Jesus Sets Us Free From Sin

Sermon preached at St. Mark’s, Honey Brook, PA

by The Rev. Tom Pumphrey, July 6, 2008

Proper 9, year A: Romans 7:15-25a

Romans 7:15-25a (NRSV) I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

How many of you have ever tried dieting? How many of you have ever fallen off of your diet at some time or another? If you haven’t tried dieting, perhaps you have still had the experience of setting a goal for yourself and yet not following-through with your plans. I would guess that each of us here today has felt something of the frustration of wanting to try and wanting to give up trying all at the same time.

St. Paul captures some of the humor of this personal struggle in today’s reading from his letter to the church in Rome. Paul writes “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate... For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” Paul speaks about his own experience with this frustration, and there is humor in his words—humor that we understand all too well. But despite this humor, Paul is addressing something far more serious than dieting—perhaps closer to the issue of dieting for someone with diabetes—where the diet is a matter of life and death. Paul is writing about the struggle for freedom from the bondage of sin.

Think about some examples that vividly display this bondage to sin. Alcoholics know what it is like to both want to drink and want to quit at the same time. Smoker who try to quit smoking feel the torment of wanting to quit and knowing they should quit and yet desiring deep in their bones to take another cigarette. Sexual desire can take hold of a person’s life that way. Greed for money can work that way. Paul seems to write about our problem with sin as if we were heroin addicts, continually trapping ourselves in a place we so desperately want to leave.

Paul’s letter to the Romans covers several themes, but running throughout the letter is the idea that no one is perfect—that all of us fall short of the glory of God and that we turn away from God even when we know our actions to be sinful. And how much more our agony when we know that in addition to hurting others or ourselves, we are betraying God as well.

So Paul’s humor about this frustrating personal struggle is lined with a very vivid desperation. “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

Indeed, to whom can we turn when our standard response to life no longer is effective? When hard work does not improve your job or when expert parenting doesn’t improve relationships with the kids or when a positive outlook doesn’t change our lives? Paul’s answer is predictable for us, I suppose, and sometimes too simple for us to accept. “Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died to take away the suffering of our sins—Jesus Christ changes lives!

Now perhaps you are like me in responding ‘but I’ve been a Christian almost all my life and I still feel this frustration—I still feel that same war with my own desires.’ Well, I would say that Paul himself is a Christian even as he writes these words—even as he recognizes in his own life and existing struggle. And to understand more how Jesus Christ makes a difference, let’s turn to the Gospel reading.

Jesus said “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

This is a sweet and wonderful passage about God’s compassion for us. For those of us who find ourselves weary and heavily burdened, these are words of great comfort. But notice Jesus’ invitation “Come to me…Take my yoke upon you…” We see yokes on the shoulders of mules and draft horses in Amish farms nearby. A yoke is the bar of wood that is used to tie the animal to the plow or harvester—the yoke is used to control the animal. And in the Roman world, the yoke is a symbol of slavery. Jesus says “take my yoke upon you.”

In Romans, Paul writes about slavery to sin and the freedom we find in slavery to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ sets us free from sin. We are no longer bound by sin—bound to do those things we do not want to do—but set free. Of course, we are not set free only to be bound by a new judgment of law—bound to be judged and rejected, since none of us is perfect. Jesus sets us free from sin not to be enslaved by some ethical law, but free to be in a joy-filled relationship with with God in Christ.

After this passage, Paul goes on to describe what he calls the life in the Spirit. You will hear these passages over the next couple of weeks. The life in the Spirit is the life set free from sin by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and given new life by the gift of God the Holy Spirit. The Spirit moves in our lives, directing us, teaching us, helping us to pray. The life in the Spirit is the dynamics of a new and living relationship with God.

Better behavior is not the point of this relationship. The Life in the Spirit is not about self-improvement. But as we grow closer to God, we discover the freedom we seek and our lives are transformed, bit by bit, day by day.

Perhaps you don’t believe me. Perhaps all this sounds like a lot of fancy church-talk—a lot of fluff that doesn’t really translate to real life. Consider those worst case pictures of bondage to sin that I described earlier. Consider the alcoholic or the heroin addict, enslaved to their addiction. And look what happens to these people when they surrender their lives to God, when they give up control and rest in God’s strength. This is the basis of the 12-step programs because it comes from the basics of Christian discipleship. When these addicts, hopelessly enslaved to their addiction, surrender their lives to God, God transforms their lives bit by bit, day by day.

They may still know something of the frustration, but their joy and peace in Jesus Christ is far more powerful. Thousands upon thousands of addicts know the vivid reality of phrases like “new birth” and “new life” because of the power of Jesus Christ. So---If God can do this for alcoholics and heroin addicts, how much more can God set you and I free from our besetting sins and frustrations! How much more will you and I find new life in him bit by bit, day by day!

Jesus Christ sets us free from sin—free to live in a joy-filled relationship with him.

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”