What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. (Rom 7:7-13)
The Law gives us a right understanding of our misery. It doesn’t matter if we “think” we’re in a state of misery, or if we “feel” like we’re in a state of misery, or even if we’re “aware” that we’re in such a state. It would make no more sense to ask someone if they “felt” that 2+2=4 or if they were “aware” of it. Our state of misery is just as much a fact of life as 2+2=4. There are some things that are simply facts of life, whether one “feels” like they are or not, and human misery falls into this category.
What do you think of when you hear the term “human misery?” Do you think of suffering, pain, sorrow, grief, and affliction? These things are clearly seen in our world as it’s been polluted with sin. Not too long ago we had a missionary tell us of a group of people in Burma known as the Karen. They are treated brutally by the military government of Myanmar. We’ve all seen pictures of children starving all over the world, of wars ravaging countries, of disease claiming innumerable lives. I dare say that we’ve seen them so much that we no longer cry and weep over them. What a hard and calloused heart we can have!
But there is a much greater misery that I am speaking of today. It’s a misery that’s caused by our separation from God. Not just separation, but being exiled from His presence while having His wrath abiding upon us in our unregenerate state. Think of the magnitude of the statement that the creature has been banished from its Creator! Not only has mankind being exiled from our “place” with God, but we’ve also been exiled from our “purpose” with God. God created us to bring Him glory and to enjoy Him. When we are exiled from God we are not capable of fulfilling the very purpose that we were made for. We can’t glorify God while we’re dead in sin. We can’t enjoy God when we aren’t even permitted to be in His gracious presence. So there we stand – exiled from our home, void of our purpose, and without the ability to change anything about it.
This is a misery that is so much worse than all other miseries. This is a misery that affects our souls, and not merely our idea of justice. This is a misery that leaves us hopeless and helpless. This kind of misery has an eternal weight to it, not merely temporal. If we see people who are hungry we can feed them; if we see people who are abused we can come along side and fight for them; if we see the homeless we can provide shelter for them. But when we see ourselves and others in the miserable state of being dead in our sins we can do nothing. Only God can do a work that would deliver us from such misery. A misery of eternal weight requires an eternally powerful weight-lifter.
We see how this misery works out in the early chapters of Genesis. We see man sinning against God and being kicked out of the Garden of Eden, which was a paradise. We see Cain killing his brother Abel and being driven out of God’s presence to live in the land of Nod…separated from communion with God.
The misery that we see as we sojourn through this sin-stained world is a consequence of man’s fall into sin. But there is still a greater misery than that of being separated from our creator God. This is a misery that comes from the apprehension that we are incapable of doing anything to correct this separation. We can’t fulfill the duty and obedience that God calls us to. We were created for the purpose of bringing glory to God and of enjoying Him, yet in our unregenerate state we are unable to do either. This tension that fallen man experiences between his purpose and his inability to fulfill his purpose is, indeed, the most miserable of miseries.
Sin drives mankind from the presence of a holy God. It’s for this reason that while we are walking in the flesh we are spiritually homeless. We search for a resting place for our souls, but find none because it’s only in Christ that our soul’s find rest. This is a most terrible misery to suffer, it’s a constant tension of what we should be versus what we can be, and it’s an utter frustration of both purpose and direction in our lives. Thank God that this is not where it ends. God has not left us in this hopeless and frustrated state of existence, but He has brought His children out from under this misery.
We don’t come out of this miserable state until we’re convinced that we’re in it. Many walk around without Christ and without a real apprehension of the misery that they’re in; without a true understanding of their deplorable, sinful state. The Scripture tells us that these folks suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18). So it’s not that they don’t have the truth, but they actively suppress it. If it was merely a case of not having the truth, then when the Gospel was presented to them they would accept it because it is truth. But as it is, those who reject it do so by actively suppressing the truth that they’re confronted with. Why is it important to understand this condition of truth-suppression? Because it gives us insight into what God’s Law is used for. You see, there can be no true understanding of the Gospel unless there is first a true understanding of God’s Law and our complete and total sinfulness in breaking it. So God has given us His Law so that we would see our need for Savior, and that we would thirst for the good news of the Gospel of Christ.
Just as a man doesn’t want to take medicine unless he’s convinced he’s sick, so too a sinner doesn’t consider the Gospel until he realizes his utter sinfulness. When we’re confronted with the huge difference that exists between a holy God and a sinful creature, when we understand that the weight of God’s wrath rests upon us, we long for some way of escape…any way…whatever the cost! This is where the Gospel comes in. It comes in power to a life that understands its own sinfulness and longs for relief from God’s holy and justified wrath. And as we are conquered by God through His Gospel we begin to understand that though we would have paid any price to be freed from the slavery that we were in, He has seen fit to pay for it in our place in the person of Christ. You see, it’s not just that God provided a way out from under His wrath, but He did it in such a way that Christ Himself was the one who paid for the escape! Oh, the breadth and depth of God’s mercy and love…who can fathom it! It’s in this way that God works to bring those who are separated from Him back into communion with Him, back into fellowship, back into His family. It’s nothing less and nothing more than this Christ-centered Gospel that brings us into a loving fellowship with God, and rather than being under His wrath we are brought into His family as dearly beloved children.
Many of us here know the truths of these statements, but truth without application has led more than one soul to the everlasting fires of Hell. If we don’t personally apply the truths of the Gospel to our lives, then it matters very little how well we know those same truths. Brothers and Sisters, the next time you’re tempted to sin consider the misery that we are redeemed from, consider that the only forgiven sins are the sins that wounded Christ. After being purchased from such a desperate estate we should not be so quick to wound our Savior by continuing in sin. Rather, we should strive to live a holy life out of a deep love for Christ! And how could we not have such a love for the One who has done everything for our reconciliation…He has paid all the cost and charged us nothing! The only thing He desires in response is our love, a true love that works itself out in obedience. When tempted to sin we should smell the foul odor, taste the bitter gall, and feel the excruciating pain that a life separated from God would bring us. Let’s take our Christian life seriously and stop playing around with the flesh, the world, and the Devil. Let’s separate ourselves from the lusts that reveal a hatred for God so that we might be obedient to God, revealing a sincere love for Him.
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