Sermon: "Oh, What A Wretched Man I Am"
To begin this morning I am going to give you a definition of a word and I want you to tell me the word. Here is the definition:
Very unhappy, miserable, depressed, despicable -- The answer is … WRETCHED.
That is not a word we hear or use very often today. Probably the only time we use any form of this word is when we sing “Amazing Grace.” The first verse says …
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a WRETCH like me,
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
John Newton, who wrote this song, was confessing that once he was a very unhappy and miserable person. He was blind to the truths of God. He had no peace or joy. He felt like, and knew, he was a wretch. That is, he was a miserable, depressed, unhappy person, and yes, a despicable person.
In our scripture lesson for this morning the Apostle Paul makes that same confession. Listen to what he wrote …
ROMANS 7:24 – What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
The difference between John Newton’s confession and Paul’s confession is that John Newton made his as an unbeliever, while Paul made his as a believer. John Newton was a sea captain hauling slaves across the Atlantic Ocean. Paul was a believer struggling with trying to overcome the power of sin in his life. Listen to a little of Paul’s struggle.
ROMANS 7:15-24 -- 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thankfully, both John Newton and the Apostle Paul found deliverance. John Newton wrote of God’s grace and Paul wrote …
ROMANS 7:25 – Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
This morning to help us prepare our hearts to receive communion, which is a time when we remember what Jesus did for us so that we don’t have to live wretched lives, we are going to take a closer look at Paul’s cry of, “What a wretched man I am.”
You can overcome being wretched (miserable, unhappy) by learning how to defeat the power of sin as Paul did.
Let’s begin by looking at …
I. PAUL’S CRY OF “WHAT A WRETCHED MAN I AM!”
The first thing we see concerning these words is that …
A. THEY ARE THE WORDS OF A BELIEVER
Paul knew that he or any believer did not have to be a slave to sin. Listen to some of what he wrote about this earlier in the book of Romans.
ROMANS 6:6 – For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
ROMANS 6:12 – Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
ROMANS 6:14 – For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Yet knowing these great truths Paul still confessed that sometimes he didn’t do what he knew he should do and sometimes did things that he knew he shouldn’t do.
If you are here this morning as a believer in Jesus I’m sure you can identify with Paul. I know I can.
The next thing we see concerning the words, “What a wretched man I am,” is that ….
B. THEY ARE THE WORDS OF A DEFEATED (CONTRITE, HUMBLED) BELIEVER
Many of us as believers think that receiving Jesus as our Lord, and thus, being given a new will or desire is enough to make us successful Christians. We believe if we determine to be obedient and try hard enough we should be able to overcome our old sinful desires … but listen to Paul’s confession.
ROMANS 7:18b – For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Why should a Child of God, a believer in Jesus, who desires to do what is right have to say, “I cannot carry it out.”
If you look at this entire passage, verses 7-24, you notice two things:
First – You will find no mention of the Holy Spirit. It is a believer struggling to be obedient in his own strength.
Second – You find the three little words “I”, “me” and “my” used more than forty times.
No Holy Spirit and a lot of self. For a Christian that is a formula for failure.
Do you see that God allows us as believers to fail so that we come to understand how weak we are? Even as believers we need to be humbled. When we reach this point as a believer we are then able to allow God’s Spirit to empower, guide and control us.
But there is still more in those words, “What a wretched man I am.”
C. THEY ARE THE WORDS OF A PERSON WHO IS MISERABLE
Paul is miserable because he knows he is not obeying God. Too many believers know nothing of being wretched. They become comfortable in their sin. What a blessing it would be if all Christians who go on sinning and sinning would come to be this miserable.
When we speak unkind words again and again … When we lose our temper day after day … Whenever we continue to do what is displeasing to God over and over -- might we feel so weak and defeated, so unworthy, so disgusted with ourselves that we cry out, “What a wretched person I am.”
The last thing we see in these words is that …
D. THEY ARE WORDS OF A MAN ON THE ROAD TO VICTORY
The Christian who has really tried to be obedient, who loves God’s word and who has felt totally miserable over his failures, is a Christian who is on the brink of overcoming the power of sin. That’s where Paul was as he cried out, “What a wretched man I am.”
Listen again to his cry and his discovery …
ROMANS 7:24-25 – 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Jesus not only died for us, He also sent his Holy Spirit to live in us. When we receive Jesus as our Lord we do receive new desires. We want to live to please God. This desire is a permanent part of our new nature. However, the power to live out these new desires comes only from the Holy Spirit. The desire to overcome sin is a permanent part of our new nature, but the power to live out that desire must day by day, yes, moment by moment, be received from Jesus’ Spirit who lives within us. It is the Christian who is aware of his own weakness, and who learns that by constantly yielding to the control of God’s indwelling Spirit he can defeat the power of sin in his life who will be victorious.
That brings us to a very serious and sobering question.
II. WHAT IS YOUR HEART CRYING OUT
A. PERHAPS YOUR HEART IS SILENT
If so, that means you probably fall into one of the two following categories.
1. You may be an unbeliever who is happy
Sometimes as Christians we think that all unbelievers are unhappy because they have no peace with God or hope for the future. But that is far from reality. Many unbelievers live very happy lives. Some have great marriages and good families. Some are very active in helping community organizations. Yes, some are even involved in churches. And though it is not based on truth, many have a hope that they and their loved ones will spend eternity in heaven.
Many unbelievers do not feel wretched as John Newton did, and therefore, they do not experience the amazing grace he experienced by receiving Jesus as his Lord. Here is how the Apostle Paul described such people.
II CORINTHIANS 4:4 – The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
So if your heart is silent this morning, it may be because you are not a Christian and are content with your life. Satan may, indeed, have hidden the truth from you.
Your heart may also be silent this morning because …
2. You are a worldly (carnal) Christian
God’s people have always struggled with turning away from him or having their hearts become cold. I know that I have struggled with this many times in my life. We also know that some of the early Christians had these same struggles. Listen to what Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Corinth.
I CORINTHIANS 3:1-3 – 1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
As believers, when we get caught up in the things of this world, and they may be good things, we lose our first love, our zeal, our hunger for spiritual truths, and therefore, become numb to the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. When this happens our hearts become silent. We do not feel like praising God and we become so accustomed to the ways and things of this world that we do not feel like a wretch. We may come to church and even volunteer to do some things, but we have no passion in either our worship or service. We just go through the motions.
When we find our hearts in this condition we need to make some changes in our lives and we need to ask God to help us see just how wretched we have become … to see how much we really need him … to renew in our hearts that desire to serve and please him.
It is a terrible thing when there is no cry coming from your heart.
But maybe you are here this morning and …
B. THE CRY OF YOUR HEART IS … “WHAT A WRETCHED PERSON I AM”
If that is the case, you could be on the road to freedom. You may be like John Newton and …
1. Your cry may be as an unbeliever
If that is the case, you need to do as John Newton did and receive God’s amazing grace by believing in Jesus. Listen to what the Bible has to say about salvation, grace and Jesus.
EPHESIANS 2:4-6 – 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
ROMANS 10:9-11 -- 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
If you will receive God’s amazing grace by believing in Jesus you will be able to say, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind (to the truth), but now I see.”
But some of you here this morning are like the Apostle Paul, you do believe in Jesus, but you are miserable because sin still rules your life so …
2. Your cry may be as a believer
If that describes you, you need to follow Paul’s example and stop trying to be a Christian in your own strength. Instead you need to allow the Comforter, the Counselor, the Teacher that Jesus sent to live in you, to give you the strength and desire you need to defeat the power of sin. Listen to what Paul wrote about this.
ROMANS 8:1-6 – 1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
In 1996 Tyndale House Publishers came out with a new translation of the Bible called “New Living Translation.”
I don’t normally use it when I preach because I doubt if it is ever going to become as popular as either the King James or N.I.V. translations, but it is a good study aid. This morning I would like to read that same passage from Romans to you from the New Living Translation. Listen to it closely and soak up the truth it contains.
ROMANS 8:1-6 -- 1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5Those 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. 6So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
Paul learned to yield control of his life to the Holy Spirit. That’s why he could write …
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 – I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Who gave Paul strength? Jesus, through his Indwelling Holy Spirit.
If you are a believer in Jesus, but are miserable because you have not been able to defeat the power of sin in your life, listen closely to Paul’s entire statement.
ROMANS 7:24-25 – 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Our victory over sin comes through Jesus, our Lord, who gives us his Spirit. You do not have to allow sin to control your life as a believer and make you wretched. Day by day, moment by moment, yield control of your mind to God’s Spirit. Listen again to God’s promise to you if you will do that.
ROMANS 8:6b – But the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.