Romans 7:7-25
Is God's way truly better?
In the midst of life's struggles—whether it's sin, doubt, suffering, or stress—we often wonder if God's way is truly better. It's one thing to say it or sing about it, but another to believe it when everything feels like it's falling apart. In Romans 7, the apostle Paul gives voice to this internal conflict: he wants to do good but keeps doing what he hates. His honest confession reminds us that we all face the same battle between our desire to follow God and our sinful nature.
Paul explains that while God’s law reveals what’s right, it doesn’t have the power to change us. It's like a mirror that shows our flaws but can't fix them. This leads to his desperate cry: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). Paul immediately answers his own anguished question: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25) The answer is found in surrendering to Christ, not striving harder. True transformation begins when we stop trying to rely on our own strength and trust fully in Jesus.
Living this way goes against our culture of self-reliance, but Scripture teaches that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. Following Christ means daily surrender—admitting our need for Him, immersing ourselves in His Word, sharing life with fellow believers, and allowing even our weaknesses to become vessels of His grace. It's not about having it all together, but about letting God work through our brokenness.
God's way isn’t always easier, but it leads to a deeper joy, peace, and purpose than anything the world offers. The goal isn't perfection, but progress—continually turning to Jesus and allowing Him to shape us. Wherever you are today, the invitation remains: lose your life to find it in Him. When we truly embrace this, we discover that God's way isn’t just better—it’s the only way to live a life of lasting hope and grace.
In the midst of life's struggles—whether it's sin, doubt, suffering, or stress—we often wonder if God's way is truly better. It's one thing to say it or sing about it, but another to believe it when everything feels like it's falling apart. In Romans 7, the apostle Paul gives voice to this internal conflict: he wants to do good but keeps doing what he hates. His honest confession reminds us that we all face the same battle between our desire to follow God and our sinful nature.
Paul explains that while God’s law reveals what’s right, it doesn’t have the power to change us. It's like a mirror that shows our flaws but can't fix them. This leads to his desperate cry: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). Paul immediately answers his own anguished question: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25) The answer is found in surrendering to Christ, not striving harder. True transformation begins when we stop trying to rely on our own strength and trust fully in Jesus.
Living this way goes against our culture of self-reliance, but Scripture teaches that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. Following Christ means daily surrender—admitting our need for Him, immersing ourselves in His Word, sharing life with fellow believers, and allowing even our weaknesses to become vessels of His grace. It's not about having it all together, but about letting God work through our brokenness.
God's way isn’t always easier, but it leads to a deeper joy, peace, and purpose than anything the world offers. The goal isn't perfection, but progress—continually turning to Jesus and allowing Him to shape us. Wherever you are today, the invitation remains: lose your life to find it in Him. When we truly embrace this, we discover that God's way isn’t just better—it’s the only way to live a life of lasting hope and grace.
So what does this look like practically? It means:
1. Acknowledging our weakness: Instead of hiding our struggles or pretending to have it all together, we openly confess our need for God.
2. Living in community: We share our burdens with fellow believers, allowing them to support and encourage us in our walk with Christ.
3. Daily surrender: Each morning, we consciously give our lives, plans, and desires over to God, trusting His way above our own.
4. Embracing God's Word: We immerse ourselves in Scripture, not as a checklist, but as a means of knowing God more deeply and aligning our hearts with His.
5. Practicing gratitude: We give thanks for God's grace, recognizing that our standing with Him is based on Christ's work, not our own efforts.
6. Serving others: We use our gifts and experiences, even our weaknesses, to encourage and build up the body of Christ.
Small Group Guide: Understanding God's Way and Our Struggle with Sin
Key Takeaways:
1. God's way is better, even when life is difficult.
2. We struggle with sin and often do what we don't want to do.
3. The law (God's word) reveals our sin but doesn't have the power to heal us.
4. We must come to the end of ourselves and rely on Jesus for deliverance.
5. Living in weakness and surrendering to God is the path to true spiritual freedom.
Discussion Questions:
1. The sermon started with the question "Is God's way truly better?" How would you answer this based on your own experiences?
2. Paul describes a struggle between wanting to do good and actually doing it (Romans 7:15-20). Can you relate to this struggle? Share an example from your own life.
3. How does the idea that "nothing good dwells in me" (Romans 7:18) challenge our cultural values of self-reliance and personal achievement?
4. The Pastor Josh mentioned that American culture often encourages us to be "fighters." How might this mentality conflict with the biblical call to surrender and weakness?
5. Discuss the statement: "As long as we think we can do it ourselves, we can be spiritual enough, good enough to get to God, we will be helpless, spiritually miserable, and spiritually stuck." Do you agree or disagree? Why?
6. How does Luke 9:23-25 (denying yourself, taking up your cross daily) relate to the message of Romans 7?
Practical Applications:
1. This week, practice vulnerability by sharing a struggle or weakness with a trusted friend or family member.
2. Identify an area in your life where you've been trying to rely on your own strength. Spend time in prayer, surrendering that area to God.
3. Memorize Luke 9:23-24 and reflect on its meaning each day this week.
4. Start each day this week by acknowledging your weakness and dependence on God, perhaps using a short prayer like "Lord, I am weak. Be strong where I am not."
5. In your interactions with others this week, look for opportunities to boast in your weaknesses rather than your strengths, as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 11:30.
Closing Reflection:
Take a moment to silently reflect on areas where you might be trying to "save your life" rather than losing it for Christ's sake (Luke 9:24). Ask God to help you surrender these areas to Him.
Key Takeaways:
1. God's way is better, even when life is difficult.
2. We struggle with sin and often do what we don't want to do.
3. The law (God's word) reveals our sin but doesn't have the power to heal us.
4. We must come to the end of ourselves and rely on Jesus for deliverance.
5. Living in weakness and surrendering to God is the path to true spiritual freedom.
Discussion Questions:
1. The sermon started with the question "Is God's way truly better?" How would you answer this based on your own experiences?
2. Paul describes a struggle between wanting to do good and actually doing it (Romans 7:15-20). Can you relate to this struggle? Share an example from your own life.
3. How does the idea that "nothing good dwells in me" (Romans 7:18) challenge our cultural values of self-reliance and personal achievement?
4. The Pastor Josh mentioned that American culture often encourages us to be "fighters." How might this mentality conflict with the biblical call to surrender and weakness?
5. Discuss the statement: "As long as we think we can do it ourselves, we can be spiritual enough, good enough to get to God, we will be helpless, spiritually miserable, and spiritually stuck." Do you agree or disagree? Why?
6. How does Luke 9:23-25 (denying yourself, taking up your cross daily) relate to the message of Romans 7?
Practical Applications:
1. This week, practice vulnerability by sharing a struggle or weakness with a trusted friend or family member.
2. Identify an area in your life where you've been trying to rely on your own strength. Spend time in prayer, surrendering that area to God.
3. Memorize Luke 9:23-24 and reflect on its meaning each day this week.
4. Start each day this week by acknowledging your weakness and dependence on God, perhaps using a short prayer like "Lord, I am weak. Be strong where I am not."
5. In your interactions with others this week, look for opportunities to boast in your weaknesses rather than your strengths, as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 11:30.
Closing Reflection:
Take a moment to silently reflect on areas where you might be trying to "save your life" rather than losing it for Christ's sake (Luke 9:24). Ask God to help you surrender these areas to Him.
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