©1998 Larry Huntsperger
Peninsula Bible Fellowship
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8/9/98
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Breaking The Bondage of Sin
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8/9/98 Breaking the Bondage of Sin
There are times in every Christian's life, usually on a
daily basis,
when faithfulness to our King
requires choosing contrary
to whatever we happen to be "feeling" at
the moment...
That was a statement I made last week
in my "final" talk
on the flesh/Spirit series
we have been in
for the past several weeks.
Following our time together
some questions came up about that statement,
questions that have lead me to believe
it would be of value
for us to talk a little more about it.
The statement itself is not all that complicated, of
course.
In fact, it sounds like one of those things
that preachers say all the time.
You know,
"Come on, now folks, lets get out there
and make right choices,
don't let your emotions lead you
astray..."
The question is not with the "what"
or the "why"
in a statement like that,
nearly so much as it is with the "how?".
Just exactly how do we go about
making those choices
against our emotions,
especially when we may be dealing
with a deeply ingrained emotional addiction?
Addictions are hideous things.
The word "addiction" itself
is a rather trendy term
for a concept as old as the human race.
Our current culture now talks freely
about all sorts of addictions.
We have physical addictions
in every shape and variety -
addiction to alcohol,
and addiction to and endless parade of drugs,
addiction to nicotine, etc.
Then we have the whole spectrum
of emotional and psychological addictions -
there are sexual addictions of all sorts and types,
we can be addicted to positions of power or
control over others,
we can be addicted to television,
or addicted to affluence,
or status,
or uncontrollable spending urges.
We can be addicted adrenaline highs,
or addicted to work,
or addicted to exercise.
In fact, anything in human experience
that has the ability evoke a physical or
emotional response within us
carries with it the potential for addiction.
I know that "addiction" is the preferred term in our
society,
because it carries with it
the absence of guilt and moral
responsibility.
It is a friendly term
because it enables us to face the problem
without having to accept responsibility for
it.
We become simply the "victims"
of unfortunate "addictions"
that have intruded in upon our lives.
We expect understanding
and tolerance from the society around us.
I understand well why our society
has selected these terms
for the things that bring bondage into our
lives.
When Christ spoke on this subject,
and then the Apostle Paul after Him,
they used a different term,
one that does not fit well
in our society at all.
Jesus said simply,
John 8:34 ..., "Truly, truly, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is the slave of
sin.
John 8:36 "If therefore the Son shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed.
And Paul addressed the same topic
in the same terms
in Romans 6:16:
Do you not know that when you present
yourselves to someone as slaves for
obedience, you are slaves of the one whom
you obey, either of sin resulting in death,
or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
Whether we call these troublesome areas
"addictions",
or whether we call them "sin",
there is one point at which
our society is in whole-hearted agreement
with the words of Scripture:
these areas create within our lives
a Master-Slave relationship
in which the addiction or the sin becomes the
Master
and we become the slave.
And when I said last week that
there are times in every Christian's life, usually
on a daily basis,
when faithfulness to our King
requires choosing contrary
to whatever we happen to be "feeling" at
the moment...
it is unfair for me to make a statement like that
without following it up with at least some
further explanation
about how that "choosing" process
relates to these master-slave areas in our lives.
And the first thing I want to do here
is to acknowledge the obvious -
when that master/slave dynamic exists
in some area of behavior
it makes us feel as if
we have lost our ability to choose.
In fact, that is the heart
of the whole addiction concept -
an addiction is an area in our life
where we feel as though
we have lost our ability to choose.
There seems to be some force within us
greater than our will,
driving us to actions we don't really want.
So, when I suggest that there are times in every
Christian's life, usually on a daily basis,
when faithfulness to our King
requires choosing contrary
to whatever we happen to be "feeling" at
the moment,
the first question that pops into our minds
may be,
"Yea, but what if I can't choose?"
It's a fair question
because it is a question
that many Christians wrestle with
in some area of their life.
Typically what we do is to go to God
and ask Him for the strength
to do what's right.
And there are times when God will respond to such
a prayer
by bringing instant, miraculous deliverance
from the bondage.
But in my experience
such situations are the exception
rather than the rule.
Then, faced with what appears to be
either God's inability
or unwillingness to heal us,
our next step is often
to turn to the answers society around us is
offering for our struggle
to see if there is any deliverance there.
We may look at all the different types of
psychological tools,
examining the history of the addiction,
understanding where it came from,
and who's fault it was,
and why it has a hold on us.
We my find groups
and programs
designed to help us cope with
or adjust to
the bondage in our life.
Some of them may acknowledge God,
some of them do not,
but all of them are designed to bring us help
of one kind or another
through the skillful use
of human resources.
Now, I hope you do not misunderstand me here.
I am a strong believer
in the value and necessity
of facing honestly and courageously
whatever baggage we happen to be
packing around from the past.
I also am keenly aware
that understanding why we struggle with certain
areas of weakness
and finding the support and encouragement
from others
are crucial ingredients in the healing
process.
The problem I wrestle with
when I see what is happening
both in our culture as a whole,
and within much of our contemporary church culture
is that, when it comes to breaking the
sin/addiction bondage in people's lives,
all we have to offer
are human resources and techniques.
Even the approaches that acknowledge the existence
of God
or some higher power
tend to do so in a way that demotes Him to
just one more resource
in our recovery tool box.
Like Luke Skywalker
all we have to do is to call on "The Force" for
help when we need it.
The problem, of course,
is that we have created for ourselves
a Force,
or a higher Power,
or a "God"
who submits to us,
who comes at our bidding,
who makes itself or himself
available for our agenda.
Now, I want to make a couple of statements this
morning,
and then share with you
what I believe to be the 5 essential
ingredients for finding healing
and freedom from sin
and the slavery it brings into our
lives.
In other words,
I want to share the 5 elements I believe are
essential
for equipping us to be able to choose contrary
to our feelings.
OK, statement #1:
There can be no true, enduring change in the human
personality apart from the direct personal
intervention of God Himself.
Do you remember what Christ said?
John 8:34 ... "Truly, truly, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is the slave of
sin.
John 8:36 "If therefore the Son shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed.
He did not say, "If therefore the principles I teach
shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."
He said, "If the SON shall make you free..."
It is true that part of what the Son brings with Him
is truth,
knowledge,
understanding about the way life really
operates.
But the principles alone,
without the direct healing intervention
of God Himself
will never bring the healing and the freedom we
long for.
#2. And then my second statement:
If we are a Christian,
and if God has chosen at present to leave some
area of sin bondage in our life,
He has done so for specific reasons.
And to explain that further
let me offer the 5 elements I believe are essential
for equipping us to be able to choose contrary to
our feelings.
#1. The first step in any permanent change in our
lives is God's creation within us of a heart desire for
righteousness.
Only God can create that heart within us.
The world can offer all sorts of external reasons for
change:
Consequences, of course, is a huge one -
€I must change my behavior because if I get
caught I'll get in trouble.
€I must change my behavior because if I don't I'll
loose my job.
€I must break this behavior or addiction because it
is destroying my health.
etc. etc. etc.
If the emotional or physical or psychological hooks
are not yet deeply set into us,
fear of consequences can motivate us to alter
our actions.
But where true bondage exists
fear of consequences is never enough.
In fact, no external motivator
is ever enough.
€The call to be a "good person"
€or the fear of loosing a valued relationship,
€or the guilt or shame involved in being exposed,
none of those are sufficient
to transform our lives.
What needs to be done,
only God Himself can do:
Ezek. 36:25-27 "Then I will sprinkle clean
water on you, and you will be clean; I will
cleanse you from all your filthiness and
from all your idols. Moreover, I will give
you a new heart and put a new spirit within
you; and I will remove the heart of stone
from your flesh and give you a heart of
flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and
cause you to walk in My statutes, and you
will be careful to observe My ordinances.
God alone can do that,
and God does do that
with every child of His
who bows before Him.
Before we come to God we think we should be
good,
after we come to God we wish we could be
good - a new heart within.
#2. The second element necessary for true change
to take place is to call our sin SIN.
As long as we are still saying:
It's not really wrong,
or it's not really bad,
or it's not really my fault,
it doesn't really matter because it
doesn't hurt anyone else,
there is no hope for change.
John says simply,
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and righteous to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Do you know what the Biblical definition of
"confess" is?
It means simply "to agree with God".
"Lord, you call it sin - I will call it sin.
You call it evil, than I will call it evil, too."
Paul says,
Rom. 7:21 ¶ I find then the principle that
evil is present in me, the one who wants to
do good.
I'm not just misguided.
I'm not just a victim.
I'm not just the unfortunate sufferer of a
tragic addiction.
What I have,
what I fight,
what dominates my life is evil.
#3. The third element necessary for true life
transformation
is the ability to see our sin honestly.
Apart from the work of God within us
we invest our mental and emotional energies into
justifying and rationalizing and explaining to
ourselves
and to others
why our sin isn't evil,
or why it isn't destructive,
or why it is a valued part of our life.
"I need this drink to help me relax."
"I need this relationship
to meet my love needs."
"I have to work this much, this long,
to meet the needs of my family."
When we finally stop justifying
and rationalizing our bondage
and turn to God for healing
one of the first things He'll do
is to give us eyes to see our sin
for what it really is - a hideous, consuming
cancer of the soul
that dominates our life.
I love that picture Christ presented
of the prodigal son
near the end of his rebellion:
Luke 15:15 "So he went and hired himself
out to one of the citizens of that country,
and he sent him into his fields to feed
swine.
Luke 15:16 "And he would have gladly
filled his stomach with the pods that the
swine were eating, and no one was giving
anything to him.
Luke 15:17 "But when he came to his
senses, he said, 'How many of my father's
hired men have more than enough bread,
but I am dying here with hunger!
Luke 15:18 'I will get up and go to my
father, and will say to him, "Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
When we finally turn to God for deliverance
He gives us the ability
to look at ourselves and say,
"This is stupid!
This is Bondage!
This is not who I am,
and it is not who I want to be!"
He enables us to see our sin for what it is.
When Paul deals with this part of the healing
process in Rom. 6:21
he asks the simple question:
Rom. 6:21 Therefore what benefit were
you then deriving from the things of which
you are now ashamed? For the outcome of
those things is death.
You see what he's doing, don't you?
He is calling us to do
what we can only risk doing
when we are surrounded by the loving
arms of our God:
he is calling us to be brutally honest
about the effect of our actions
on ourselves
and on those around us.
How does this affect my quality of life?
My self-respect?
My inner peace?
How does it impact my relationship with my mate?
My relationship with my children?
What do I really get
in exchange for all the energy and personal
resources I am investing in this?
Rom. 6:21 Therefore what benefit were
you then deriving from the things of which
you are now ashamed? For the outcome of
those things is death.
Now, there are two more elements in the process of
transformation
that I want to share with you.
I had originally planed to try to squeeze them onto
the end of our time together.
But once I looked at them more closely
I decided they were far to crucial
to this whole transformation process
to allow them to be squeezed in.
So next week
we'll give a quick review of where we were this
week,
and then finish up with those final two.