Romans 7, 8 / Stop It!!!
Anyone reading this have a habit you know is not healthy, but you just can’t stop doing it?
Or maybe a fear, that despite being irrational, steals your peace and keeps you from experiencing joy?
If that’s you, there is an old Bob Newhart skit from MAD TV that might be helpful:
Bob (a psychologist): Tell me about the issue you wish to address.
Catherine: I have this fear of being buried alive in a box. I have this fear, and as I think about it, I begin to panic.
Bob: Has anyone ever tried to bury you alive?
Catherine: No, but thinking about it makes my life truly horrible. I can’t go through tunnels, or elevators, or anything boxy.
Bob: So, what you are saying, Catherine, is that you are claustrophobic?
Catherine: Yes.
Bob: Okay, well I am going to say two words to you now. I want you to listen to them very carefully and I want you to take them out of the office with you and incorporate them into your daily life.
Catherine: Should I write them down?
Bob: No, it’s just two words, most people can remember them. Ready?
Catherine: Yes.
Bob: STOP IT!!!
Catherine: Sorry?
Bob: STOP IT!!! S.T.O.P - new word - I.T.
Catherine: So, what are you saying? I should just…stop it?
Bob: There you go. I mean you don’t want to go through life being scared of being buried alive in a box, right? That sounds frightening.
Catherine: Yes
Bob: Then, STOP IT!!!
Fearing being buried alive sounds ridiculous, and yet she keeps doing it.
The answer seems to be as simple as STOPPING IT, and yet, for some reason she keeps going back to that irrational fear.
As cheesy as that is, we can laugh until we think through a few of the habits and hang-ups of our own: things that we know if we just stopped doing would improve our lives…and yet we keep doing them.
Don’t worry, friend, you are not alone. In Romans 7 the Apostle Paul, one of the most influential believers to walk this planet said this:
15 For I do not understand my own 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. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not 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 within me.
Can you relate to Paul’s struggle here?
If so, you can take comfort in the fact that despite writing many of our New Testament books, Paul still did things he didn’t want to do sometimes.
Did he know those things were wrong? Of course he did. Paul knew the law better than almost anyone, and yet, he simply couldn’t STOP IT.
The truth is, there is a war waging around us at all times.
There is a spiritual battle for our souls. A tug of war between right and wrong, holy and unholy, obedience and disobedience.
Satan would want nothing more than to keep us on the hamster wheel of habitual sin, or fear.
At times this can be incredibly frustrating and lead us to feel helpless.
But take hope! Although our flesh sometimes gets the best of us, if we know Christ it truly has no power.
Paul says later in Romans 8:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
If in Christ, we absolutely can STOP IT – THROUGH HIM.
On our own strength, no way.
But the Spirit has set us free. And God has done what we, in our weakness could (and cannot) do.
Jesus’ death meant death to those habits and hang-ups.
It might not feel like it after repeated mistakes, but you can absolutely stop doing the things you know are not healthy or holy.
Is it as simple as saying STOP IT to yourself and moving on?
Probably not, but is it doable? Absolutely.
The key to victory is walking in the Spirit.
First – ask the Lord to reveal anything that is not of Him. Anything that would hinder or distort your ability to hear and respond to the Holy Spirit.
Then Second – Surrender that to the Lord. Confess it, repent. Ask Him to help you move forward in the freedom Christ has given you.
And Third – Remember this is a process that requires total dependence upon Christ. You have daily choices to make, but He will help you make them if you will stay close to Him.
So lean in, spend time with Him through prayer and in the Word. Invite others who share the same Spirit into your life for accountability and encouragement.
And if you keep that up, you might just be able to STOP IT!!!
With much love,
Pastor Dave
If you want to dig deeper into this, need help, need prayer, or have questions—please reach out to us here: Roots Help Form