Breaking Free

The following is a summary of the presentation given by Mike Emlet, “Groaning & Glory: The New Testament and Addiction.” Mike graduated with an M. D. from the University of Pennsylvania and served in family medical practice for eleven years. He is now a counselor and faculty member at CCEF and lecturer at Westminster Theological Seminary.

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“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Romans 7:18-19

We all feel this tension. At times it feels as if I cannot ever break free from the burdens of sin and addiction. Other times, we taste the goodness of Jesus and experience, by his grace, victories over sin. Scripture calls us to be neither optimists nor pessimists, but to be hopeful realists.

By this new paradigm of hopeful realism, pessimists are called to have a greater hope. Optimists are called not to expect more in this life than what is promised. Rather we can be hopeful realists because we know Jesus, we have a taste of His Spirit now, and we know the perfection we will inherit. We are called to be realists because we know we still live in the present age where there is tension with sin, and yet we know what is to come in the next age.

We live in an age that is filled with hope-filled groaning – the groaning that will not be complete until the end of this age (Romans 8:15-27). The age in which we live is often likened to childbirth. We are currently in the period where there is pain, labor, and work. But at the same time there is a certain future. A future filled with joy and fulfillment. The knowledge of the future should energize and motivate us in the present.

1. We are called to be a hopeful people

Oftentimes those in the grips of an addiction suffer from spiritual myopia (nearsightedness). That is, they live a life unaware of the working power of God and unmotivated. But scripture gives hope. Our hope is rooted in the surety of the future. We don’t need to pretend that the past has not occurred. But, as we look on the past we must keep our eyes set on the future and what is coming. We see in scripture that God is working through Christ to redeem his people.

2. We are called to put sin to death in light of the death of Christ

“We may have died to sin, but sin has not yet died out in us. The regenerate man is only in the process of being healed. Sin dwells in him still, and is deceitful still.” – Sinclair Ferguson

We must remember that there was a break with sin when we entered into a relationship with God, because of what he has done. Jesus victory over sin is also our victory. But, though there has been a break with sin we will continual to struggle while in this age (Colossians 3:1-5). Our view of sin should be shifted from a breaking of rules to a breech in relationship.

We might liken this age between Christ’s resurrection and his second coming to the time between D-Day and V-Day in WWII. In one sense the fighting continues; we must press on to the end. In another sense, a decisive victory has been won, a dramatic shift in power has taken place, and the outcome of the war is certain. Christ’s death and resurrection is our D-Day. We fight until V-Day arrives.

3. Repentance: Running to the Father

Do we minimize sin? Do we run in self-pity? Do we continue to sin to get more “bang for our buck”? Or do we truly repent as the Bible calls us to repent?

One of the key indicators to real growth is not merely a lack of sinning, but how quickly we run to the Father when we do sin. We need to take the groaning of failure and use it to run into our Fathers arms.