The enemy of sin may dwell within, but Christ will win in the end. This message was given on February 28, 2016 at New City Church in Calgary by Pastor John Ferguson. For more info, please visit: www.newcitychurch.ca

1. Licensed to Kill
Killing The Sin That Kills Our Joy
“The Enemy Within”
Romans 7:15-25

2. Licensed to Kill
Killing The Sin That Kills Our Joy
Romans 7:15-25

3. Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings”

4. Licensed to Kill
Killing The Sin That Kills Our Joy
“The Enemy Within”
Romans 7:15-25

5. 15 For I do not understand my own
Romans 7:15-25
actions. For I do not do what I want,
but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now
if I do what I do not want, I agree with
the law, that it is good.

6. As a Christian, you
will sometimes
feel like a walking
contradiction.
1

7. “Deliver me from
that evil man,
myself.”
~ St. Augustine

8. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it,
Romans 7:15-25
but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know
that nothing good dwells in me, that is,
my flesh. For I have the desire to do
what is right, but not the ability to carry
it out….

9. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but
Romans 7:15-25
the evil I do not do want is what I keep
on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not
want, it is no longer I who do it, but
sin that dwells in me.

10. As a Christian,
you will always
live with an
internal enemy.
2

11. ~ The Apostle Paul in
Romans 7:7-8
“I would not have known
what it is to covet if the law
had not said, ‘You shall not
covet.’ But sin, seizing an
opportunity through the
commandment, produced in
me all kinds of coveting….
Sin, seizing an opportunity
through the commandment,
deceived me….”

13. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it,
Romans 7:15-25
but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know
that nothing good dwells in me, that is,
my flesh. For I have the desire to do
what is right, but not the ability to carry
it out….

14. The Self Viewed
From One Perspective:
“The Flesh”
The Self Viewed
From Another Perspective:
“New Creation”
My old self / former way of life My new self / new way of life
Sin living in me Christ living in me
Participates in this
present evil age
Participates in the
new age to come
Bows to serve sin as its master Bows to serve Christ as its master
Me living for myself Me living for Christ
The old person “in Adam” The new person “in Christ”
The fading outer person The renewed inner person

15. We have met the enemy,
and it is us.
~ Pogo
“

16. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I
Romans 7:15-25
want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my
inner being, 23 but I see in my members
another law waging war against the law
of my mind and making me a captive to
the law of sin that dwells in my members.

17. As a Christian, you
will continually
experience an
ongoing war.
3

18. When I decided to follow
Jesus that night in
Atlanta, I assumed that
becoming a Christian
would make life easier. I
thought the rest of my
life would be smiling and
smooth sailing.
~ Lecrae, Hip Hop Artist
Facebook, Feb 16, 2016

19. I assumed I wouldn’t be
tempted by women and
partying and acceptance
and all the things I’d been a
slave to for so many years.
I thought I would walk
around with a continual
inner-peace and serenity
like Gandhi or something.
~ Lecrae, Hip Hop Artist
Facebook, Feb 16, 2016

20. This turns out to be a
lie that too many
people believe. You’ll
actually experience
more temptation, not
less, after you
become a Christian.
~ Lecrae, Hip Hop Artist
Facebook, Feb 16, 2016

21. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will
Romans 7:15-25
deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus
Christ our Lord!

22. As a Christian, you
must ultimately
hope in the
salvation of Jesus.
4

23. Following Jesus
doesn’t mean you’ll
start living perfectly
overnight. It certainly
doesn’t mean that
your problems will
disappear.
~ Lecrae, Hip Hop Artist
Facebook, Feb 16, 2016

24. Rather than ridding you
of your problems or
temptations, following
Jesus just means that
you have a place—no, a
person—to run to when
they come. And the
power to overcome them.
~ Lecrae, Hip Hop Artist
Facebook, Feb 16, 2016

25. The enemy of sin
may dwell within,
but Christ will win
in the end.

26. …you must ultimately hope in the
salvation of Jesus.
*
As a Christian…
…you will sometimes feel like a
walking contradiction
…you will always live with an
internal enemy
…you will continually experience
ongoing war
*
*
*
*

27. Application:
Choose this day to side with the war
that Christ by his Spirit
is fighting against your sin.

28. images used for educational purposes
http://www.rapzilla.com/rz/news/38-backstage/6775-lecrae-to-star-in-feature-film-believe-me
http://www.rapzilla.com/rz/news/38-backstage/6775-lecrae-to-star-in-feature-film-believe-me
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sodahead.com
%2Fentertainment%2Fwhos-the-best-tv-character-of-the-2000s%2Fquestion-4734308%2F%3Fpage%3D2&bvm=bv.
115339255,d.cGc&psig=AFQjCNHWKI4esXJhyd1zNEoe6q7TMa_sdA&ust=1456538932302013

29. “The Enemy Within”
Romans 7:15-25