Freedom from Addiction Through Grace [Part 2]

Pastoral author and Bible teacher Alan Wright diet is strange and no sugar in the early days that followed every billable all monthly payment to you afterward said I'm not discovered something this faster welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life. It'll hold I'm excited for you to hear the teaching today.

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Fraud delight in the law of God in my interbeing but I see my members and other law waging war against the law.

My mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members and when he mentioned I see it is a law that when I want to do right. He doesn't mean long. The sense of God's law. He needs like a principal or an axiom. It is just happens like this. It's axiomatic and this is his first mention of evil. You notice all the room and seven is interesting. This whole struggle that he's talking about was sent never mentions the devil he mentions evil finally here to remind us that ultimately were talking about something that has cosmic significance, and he says this is all making me captive the more I want to do what is right and the more I realize that I try hard to do what is right in the world is I can't.

The more I realize I'm captive to what is wrong so there's the biblical image of the nature of sin, then apart from the gospel and apart from Christ in my own fleshly effort. It is nothing less than slavery. Verse 24 wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death, and this image in verse 24 of the body of death FF Bruce. One scholar suggested that is an image taken from the practice of an Etruscan King Ms. NTS who tormented his captives by strapping a dead body to them it is like that when you are stuck and sin and lack of decomposing bodies strapped to you that you carry around and so all of this is Paul's explanation of the complex kind of struggle that goes on within our own lives and he comes to the answer the second part of verse 25. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The seemingly narrow choice is the expansive choice. The seemingly constricting way is the way of freedom. See both God and all people have this in common.

They want freedom.

It's about the avenue by which you come in to that freedom. So when he says in verse 25.

So then I myself serve the law of God on my mind but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

He is summarizing all of chapter 7 and he is saying. There's a fierce competition within me and is complex and I've been losing every time that I try to win it by my own fleshly efforts. But Jesus is the answer.

And after all of Romans one, two, three, four, five, six and seven. He comes to Romans eight verse one there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We had just been waiting for this since Romans chapter 1 we been writing waiting for Romans 81 since the beginning of creation. We been waiting for this moment and in many ways I feel like I wait my whole life. Romans eight verse one there is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.

Because the problem of humanity is at once sin entered into the world we felt condemned we knew it was wrong, and people have throughout history, done everything imaginable to try to escape that feeling of condemnation they've constructed every imaginable kind of religious system of trying to pay God back invented all kinds of mythologies all kinds of practices in many many diverse ways of trying to prove themselves to the deities to be okay.

After all, so they wouldn't feel condemned by their sin other than a whole another stream.

Of course, throughout history, they said we can never make ourselves acceptable and so were not going to try. We will be the one to determine what is right and what is wrong and so there is even now in the spirit of the age. Such a cry that says don't tell me what is right or wrong I will decide because the way to escape the feeling of condemnation is to come to the conclusion that there's nothing that I do that is wrong and we have tried all of this throughout the history of humankind, and it never works. And there is no deliverance from the angst of the human soul and to you come to the place of there is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.

Listen again to the fullness of what he says it Romans 81.

There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus for the law of the Spirit of life and set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death, for God is done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do. By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh & he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. The only way of deliverance Paul has been saying to us is to be set free from the law of sin and death and what is the law of sin and that is where here's the law you try to keep it. You can't keep it so you realize your sinful and the wages of sin is death, and so you live in constant angst and fear that because you can't keep the law you are under condemnation and the fear that you will be accepted for fear that you will be ashamed for fear that you would be you would be unloved for your the greatest fear in all of the world is running like an angst down deep in the unconscious soul.

You cannot escape it into you come to the place of being able to say with Paul. Romans 81.

There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.

The only way that you could ever come to that place is to come to an understanding what Jesus is done for you. He came as a human being into the likeness of sin, meaning the likeness of a human being like every other human being who has sin, but he didn't sin. But when he went to the cross, he became sin. He took your sin, and he took the penalty for it and he died for you so that anyone who trusts in him would be declared by God the father to be the righteousness of Jesus. So in order to not be condemned instead to be accepted. Someone had to adequately pay the price so that you could be reckoned as righteous could not walk and condemnation means not only to know that you're forgiven, but also know that when God looks at you as his son or daughter. He looks at you as if you never send and what happens when you start living out of that is your out of the law of sin and bath and now you're into the law of life in the spirit in Christ Jesus. Your end to a new way of living a new way of seeing everything and how is it that you experience this new life you experience it. Paul has argued the Roman seven by recognizing I cannot deliver myself I need a Savior, and it is the Lord Jesus and you submit in other words, the way to freedom is almost exactly the opposite of how most people think you like the culture might have thought the way to freedom is to think harder and deeper and more seriously about your sin, except Jesus. Many Christians do, and then still spent a lot of time and self-condemnation, but the way out of sin is a whole new way of seeing your life, seeing yourself not is condemned, but accepted because when you see yourself as accepted and the more that you do and the more that you know that love of God that is set you free. The more the angst of the soul begins to melt away.

This is a huge paradox. The key to freedom from addiction and victory from all sin is that you must not only recognize your sin but recognize that by your efforts, you're not going to get better that the law is good, but the law is not powerful and so will leave you only with more frustration, more and more condemnation vets will have more teaching from today's series. This is what the stats I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's times and have compassion on his dwellings. The city will be rebuilt on Hulu and the palace will stand in its proper place as timeless wakes from Jeremiah 30 for the heart of God loves to us the way to time cities would often be rebuilt on top of the ruins of the former city, and he said he would stand higher with social laws and a greater perspective and pastor. Our night message Seattle and out of the ruling skill discover how God can build your life gloriously out of yesterday's disappointments you need to get to Alan Wright Ministries today listen to pastor our lines messages in an attractive city album through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor. Our in.work. Today's teaching now continues here once again is it simply makes you feel worse.

Trying hard to do what is right and not being able to do what is right and therefore becomes like a downward spiral where your shame that eats away and gnaws at you with anxiety then becomes increased at your attempts to keep the law that fail and you feel even less acceptable and what's fueling the addiction in the first place.

Is that very anxiety. This is where the truth of the Scripture and the whole description of Roman seven is absolutely mirrored in most modern theories of addiction that is simply this, that the restlessness anxieties and discontents of our souls that anxiety is so uncomfortable that people are looking for some way to quiet net or to cover it, and there are substances and behaviors and even relationships that may temporarily cause chemical reactions in the brain that touch upon the centers of the brain that bring pleasure and happiness and quiet and the anxiety, but it's only temporary and what happens is in the need to constantly cover that anxiety substances and behaviors can become addictive. This all goes very far to explain the success of Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step groups. Because what happens in those groups. What happens in those groups is that people come together who are committed to being honest with one another about their problem in this all began back in a day in which there were many times on a Sunday morning there well-dressed people up in a beautiful sanctuary acting like they had their lives altogether but on Tuesday night in a musty basement. There were some people that were sitting together and openly saying I'm Joe and nonalcoholic and in that environment where people are able to open up and talk openly. There is an exposure to the light of truth and everything the devil does is in the darkness and everything God does is in the light and this is why first John says if we walk in the light as he is in the light then will have fellowship with one another. It's only way will have authentic relationships and the blood of Jesus will purify us the blood of Jesus is has already been shed and is already qualified for the cleansing of all of our sin, but it's only in the walking in the light that we appropriate.

It so.

In AA there is honesty and there's insistence on the honesty. One of the things that I've always loved about all the dear brothers that I've ever known who worked with AA and sponsored others in AA is that they became quite adept at reading through all the lies and cons and deceptions of other addicts and it's it's a wonderful thing. I think some on Tom's only person is recovered from addiction can see well enough in the somebody else and and and and know when they're lying about. You not only need some people you can be honest with you need some people who will know when you're lying and the second thing that happens is that not only is there this new and unprecedented honesty that happens in addicts life but you sit in this circle of people who likewise are being real about their own problems, and so instead of others condemning you, you find yourself accepted as a human being in that context and what I'm saying is that all hope of genuine change in our lives whether his addiction or any besetting sin or any just bad habit our lives requires both of these things that we get Roman seven. Honesty about the struggle that within us and that I can, not by my own power overcome this problem, I need a higher power. I need God and I'm willing to be honest about this struggle, and at the same time. I absolutely have to have an assurance of absolute love and acceptance and the problem is beloved in this world there's nobody that can give you a guarantee of 100% love and acceptance. You always be left wondering if I told this person everything about me with this person still love me like he or she does now but with God he already knows everything that you've ever done wrong. Everything that you ever will do wrong.

Every thought that you had and he came knowing all of that and died for you in your place, because the love of God is perfect and endless perfect love casts out your fear and beloved, when you're fear is gone and it changes everything in your life and what he says in Romans eight. Chapter 1 is a you are ushered into a whole new way. When you discover the freedom of the gospel because you get filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does is he not only not only because a gracious way of convicting you of the wrongdoing your life, but he is constantly encouraging you use a helper and he wants to move you into more and more of the spirit. This is strange words of Jesus to him was much more is given to them is little the little is taken away, but is true in every dimension of life and what happens is that when you're in the spirit you just you just grow more and more so into the spirit. Scripture says so. I told you a few months ago that I was conned into going on a 30 day diet by my daughter and my wife and I we went on the whole 30 diet which means that your whole diet is changed and there's no sugar and no sugar substitute for 30 days and I did it to a TL followed every bit of the law on that thing and I came in to you afterward.

Haven't had no sugar for 30 days and I said I made a declaration. Is it not discovered something fruit is delicious and the day that the diet ended the next day my wife got to celebrate by having a hip replacement surgery and I celebrated by having pizza chocolate and the next day I had a little more chocolate than outside the devil back in the semi scream. I told myself I will stay in this kind of, you know, no sugar thing and then I dabbled in the some cake and some pie and I am to have months later and I have a declaration to tell you chocolate is delicious as much more is given. If you have never chocolate you will have more hunger for chocolate. It is funny how these things were right and what Paul is saying, is it an invitation to move out of the addictions that lead toward destruction and to move into a law of the spirit of a life in Christ Jesus. I've been in Texas because I want to teach a theological Roundtable I read about 600 pages of worship from some beloved authors wrote a paper for I when I taught a minister with other ministers for days. I came home I was able to dive in Romans chapter 7 is able to preach last night and preach again this morning and guess what my body gets a little tired my voice gets a little raspy but what's happened in my spirit, I'm hunger for God than I was before I started all of the more time I spend in the spirit more time I want to be in the spirit more time in the word multimodal to be in the word the answer. The answer transformation and moving on Piazza Paschal besetting problems of our life is not the flesh trying harder. It is recognizing I can't keep the law. Jesus did that for me and I submit myself to him who has the power to liberate me and your thirst to begin the change in whatever thirst you have for God act on it and drink deeply and say to yourself therefore in the morning not.

Oh I'm a miserable wretch and a center and I'm gonna try harder today, but instead wake up in the morning and tell yourself there is therefore now no condemnation for me because I am in Christ Jesus. And I've been brought into a new way of living. The law of the life of the spirit in Christ Jesus. And that will set you free and that's the gospel in good clear answers today, freedom from addiction through grace is the teaching in the series unleashed. I encourage you to stay with us. Alan is back in the studio shearing aborting good news for the day.

Just a moment.

This is what the facts I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's times and have compassion on his dwellings. The city will be rebuilt on Hulu and Harris will stand in its proper place as timeless wakes in Jeremiah 30 for the heart of God loves to us the way.

Time cities would often be rebuilt on top of the ruins of the former city, and he said he would stand higher with social walls and a greater perspective pastor out at night succeeding out of the rulings help document build your life gloriously out of yesterday's disappointments to get to Alan Wright Ministries today. The senior Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive CD album through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership, six 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor out.work blessing your life, discover God's grace filled vision for your assigning rights free to leave last year hi with grace and encouragement. Alan writes a daily blessing.

It's free. Just a click away. Pastor I got away accurate interview with Alan Wright and Alan what is your good news.

Thought for the day to leave us with so addiction is fueled by mainly anxiety and that anxiety is primarily rooted in our shame. So if I feel like I don't measure up to have to measure up in order to be accepted in love and the thing that I want most is acceptance and love the shame and the pressure in all of that that gnaws at our souls.

That's an engine that is fueling and working towards a solution and all addiction really is is some temporary behavior or chemical or pattern of life that for some reason puts us in a position where we don't feel that angst for the moment, and so the answer to all of this is the grace of Jesus Christ to have the grace of Jesus Christ assures you that you are absolutely loved by God and accepted no matter what no matter whether you fail or succeed. The pressure lifts pressures off of the and so it is that the roots, the driving force behind the addiction can lift as you find yourself more more accepted in Christ, if you're struggling with addiction. I get some help and find another good friend find a good counselor probably find a good 12 step program. But know this, that it's the real answer tradition. In the end is not just managing is important as it is for behaviors.

It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today's good is a listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries