Romans – The Play Part 3

“Paul, I’m having a hard time. I know, I ain’t the only Christian in the world – I’m having a hard time. Paul, all these things, these wonderful things that I’m supposed to do as a Christian, Paul, every time I go to do them, I can’t. And in fact, I will go to do them, but before it’s over, I have done the very opposite. And the things that I absolutely bow and rededicate my life—I will never do again as long as I live. When I’m going to pray, that’s what I do.” And Paul, I know nobody else in this room has ever made this statement to you:

“I believe in this book. I believe it’s inspired. I believe it’s divinely sent. I believe I should be reading it. Everybody that I’ve met breathing air on this planet has told me to get into the Word. And Paul, I know no other Christian’s ever heard this, and I know everybody in this room is gonna be shocked, and if y’all want to excommunicate me, that’s fine, but – I’m tired of reading the Bible.”

Oh, man. There’s a gasp. You know. There’s shock and horror and terror in the room. Brothers and sisters, you added something to your Christian life. Your Christian life was Jesus Christ. I am not, I’m just like Paul, I’m not saying any of these things are bad. They are good, and they are spiritual, and they are perfect, but they have become a law to you. And they are there, listed. And sin has done the same thing with them that sin did with the law. Sin will use the greatest thing there ever was to put you to death.

I believe that Romans 7 is the history of every believer. And I’m going to tell you something else: I’m not sure it ever really quits completely. I had an experience in 1963 that delivered me from the law of sin and death that worked in me as a personal experience. I’m not promoting this thing. I’m not telling you now that you, I’m not telling y’all to go out and speak in tongues or anything like that, or that you need the experience of sudden and total sanctification.

I’m telling you that I personally got delivered from something in nineteen hundred and sixty-three, when I understood that passage. My relationship to Scripture changed, my relationship to witnessing changed, my relationship to prayer utterly changed. My relationship to going to church ended. I quit. I super…, what’s that word? I superannuated. I did. And you can count on one or two hands how many times I have gone back and suffered the ordeal of a Sunday morning church service.

I’m going to retell this story. Paul said, maybe Paul would never say this, I’m going to put it in his mouth:

There was a woman married to a man, and the man was the Christian life, and the man said to his dear wife, “I want you to get up every morning and pray at 6:30. I want you to read your Bible at least thirty minutes after you prayed or before, but make sure you spend about thirty to forty minutes in prayer every morning. I want you to witness to the neighbors on the street and get involved in their lives. I want you to rejoice in pain and suffering. I want you to always rejoice in tribulation and thank God for the problems you have and rejoice that you’ve been counted worthy to suffer for His name’s sake. I want you, honey, to go down to the WMU and get into the Women’s Missionary Society. I want you to get involved in Sunday school and teach a Sunday school class. And I want you to save out of your cooking money that I give you 10% to put aside for a tithe to the church. I want you to go to church every Wednesday night, Sunday morning, and Sunday night, and also Sunday school, and in the evening, the program before church. Join the choir, darling. I want you to join the choir. And you must be a light and an example to the people in this community. Most of all, get into the Word, learn it, and memorize it. I want you to memorize three or four passages of Scripture every day and be a godly wife and a submissive wife.”

And she tried that. And you tried that. And the first year, it was a cakewalk. And then it was a bluff. And then it was a rededication. And then you tried again. And you didn’t want to submit. And you didn’t want to go to WMU. And you got tired of choir practice. And you needed some free time. Then you had a baby. And it even got worse, didn’t it, sisters?

Say amen. Alright. And so, you began to despise the victorious Christian life. You began to despise the Christian walk. You began to dislike being a light to the world. You did not like the Christian standard. And when no one was looking, you said, “Forget your gravy and biscuits. Forget your 6:30-in-the-morning breakfast. Forget me getting up and cleaning this house. That guy across the street – I like him. I just may go over and live with him. Forget you. I am tired of this. I like the word ‘backslider.’ It’s beginning to appeal to me. I’m tired of roast beef, gravy, and baked potatoes, and of eating. I can’t do it. The house looks like a mess. I’m tired, and I want to sleep late.”

And the Christian life would not die. Oh, praise the Lord. Listen to me, saint. Listen and be delivered. Do you not know the Christian life did not die? Did you know that you died? No, I don’t think you understand. I don’t think you understand what grace is. I want you to listen to me and listen well. And you people out there on that recording, get this:

Grace, grace, grace. You do not belong to the Christian standard. You do not belong to living the Christian life. You belong to Christ. And you cannot fulfill the standard of the Christian life; it can’t be done. You can’t do it. And I can’t either.

You people missed all that. I’m going to repeat it. By the way, I’m going to add something to it this time. We’ll say it again. I will say it again: