THE EVIL WITHIN

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
24 July 2005

I. Introduction-- turn in Bibles to Romans 7:15-21
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. I know that nothing good lives 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 what I do is not the good I want to do; no, 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: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

-- do you remember the summer of 1977? -- well, for me, that summer was one of the best of my life -- I was 10 years old and the biggest movie blockbuster of all times was released -- Star Wars
-- there was something about that movie that just drove normal people insane -- I remember seeing people stand in lines for hours for aticket, and I know one guy who went to see it 19 times that summer -- it was unprecedented -- there was just something about that movie that made people want to go see it and experience it and live it time and time again
-- and, for me and my friends, Star Wars became my life -- we played out the battle of Star Wars in our backyard all summer -- everyone wanted to either be Luke Skywalker or Obi Wan Kenobi or Han Solo -- every one of us wanted to be the hero who saved the galaxy
-- but, no one wanted to be Darth Vader -- nobody wanted to be the bad guy -- with his black cloak and black mask and deep voice, Darth Vader was the epitome of evil -- he embodied everything that was wrong with the world -- and while we were fascinated with him, we couldn't imagine being him -- and, as the original Star Wars series progressed, we all started to wonder how Luke and Leia's father could turn into someone as evil as Darth Vader

-- that's why I was so excited when George Lucas came out with his new trilogy of Star Wars films -- a prequel to the original -- now, when you look at the films as a whole, you can see that the entire movie series isn't about the good and moral rebels fighting the evil empire and Darth Vader -- but is actually about Darth Vader himself -- about how Anakin Skywalker turned from being a Jedi knight into the evil Darth Vader
-- and so, Star Wars fans everywhere waited with baited breath for Star Wars Episdode III, Revenge of the Sith -- the movie that is currently playing in theaters -- this would be it -- this would be the episode that showed what major event in Anakin Skywalker's life caused him to turn from good to evil -- to turn from being a Jedi knight into Darth Vader

-- and, do you know what it was? -- do you know what traumatic experience caused Anakin to leave the light and turn to the dark side? -- without giving away too much of the plot, here's the answer to that question that we have been asking for 20 years -- there was nothing -- there was no traumatic experience -- there was no one thing that caused him to turn away from good to evil -- to leave the Jedis and become Darth Vader
-- there was no life-shaking experience -- there was only life -- and a gentle turn here and there -- a bad choice here and there -- and slowly, inch by inch,decision by decision -- good, moral Anakin Skywalker turned into the evil Darth Vader

-- Star Wars fans everywhere howled in disgust -- they screamed that there had to be more -- there had to be a reason Anakin became evil -- but there wasn't -- and perhaps, the moment you realize that, that is the scariest moment in the entire Star Wars movie series
-- now we see the truth that my friends and I tried to avoid when we were playing our backyard games of Star Wars -- while we would never, ever admit or even think it -- I believe that we all realized -- in our heart of hearts -- that we all had the capacity to become Darth Vader -- to become evil -- for real

--during the trial of Adolph Eichman -- the architect of the holocaust in Germany during World War II -- a survivor of holocaust came to testify as a witness against Eichman -- when he entered the courtroom, the entire room became silent as they watched the survivor stop and stare at Eichman, who was protected in a bullet-proof glass cubicle
-- at this moment, as the victim confronted the butcher -- he began to sob and collapsed to the floor -- not out of bitterness or shock at confronting his tormentor as one might expect -- but, as he later explained during an interview, what struck him at that moment was a terrifying realization -- "I was afraid about myself," he said. "I saw that I am capable to do exactly like he."
-- Mike Wallace, who was interviewing the survivor, turned to camera and made this profound statement: "How is it possible for a man to act like Eichman -- was he a monster -- a madman -- or something even more terrifying -- was he normal?"

II. Scripture Lesson -- Romans 7:15-25
A. Original Sin
-- this is exactly what the Apostle Paul is talking about in this passage in Romans -- he says here what we are afraid to admit to ourselves -- we know what good is -- we know the difference between right and wrong -- even our children know the difference -- that's why you see four-year-olds on the playground crying "It's not fair -- it's wrong" when someone takes their toy -- we know what right and wrong are
-- Paul tells us that that is one reason why God gave us His law -- in verse 12 he says that the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good -- the law tells us what God requires -- the law helps us see the difference between good and wrong -- between good and evil
-- and Paul knows the law -- Paul was Jewish -- a Pharisee -- one of those men who tried to keep every single one of God's commandments and to live a holy and moral and good life -- he knew good and evil -- he knew right from wrong -- it was part of who he was
-- but look what he says -- look back at verse 15
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. I know that nothing good lives 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 what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.

-- Paul knows what to do and Paul knows what not to do -- but he says he doesn't understand what's going on -- despite knowing what to do -- time and time again, he finds himself doing what he doesn't want to do -- he finds himself choosing evil over good -- choosing to do wrong instead of choosing to do good
-- and then, he makes the statement that strikes fear in all of our hearts -- in verse 18 he says, "I know that nothing good lives in me" -- he says, "I know what is good -- I know what God commands -- but I cannot do it -- there is nothing good within me -- and every choice I make is evil -- every choice I make leads to sin"
-- Paul is telling us that we all are Anakin Skywalker -- we all know what good is -- but we find that we can't do good -- we can't be good -- and in the end, if we are totally honest with ourselves, we look around and find that we have turned into Darth Vader

-- in the book "Confessions," Saint Augustine -- the Christian Bishop -- not the town -- tells us the story of his life and his search for salvation -- in one place in the book, he tells about what he and his friends did one day in a pear orchard -- he and a group of friends were walking down the road -- and next to the road was a pear orchard, just across a stone fence -- so, for no reason at all, they jumped the fence and starting picking the pears -- the pears weren't even quite ripe, so they would take a bite out of them and then throw them down and dance on them -- some of them they picked and threw against the wall just to see them bust -- they ended up either destroying or stealing all the pears in the orchard
-- Augustine said that he really didn't understand why he did it -- he didn't really want the pears -- he really wasn't motivated by any self-interest -- he just did it because he enjoyed the act of doing wrong for its own sake -- and at that point, Augustine realized what Paul is talking about here -- he said that he could not explain why he did evil things -- he wrote that "there is something evil lodged in the human soul that I cannot get out"

-- Paul tells us in verse 18 that this thing lodged in our soul -- this thing that drives us to make bad choices and to do evil things -- this thing that drove Anakin Skywalker to become Darth Vader -- is our sinful nature, inherited from Adam and Eve and transferred to every subsequent human being from the Fall in the Garden of Eden until now
-- we call this sin nature, "original sin" and -- even though we all deny it -- it is just as much a part of who we are as our own body and our mind

-- original sin -- this sin nature that is lodged deep in our hearts -- takes away from us the capacity to do good or to be good -- but, we don't like to admit it, do we?
-- the Bible tells us that one day a ruler ran up to Jesus and said, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" -- Jesus answered, "Why do you call me good. No one is good -- except God alone." -- did you hear those words? -- "no one is good except God" -- no one is good -- because of original sin -- because of our sin nature -- no one can be good

-- but yet, we continue to think of ourselves as good people -- if you were to stop and ask anyone on the street, "Why should God let you into heaven?" -- by and large, the answer that you would get would be, "Because I'm a good person" or "Because I try to do good things"
-- we say that we are good -- that we are good people -- but deep down in our hearts, we know the truth -- that even though we know what to do -- even though we know what God's holy and righteous and good commands are -- there are times when we simply choose not to do them -- and when God sees us, he doesn't see Anakin Skywalker -- He sees Darth Vader -- He sees us not as "mostly good" but as "wholly evil"
-- as it says in Romans 3:23, all -- every single one us -- even us good old boys and good old girls -- all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God -- none of us are really good

-- Paul says that this sin nature -- this inherited trait in our hearts that keeps us from doing good even though we know what is good and we want to do what is good -- tears us up from the inside out
-- look at verse 21-24a
21. So I find this law at work: When 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 the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
24. What a wretched man I am!
-- "what a wretched man I am -- I'm not good -- I am wretched -- I am literally at war within myself -- I want to do good -- I want to be good -- but I can't, because I am held in bondage by sin and by evil within my very own heart"

-- but then, in the midst of his misery, Paul asks the single most important question of his life
vs. 24b Who will rescue me from this body of death?
-- what is the answer to the problem of my evil sin nature -- to the original sin that is keeping from being who I want to be? -- who can keep me from becoming the very evil that I hate?

B. Answer to Original Sin
-- verse 7:25-8:2
25. Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
1. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
2. because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
-- when Jesus died for us on the cross, He not only forgave us of our sins but He also destroyed our sin nature -- He destroyed the power of sin in our life once and for all -- He broke the chains of sin that were holding us in bondage and keeping us from doing the good that we wanted to do
-- both Paul and Augustine said the same thing -- because of original sin -- because of the sin nature that we inherited from Adam -- we don't have the capacity to choose good -- we cannot be good -- everything that we do is wrong
-- when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil -- humankind crossed a line -- the line of evil -- and cannot come back across that line -- we live as wretched men and women because of the evil within us that corrupts our very soul and our very actions
-- G.K. Chesterton once said that the doctrine of original sin is the only philosophy empirically validated over 4000 years of history -- we know this doctrine is true -- we know that we are sinful in our heart of hearts because we have seen it in the history of humankind and in our own lives

-- but when Jesus died for us on the cross, He made it possible for us to go back across the line of evil -- to go back to the place from where we could choose good -- where we could choose obedience -- by cleansing and restoring our souls and making us a new creation in Him -- by raising us back up to the level that we came from and for which we were created
-- let me give you an example -- think about a fruit tree -- there is fruit all over that tree from the top to the bottom -- the fruit at the top of the tree is good -- but the fruit at the bottom of the tree is bad
-- before the Fall, Adam and Eve had the ability to reach any of the fruit on the tree -- it was their choice -- they could choose the good fruit or the bad fruit -- it was their choice -- and, because they had not crossed that line yet -- because they did not have that evil sin nature lodged within their hearts, their inclination was to pick the good fruit
-- but then, they were tempted by Satan and crossed the line and picked the bad low fruit -- from that point on, humankind could not reach the good fruit -- we can only can pick the low-hanging fruit that is no good because our sin nature kept us from doing the good that we want to do
-- but now, through the death and resurrection of Christ, our sin nature has been destroyed -- original sin has been forgiven -- and Christ has carried us back across the line of good and evil so that now we have the chance once again to pick the good fruit at the top of the tree
-- because of Christ, we now have the chance to turn from evil and to become the good person that we so desperately long to be in our heart
-- because of Christ, we do not have to turn into Darth Vader
-- because of Christ, we can be good in the eyes of God -- but, the choice is up to us

III. Closing
-- flip over to Romans 6:22 and let's close there
22. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-- Christ's blood has freed us from bondage to sin and death -- He has released us from original sin -- from the sin nature that we inherited from Adam and Eve
-- just as it was inevitable for Anakin Skywalker to turn into Darth Vader, it is inevitable for sinners to die -- for the wages of sin is death
-- but, as it says in verse 23, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
-- being saved by Christ doesn't mean that you will never sin again -- it doesn't mean that you will never make wrong choices in your life again -- but it does mean that sin will no longer be your master -- it does mean that you are freed again so that you can make the choice to do good and to follow Jesus and to do His will
-- being saved by Christ means that if you do sin, you can go back to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness and cleansing -- as it says in 1 John 1:9, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
-- and, being saved by Christ means that He has paid the price for your sin and that He has given you the gift of eternal life with Him
-- but, like any gift, it must be received in order to be opened -- Christ is offering you the gift of salvation this morning -- the gift of new life -- of eternal life this morning -- He is offering to take away sin's power in your life and to give you the freedom to choose good and to turn from evil
-- will you accept His gift this morning? -- it's as easy as ABC -- all you have to do is ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins -- to believe in your heart that He is God and that He died on the cross for your sins and rose again on the third day -- and to confess Him as your Lord and Savior
-- maybe you are saved, but you still feel trapped by sin in your life -- Christ is calling you this morning to turn from your sins and to trust in His power over sin and death -- you are not in bondage to sin any longer -- you can be set free if you trust that His blood has covered your sin and destroyed sin's power over you -- you simply have to confess and repent of your sins and trust in His power to sanctify you and make you holy in God's sight
-- as we close with the last hymn, I'm going to ask that you respond to God's Word as He leads you -- let's pray