Killing Remaining Sin

Killing Remaining Sin, by Dr. Joel Beeke

The text for this sermon is Mark 9:43-50 & Romans 7:18-25:

Mark 9:43-50:

"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

Romans 7:18-25:

 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

Is Romans 7 More Important than John 3:16?

Do you have John 3:16 memorized? I hope so. If not, why don't you take 10 minutes right now and work on committing it to memory. Here, I'll help you get started:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish but have everlasting life."

We had a speaker from the Gideons this past week in church. He told us that 3 billion people on earth have never heard John 3:16 before. Maybe he said 3 million, but I think it was 3 billion. Doesn't matter. It's a lot of people.

There are over 7 billion people on earth and I would like to see every one of them commit John 3:16 to memory. That one verse tells us that we are saved by faith alone in "The only begotten Son of God."

But it is dangerous to over emphasize one verse (or one chapter or one book) in the Bible, as though it were more important than the rest. I have problems with red letter editions of the Bible for this reason- as though what Jesus said in the gospels is more valuable that what the Apostle Paul says in his letters. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God." (II Timothy 3:16)

Many people do this with John 3:16. Some people do this with Romans 7 as well. Romans 7:18,19 says:

"For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would I do not, but the evil that I would not, that I do."

Many people use Romans 7 to justify a sinful lifestyle - one that will end up in hell.  "Well, I know I should not be looking at Internet porn, but you know, even the Apostle Paul talks about his struggles with sin and temptation, and he's going to heaven, so I will be there too."

Our Lord Jesus also says, "Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction; and many there be which go in therat. Because straight in the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13,14)

Please, turn your TV off for one hour, and listen to Pastor Joey Faust preach on Dangerous Views of Romans 7.  And if you find yourself agreeing with what Pastor Faust says in this sermon, leave you TV off for another hour and listen to Dr. David Murray's Sermon, Should Christians Watch Movies?