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Morning Message Text: Romans 7: 15-25
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;
23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Morning Message:
We are a nation deeply divided in so many ways. So much so that there were whole states who decided that they would not be a part of the America 250 celebration. Our own state came very close to not participating, but thanks to our two Senators, McCormick and Federmann, Pennsylvania joined the celebration. I am going to say this out loud because I believe that we, as a nation, have gone too far down this road of hatred. How petty and divisive for governors and representatives of states to refuse to celebrate this nations birthday simply because they don’t like the President. How far we, as a nation, have regressed in the last 50 years. I remember 1976 when we celebrated our Bicentennial and there was none of this pettiness. We were proud of our heritage and not afraid to show our patriotism. Now we have people who hate this nation and openly want to see our way of life destroyed. I really don’t understand being so angry that you would wish for bad things to happen to this great nation. This is the land of the free and no one is holding you here. If you are that upset with this country you are free to leave.
At a conference in London, Christian author Moarko Latvakoski made the following statements, and I think as Christians in this country, we should take heed. “Apart from the God of the Bible, there is no hope for the West to remain free.” Now listen: He urged Britons to resist a culture where, he said, people are being imprisoned for things that they post or say. He called it despicable and deplorable. These things are happening in Europe, and you can see a trend towards this in our nation. It seems that we can’t disagree with someone and still get along with them. We are accused of being intolerant if we don’t go along with certain lifestyles, but these very same people are intolerant of us for living our faith. America’s founding vision was explicitly shaped by Christian belief.
Latvakoski also criticized the western church for being naive about Marxism and evil, arguing that faith, morality, and truth are inseparable from any serious effort to restore the West. Tell me this, when did Jesus ever say, I want my church to just go with the flow, don’t make waves, when you see sin and wrongdoing just go about your business. I have searched the scriptures and I can’t find that. Let’s be honest, it is just easier to let everything go and live our lives quietly, but the evil in this world will not allow that, it will come knocking for all of us so we should stand against it while we can. We can’t force our faith on anyone, and let’s be realistic, not everyone in this world will come to Jesus. I pray for that, but I know the truth. Not every person in this world shares our moral view of things, there are some who seem to have no morals at all. And the truth in the eyes of many is subject to interpretation.
This is why we are a nation of laws. It completely blows my mind to hear people talk about abolishing police and closing jails and prisons, letting criminals walk the streets unchecked, refusing to punish people for serious crimes. The pages of history are full of civilizations who decided that law was not important and punishment was too harsh and should be avoided at all costs. Do you know where those civilizations are today? Gone, they self-imploded, died from the inside out. That is why, in their great wisdom, that I am convinced they received from God, our forefathers created a nation of laws.
As Christians we should not be blind to our human condition. Listen to what Paul is saying here. He is being very honest about his human condition. He is talking about the war that is taking place in all of us who have accepted Jesus. The Holy Spirit in us is telling us what is right, but we are still living with this earthly flesh, this sinful nature, so even though we feel the urge to do Godly things, sometimes we still give in to the flesh. Now listen carefully to verse 16, “And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.” Did you hear that? The law is good because it shows us when we need correction. It is the same concept with our laws in this nation. We are a nation of laws because it is necessary to correct those who do wrong. To do away with correction would bring chaos.
Paul is talking to Christians and telling them the struggle that all of us will face. We have the blessing of the Holy Spirit to correct us and help us realize right from wrong. Praise be to our Lord and Savior and to our God. We are still very capable of sin and maybe even crime, but think about this, how can we have order in a nation where not everyone is Christian? We must be a nation of Laws, that’s the only way we remain a nation.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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