Bible, Bros & Brew
Bible, Bros, & Brew is all about helping you navigate your relationship with God in practical, real-life ways. Hosts David and Phil dig into scripture—'chopping up the word'—and bring it to life with insights you can actually use every day. And while they’re at it, they share their favorite 'brews'—don’t worry, it’s not booze! Just a solid lineup of classic coffees and teas to keep the conversations flowing.
Bible, Bros & Brew
Breaking the Cycle of Sin |Navigating Between Sin and Righteousness in Romans 7 | Bible, Bros & Brew
Why do we sometimes choose what we know is wrong, despite our best intentions? In this episode of Bible, Bros & Brew, we tackle this timeless struggle, exploring Romans 6 and 7 to uncover the battle between serving sin and embracing righteousness. Together, we reflect on the transformative power of grace—not just as a pardon but as a call to a higher purpose. With coffee and tea in hand, we create a relaxed yet profound space to discuss how spiritual decisions shape our daily lives. Through insights from the Voice translation, we’ll help you see servitude to righteousness as the path to lasting freedom.
Through relatable examples and biblical truths, we untangle how sin manipulates the law to create false desires, and how aligning with the Holy Spirit leads to clarity, growth, and transformation.
If this episode resonates with you, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share! Join us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Instagram to stay connected with more thought-provoking discussions. Let’s grow together as we explore God’s Word and encourage one another on the journey of faith. Hit that subscribe button and join the conversation today!
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In this episode of Bible Bros and Brew, we're going to move our conversation from Romans, chapter 6, into Romans, chapter 7. We talked so much about choice and decisions last week. This week we're going to talk about when it feels like the thing that I would do, I don't do, and the thing that I don't do, that's exactly what I do. Somebody help me on this episode of Bible Bros and Brews? Hey and welcome to this episode of Bible Bros and Brew. I am David and with me is the one and only the unique one, the chosen one, neo, no, just kidding, that's Philip Rich, right there, that's right. You know what? I don't know if we may have said it many moons ago on the podcast. I've known Philip. We've known each other like 20 years Minimum.
Speaker 2:I think we've known each other almost 30. Is it really? Yeah, we met in 96. No, no, In 95. Yep 95. So next year would be like 30 years. Dude man, that's bananas. I can't even believe it when we were just trying to make it in the old cold world we found out.
Speaker 1:The world is still cold, don't let up, but we've come to it with weaponry now. So we're in good shape and we're so glad that you guys have joined us. If you are enjoying the podcast from YouTube, or whether you're listening to us on maybe you're listening to us on Apple podcast or Spotify, you're watching on rumble wherever you're consuming us from, we are so glad you're with us. One of the things we want to ask you to do is make sure that you like and subscribe to the podcast. Make sure you like and subscribe to the podcast we just enjoy, not only knowing you're there, but that way you'll also be made aware when new podcasts, new things are coming out. We release some shorts and reels during the week, so there'll be some good feedback.
Speaker 1:One of the things that we do is we do a Brew of the Week on Instagram, so if you haven't connected with us on Instagram, make sure you do, so you have an idea of what to go out and grab and join us and drink, as we always do on the podcast. Well, as usual, let's talk about what we've got in our cups before we start the conversation. As you know, I'm a firm believer that a good cup of coffee or a hot beverage, brewed beverage of choice always leads to a more smooth conversation. So, phillip, what are you drinking tonight?
Speaker 2:I am drinking something that we just recently tried for the first time in the rich household and this is busy cold brew oh yes, it's organic cold brew.
Speaker 2:They take their coffee very seriously. They even said it on their label here. It says we're obsessive about our organic coffee. So, um, I'll take their word for it. But if you want, like just a straight up coffee flavor, like nothing fancy, just like coffee, that would be the busy cold brew, because it's got a little bit of a punch to it, man, and I don't mind that in a cold brew. I think that's kind of the general characteristic of cold brew is a little bit stronger than the hot stuff. But, yeah, good stuff, man. Shout out to Busy man. How about you, ryan, what you got? I got some organic turmeric and ginger with meadow sweet hot tea.
Speaker 2:That's an immune system. Powerhouse Indeed.
Speaker 1:I'm proud of you for drinking tea. Ryan, thanks. You're still a man. Don't let him make you think anything that's right absolutely and tonight I've gone backwards into the middle of fall and I'm drinking a cup of Black Rifles pumpkin spice I almost said pumpkin. That's a different coffee. Drinking a cup of Black Rifle's Pumpkin Spice, I almost said pumpkin pie, but that's a different coffee. It's nice and lovely and I'm enjoying every sip of it.
Speaker 2:David, I think your camera might have turned off.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm also being advised, ryan. There's no sound on the live stream, for I see that I don't know what to do about it For either. Actually, okay, I'm not really sure how to fix that, okay, well ladies and gentlemen, ryan broke some stuff and we'll figure it out.
Speaker 1:That's jacked up, ryan. That's absolutely jacked up. All right, we'll let Ryan get off so he can do his thing, but we'll go ahead and start our conversation tonight. You know, we spent time last week in Romans, chapter 6, and we talked a good bit about a lot of things, but it seemed, philip, that much of what we were talking about came down to a choice that we have to make in how we're going to live whether we're going to serve sin or whether we're going to serve righteousness, whether we're going to give our members over to serving sin or our members talking about our body parts over to serving righteousness.
Speaker 1:And there's actually a great quote from the voice translation of Romans, chapter 7, that I'd like to read. It's a bit of a bridge, if you will. It says this it says grace is no license to sin. As creatures, we are made to serve our creator. In the absence of truth, we will serve somebody or something. It's an essential part of our nature. Our only choice is this whom will we serve? At one time, we all served sin and grew weak under its deadly power over us. Now, through God's grace, wow, heart and our eyes, wow, and that is a great bridge for us to now jump in to this conversation because, if you remember, last week we said six, seven and eight. Read six, seven and eight together, because they paint a beautiful picture about God's grace and the choices and options that we have in life. So, philip, where would you like to start?
Speaker 2:I think it's a good. The quote you just shared is a good kind of a segue from the Romans chapter 6 into 7. When you think about how it talks about in the end of Romans 6, it says you know, we should not be yielding our bodily members as servants unto sin, but instead yield your bodily members as servants to righteousness. And so it's setting up this whole idea of whatever you're carrying out with your body. That's what you're serving at the same time, if that makes sense. And so if you, you know, get a thought to do something bad and you set your spirit, soul and body in that direction, then you've actually what you've done is you've obeyed that thing, whatever thought it was, whatever imagination it was, whatever intention it was, you've essentially served that thing.
Speaker 2:And it works in the other way too. If you have a thought, thought to do something good, or you have an idea to do something good, once you've set your mind, your heart, your mind I mean I said mind twice your body to carry that thing out, then you have, in effect, you've yielded to that whatever, that idea, the command or the instruction or the whatever of that idea. So, either way it goes, you're serving something either way and when you think about a lot of people who have an issue with you know God in general. Just, I don't believe in God. Or, you know, I refuse to believe in some mythical being that all he wants to do is to make me obey him. You know you're to believe in some mythical being that all he wants to do is to make me obey him. You know you're still obeying something.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean, whether it's you know the written word of God or whether it's some other impulse that you have. Whatever you're carrying out, you've become obedient to that thing, whatever it is, even if it's yourself. Exactly and, by the way, that's one of the most miserable existences possible is always just serving self. If you never move beyond that, you're not going to find any kind of happiness ever, Because the one thing you'll learn and this is in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes is that the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Speaker 2:You know, the cravings of man are never satisfied. You're going to continue to want something else. Even if you get temporarily a little thrill or whatever from what you did, the thrill is gone after a while. All of a sudden you got to do something else, to find the next big thing that you know tickles your fancy. So I think that it's a good point, it's a good thing to bring out about the end of Romans 6. Going into Romans 7 is, you know, this concept of you're obeying the thing that you've yielded yourself to in terms of action. In one respect, you've become a slave to that thing, whether it's obedience to righteousness or of sin, to unrighteousness, and unto death.
Speaker 1:That's good, philip. Well, as we kind of bridge ourselves into Romans, chapter 7, it kicks off with this perspective of something that's very familiar to us and it's the example of a marriage and the laws around marriage. Verse 7 and 1 says my brothers and sisters, we're reading actually, we're going to be using a couple of translations tonight we're going to be reading primarily from the voice translation. I'm also going to dip over into the message translation because in this case, with Romans 7, it really nails it. I think it really helps you to understand what's being said.
Speaker 1:But in the voice translation of chapter 7, verse 1, it says my brothers and sisters who are well-versed in the law, don't you realize that a person is subject to the law only as long as he is alive? So, for example, a wife is obligated by the law to her husband until his death. If the husband dies, she is freed from the parts of the law that relate to her marriage. If she is sleeping with another man while her husband is alive, she is rightly labeled an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law and can marry another man. In such a case she is not an adulteress. So you might ask why is this important? Well, verse 4 goes on to say my brothers and sisters, in the same way you have died when it comes to the law, because of your connection with the body of the anointed one. So, just like the husband died, you've died with Christ. His death and your death with him frees you to belong to the one who was raised from the dead so we can bear fruit for God.
Speaker 1:So, now, just like when the husband dies and the wife is free from the laws around marriage so she can marry again. Now the scripture is telling us when we died with Christ, we died and our death has made us free from the chains, from the law that governed our lives. We are free from sin. Really, Phil, would you say that's the case?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and we're going to see here in just a little bit when we get further in the relationship between the law and sin. It's interesting how that works, because us dying to the law also is the catalyst for us dying to sin, but it's not that the law is sin, and we're going to see that here in a minute when we read Romans 7, but well, we just probably need to keep on reading. That way, this will make more sense.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. It goes on to say in verse 5, I also just want to mention that last part that our death with him, in verse 4, frees you to belong to the one who was raised from the dead so we can bear fruit for God as we were living in the flesh, the law could not solve the problem of sin. It only awakened our lust for more and cultivated the fruit of death in our bodily members. Now that we have died to those chains that imprisoned us, we have been released from the law to serve in a new, spirit-empowered life, not the old written code. So what is the story? Is the law itself sin? Absolutely not. It is the exact opposite.
Speaker 1:I would never have known what sin is if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known that desiring something that belongs to my neighbor, covetousness, is sin, if the law had not said you are not to covet. I'm going to stop right there, phil. We'll pick up in just a moment because I know you wanted to get to seven. So what do you want to talk?
Speaker 2:This is perfect right here. This is really, I think, one of the big keystone moments in Romans 7, because what he's talking about is the awareness of sin itself doesn't come without law being in the picture. And it's like and we've probably heard this before, I think over in Germany they don't have a speed limit on the highway called the Autobahn. You know, it's like you can go any speed you want. So even if you're zipping down the Autobahn in a Porsche going 120 miles an hour, there's no cop going to pull you over because there's no law against going that fast. But as soon as they introduce a law, like over here in America, we have speed limits everywhere If the speed limit is 70, but I'm going 95, I am breaking that law. But I would not have ever known that it was even illegal had not a sign been posted that told me it was illegal. Praise God. So it's like this is the same concept.
Speaker 2:God has always had a moral standard for his creation. That has never not been the case, even back in the days of Noah, even back in the days before Noah, when there was no law. You know, back in the days of Abraham there was no law written down for Abraham to follow. But at the same time, even at that time, god had a moral code for humanity, because and you see it all through the scripture he talks about you know the and one of the issues that was going on right before the flood of Noah. It said every thought of man's heart was only evil, continually. And that was part of the reason why God knew that judgment had to come. It was just this thing where men had become so wicked, just so depraved in so many different ways, all of which were some level of breaking his moral code. So the code has always existed. And it's interesting too even people who don't believe in God don't believe in anything necessarily. They deep down still have a sense of what ought to be and what ought not to be in one way or the other. Right.
Speaker 2:So when God introduced the law through Moses, what he did was he started putting a framework around these things and saying, hey, I really don't agree with anyone stealing someone else's stuff. You know, that's not part of my moral code. I don't think that if you're married you should be sleeping with some other people's wives or whatever. That's not part of my moral code. So he gave them these all of a sudden, these rules start showing up to say, hey, these things are actually sinful if you do them. All of a sudden, we now have a situation where you can't claim ignorance anymore, if that makes sense. It's like I can't sit here and say, well, I didn't know it was wrong, well, it's right there in black and stone, you know. And it's like and from that point now we've got this thing. That's there challenging our impulses, right? Right, it's like all of a sudden we want to do something, but there's this standard written down. Hey, don't do that. Now we've got a conflict, right?
Speaker 1:It's like man, what do I?
Speaker 2:do now. If I do it, I know it's against what God specifically said. So what would that be called? That would be called sin.
Speaker 1:if you end up doing it, it would be called a transgression or a breaking of the law aggression or a breaking of the law Right, and I think it's important to remember that the whole reason God's people were given the law was to set them apart from everyone else.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Yes, god did it so that he could show these are my people and they live by a completely different standard than everybody around them, which is such a shame because, just like we talked about a couple of weeks ago the concept then that Israel was, so the Jewish people and then you move into the New Testament and you see the different churches and even to this day are so busy trying to live by another standard because they deem it higher quality, better life more exciting or whatever.
Speaker 1:And God says no, I have a standard, and if you live this standard, it gives you the ultimate life.
Speaker 2:That's good.
Speaker 1:And so we've got to, we've, we've even got to rethink that, and I just love what you said, that you didn't even you know, you wouldn't have even known you were speeding unless there was a sign there.
Speaker 2:Right and I like that.
Speaker 1:Paul talks about that. That it was literally the sign isn't the problem, it's the nature in man. Yes, that's the problem the sin nature in him, because now that the sign has come up and says the standard is 75, it's the sin nature in us that's like, yeah, that's 75, but I'm going to go 90 and see if I can get away with it.
Speaker 1:And so you kind of see, when Paul was saying that he wrapped the law around him like a garment and to kind of deceive us, into thinking well, you know you're close enough, you know they'll give you over 10 miles an hour, so surely you can sneak out another two miles and it won't be that big of a deal. Right, Go out there and you. You begin to see the picture being painted.
Speaker 2:That's good, that's good. And so in Romans 7, that's the gist of what he was saying in that verse. Let me see I'm putting it back up there, Ryan. In verse 7, actually it says I would never have known what sin is if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known desiring something that belongs to my neighbor is a sin if the law had not said you are not to covet. So in verse 8, sin took advantage of the commandment to create a constant stream of greed and desire within me. To create a constant stream of greed and desire within me. That's why the images that this translation paints is just so, so powerful man.
Speaker 2:But yes, sin took advantage of the commandment to create a constant stream of greed and desire within me. I began to want everything. It's like, all of a sudden, you tell me I can't have it. And that's what I want. You know, it's the whole forbidden fruit principle. You know the same thing that Eve wrestled with in the garden. It's like, you know, God told him you can freely eat of all the trees. There's not, I mean, there's so much abundance in here You'll never have to go hungry ever again. But just don't touch this one over here. Don't don't eat from that one. And of course, that's the very tree that Satan decided to target when he approached Eve.
Speaker 1:So it's kind of like it's the cart. If I can give us a silly example, it's the cartoons. Right, the moment that you got the Wile E Coyote out there and you got the Roadrunner out there, you know, the Wile E Coyote pushed a button down that says do not touch. Yes, and of course what. The road runner would come along and he'd touch it and nothing happened. But wily coyote would come along and touch that button and wham there, it would hit him but it's this con it.
Speaker 1:But it's the concept that we all have these things that are put into our lives, that are like see that button right there, pretty, isn't it? Don't touch it, leave that button alone. You know the moment that you say leave that button alone and all of a sudden you start thinking about it. You dreamt about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You're like I wonder what would happen if I touched that button. And before you know it, you've had those intrusive thoughts again there you go. That puts you down the path where, there you go, touching the button that you said you didn't want to touch.
Speaker 2:And you knew it was not good for you to touch, right? I remember when I was I'm a real little man, I don't think I was even 10 yet but I was at my grandma's house and she had like a pot belly stove right there in the living room like old school, so they had, you know, the, the wood inside of it and all that, and this thing was felt nice and warm during the winter. But I kept getting close to it and I don't know if it was my dad or my grandfather. One of them was like don't touch that stove, don don't touch that stove. And of course I'm a little kid, I'm all curious, you know, and I'm like, you know, still doing it. They're like don't touch it. And what do I do? I, I don't gonna touch that stove, man. And of course I'm all you know crying and stuff and freaking out and it's like they say I told you not to touch it but for whatever reason I get this, you know hard-headedness and all that stuff it's like you got to touch it. But for whatever reason I get this, you know, hardheadedness and all that stuff it's like you got to find out for yourself. So that's unfortunately the nature of just across the board. It's like, even though we're being told not to do something nine times out of 10, there's going to be some desire stirred up in you to find out. Maybe it's not what they're saying, maybe I can still get away with it. Blah, blah, blah. And it's interesting, man.
Speaker 2:I was thinking about this. I forgot which gospel, but it's in one of the gospels where some of the Pharisees or, I think, the doctors of the law, came to Jesus and they were saying hey, jesus, what's the greatest commandment? I mean, what do we need to do to have eternal life? And Jesus said well, you know what to do Keep the commandments. And their response was fascinating. They said which ones Now think about that question? It's like I want to find the bare minimum and only do that. Right, right. And that's exactly how human nature is. It's like if you tell me here's the line, I'm going to get as close to that line as I can possibly get Right and just thinking, phil, that's the sin nature in us that wants us to push it up.
Speaker 1:I mean, what if we just said okay and walked away Right? You know why do we have to know which ones? We know what the laws are, so let's just follow them, right.
Speaker 2:It almost seems too simple, right.
Speaker 1:Right, and we never let it be that simple.
Speaker 2:Right, unfortunately, goodness, I know, oh man.
Speaker 1:I loved how it says in verse eight. There that sin took advantage of the commandment to create a constant stream of greed and desire within me. I began to want everything, you see, apart from the law. I began to want. Well, it says, I began to want everything you see apart from the law, I began to want. Well, it says, I began to want everything.
Speaker 1:You see, apart from the law, sin lies dormant. There it is. Verse nine goes on to say there was a time when I was living without the law, but the commandment came and changed everything. Sin came to life and I died. This commandment was supposed to bring life, but in my experience it brought death. Sin took advantage of the commandment, tricked me and it exploited me and exploited it in order to kill me. So hear me out. The law is holy and its commandments are holy, right and good.
Speaker 1:So once again, paul, differentiating that the law was not the problem there are a lot of people who would, and I don't know how you could come to this summation after reading these verses. But some people will preach and say that you know there was a problem with the law, and Paul was a vehement arguer that the law isn't the problem. Once again, the problem is the sin nature in you, and how wonderful it must have been that you know. Before the law was produced, you didn't even know that there was sin. That's what Paul said. I didn't even know there was sin until the law came.
Speaker 2:Right, right, you know it's fascinating. It's the difference between what the law is telling us and our response to the law. Correct, the issue lies with our response. It has nothing to do with what the law is or is not. And, ryan, if you could put that back up and read those next verses there, it says so then. So, verse 13, so did the good law bring about my death? Absolutely not. So he can't blame the law, for you know the response that leads to death? Absolutely not. It was sin that killed me, not the law. It's the nature of sin to produce death through what is good and exploit the commandments to multiply sin's vile effects. That's powerful there. This is what we know.
Speaker 2:Verse 14. The law comes from the spiritual realm. I found that fascinating, dude. Just that one statement right there. The law, and the King James just says the law is spiritual.
Speaker 2:My problem, the tail end of that verse, my problem is that I am of the fallen human realm, owned by sin, which tries to keep me in its service. So here we have the issue service. So here we have the issue. God once again finally begins to reveal some of the details of his moral code by way of the law. It was things that already existed spiritually, but they were not expressed in anything that humans could interpret until he brought the law. But once the law came into being by way of the Ten Commandments which are more than ten, but you know what I mean all the things that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai on the tablets once those things were set in motion, or set in place and understandable by humans, all of a sudden we realized this is something from another realm. This isn't something human, because, let me tell you right now, humans would not invent something that would condemn them to judgment.
Speaker 1:You know what?
Speaker 2:I mean, that would make no sense at all.
Speaker 1:So it's like people say well, religion's man-made. I mean, a man would create something to justify why he shouldn't.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly. And I love when people say you know well, religion was invented by man just to control people. It's doing a horrible job because people sin all the time and break the laws all the time. So that's not really a good argument either. But but yeah, I mean, I think that was fascinating how he he said the law is spiritual and all it did was show how carnal I really am.
Speaker 1:There's no out, there's no, there's no way out. Another way to say it is it exposed me.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It exposed me, it exposed my struggles, and you know it's interesting, because for different people it's different things. You know, now, if you bring this conversation to where you are now, you know, speeding may not be the thing that gets you in trouble. But how about an out of control sex life? Yeah, you know, because it's a great other example. For sex is good, sex is holy, sex is righteous and it's God ordained. But when sin comes in and perverts it, then it's used outside the only confine. What did God say? It belongs locked in the confines of a marriage between one man and one woman. So how have we learned to use it? We've learned that it's good for any time, any place, and we're just out here wilding out with it. And then we wonder why we are sad, why we are, you know, defeated, why we're never satisfied, why we always feel like this person isn't the right person, this next person isn't the right person, and we keep using sex as the test to determine whether somebody's the right person or not right and that's completely backwards.
Speaker 1:But that's again. You're being used by sin, under the guise of that which is good to do, that which is evil, and that takes you down the path where, ultimately, the payment is death and just remember that part too, that Satan's intent in all of it. The only reason he would disguise himself in the law to try to get you to go away that's not the way you're supposed to go is because his ultimate design is to destroy you.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow, good stuff.
Speaker 1:Satan was never your friend. No, he never intends to be, and so that's why weends to be, and so that's why we have to be on guard. What does the Bible say? Your enemy goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, right? He's not looking for somebody to walk alongside with, he's looking for someone to devour. Wow, wow. So we have to be on guard. We really have to be on guard. You really have to be on guard.
Speaker 2:Good point, man. All right, Ryan, if we could pull up that passage, let's see Ba ba, ba, ba ba. Yeah, I'll skip the little gray paragraph because it's kind of like a commentary.
Speaker 1:Can we read that? I actually pulled that down to read it, phil. Oh, okay, my bad, I don't mind, it's really. It's really good. Listen to this. It says god gives israel the law as part of his covenant promises. The law does a great deal for his people. Mainly it sets them apart from all other nations of the world and gives them a blueprint for god's will. But according according to Paul, the law, this is so important. You guys listen to this. According to Paul, the law cannot fix everything that is wrong with this broken world. Although the law is perfectly suited for bringing sin to the surface and exposing it, the law cannot free people from the power of sin and its sin and its evil twin death.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow.
Speaker 1:So we knew I mean, the Bible tells us that even when God introduced the Ten Commandments and gave the laws and all of that, there was still a need for sacrifices, there was still a need for a scapegoat, there was still a need for other things to try to deal with men's sins. But all of those things really, they were just kind of placeholder elements to get through the thing that God intended that would truly take away man's sin, and that would be the Lamb of God, which is Jesus, and his death on the cross would bring about what God truly intended. That would be the thing that would happen once for all. Jesus dies, you die with him. You both are risen again and now you are partaker in new life in Christ. Praise God, praise God. So I think this is such that little snippet there is important. He knew what the law was good for, and it still is good for bringing sin to surface that's right and exposing it.
Speaker 2:That's right. That's good man. I think that's good. Yeah, it's interesting man.
Speaker 2:It's like the real purpose to the law, if you really just kind of sum it up, it was to show you how much you can't keep it. That was it. It was to show you your own true nature, because we can have great ideas about ourselves and the bible says that every way of man is pure in his own eyes, but the lord weighs the hearts. You know, it's like we can think we have the best of intentions. We can think we have, you know, uh, just everything all sewn up on the inside and we don't really know ourselves like we think we do. Um, in jeremiah 17 there's a verse that says the heart is deceitful above all else and desperately wicked. Who can know it?
Speaker 2:You know, that's fascinating to me because it's like it's saying sometimes you really don't know yourself, and I think a lot of these things like, especially if you've been walking with the Lord for a while, he doesn't bombard you with stuff. You know, all at one time there is this process of peeling back the layers like an onion. You know he might deal with your temper first and then, okay, let's say, you get that figured out and you stop, you know, going off on people or whatever, and then all of a sudden he starts dealing with your lack of, I don't know, lack of accountability to others. You want to be selfish, you want to, you know, always kind of present something about yourself that may not be true and all those things like that. And next thing, you know, man, he's taking you on this journey where he's peeling back these different layers, where you don't realize your own condition.
Speaker 2:You know, all of us go through this life and along the way, even though we're born kind of as a blank slate, we're also born with a sinful nature and it starts manifesting itself. You know, around. You know, I don't know, five, four or five years old, I don't know. I know it happens early because you learn quickly how to lie as a little kid, to get out of trouble. You know and it's funny like nobody taught you that you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like a kid, if they get, you know they got caught stealing the cookie from the cookie jar and they get confronted about it. No, it wasn't me, you know whatever they're lying off the back before they even know it, you know. So these are things that have to be trained out of you. Interestingly enough, so it shows you that the propensity towards wrongdoing is in every person. So you go through life and you develop these different habits. You get banged up here and banged up there by life circumstances and after a while you don't even realize the accumulated habits of thought, habits of action that you've kind of amassed over time. And then you're thinking that you're still doing all right, I'm a pretty decent person, I haven't killed anybody, you know. But then you get born again and the Holy Spirit comes into your heart and all of a sudden he starts dealing with you about things over time. I'm like man dude. Just when I thought I had this thing down, I realized I'm still a long way to go.
Speaker 1:Right right, it's unpacking the baggage.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:You know, we always talk about the luggage we bring to a relationship or marriage or whatever, and we use that metaphor of bringing in. You know, everybody brings luggage. But, you know, one of the things I often think about, though, that people don't understand, is that the one who must unpack that luggage is God. Because if your spouse starts trying to unpack that luggage if it's not the right time to unpack that thing. That can be a problem.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so you need the Lord to unpack your luggage for you. That's right. That's right, man, and I love what you said, philip. He does it over time, and God is terribly sensitive. He's not an ogre, like some people try to make him out to be. That's right. He's terribly sensitive and he knows when it's time for you to deal with what you need to deal with.
Speaker 2:That's right. And I'm telling you, there's things that almost seem like they were on time release with me. You know different phases of my walk with the Lord. All of a sudden I'm dealing with different things, some of which I had no idea I had a problem with. You know, I had no idea I was that far into wrong, thinking about stuff, right, and all of a sudden he just kind of peels back, takes the lid off and like hey, you realize you've been thinking this way about this and it's not right. Oh, man, that gum, you know. So it happens over time, you know, and he's very like you said, he's very sensitive, very patient with us, and the Bible says in Psalm 103 that God knows our frame and he remembers that we're nothing but dust. So he's not going to be overbearing, he's going to work with you to bring those gentle corrections. And sometimes they're stern, sometimes they're stern, but they're meant in love and they're meant to produce the fruits of holiness and the fruits of righteousness, not to destroy you or to condemn you.
Speaker 1:That's good, philip that's good all right, let's pick up at verse 15. Here. I love again. I love the simplicity of this translation. Listen, I can't explain my action. Here's why I am not able to do the things I want and, at the same time, I do the things I despise. If I am doing the things I have already decided not to do, I'm agreeing with the law regarding what is good. But now I am no longer the one acting. I've lost control. Sin has taken up residence in me and it's wreaking havoc. I know that in me, that is, in my fallen human nature, there is nothing good I can will myself to do. There's nothing good, sorry. I can will myself to do something good, but that does not help me carry it out. I can determine that I am going to do good, but I don't do it. Instead, I end up living out the evil that I decided not to do. If I end up doing the exact thing I pledge not to do, I am no longer doing it because sin has taken up residence in me.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow. In verse 21, he just kind of continues down that path. He said here's an important principle I've discovered Regardless of my desire to do the right thing, it's clear that evil is never far away. Has anybody ever felt that? By the way, anybody ever had dealt with this? Any of our listeners out there in cyberspace I definitely could tell you firsthand.
Speaker 2:I know exactly this situation. It's like you make up your mind and you're I'm determined, I'm not going to do this again. And next thing, you know, you, doggone, fall for it like a clown once again. And it's fascinating. I mean the things that we think we're capable of at times when we're actually not and we have to depend on the grace of God to help us instead of. You know, sometimes sheer willpower alone simply won't do the job, you know. But back on 22, this is pretty fascinating. He says, for deep down, I am in happy agreement with God's law. Deep down he is. I think most of us we feel that way about the things of God, the things God says in his word. We know it's right for us to do those things. It's not, that's not the hard part Deep down.
Speaker 2:I'm in happy agreement with God's law law, but the rest of me does not concur yep, it's.
Speaker 1:It's like that speeding phil. Yeah, I can consent to the fact that that speed limit is good. Yeah, yeah, I can consent to it in my heart and say you know what? 70, that's pretty good out here. There's nobody around, we can move in here pretty quickly, but that does not keep me from going 90. See.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow. And then in verse okay, well, 23,. It says the rest of me does not concur. I see a very different principle at work in my bodily members and it's at war with my mind. Have I ever felt that, you know?
Speaker 1:what, philip, I mean again. You kind of already said it, but everybody should be able to relate to this. Yes, I want to do what's right, but yet this unction is up in me when I intend to do what's right and I go the opposite way that I intend to. Again, I hate to bring it to this, but it's it again is something. So it's something I struggled with, so maybe that's why I'm bringing it up, because I hadn't, you know, I hadn't always God, I tell people all the time I came out of the womb, perfect, um, but that's just a jest, because I know that you know, part of my lifetime I spent living promiscuously and there were times when I was after I was born again that I said you know what?
Speaker 1:I'm not doing that anymore. You know I'm just going. You know we can go on this date, we can talk, we can hang out, and I'm just not. I'm not doing anything other than having conversation, getting to know you and living a straight life and before the night's over, to be in a position where I said I wasn't going to be Mm, hmm, and then at some point being like I'm trapped, because every time I say I'm not going to do this. I'm doing this why? I know that doing this is wrong and I consent to the fact that God said it's wrong, so it has to be wrong. But yet I'm sitting here doing it and when I'm done with it, I feel guilty, I feel ashamed, I feel condemned about it, because I know I shouldn't be doing this.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, and Paul is saying. This is the exact struggle that we have about so many things, whether it's drugs, whether it's about lying, whether it's this situation, your anger or this out-of-control behavior over here, or drinking too much or the relationships you're in. This is the real struggle that we often deal with. We start thinking about what are people going to think about me? What's going to happen if I walk away? When you let all of these things get in the way of you just saying the part that you consent to, lord, I consent to this is right and your commandment is 100% correct. But, believe it or not, there can come a time where what you consent to and what you do match.
Speaker 2:Come on, man. See, that's the. That's the part where the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is there to help you begin to walk these things out, because you literally can't do it yourself. You can't do it on your own volition, your own willpower. Maybe for a little while you can pull it off, but trust me when I say that that stuff is always short lived. You need to be connected with your creator and in a vital fellowship with him. That's what gives you that power to produce the fruit. It's the John 15 thing, where Jesus said I am the vine and you're the branches. You know, as long as the vine stays connected to the branch, then the life that's in the vine flows out to the branch and bears fruit. But as soon as it gets cut off from the vine, man, even the fruit you do have is going to start withering at that point. This is why it's so important to stay in fellowship with God.
Speaker 1:Right and Philip, you just said something that's critical. It's about the fruit you bear. Yes, because we are all trees in God's garden, we're all trees in His grove, and so as you know, God has an expectation that whatever he plants bears fruit. If you're not sure this goes back into the New Testament that when the fig tree didn't bear fruit like it was supposed to, it was cursed because it was operating opposite to its design.
Speaker 1:Wow, and we're supposed to be operating according to our design, and that means that all of our lives should be bearing the kind of fruit that God planted us to bear, and so that that I just love that you said that, because it comes back to bearing good fruit for the kingdom of God, which is one of the pieces that we started this chapter talking about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. And so near the end of that chapter, paul is in this big conundrum and if we could sum it up in one sentence, he's basically saying dude, the struggle is real. Okay, what's going on, man? So he gets down here in verse 23. He says I'm sorry, verse 24. He says I am absolutely miserable. Oh, let me back up a little bit. Let me back up a little bit In verse 23, sorry Ron. It says I am absolutely miserable. Oh, let me back up a little bit. Back up a little bit In verse 23,. Sorry Ron. It says the rest of me does not concur. I see a very different principle at work in my bodily members and it's at war with my mind. I have become a prisoner in this war to the rule of sin in my body. Now, does this sound like somebody who's in control of everything?
Speaker 1:No, they're out of control.
Speaker 2:They're balling out of control, man. So in verse 24, it says I'm absolutely miserable. Is there anyone who can free me from this body where sin and death reign so supremely? And here goes the solution, verse 25, I am thankful to God for the freedom that comes through our Lord Jesus, the anointed one. So on the one hand I devotedly serve God's law with my mind, but on the other hand, with my flesh I serve the principle of sin. Man, powerful stuff man.
Speaker 1:That's good. That's really really good. I'm thankful to God for the freedom that comes through our Lord Jesus, the anointed one. So, on the one hand, I devotedly serve God's law with my mind, but on the other hand, with my flesh, I serve the principle of sin. And so, again, it comes back to our choice. What will you serve? It comes back to our choice. What will you serve?
Speaker 1:Remember that little quotation that says inevitably we're going to serve somebody or something, and it's about once we're born again and we've been set free, being set free when we come out of that tomb with Jesus. We have a choice, and I just every day I try to make the decision to not walk in the flesh and to not serve the principle of sin, and every day I don't make it, but every day I'm putting in effort and inevitably I get to the end of the day or something, or part of the day, and Lord will say you know, you missed it. I'm like, yeah, I was hoping we didn't have to talk about it though, but we do, and he talks about it with us because he wants us to be our best possible selves.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Yep, yep, and he's very patient with us because he wants us to be our best possible selves. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and he's very patient with us man, very, very patient and he understands that this is a process. The, the act of putting on, you know, the new man, if you want to say it that way like Ephesians talks about and putting off the old man. That is a practice. That's a that's talks about and putting off the old man. That is a practice. That's a matter of practice and it is a process and a lot of it deals with how frequently are you going to connect with God through His Word and through prayer? Because, to me, those things are the way to maintain that vital fellowship that you need. Because when you're doing that, when you're staying in the word, you're setting your affection on things above Colossians 3, you're doing those things, you're making sure to take time during the day to fellowship with God here, there and whenever you can, having I guess you want to call it like a Godward focus that's going to help you stay connected. And the more you do that I can say this from experience, because I've been on both sides the more you do that, the easier it is to walk these things out, it actually becomes effortless to be honest with you.
Speaker 2:But the problem is can you maintain that vital fellowship? That's always the problem. That's where distraction can come in and throw you off. That's where your own desires, untamed, can throw you off. That's where even deception sometimes can throw you off All those things you have to look out for. And that's what David mentioned earlier from 1 Peter 5 when he said you know, the enemy is going around looking for whom he can devour. And one of the things it says in 1 Peter 5 about that is you got to stay sober, you got to be vigilant, you got to be able to recognize deception when it tries to come at you. Exactly, exactly, because you know the Bible says in James 1, the birth of that cycle of sin is always when you get drawn away by your own lust and enticed.
Speaker 2:And it says then when lust conceives, it brings forth sin. Right, ah, there we go. Good stuff, ryan's, johnny on the spot with this stuff, man Down near the. Where did it go? I think verse 13, somewhere around there. Oh yeah, there's verse 12. It says blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. And the King James says blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has stood the test he'll receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. And then verse 13,. Let no one say, when he's tempted, I'm being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with either Boy. That's the whole other teaching there, and he himself tempts no one In verse 14,. But each person is tempted when he's lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it's conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it's fully grown, brings forth death.
Speaker 2:Now here's what's fascinating to me, david, how it used that word lure, and I think about, like with fishing, you have to use a lure in fishing. It's typically like a rubber worm, this bright color or just something else like that, and it's designed to look a certain way to attract the fish. The fish might think it's something to eat, but it's actually just a piece of rubber or plastic, whatever. So it presents itself as one thing, but it's actually another. That is sin, that's the lure that sin presents itself as it presents itself as something that's going to benefit you, but actually it ends up taking from you.
Speaker 1:That's good, Philip. Can I read? I want to read out of the Message Translation, verse 24 and 25. Yes, sir, it says I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope? Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions, where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow.
Speaker 1:I love that because I love the focus that the answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does, and you just have to think about you know you have to think about Jesus. He is such a protector of what's his, he's a caretaker, and so even when you don't recognize that lure that's been dropped in your life, he does.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and by walking with him.
Speaker 1:He can help you to avoid the lures that are in your life, because those lures can look different, yeah, and so he's fishing what he'll drop in the water to try to catch you, and oftentimes I find that the enemy tries to catch you with something that's familiar.
Speaker 2:Yes, Lord, yes.
Speaker 1:Or even when you've walked away from some things or certain behaviors, every now and then that thing tries to pop up back in my life. I'd be lying to you to say that the thought of porn has never popped back up in my life again. It's like every blue moon he drops that lure in the water to see if I'm gonna take it fresh and it's just like come on, I'm not listening to that conversation. I'm not giving any room for that.
Speaker 1:I already know yeah, yeah but we just have to be, just know that our father cares deeply for us.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, find ourselves in sin. He can help us to walk free from it, and we'll get into that some more as we talk about Romans 8 next week, where it gives us the final push to these two chapters about where to go next. So I just like that translation, philip. That was a good breakdown for me.
Speaker 2:Same here, man. It's spot on in my mind, just describing kind of the essence of what Paul was communicating there for sure.
Speaker 1:Well, as we kind of wrap this one up, Philip, what are your final thoughts?
Speaker 2:You know the scripture right. When you were talking this was a couple of seconds ago. Thoughts you know the scripture right. When you were talking this was a couple of seconds ago the scripture in Jude popped in my head when it said unto him who is able to keep you from falling. Yes, unto him who's able to keep you from falling. And don't underestimate the power of that scripture. No, because Lord knows, and I know, david, you can say the same thing. I've had plenty of opportunities to fall, you know, but he has.
Speaker 1:Those opportunities to fall, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I mean I have fallen before, you know, but ultimately, though, I thank God haven't fallen away. You know I'm still pursuing God, I'm still wanting to live for him. You know that hasn't changed in the 20, I don't know 28 years. I've been born again. Whatever it's been, now I honestly can't do without him. You know, I would be the biggest idiot in the world walking around trying to act like I don't know God can't do without them. You know I would be the biggest idiot in the world walking around trying to act like I don't know god. Right, you know, you know, like I don't, I don't even understand I mean, forgive me, but I don't understand the deconstruction. People who say that they just walked away from god. It's like, oh, how do you? How do you do that when, like, you're turning your back on the only one who can really help you?
Speaker 1:It reminds me I think it's John. It's first or second John, I think. Correct me if I'm wrong there, philip, but it's that whole concept. You know, it's like you never knew us in the first, if you're able to walk away from us.
Speaker 1:You were never with us in the first. If you want, you're able to walk away from us. You're never with us in the first place. And I was sitting here thinking that you know, the body of Christ is filled with charlatans, wow, people who say they love God and they want to pursue him and all of this stuff. And it couldn't be further from the truth. Go back to our previous conversation from a couple of weeks ago, where we see that there are those who've crept in unawares, you know, basically seeing who they can devour and mislead and get off track, and you know. That's why the scripture is so important.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Digging into six and seven and even eight next week and going through this stuff. It helps us to, first of all, not be one of those ones who deconstruct. Deconstruction is another word for deception. Wow, because one of the things I love, because it's usually the I don't know what it is about the Christian music artists. They love to deconstruct. But you know, first of all, sometimes I look at that and I'm like so, in other words, the record contract isn't working out like it was before.
Speaker 2:Okay, I get it.
Speaker 1:I get it, but just because you've been deceived doesn't mean you have the right to get on TV, on video, on social media and begin to do the work of deceiving others because, you're deceived.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Right. So God bless those and I pray that they fall just like they fell away, that they fall back into a relationship with the real God. And inevitably we see people who say they deconstructed, who fallen in love with God again. But I think they've fallen in love with God for the first time.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Because they've learned of who he is. That's right. And not this plague, plague, god that is at work in the church. Let me shut up, you know.
Speaker 2:deconstruction is something I'll we got to do a whole podcast series on that dude For real.
Speaker 1:I'll get all off track on deconstruction. Lord help.
Speaker 2:Right Holy water, sprinkle, sprinkle.
Speaker 1:All right, philip, before we go um, if I have a final thought, it's that. Just remember it started with our choices. Yeah that we have choices to make. Sometimes sin comes in and tries to trip us up and cause us to do what we don't want to do, and then, when we do want to do the right thing, we don't do it, and when we don't want to do that, we do do that, and Jesus says he's the answer.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:So I'm so anxious and excited to be not anxious but excited to look ahead to see that we win in this and you will win and you'll have victory in your battles as well, just like we do, and just like other believers all over the world are having victory, because God is who he says he is. That's right. You want to pray for people tonight and let's just let's bless them and ask God to intervene in their situations.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Father, thank you for this podcast and for just expressing your truth through your word. We give you praise that your word has made so many things clear and that we can always depend on your word. You said in Psalm 119 that we can hide your word in our hearts so that we might not sin against you. Lord, thank you for helping each listener, each person that will come in contact with this podcast, to overcome any obstacles, overcome any sense of condemnation, overcome any distraction or confusion or deception, and that they would lock into your word, lock into their fellowship with you, and experience that connection, like the vine is to the branch, that same connection, lord. We pray that they experience that as a living, real experience in their lives.
Speaker 2:Father, we thank you for that. We thank you, lord, that you are the one who's able to keep all of us from falling. We are not able to keep ourselves. Your word said that you are our keeper and, lord, except you watch the house, we labor in vain. Anyway, lord, there's nothing we can do apart from you and we don't even want to Lord, because there's nothing that we can do apart from you and we don't even want to Lord, because it is in you that we live and move and have our being. So I pray right now that you'll just open the eyes of our understanding, every person listening. Open the eyes of our understanding, reveal your truth to us in a greater and more powerful way, so that we can walk with you and walk closer with you every day. We give you praise for these things and we agree on them now, in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:Amen.
Speaker 2:Praise God.
Speaker 1:Look everybody. We're so glad that you have joined us. We hope that you've been inspired by this episode, we hope that it's encouraged you and we hope that it will benefit you in the week ahead, as you're walking through your week and God moves and you see it and you realize it's the word you've been digging into that's giving you the strength to carry on. We also want to thank you so much for connecting with us. On whatever platform that you are listening to the podcast on, we ask that you do us the favor of making sure that you subscribe and you like the podcast, regardless of where you might be consuming it from. If you're on YouTube, you can also hit the notification button so that you can be notified anytime we go live or anytime that we have a new episode drop or a new video drop. The same thing if you're watching us on Rumble and then, if you're in any of the podcast apps or anything like that, you can also reach us and connect with us through the comments section. We'd love to hear from you. You can let us know what you think of this episode and you can also let us know if you have any questions or any comments or anything that we can help you with. If you'd like to have a more private communication with us, you can do so by reaching out to us at gotbrew at biblebrosnet. Again, that's gotbrew at BibleBrosnet. That's all for this time. We're again so glad that you joined us.
Speaker 1:I'm David. That's Philip. Until next time.
