Lose the Weight - 3
Of Worthlessness
January 21, 2007
Pastor Paul W Newell

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“I Can’t Say ‘No’...”
Apostle Paul: Romans 7 & 8

Playwright Oscar Wilde probably said it best when he wrote “I can resist anything but temptation.”

When it comes to losing weight, by biggest temptation is temptation!

We’re starting off the New Year trying to take off some weight. That’s a pretty common goal for a lot of people after the holidays, and a good project for most of us! I’ve been working on a little weight loss myself.

However, the weight that we’re talking about doesn’t necessarily add pounds to your physique, it’s the weight that holds us back, the stuff weighing us down as we try to take the next steps with God this year.

The author of Hebrews said it this way, “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 

Already we’ve dealt with the weight of our past and the weight of our worthlessness – this morning I want to take on what I feel is the heaviest weight of them all – temptation. Well, maybe no so much temptation as indulgence.

Temptation is not a sin, any more than that extra dessert in the refrigerator is a sin. It’s what we do with the temptation that makes it a sin. 

There are things that are sinful, but that doesn’t mean that indulge in those things. Just because I drive past a so-called Gentleman’s Club - which all of us would agree is sinful – does not mean that I’ve sinned. I drove past. Just because I see something I might want (that doesn’t belong to me) doesn’t mean that I have sinned – I saw it. I might have been tempted to take it, but temptation in itself is not sinning.

Indulging in the temptation is what becomes sin. Indulging in sinful things is sin, not being tempted.

We’ll never get to the point where we are not tempted. Temptation is a part of this life. It’s what we do with the temptations that become the problem.
Temptations are the detour signs on in the race of life, but we don’t have to take the detours.

But it’s way too easy to take the detours, isn’t it? That’s what the Apostle Paul was complaining about in Romans chapter seven. I bet you didn’t know that there are complaints in the Bible. Listen to this one:

“I know I am rotten through 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. When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. 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 7:14-20

Let me see if I get that right...

The things I know I should be doing – I can’t seem to make myself do them. The things thing I know I shouldn’t be doing, I keep catching myself doing them. I feel rotten inside and out! I can’t seem to stop! I can resist anything but temptation!

Man, if there are any truer words in the Bible, I can’t find them. That’s how I feel far too often. I don’t want to give into temptation – but by sinful nature, the “bad me” inside there just won’t give up!

OK...that’s the rough part. That’s the bad part. We’re here this morning to take off the weight, not add on more pounds of guilt. And even though that passage seems pretty hopeless, the reality is that it’s just setting the stage for something very hopeful!

It’s sort of like saying – we have to admit we’re fat if we’re going to deal with the weight! We have to admit there is a problem if we’re going to deal with it and lose it!

So that’s where the Apostle Paul begins in Romans chapter seven, but then very quickly he gets us to chapter eight and the good news! 
After what seems like a pretty condemning statement, Paul makes a radical turn in the eighth chapter of Romans:

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the powerful sin that leads to death.” Romans 8:1-2

Wow! Did you get that? Though we may feel pretty condemned and guilty – and very frustrated because of our indulgence – the Bible tells us we are no longer condemned if we belong to Jesus Christ.

If we have given ourselves to Him, accepted His forgiveness and made Him the Lord of our lives – we no longer condemned!Notice that the word there is not “FORGIVEN” the word is “CONDEMNED”.  We are NOT CONDEMNED.

To condemn someone means to find them guilty and to sentence them. We saw this recently with Saddam Hussein. He was tried and found guilty of murdering hundreds of men and boys. Then he was sentenced to death. He was condemned to die. For as long as he waits...he will be condemned to death. Hanging is hanging over his head...he’s condemned.

We, on the other hand, are no longer condemned because of all those things we do that we shouldn’t be doing or for all those things we should be doing that we don’t. We’re no longer condemned because Jesus took the death penalty for our sins. (See Romans 6:23)

But there is another point to be made here...the condemnation the Apostle Paul is referring to here is not just spiritual death, it’s the condemnation to the pull of temptation.

I think we would all agree that it feels at times like we are condemned to temptation. It’s as if there is a weight of temptation dragging on us all the time. A weight that we can’t be freed from.

It reminds me of the picture that Charles Dickens writes in A Christmas Carl of the Ghost of Jacob Marley, (see picture) Ebenezer Scrooge’s former business partner. Marley was condemned to drag around chains for all eternity. That’s how we often feel about temptation.
But the verses we just read tell us that if we belong to Jesus Christ we’re no longer condemned because the POWER of God’s SPIRIT inside us frees us from the POWER of sin!

We see an illustration of this all the time at the airport. There on the tarmac sits a huge jet filled with people. It weighs thousands of tons. The law or power of gravity keeps that jet on the ground. It’s not going anywhere. But then, something amazing happens: the jet starts moving and another power, the law of aerodynamics, takes over and the plane overcomes gravity and flies!

One power overcomes another power.

That’s exactly what these two verses are talking about.

Sure, there is a power that’s pulling on us – it’s called sin and temptation. But, listen carefully, there is another power that is stronger than sin and temptation and that power is called GOD – God’s Holy Spirit living inside you! Look at the next verses:

The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature... (vs.3a)

All the Old Testament law did was make us realize we were sinners. To keep the LAW meant that you had to be 100% perfect. We all realize that ain’t gonna happen!  Our sinful nature keeps us from being sinless.

“...But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.” (Romans 8:3-4)

There’s a lot in there! But the sum of it all is that God has a different plan, a different law, a different power – and that is the law of forgiveness, and the law of His Spirit inside us.

So the Apostle Paul gives us in this passage God’s plan for getting rid of the “I can’t say ‘no’” weight. The Bible is this short passage gives us the surefire method for losing the weight of indulgence to temptation.

You ready for it?

OK...let’s review quickly and move on to the plan...

If we try to do it ourselves (deal with temptation) we will eventually fail. (Romans 7:18-20)

We don’t have to live condemned – sentences – to keep giving in to temptation. (Romans 8:1)

Now here is the three part plan to lose the weight of temptation:

First, REALIZE THAT IT’S SIMPLE, BUT IT’S NOT EASY!

Every physical plan I know for losing weight has the same two components: less energy in – more energy out. That’s pretty simple isn’t it? Use more energy that you eat and you will lose weight.

The spiritual method of overcoming temptation is pretty simple: live by the power of the live-giving Spirit of God and not by the power of sin. That’s pretty simple isn’t it? Live God’s way and don’t sin.

The LAW is pretty simple – it’s just not easy.

But here’s the great part: It’s the law! It’s a law that supersedes all other laws. Just like the law of aerodynamics always supersedes the law of gravity – the law of the Spirit always supersedes the law of sin. When you live by the Law of the Spirit you can overcome the law of temptation and sin!

That’s part one...here’s part two:

Second, FILL THE FRIDGE.

Fill the fridge. Look at verse five of Romans chapter eight:

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” Romans 8:5

Here is an amazing truth: you are what you eat!

Remember the story of the old Indian chief with two dogs? It seems the two dogs were always outside the tepee fighting. They fought every day. One day a tourist came by and started watching the fight between the two animals. It seems like the fight went on forever. Finally, the tourist asked the chief, “Which one usually wins?” To which the chief replied, “The one I feed the most.”

That makes a lot of sense! The one that wins is the one we feed the most. Verse eight tells us that same thing. People who are controlled by their sinful nature are always feeding their sinful nature.

Do you have a problem with looking at the wrong things? What are you feeding your eyes?

Do you have a problem listening to the wrong things? What are you feeding your ears?

How about your tongue? Do you have a problem saying the wrong things? What thoughts are you feeding your mouth?

I could go on, but the reality is we are what we eat, physically and spiritually. This is why the media is so bad for most of us. We’ve become accustomed to accepted bad stuff.

I was at one of my favorite restaurants, Chipotle, last month waiting in line to get a burrito. You know how the assembly line works? Well, right before I was to order they assembly team was putting together another order and one of the team kept making a burrito wrong. She kept adding an ingredient that the person didn’t want. Finally, she folded up the partially made burrito and threw it into the trash. I remember looking at her and thinking, wait, don’t throw that in the trash, it’s still good! She must have seen the look on my face, because with a smirk on her face she asked me if I wanted it, she would be happy to get it for me. Considering where it was by then, I turned down her offer!

That’s what we do all the time. We sort of try to pick out the good stuff from the trashy section of this world. As a result we often feed ourselves sinful things and then wonder why we deal with so many temptations.

When I’m on a diet I try to fill my refrigerator with healthy, low fat stuff. When I’m hungry I go to the refrigerator and look inside. If there are cookies, desserts, creams and other fatting foods in there – I usually gravitate to those. But when I’m really serious about by diet, I get rid of the temptation and replace it with good, healthy stuff. I fill my fridge with good stuff, not bad.

That’s the point of part two: fill your spiritual refrigerator with Godly stuff. Read good books. Take time every day to eat from God’s Word, the Bible. Listen to good music. Watch good TV. Browse around godly areas of the internet.

If you fill yourself with the good stuff, there won’t be much room for the other stuff.

I know that’s not easy in the world we live in – but it’s simple and it’s doable – and it’s reasonable!

Realize that it’s simply the LAW. God’s power is all you need to lose the weight of temptation.

Then fill your spiritual refrigerator with things you know will please God. Eat the good stuff.

Finally, third, learn the principle of DIE-it and LIVE-it.

Some idiot (forgive me) told me once that they didn’t believe in “diets”, they believed in “live-its”. In other words, they didn’t want to think about dying, they wanted to think about living.

Now doesn’t that just sound cute? Na...na...na...

Nope, I don’t buy-it about the die-it!

There are some things I need to die-it. Look at verses 9-10 of chapter eight.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.)

Since Christ lives in you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.  Romans 8:9-10

There are some things that need to die. Your sinful body needs to die. Someday it will. But, your spirit won’t die. Your spirit will live forever. As far as God is concerned your old sinful nature that is trapped inside your physical body is as good as dead. It’s going to die. Your spirit that God made alive when you accepted Him will live on forever with Him. Elsewhere in the Bible it even teaches us that we’re going to get a new body to go with our spirit! That body won’t have to deal with anything sinful!

Here’s how Romans chapter six explains it:

“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” Romans 6:12-14

“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” Galatians 5:25

I need to “die-it” when it comes to my sinful nature and the temptations that are trying to weigh me down,

And I need to “live-it” when it comes to following the Spirit’s leading in every part of my life.

We can lose the weight of temptation. We don’t have to give in and indulge the temptation.

The tragedy is that most of the time I feel worse after indulging the temptation that I would have if I had not. Giving into our sinful nature always hurts – it never helps. But giving into the Spirit – living by God’s plan and purpose – His law for us – always makes us feel better!

Lose the weight! It’s simple and it’s incredibly rewarding.

So here are a couple of “weight-loss” tips when it comes to losing the weight of temptation:

#1. Constantly eat good food. Don’t starve yourself.

Make sure that you are feeding yourself with God’s good stuff.

One great way is to make a few cue-cards. Write down a couple of verses on the index cards you’ve been provided in your Discovery Pack. Then, throughout the day, take one or more of them out and feed on them for a couple of minutes. Every time you have a minute or two – focus on those verses. Think about them. Savor them.

Remember most temptation comes when you’re hungry.

#2. Get ready for the cravings. In other words, if you know there are some things or some times when you are typically tempted – have something ready to do during those times. Fill those times with something that would please God. Fill the fridge.

Reference Material for this message gleaned from Tony Evans, No More Excuses, Crossway (1996)