I don’t understand myself at all,
for I really want to do what is
right,
but I don’t do it.
Instead, I do the very thing I
hate.
Romans 7:15 NLT

For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but
against
principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this
age, against spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the
heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

For the most part,
the battlefield
for this conflict
is on the inside.
The
Battle
Within

So if you have a WAR raging on the
inside, you are not alone.

Even today’s Celebritie - Katy Perry
"The atmosphere I grew up in was 100 percent
Christian,” she said in a clip of her upcoming movie.
"Part of me: 3D,” in theaters July 5th.” I started singing
in the church, I never really had another plan.”

Paul the Apostle had an internal WAR
• Every other
believer has
experienced this.
Even Paul
• Possibly the
greatest Christian
who ever lived—he
wrote 2/3 of the
New Testament

Romans 7 – The Internal war
• Paul’s talked about this internal war in the
whole chapter of Romans.
Romans 7:15-25
Is a Portrait of a
Struggling Christian

Paul first wrote
I don't understand myself
at all, for I really want to
do what is right, but I
don't do it. Instead, I do
the very thing I hate.
(Romans 7:15 NLT)
Sound familiar?
I know perfectly well that
what I am doing is
wrong, and my bad
conscience shows that I
agree that the law is
good. (Romans 7:16 NLT)

• (Romans 7:17 NLT) But I
can't help myself, because it
is sin inside me that makes
me do these evil things.
• Like the old song
• I know I am rotten through Ok Ok before my time! lol
and through so far as my
old sinful nature is
concerned. No matter
which way I turn, I can't
make myself do right. I
want to, but I can't.
(Romans 7:18 NLT)

• When I want to do
good, I don't. And when
I try not to do wrong, I
do it anyway. (Romans
7:19 NLT)
•
• But if I am doing what I
don't want to do, I am
not really the one doing
it; the sin within me is
doing it. (Romans 7:20 NLT)

• (but) I love God's law with all
my heart. (Romans 7:22 NLT)
•
• But there is another law at
work within me that is at
war with my mind. This law
wins the fight and makes me
a slave to the sinthat is still
within me. (Romans 7:23 NLT)

• Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will
free me from this life that is dominated by
sin? (Romans 7:24 NLT)
• Can you feel the
anguish of Paul?

Paul was torn between TWO LAWS:
1. The 2. The
Law Law
of Sin of the
and Spirit
Death of
(the Life in
works Christ
of the
flesh)

The emotional drain of TRYING to do the
right thing in your own strength is
enormous! It’ll stress anybody!
Paul admits to having 7 negative
emotions. See which one of these you
may be feeling right now…
Here’s the COST of this Battle Within

First Cost of the Battle
1. Confusion
I don't understand myself at all, for I
really want to do what is right, but I
don't do it. Instead, I do the very
thing I hate.
Romans 7:15 NLT

Second COST of the Battle
2. Guilt and Shame
I know perfectly well that what I am
doing is wrong, and my bad
conscience shows that I agree that
the law is good. Romans 7:16 NLT

Your conscience is telling you the
sense of right and wrong,
good and bad.
But watch
out!…having
their
conscience
seared with a
hot iron

Third COST of the Battle
3. Compulsionsand Addictions
But I can't help myself, because it
is sin inside me that makes me do
these evil things. The?is
Romans 7:17 NLT RU?

Fourth COST of the Battle
4. Self-Condemnation
I know I am rotten through
and through so far as my
old sinful nature is
concerned.
Romans 7:18a NLT

Fifth COST of the Battle
5. Frustration
No matter which way I turn, I can’t make
myself do right. I want to, but I can’t.
When I want to do good, I don’t. And
when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.
Romans 7:18b-19 NLT

5. Frustration
But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I
am not really the one doing it; the sin within
me is doing it. Romans 7:20 NLT

The Law of Sin is like the Law of Gravity—it
keeps dragging you down and holding you
back

Sixth COST of the Battle
6. Guilt and Discouragement
It seems to be a fact of life that
when I want to do what is right, I
inevitably do what is wrong.
Romans 7:21 NLT
Verse 22 says (but)
I love God’s law with all my
heart. (So I’m discouraged)

But there is another law at work within
me that is at war with my mind. This law
wins the fight and makes me a slave to
the sin that is still within me.
Romans 7:23 NLT
Causes Guilt and
Discouragement

Seventh COST of the Battle
7. Despair
Oh, what a miserable
person I am! Who
will free me from
this life that is
dominated by sin?
Romans 7:24 NLT

So you see how it is: In my mind
I really want to obey God’s
law, but because of my sinful
nature I am a slave to sin.
Romans 7:25 NLT

There isonly one
God and He is the
answer!

Watch this

Jesus is the
Answer!
He has made a
way out!
He will break
those chains!

But first you got to give it to him.
Give your whole heart to Christ
Click -
Lord I give
you my
heart
song

Part I – The Battle within
Part II – The CURE for the Battle

There is therefore nowno condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do
not walk according to the flesh, but
according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1 NKJV

TheHoly Spirit will power you from
the struggle in Romans 7 to freedom
in Romans 8!

For the POWER of the life-giving
Spirit has freed you through Christ
Jesus from the power of sin that
leads to death.Romans 8:2 NLT
The CURE for the Battle

What does that mean?

But if you’ll give
yourself fully to
Christ and
walk in the
Spirit, God will help
you Win the War
Within.

Jesus said “And I
will pray the
Father, and He will
give you another
HELPER, that He
may abide with
you forever;”
John 14:16 NKJV

49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just
as my Father promised. But stay here in the
city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you
with power from heaven.” -Luke 24:49 NLT

The CURE for the Battle
So I advise you to live
according to your
new life in the Holy
Spirit. Then you won't
be doing what your
sinful nature craves.
Galatians 5:16-25 NLT

“the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor
knows Him; but you know Him, for He
dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 14:17 NKJV

Acts 19:1-5…Paul traveled through the interior regions
until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he
found several believers.
2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
he asked them.“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even
heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.
And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from
sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the
one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his
hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they
spoke in other tongue and prophesied.

Acts 19:2- “Did you receive the Holy
Spirit when you believed?”