNJIhF_DY7E

 

 

 

For those who are willing to fully embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, please feel free to comment below or notify me directly. May we have a blessed and beautiful week.

~ Shalom ~

Rev. Laura A. Neff

Facebook & Blogspot & Twitter & Linkedin

Evangelist Calvin Jennings

Facebook & Twitter & Blogster

Covenant of Hope Ministries Main Site: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com

Scripture Excerpts: The New Open Bible Study Edition: Copyright © 1990: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc.

Scripture Excerpts: Holy Bible: Copyright © 1982: E. E. Gaddy and Associates, Inc.

Scripture Excerpts: Holy Bible: Copyright ©circa 1890-1910: International Bible Press, The John C. Winston Co.; Philadelphia, PA, USA

Sermon or Study Copyright © 2023 http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com

Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together as the bringers of the light of Jesus found in the midst of darkness.