This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and Saint Stephen’s in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 5 July 2026. The Bible Readings were Romans 7:15-25a & Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit,
May You speak to my heart,
And change my life.
In the precious name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.  

Introduction

What is one of the most off-putting things you observe in another Christian? I’m sure there would be many different answers, this morning, but how many of you would say: someone who says one thing but behaves in a completely different way? This is a struggle that all of us as Christians have and Paul highlights this in Romans 7. It is the struggle between knowing what is right and doing what is right. For many of us it’s frustrating to observe and soul sapping to be the recipient of unchristian behaviour from other church members. I’m very aware that I’m not without guilt either.

I’ve taken many a Q&A session with children in schools over the years (both as a governor and in taking lessons) and whether they are in reception or upper school there were two questions that were guaranteed to be asked: 1) What do you like most about your job? I would often say: that’s easy – people. 2) What do you like least about your job? I would also say: that’s easy – people! Then I would have to explain to the younger ones how not everyone is their friend and – shock horror – it’s also true of clergy!

Spiritual Warfare

This struggle, this battle within, this conflict between good and evil that Paul talks about in Romans 7:15-25, is a form of spiritual warfare. It is like a game of tug-of-war, where Christians have an ongoing struggle with sin. Now sin isn’t a very PC word nowadays and the very mention of it can be quite an uncomfortable concept for many – but Jesus had no embarrassment in using it! Sin is a word used often in the Bible to describe people who are living lives without God at the centre. 

Does the battle against sin in your life seem never ending? Have you got a particular overwhelming sin that you try to fight, but then you come to say your prayers, and you’ve done it again.  And then you feel deflated because you’ve let the Lord down – again. And because you feel so bad about it, you may skip your prayers that day, because you feel you can’t engage with the Lord Jesus in prayer when you know you’ve let him down – again. And if that’s you, then what Paul is saying in these verses is that it’s normal. Christians have an ongoing struggle with sin because of the legacy we’ve inherited from Adam, we can’t do anything right.

In the early part of Romans 7:7-12, Paul was talking in the past tense about his pre-Christian experience. Now in vs15-20 he switches to the present tense to describe his current experience as a Christian (New Living Translation):

 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So, I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

The Law Demands Perfection

Like Paul, we have a constant struggle when it comes to doing the right thing. We know what is right, but when it comes to doing what is right, we often fail, and the harder we try, the more likely we are to fail. In his eyes, Paul failed to do any good because he could not completely comply with God’s Old Testament law – which demanded perfection. Whilst the law does not save us from sin, it does show us the character of the giver of the law – God himself. The problem with the law is that is reveals human weakness when compared to the law’s perfect standard.

The Pharisees, as experts in the law, tried to compensate for this by coming up with a list of 613 ‘do’s and don’ts.’ These are known as the 613 Mitzvot’s (Commandments): 248 Positive (Do’s or Mitzvot Asei) corresponding to the number of bones in the human body and 365 Negative (Don’ts or Mitzvot Lo Ta’aseh) corresponding to the days in a year.

Whilst the Pharisees enforced these, they only reinforced the point that we can’t completely fulfil the law without God’s help. What is impossible for us to solve on our own has been solved by God’s grace. Jesus has freed us from the damage caused by this inner war. If we genuinely seek to do God’s work in our world, we become better people of faith.

As a Christian, Paul knows that the law is good. The law exposed his sin and led him to the saviour. The law helped him to become a Christian. So, the law was good because of what it achieved. But the law’s also good because it reflects the perfect moral character of the lawgiver. It shows him how to live to please God. And so, like the Psalmist in Psalm 1, Paul delights in God’s law. He reflects on it day and night and longs to obey it more fully. He knows the good he should be doing in his life. 

Addicted To Our Sinful Lives

Paul’s situation is similar to that of an addict who quits ‘cold turkey.’ More often than not an addict relapses and starts using drugs/drink again because the problems that encouraged the addict to start using drugs/drink in the first instance are still present. Paul was ‘addicted’ to his past, sinful life, and we as Christians can become ‘addicted’ to our past sinful lives, too. Only Jesus can set us free from our ‘cravings of the flesh’ (Galatians 5:16-17).

Paul knows where he wants to be heading, but he’s a bit like a supermarket trolley. You know, you’re picking up speed down the aisle and suddenly the trolley veers off to one side as if it’s got a mind of its own.  And Paul’s saying it’s the same in the Christian life; we increasingly know where we should be heading, but we we’re constantly veering off one way or the other. American Christian singer Keith Green, in his song based on Romans VII (see video below) writes:

Lord, how I know Your tender heart must be broken
By all those unkept promises I made
The question still prevails
Please take away the veil
About how You forgive
And still You live inside me when I fail

Take My Yoke Upon You

Jesus doesn’t want us to spend our lives being weighed down by the cravings of the flesh, which is why he gives us that wonderful invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV): Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

The yoke is a crossbar that is used to harness the strength of a pair of oxen. The yoke makes the task easy and the burden light. This is what gives Jesus’ invitation to the weary and heavy laden its peculiar and powerful comfort. It is precisely in his standing alongside the ungodly, the gluttons and drunkards, the outcasts and sinners, precisely in his bearing their condemnation, that the Son chooses to reveal the Father’s very heart, to offer the easy yoke and the light burden. Jesus wants us to fulfil his purposes for our lives.

Rest For The Weary

Maybe you’re feeling weary; weary fighting against the same old sins and weaknesses in your life; maybe you’re worn down by the sins of others – and even other Christians who say and teach one thing and live a different way; maybe you’re tired of battling with difficult people; maybe you even feel like you’re going backwards in your Christian life; or maybe you’re feeling so tired and worn down you’re thinking about giving up; you just haven’t got the strength anymore. 

If you’re sitting there thinking Yep, that’s me, then be encouraged. It happened to Paul; it happens to me; it happens to all Christians. It is normal! Christians will always have an ongoing struggle with sin; both their own sin, the sins of others and the general consequences of living in a sinful world. We will live with these problems until we reach heaven.  But we can’t use that as an excuse for bad behaviour. Being a Christian requires submission to God’s will in our thoughts, words and deeds in such a way that allows kindness and compassion and grace to show through.  

Conclusion

Our daily decisions, the choices we make, no matter how small, impact our lives and the lives of others. All of our decisions matter because we are called to restore that which is broken. Just as the Lord did for us – he restores our soul, as David says in Psalm 23.

The world needs to see the Jesus who has made a difference in our lives. And by the grace of God, we show this through our integrity, words, actions and changed lives.

And as the collect for today reminded us: … hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon (except where stated) is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.