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Craig Christina in his excellent sermon, "Between Two Worlds," reminds us of Robert Lewis Stevenson's tale, The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. The good Dr. Jekyll embarks on a journey of split personality and twisted fate when he invents a concoction that transforms him into the villainous Edward Hyde. As Mr. Hyde, he delves into every sort of undignified pleasure and selfish whim. But when the drug wears off, he reappears as the model citizen, Dr. Jekyll.

However, Hyde's fun and games turn to tragedy when he murders another man. As a result, Dr. Jekyll is forced to choose between the two personalities. Preferring the good nature of his normal self, Jekyll swears never again to drink the formula that calls forth Mr. Hyde. But on a clear January morning while sitting on a park bench, the good doctor's intentions go astray, and he uncontrollably reverts to the detestable Mr. Hyde. Despite his desire to remain pure, the depravity within his soul was unleashed, never to be tamed again.1

Most Christians are not complete strangers to that kind of struggle. Have you ever felt that war within you? You want to do one thing but yet do not. You desire to be one kind of person but find yourself acting out the role of another. You want to love the Lord with all your heart but yet you stumble into sin. Paul did! In our text he blatantly confesses: "I do not understand myself! What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I find myself doing ... I know that nothing good lives in me, that is my sinful nature. I have the desire to do good, but I cannot do it. For what I want to do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing ... What a wretched man I am!" (Romans 7:15, 18--19, 24a, paraphrase). Ever felt that way? I do not know about you, but I resemble that remark!

I bite my fingernails! I know I should not. Biting your nails makes your hands ugly and even produces ridges in your teeth, to say nothing about shaking hands with a lot of people, even visiting the hospital, and then popping your fingers into your mouth! Yuk! I know I should quit. I have been trying to quit since I was knee high. To quit biting my nails is easy, for I have done it hundreds of times. I should quit for good. I know!

I want to be a better driver. But sometimes I crawl in behind the wheel and become another person. Someone cuts in front of me or gets behind me blowing their horn and it is as if I have swallowed a concoction to become a creature I find hard to recognize. I am not going to tell you how I reacted recently when a truck driver literally screamed at me, "Get out of the way, old man!" I want to be a better driver. I should be. I know.

I know that I should stop procrastinating. If you had called me at 11:30 last evening, you would have found me working on this sermon. I know that the Holy Spirit can work on Monday just as well as on Saturday night. I know that I should study more earlier in the week. I always intend to study earlier, but I keep putting it off. I know I should not procrastinate about quitting procrastination. I know.

Sometimes I do not understand myself, but, at least I am in good company. Paul did not understand himself either.

Not only do I not understand myself, but also I join the many scholars who do not completely understand our text. It is a much discussed and rather disputed passage. Some scholars contend that Paul is describing his struggle with sin before he became a Christian - a struggle that was not continued after his experience with Christ. Is that true? Is it valid to say that after receiving Christ that we can just get better and better and evolve into a perfection void of any kind of struggle with sin? I have seen some who seem to think that they are above sin. But these individuals are sometimes arrogant, filled with pride, and act in a condescending way toward others. They often major on minors and live lives characterized by the petty and insignificant. None of us seem to be immune to this temptation, not even the great ones.

John Bunyan, author of the classic, Pilgrim's Progress, also penned his autobiography, Grace Abounding To The Chief Of Sinners. As a young man he underwent a moral conversion and gave up three of the worldly pleasures he most enjoyed: oath--swearing, Maypole dancing, and church bell ringing.2 Wow! What a sacrifice! Is this majoring on minors or on reflection of his time? Either way his "sacrifice" did not produce the satisfaction he desired.

Philip Yancy reports in What's So Amazing About Grace? that in the churches where he was reared there was a heavy emphasis upon the length of one's hair or skirt or whether or not women should wear jewelry. Never was heard a word about racism, world hunger, or the plight of the poor and homeless. Is our vision sometimes focused too narrowly upon the petty and insignificant so that we miss the larger issues?

Recall the Old Testament story of Noah and Ham? Noah committed the sin of weakness when he got drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. His son Ham saw his father's nakedness and gossiped about his father's embarrassment. Ham, in his pride, was punished and Noah was not. Is there an indication here that the sin of pride is greater than the sin of weakness? Were not Jesus' most harsh words reserved for the pride--filled religious legalists while he ate gladly with the prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners?

I do not think Paul is talking about his struggle with sin before his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. Granted, Paul's argument in the preceding chapters of Romans has been that we are baptized in Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. We are dead to sin, have a power greater than sin, and can win the victory over sin. However, we should look closely at the tenses of the verbs used in the chapter. In the first part of the chapter (7:1--13), the past tense dominates. In the latter part of the chapter (7:14--24), the present tense is dominant. In our text, the moral struggle is envisioned as a present reality, an ongoing encounter with one's preference and practice. Paul is not only talking about his life before Christ, but also there are real dangers inherent in thinking we eliminate the struggle with sin when we encounter Christ. Pride, pettiness, and provincialism are only the beginning of these perils.

Paul is describing here his ongoing personal and agonizing struggle with sin. Let us not apologize for Paul but take him at his word. I know personally that the demons did not run and hide when I became a Christian. The tempter never said, "Well, we lost him. Leave Gary alone!" If anything, temptation became more intense. Our coming to Christ does not put an end to the dividedness and struggles within ourselves. If anything, it rather exposes the full depth of division. It highlights more clearly the vast expanse between the height of our ambition and the depth of our attainment. We may not fully understand ourselves but the lines are drawn more clearly in the constant war within us.

Some might look at verses 22 and 23 of our text and contend that this internal war should be averted because we know better. "You have accepted Christ and you know the law. You should know better." They are right! We do know better. But the problem is not a lack of knowledge. Say to someone, "You should not take that alcoholic drink. You cannot handle it. Look at what it is doing to your relationships, your job, your liver," and they will respond, as they reach for another drink, "I know. I know!"

Scold another, "You bought another new suit? Don't you realize what this compulsive spending is doing to your budget, your credit?" And they will say, as they peruse the latest sale paper, "I know. I know."

Chide another, "What are you doing with that cigarette? You can't breath now for the pain of emphysema. Don't you know what that is doing to your lungs?" And they return as they pack the tobacco more tightly on their Zippo, "I know. I know!"

We know. The problem is that we do not do what we know to do. The problem is not a lack of knowledge. Most of us already know to do better than we are doing. Then what is the answer? Sink into despair and give up? Some do exactly that.

I had been serving my seminary church just a few short months when he came to our little community to live. He was a twin brother of one of the finest deacons I had. His life had been a tragedy and utter waste. He was very ill and dying. He had been in prison for killing his wife in a crime of passion. His brother asked me to go by and see him. I went by and he was most cordial. He lived in a little room in the back of his brother's house. It was almost like another prison cell. I talked to him and tried to tell him of the love and forgiveness of God. I spoke to him of the mercy and grace sufficient and that God would help him in whatever time he had left. I will never forget what he said. He said, "Preacher, I appreciate your coming by, and I guess the things you are saying are true, but for me, it is too late. I'm glad you stopped by, but for me, it's too late." Two weeks later I conducted his funeral service with little more to say than that he was in the hands of a merciful God.

Some may give up. But Paul certainly had not! Paul's struggle itself was a sure sign that he had not sunk into despair and in many ways was a sign of spiritual health. Paul simply realized that to err is human. It is an integral part of our existence before and after we become a Christian. "For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but 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" (Romans 7:22--23 NIV). Paul realized that he did not need more knowledge, a superior mind, a disciplined body, a different law, a lack of temptation, or to withdraw from society. Paul realized that what he needed was God! Paul admitted that he could not find victory in this inner turmoil through his own devices or strength. He needed the power of God. Thus, began his confession.

To err is human! To deal with this dilemma we must begin with confession. Years ago, a British daily newspaper offered a prize for the best essay answering the question, "What is wrong with the world?" The winning essay in its entirety was: "Dear Sir: I am!" It was signed by G. K. Chesterton.3 In the Bible the word "confess" literally means "to say the same." To confess we must say the same about our sin as does God. It means to look at ourselves honestly and blatantly face our sin. It means to say, "I am wrong!" I am the source of the problem, not the church, not the government, not society, not my upbringing, not my environment, not my parents! Me! I am what is wrong - my choices, my attitude, my thinking, my views! To confess means to face ourselves honestly.

To confess means that we cease comparing ourselves favorably with others. In my junior year in high school I knew in advance that I was going to get a bad grade in physics. I tried to prepare my parents for the predicament. "Ole Pebble is going to fail physics this six weeks." I would laugh half--heartedly. "Believe ole Peb is not going to make it." When the report cards were sent home, I tried to preface my presentation, "Ole Peb did fail physics this six weeks." "What grades did you make?" came my father's reply. "Oh, I got a D. Did you know that Pebble failed physics?" I squirmed. My father replied, "Did anyone get an A?" We can always find someone with whom we can compare ourselves favorably. The truth is there always will be those who have more and have less, make better grades or worse, and are better looking or worse than we are. But what does that have to do with us, really? I am not responsible for them. I am responsible for me. To confess means that we admit that we alone are responsible.

To confess means that we accept responsibility for our own actions and quit trying to buy off God with our good deeds. "Let me bargain with you, God? If you will only do this, I will go to church every Sunday, read my Bible, and visit the widow down the street." The best attendance our church has enjoyed in the past decade was during the Gulf War. "God, if you will, I will...."

To confess means that we accept responsibility for our own actions and quit blaming others! We often play the psychological game of "If it weren't for you!" If it weren't for you I could have, would have, and so on. She is what is wrong with me! He is what is wrong with me! I sneak cookies and go off my diet because my mother would not let me eat sweets. I don't go to church because my parents took me to church every time the door was open. I am an angry driver because people cut in front of me. I have lung cancer because the tobacco company did not label their cigarettes properly.

Have you heard about the "Twinkie Murderer"? This was a fellow who made an assassination attempt on the life of a famous entertainer. He said that he did so because of the high sugar level in the convenience food - Twinkies - that he was eating at the time.

To confess our sins correctly means that we quit comparing ourselves favorably with others, or quit trying to buy God off, or quit blaming someone or something else, and say the same about our sin as God does. That will happen when and only when we make up our minds to do so.

Do you remember the classic Peanuts cartoon in which Lucy is down and out, feeling despondent, in her usual foul mood? "I feel terrible!" she says. Linus says, "Well, if you would only do ..." "I am not going to do that!" she snaps. "If you only would ..." he would respond. "I'm not going to do that either," she retorts. Linus responds with exasperation, "How in the world do you expect to feet better if you don't so something?" She blares, "You don't understand. I don't want to feel better!" Sometimes we would rather wallow in our self--pity. It may be a rut, but at least it is my rut.

Paul realized that there was nothing he could do without God. He knew that the road to God was paved with true confession and genuine repentance. To err is human, but we do have a choice as to which course we will take in dealing with our situation. The best choice is called repentance. To repent means that we stop walking one way, turn 180 degrees, and start walking in the opposite direction. We allow God to change the direction of our walk as we confess, repent, and accept his rule and reign in our lives. Paul's statement in verse 25, "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" was Paul's exuberant doxology of praise in recognizing God's gift of acceptance and forgiveness.

John Claypool tells the story of a seeker of religious truth who in his journey traveled to see a holy man. "Tell me, my father," he asked, "do you still wrestle with the Devil?" "Oh, no, my son!" he replied. "I am much too old for that! I now wrestle with God!" "Wrestle with God!" he exclaimed. "How can you ever expect to win wrestling with God?" "Oh, my son. I don't hope to win," he taught. "I hope to lose." In the war within, wouldn't it be wonderful if God could win more in our lives? "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8--9 NIV).

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1. Preaching, Volume 11, Number 6, May--June, 1996 (Louisville: Preaching Resources, Inc.), p. 46.

2. Lectionary Homiletics, Volume IV, Number 8, July, 1993 (Midlothian, Virginia: Lectionary Homiletics, Inc.), p. 4.

3. Preaching, Volume 8, Number 6, May--June, 1993 (Jacksonville: Preaching Resources, Inc.), p. 52.