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00:00:00 Some years ago, 00:00:02 The Watchtower quoted a religion writer 00:00:05 who said: “We no longer see ourselves 00:00:08 “as ‘sinners’ in need of forgiveness. 00:00:11 “Maybe sin used to be a problem, 00:00:13 “but now we’ve outgrown that. 00:00:16 “So while the church has a solution for the problem of sin, 00:00:20 it’s a non-problem in the eyes of most Americans.” 00:00:25 Now, that statement was made about 25 years ago, 00:00:28 and today many more people around the world share that view. 00:00:34 What is sin? 00:00:35 How is it related to freedom? 00:00:38 And why is it still a problem even for us as Christians? 00:00:43 In his letter to the Romans, 00:00:45 the apostle Paul discusses the power of sin 00:00:48 and how we can control it. 00:00:51 The Bible says that all unrighteousness is sin, 00:00:55 and that includes anything that disturbs our relationship with Jehovah. 00:01:00 Paul explains at Romans 5:12 00:01:04 that “through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world 00:01:08 “and death through sin, 00:01:10 “and so death spread to all men 00:01:13 because they had all sinned.” 00:01:16 Then he adds in chapter 7: 00:01:18 “For I do not do the good that I wish, 00:01:22 but the bad that I do not wish is what I practice.” 00:01:27 And if we’re honest, all of us have to admit 00:01:30 that the same has been true for us. 00:01:33 Sin is not just what we do 00:01:37 or what we don’t do. 00:01:39 The Insight book explains 00:01:41 that it is also a “governing principle or force” 00:01:46 that operates inside of us. 00:01:49 And that’s a scary thought when you think about it. 00:01:52 Paul describes in his letter sin as a “law” 00:01:57 that is trying to control our actions. 00:02:00 He calls it a “king” that gives orders 00:02:04 in different ways to different persons at different times. 00:02:08 And these vivid analogies that Paul uses 00:02:12 are intended to help us understand just how powerful, 00:02:16 how relentless, inherited sin really is. 00:02:20 That power quickly became evident 00:02:23 after Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden. 00:02:26 In Genesis chapter 4, 00:02:28 when Jehovah accepted Abel’s sacrifice 00:02:32 but rejected Cain’s, 00:02:34 the Bible tells us that Cain became ‘very angry and dejected.’ 00:02:40 Now, Cain didn’t realize that the intense feelings he was experiencing 00:02:45 were not merely the natural human emotions he was created with. 00:02:52 It was the sin that he inherited from his parents 00:02:56 that was trying to control him. 00:02:58 So Jehovah immediately explained this to Cain. 00:03:01 He warned him of the potential consequences. 00:03:05 He said: “Sin is crouching at the door, [Cain], 00:03:09 “and its craving is to dominate you; 00:03:13 but will you get the mastery over it?” 00:03:17 Sadly, as we know, Cain did not listen to Jehovah 00:03:20 and he allowed that sin to get control, or mastery, over him. 00:03:26 And eventually he killed his own brother. 00:03:29 Jesus said at John 8:34 00:03:31 that “every doer of sin is a slave of sin.” 00:03:34 There’s no escaping that. 00:03:36 We don’t outgrow this problem of sin as we get older. 00:03:41 And we’re foolish to simply ignore it. 00:03:45 Sin is the worst kind of slavery 00:03:49 that humans have experienced. 00:03:51 Not only can it mislead us into doing what’s bad, 00:03:56 but it can also prevent us from doing what we know to be right 00:04:00 or from living up to what we know we’re capable of 00:04:05 in God’s sight. 00:04:08 That brings to our mind Paul’s painful admission 00:04:10 in Romans chapter 7. 00:04:13 You know it well. 00:04:14 But please turn in your Bibles with me there now, 00:04:17 and let’s read his familiar words together again there 00:04:20 in verses 21 through 24. 00:04:23 Who of us does not identify 00:04:26 with the daily struggle that Paul describes here? 00:04:29 Verse 21 says: 00:04:33 “I find, then, this law in my case: 00:04:37 “When I wish to do what is right, 00:04:39 “what is bad is present with me. 00:04:42 “I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, 00:04:47 “but I see in my body another law 00:04:51 “warring against the law of my mind 00:04:53 “and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my body. 00:04:58 “Miserable man that I am! 00:05:00 Who will rescue me from the body undergoing this death?” 00:05:06 Now, by the time that Paul wrote this letter, 00:05:08 he had been in the truth for over 20 years. 00:05:12 He served as “an apostle to the nations” for almost ten of those years, 00:05:17 and yet sin was still crouching at his door. 00:05:21 It was still trying to dominate him. 00:05:25 What weaknesses did Paul have to overcome? 00:05:29 Well, we don’t know for sure, 00:05:31 but he did write to Timothy once 00:05:33 that he had formerly been “an insolent man.” 00:05:38 And before his conversion, 00:05:40 he said he was extremely mad at the Christians 00:05:43 and persecuted them. 00:05:46 Obviously, Paul learned to control his temper after becoming a Christian, 00:05:51 but there were still times when he struggled to control his feelings 00:05:56 and his words. 00:05:58 On one occasion, the Bible says that “there was a sharp burst of anger” 00:06:02 between him and his close companion, Barnabas. 00:06:07 As Paul says, on our own, 00:06:10 we are helpless to control the sin inside of us, 00:06:14 and yet the situation is not hopeless. 00:06:19 Jesus promised that at John 8:36: 00:06:21 “If the Son sets you free, you will be truly free.” 00:06:26 Let’s keep reading in verse 25 of Romans chapter 7. 00:06:30 Paul concludes by saying: 00:06:34 “Thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! 00:06:38 “So, then, with my mind I myself am a slave to God’s law, 00:06:43 but with my flesh to sin’s law.” 00:06:47 Because he accepted Jehovah’s arrangement for salvation, 00:06:51 Paul was set free from slavery to ‘King Sin’ 00:06:54 and his sidekick ‘Death.’ 00:06:58 What a release that was for Paul! 00:07:01 You can almost hear the sigh of relief in those words. 00:07:07 Well, what sinful tendencies are you fighting right now, brothers and sisters? 00:07:11 Is it envy, like Cain or perhaps your temper, like Paul? 00:07:16 Or is there some other bad attitude or habit that you just can’t seem to kick? 00:07:21 Well, don’t be discouraged. 00:07:23 Like Paul, we all have our battle with sin. 00:07:28 The solution to the problem of sin is this: 00:07:32 Put faith in the ransom, 00:07:34 and do your best to “keep walking by spirit.” 00:07:39 The ransom makes it possible for us to serve Jehovah God with a clean conscience. 00:07:44 What a gift that is! 00:07:47 At Romans 8:2, Paul says: 00:07:49 “For the law of the spirit that gives life in union with Christ Jesus 00:07:54 has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” 00:07:59 What does it mean to walk in God’s spirit? 00:08:03 Well, it means making steady spiritual advancement. 00:08:06 It does not mean striving for spiritual perfection, 00:08:10 which is something we can’t do right now. 00:08:13 Day by day, to the best of our ability, 00:08:17 we try to walk, or live, our life 00:08:20 in accord with the leanings of God’s holy spirit. 00:08:24 Sin is real; it’s serious. 00:08:27 It’s not just a made-up concept 00:08:29 to keep our behavior in check. 00:08:32 And it includes anything that disturbs our relationship with God. 00:08:38 We all start out life as a slave of sin. 00:08:41 But with Jehovah’s help, 00:08:43 Paul says that we can get free from its control 00:08:46 and keep sin from gaining the upper hand. 00:08:50 It’s a real privilege, brothers and sisters, 00:08:52 to be serving alongside men and women like you 00:08:56 who are fighting that battle successfully every day. 00:09:02 Please keep up the fight. 00:09:04 If possible, keep doing it more fully. 00:09:06 We can do this. 00:09:08 Let’s do it together. 00:09:11 By the end of Christ’s Thousand Year Reign, 00:09:14 Jesus will vanquish ‘King Sin’ once and for all time. 00:09:18 What a joy that will be! 00:09:20 We will then enjoy what Romans 8:21 says 00:09:24 is “the glorious freedom of the [sons] of God.” 00:09:27 Imagine that we’ll never again have to ask Jehovah 00:09:30 for forgiveness of our sins. 00:09:33 We’ll be able to say to Jehovah every day like Jesus does: 00:09:37 “I always do the things pleasing to [you].” 00:09:42 What an incredible experience that will be! 00:09:46 I can’t wait. 00:09:48 That’s the way to true freedom.
00:00:00 Some years ago, 00:00:02 The Watchtower quoted a religion writer 00:00:05 who said: “We no longer see ourselves 00:00:08 “as ‘sinners’ in need of forgiveness. 00:00:11 “Maybe sin used to be a problem, 00:00:13 “but now we’ve outgrown that. 00:00:16 “So while the church has a solution for the problem of sin, 00:00:20 it’s a non-problem in the eyes of most Americans.” 00:00:25 Now, that statement was made about 25 years ago, 00:00:28 and today many more people around the world share that view. 00:00:34 What is sin? 00:00:35 How is it related to freedom? 00:00:38 And why is it still a problem even for us as Christians? 00:00:43 In his letter to the Romans, 00:00:45 the apostle Paul discusses the power of sin 00:00:48 and how we can control it. 00:00:51 The Bible says that all unrighteousness is sin, 00:00:55 and that includes anything that disturbs our relationship with Jehovah. 00:01:00 Paul explains at Romans 5:12 00:01:04 that “through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world 00:01:08 “and death through sin, 00:01:10 “and so death spread to all men 00:01:13 because they had all sinned.” 00:01:16 Then he adds in chapter 7: 00:01:18 “For I do not do the good that I wish, 00:01:22 but the bad that I do not wish is what I practice.” 00:01:27 And if we’re honest, all of us have to admit 00:01:30 that the same has been true for us. 00:01:33 Sin is not just what we do 00:01:37 or what we don’t do. 00:01:39 The Insight book explains 00:01:41 that it is also a “governing principle or force” 00:01:46 that operates inside of us. 00:01:49 And that’s a scary thought when you think about it. 00:01:52 Paul describes in his letter sin as a “law” 00:01:57 that is trying to control our actions. 00:02:00 He calls it a “king” that gives orders 00:02:04 in different ways to different persons at different times. 00:02:08 And these vivid analogies that Paul uses 00:02:12 are intended to help us understand just how powerful, 00:02:16 how relentless, inherited sin really is. 00:02:20 That power quickly became evident 00:02:23 after Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden. 00:02:26 In Genesis chapter 4, 00:02:28 when Jehovah accepted Abel’s sacrifice 00:02:32 but rejected Cain’s, 00:02:34 the Bible tells us that Cain became ‘very angry and dejected.’ 00:02:40 Now, Cain didn’t realize that the intense feelings he was experiencing 00:02:45 were not merely the natural human emotions he was created with. 00:02:52 It was the sin that he inherited from his parents 00:02:56 that was trying to control him. 00:02:58 So Jehovah immediately explained this to Cain. 00:03:01 He warned him of the potential consequences. 00:03:05 He said: “Sin is crouching at the door, [Cain], 00:03:09 “and its craving is to dominate you; 00:03:13 but will you get the mastery over it?” 00:03:17 Sadly, as we know, Cain did not listen to Jehovah 00:03:20 and he allowed that sin to get control, or mastery, over him. 00:03:26 And eventually he killed his own brother. 00:03:29 Jesus said at John 8:34 00:03:31 that “every doer of sin is a slave of sin.” 00:03:34 There’s no escaping that. 00:03:36 We don’t outgrow this problem of sin as we get older. 00:03:41 And we’re foolish to simply ignore it. 00:03:45 Sin is the worst kind of slavery 00:03:49 that humans have experienced. 00:03:51 Not only can it mislead us into doing what’s bad, 00:03:56 but it can also prevent us from doing what we know to be right 00:04:00 or from living up to what we know we’re capable of 00:04:05 in God’s sight. 00:04:08 That brings to our mind Paul’s painful admission 00:04:10 in Romans chapter 7. 00:04:13 You know it well. 00:04:14 But please turn in your Bibles with me there now, 00:04:17 and let’s read his familiar words together again there 00:04:20 in verses 21 through 24. 00:04:23 Who of us does not identify 00:04:26 with the daily struggle that Paul describes here? 00:04:29 Verse 21 says: 00:04:33 “I find, then, this law in my case: 00:04:37 “When I wish to do what is right, 00:04:39 “what is bad is present with me. 00:04:42 “I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, 00:04:47 “but I see in my body another law 00:04:51 “warring against the law of my mind 00:04:53 “and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my body. 00:04:58 “Miserable man that I am! 00:05:00 Who will rescue me from the body undergoing this death?” 00:05:06 Now, by the time that Paul wrote this letter, 00:05:08 he had been in the truth for over 20 years. 00:05:12 He served as “an apostle to the nations” for almost ten of those years, 00:05:17 and yet sin was still crouching at his door. 00:05:21 It was still trying to dominate him. 00:05:25 What weaknesses did Paul have to overcome? 00:05:29 Well, we don’t know for sure, 00:05:31 but he did write to Timothy once 00:05:33 that he had formerly been “an insolent man.” 00:05:38 And before his conversion, 00:05:40 he said he was extremely mad at the Christians 00:05:43 and persecuted them. 00:05:46 Obviously, Paul learned to control his temper after becoming a Christian, 00:05:51 but there were still times when he struggled to control his feelings 00:05:56 and his words. 00:05:58 On one occasion, the Bible says that “there was a sharp burst of anger” 00:06:02 between him and his close companion, Barnabas. 00:06:07 As Paul says, on our own, 00:06:10 we are helpless to control the sin inside of us, 00:06:14 and yet the situation is not hopeless. 00:06:19 Jesus promised that at John 8:36: 00:06:21 “If the Son sets you free, you will be truly free.” 00:06:26 Let’s keep reading in verse 25 of Romans chapter 7. 00:06:30 Paul concludes by saying: 00:06:34 “Thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! 00:06:38 “So, then, with my mind I myself am a slave to God’s law, 00:06:43 but with my flesh to sin’s law.” 00:06:47 Because he accepted Jehovah’s arrangement for salvation, 00:06:51 Paul was set free from slavery to ‘King Sin’ 00:06:54 and his sidekick ‘Death.’ 00:06:58 What a release that was for Paul! 00:07:01 You can almost hear the sigh of relief in those words. 00:07:07 Well, what sinful tendencies are you fighting right now, brothers and sisters? 00:07:11 Is it envy, like Cain or perhaps your temper, like Paul? 00:07:16 Or is there some other bad attitude or habit that you just can’t seem to kick? 00:07:21 Well, don’t be discouraged. 00:07:23 Like Paul, we all have our battle with sin. 00:07:28 The solution to the problem of sin is this: 00:07:32 Put faith in the ransom, 00:07:34 and do your best to “keep walking by spirit.” 00:07:39 The ransom makes it possible for us to serve Jehovah God with a clean conscience. 00:07:44 What a gift that is! 00:07:47 At Romans 8:2, Paul says: 00:07:49 “For the law of the spirit that gives life in union with Christ Jesus 00:07:54 has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” 00:07:59 What does it mean to walk in God’s spirit? 00:08:03 Well, it means making steady spiritual advancement. 00:08:06 It does not mean striving for spiritual perfection, 00:08:10 which is something we can’t do right now. 00:08:13 Day by day, to the best of our ability, 00:08:17 we try to walk, or live, our life 00:08:20 in accord with the leanings of God’s holy spirit. 00:08:24 Sin is real; it’s serious. 00:08:27 It’s not just a made-up concept 00:08:29 to keep our behavior in check. 00:08:32 And it includes anything that disturbs our relationship with God. 00:08:38 We all start out life as a slave of sin. 00:08:41 But with Jehovah’s help, 00:08:43 Paul says that we can get free from its control 00:08:46 and keep sin from gaining the upper hand. 00:08:50 It’s a real privilege, brothers and sisters, 00:08:52 to be serving alongside men and women like you 00:08:56 who are fighting that battle successfully every day. 00:09:02 Please keep up the fight. 00:09:04 If possible, keep doing it more fully. 00:09:06 We can do this. 00:09:08 Let’s do it together. 00:09:11 By the end of Christ’s Thousand Year Reign, 00:09:14 Jesus will vanquish ‘King Sin’ once and for all time. 00:09:18 What a joy that will be! 00:09:20 We will then enjoy what Romans 8:21 says 00:09:24 is “the glorious freedom of the [sons] of God.” 00:09:27 Imagine that we’ll never again have to ask Jehovah 00:09:30 for forgiveness of our sins. 00:09:33 We’ll be able to say to Jehovah every day like Jesus does: 00:09:37 “I always do the things pleasing to [you].” 00:09:42 What an incredible experience that will be! 00:09:46 I can’t wait. 00:09:48 That’s the way to true freedom.
