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Good evening everyone. Take a seat and open bibles to page 943.

Lord, we come before you with open hearts, ready to receive your word. We ask that you speak to us through your Holy Spirit, that we may be transformed by your truth. Amen.

Ed Sheeran has described his hugely successful song Bad Habits as being about the struggle to resist temptation and break free from destructive patterns of behaviour. In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Sheeran explained that the song was written during the COVID-19 lockdown when he was reflecting on his past behaviour and how he wanted to move forward. It's a cautionary tale (set to a catchy dance tune) about the destructive power of our sinful desires and the negative impact they can have on our lives. He doesn’t use the word ‘sin’ to describe what he struggles with, but what he calls ‘bad habits’ is exactly what the apostle Paul is talking about in our passage this evening. Ed Sheeran describes amazingly clearly the experience of doing what he knows is killing him, but not being able to say no. And that predictable cycle where a moment of pleasure collapses into a darker place before then finding himself right back there again a few days, hours, maybe even minutes later. And the desperate loneliness of a life lived like this.

The music video is well worth watching. Ed Sheeran is dressed as a vampire in a pink suit. That’s a great shout because like the life he is describing, a vampire is not really alive. We see him gather together 7 vampire friends - a clever reference to the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. They try to influence Ed Sheeran and his words powerfully describe how ‘bad habits’ will suck the life out of you. I’m not going to sing it – but here are the lyrics:

Every time you come around, you know I can't say noEvery time the sun goes down, I let you take controlI can feel the paradise before my world implodesAnd tonight had something wonderfulMy bad habits lead to late nights, endin' aloneConversations with a stranger I barely knowSwearin' this'll be the last, but it probably won'tI got nothin' left to lose or use, or doMy bad habits lead to wide eyes, stare into spaceAnd I know I lose control of the things that I sayI was lookin' for a way out, now I can't escapeNothin' happens after two, it's truе, it's truemy bad habits lead to youEvery pure intention ends when the good times startFallin' over everything to reach the first times sparkStarted under neon lights, then it all got darkI only know how to go too far[Bad Habits lyrics © Sony/atv Songs Llc, Promised Land Music Ltd]

So that is Ed Sheeran. But tonight we're going to be diving into Romans 6.12-14, where Paul talks not just about the power of sin but also (and more wonderfully) the freedom that comes through Jesus. So let me start by reading those verses.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

These verses contain some direct commands (instructions on what we are to do) and we will come back to those and look at them more closely. But notice that Paul says that if we are Christians we are now (end of Romans 6.14) under grace. And here is why that’s important, before Paul talks about what we need to do, he wants us to get our head straight about what God has done for us. So, he will talk about our ‘bad habits’ aka sinful temptations and addictions. But he does that by first explaining what is true about us, and that is what shapes the things we are to do as a response. How we live matters – that is the question Paul is answering in Romans 6.1. But the gospel way of grace puts what Jesus has done for us before how to live in response. So my first point is to:

1. Realise that Jesus really does set you free from the power of sin

As we saw last week, the incredibly good news of Christianity is that as believers, we have been set free from the power of sin. We are no longer slaves to our old way of life, but we have been given a new identity in Christ and everything that was true of him, is now true of us. We have been brought from death to life, from darkness to light, and we are now able to do what we could not do before: to live in obedience to our Lord and Saviour. Romans 6.11 just before our passage sums it up like this:

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Consider yourself dead to sin doesn’t mean imagining or pretending that is true. It means realising that it really is true and how that changes everything. Think about how kids at school are under the control of teachers while at school. Everything from what socks you wear, how fast you walk, where to go, how to act are all decided by them, as are the consequences for non-compliance. Planner comments and detentions and so on. Now after the final day at school your relationship with them changes for ever. You’re now released from their control. So you may run past them at the supermarket and feel guilty for running. But now they can’t tell you what to do. That’s the kind of change Paul talks about here between believers and sin. Consider (realise) that Jesus has set you free from the power of sin. That does not mean, of course, that you don’t face temptation or sin anymore. But it means sin is no longer your master. That’s why he uses language of reigning and dominion – sin no longer rules or controls you. Here is Romans 6.12:

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

And Romans 6.14:

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Ed Sheeran sang “Every time you come around, you know I can't say no…” and “I was lookin' for a way out, now I can't escape” That is no longer true because of Jesus. You can say no. There is an escape. Our old sinful nature is still there. It still wants to rule over us. But it has no right to do that anymore and can only rule if we let it. Which means that God’s commands are given to those who have the power to obey them. We need see ourselves as we really are – free from the power of sin.

Imagine a caged animal (perhaps a magnificent horse or a golden eagle) tied up to a post. One wonderful day they are released – the door is unlocked, the rope is untied. The horse can now run free, the eagle can fly as it was always meant to. But instead the horse pops his head out the door, then sits back down in the barn. The eagle just walks around the post – round and round just as it used to when before it was released. No longer a slave, but still living like one. Paul wants us to see ourselves as we really are; set free from the power of sin. He wants us to see that for a Christian to continue in sin is just like that horse or eagle. It’s sad, and it no longer makes sense. Is that you?

Perhaps you would not yet identify as a Christian, maybe you have family who do, but you’re unsure, or maybe all this is very new to you. Can I encourage you to look into it for yourself? Almost certainly what you think you know about Jesus (maybe from social media or RE lessons) is not quite right. Why not read and explore the actual words of Jesus rather than what others have told you about him? We have these copies of Mark’s gospel (they’re free), take it and read it. And we have a fab group starting soon, called Hope Explored where you can meet with a few others also asking questions and it would be fab to have you come along.

So, back to the passage. The first thing is to realise Jesus really does set us free from the power of sin. And only then can we move on to understanding the two commands in this passage, which we’ll look at next. The first command is something to avoid. The key to that is remembering what we have been set free from – so we don’t lock ourselves back into prison again when we have been set free. The second is something to do. The key to that is remembering what we have been set free for. It’s not just about stopping bad habits. It’s about laying hold of the precious reality of our new identity in Christ and enjoying life as God intended it to be lived.

2. Remember what we have been set free from

Romans 6.12-13:

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness…

Members there just means parts of your body. So this is saying do not let any part of your body join in or take part in sin. And not just body, no part of you is to be given over to be used as a tool for unrighteousness – your mind, heart or everything else! What does unrighteousness include? Think about what Jesus Himself considered to be unrighteous; basically anything that goes against God's will or commandments to love God and love others. Read through the gospels and you’ll see Jesus himself specifically mentions several examples:

• Jesus strongly condemns those who pretend to be righteous but are actually full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
• Jesus warns against the love of money and material possessions, as it can lead to greed and a disregard for the needs of others.
• Jesus taught that sex was a good thing and that marriage was between a man and a women for life. But a good thing used in the wrong way causes huge damage and that is especially true of sex. Jesus taught that sexual immorality, including adultery and all sex outside marriage is a sin against God.
• Jesus called out dishonesty and called on his followers to always speak the truth and to be honest in their dealings with others.
• Jesus warns against pride and arrogance, as it can lead to a sense of superiority over others and a lack of humility before God.
• Jesus showed us that God is offended by a lack of compassion: Jesus taught his followers to show compassion and love to all people, including their enemies and those who are less fortunate and vulnerable in society.

Are these things really so bad? Yes. Jesus isn’t against fun – he’s warning against a path that leads to death. And so the first command is do not present…That means there is a conscious battle we must engage in. We should not give our bodies to serve sin and death. Instead we are free to fight sin and we need to do so. Once you fought on the side of unrighteousness and the leader of that army had total control over our body and soul and future. Now you have swapped sides. You need to remember which side you are now! You need to fight for the right side – you are now (as it were) a commander of God’s army. You control all you are and all you have – your members - your arms, legs, mouth, mind, sexuality, creativity, time… the list goes on! You need to employ every soldier and weapon in the fight for righteousness – not against it. Will you use your feet to carry you to tasks of love and service, or to do what is wrong. Will you discipline your thought life to godly and creative thinking, or are you nursing bitterness and envy and plotting evil?

So, how do we engage in the battle? Are we fleeing or flirting with sin? We have an amazing capacity for self-deception. We pretend to ourselves we have closed the door to bad habits. But we cannot bring ourselves to take decisive and final action. So in reality we keep the door open – just a crack, but that little crack is all that is needed for sin to get a foothold in our lives again. We need to be honest with ourselves and flee temptation. Are you working hard at integrity? That means keeping the gap between our inner and public life as small as possible. If someone won’t even take home a single paperclip that belongs to their company, then it’s unlikely they will be found to be involved in more serious fraud. When we work at integrity in the small things, we build up our spiritual muscles against larger temptations.

Are you trying to fight alone? Use all the resources God has given you. Rely most of all on his Holy Spirit who gives shows us areas of our lives where we need to repent and turn away from sin and then gives us the strength and power to resist temptation and to overcome sin in our lives. He gives us wisdom to make good choices and to avoid situations that could lead us into sin. He transforms us from the inside out. The other resource God has given is Christian brothers and sisters. We all need a few friends who will love us enough to listen to our hurts and struggles without judging us, who will check up on our spiritual progress, hold us accountable, pray for and with us and be available to help when we fail (as we will). What we need most of all is for friends who will press home the truths of what God has done for us and who will remind us who we are in Christ so that we keep our head in the game. There have been times when I longed for such friendships – the best two tips tI was given were first: don’t leave it to chance. Deliberately put yourself in a place where such friendships can develop. The most obvious of these is to join a small group at church. The second is to focus not on who is such a friend to me, but rather ask yourself ‘Am I that kind of friend to others?’

3. Remember what we have been set free for

Romans 6.13:

…present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

The second command is to surrender our entire selves to God, holding nothing back. That means all we are and all we have being given over to be used for His purposes and His glory - this is what we have been set free for now we have been brought from death to life. So let us be who we now are. That includes your mind - with your ability to think, your creativity and imagination, your heart with the capacity to love and care, your eye with all you’re looking for in terms of ambitions and desires and dreams, your feet and the ability to choose where to go, your hand and the way that expresses your abilities and energies and influence over others, your money and your time. Everything is to serve your new master – no longer sin but God.

Take for example your speech. You can use that in a way that’s full of pride: to big yourself up, or to speak lies and mislead and deceive others. Or instead, you can speak words that build up others and point them to Jesus. Which leaves us with a challenge. We have been brought from death to life. Through the cross our sins were dealt with. We were bought with a price and set free from the bondage of slavery to sin. We have new hearts. Free to love God and love my neighbour. We have a wonderful freedom. How are we using it? There are huge needs all around us. Spiritual poverty is huge – as the recent census confirmed. Most of our country have not heard the good news about Jesus. Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, many in the UK still experiences high levels of poverty and inequality. Many struggle with mental health with conditions such as depression, anxiety, and stress. There are those who are homeless. A few years ago a young man died in his tent hidden in bushes literally a few meters from the front of our church and wasn’t discovered for days. At a hotel in our parish are refugees. Others who are vulnerable and on the edges of society include those caught up in sex trafficking, who are elderly, those as yet unborn and unwanted, those in the care system. And is a whole world of needs beyond our borders as well as issues around climate change. God cares deeply about these needs. You have a wonderful freedom. How are you using it? As you think about your answer to that, let me read our passage again – this time from the New Living Translation:

So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

What would Paul say to Ed Sheeran? At the end of the music video to Bad habits, the sun begins to rise, we see the vampires take cover from the sunlight, ducking under cars and into darkened buildings, but Sheeran stays in the light, letting it wash over him. His vampire-self fades away, the glittered eye makeup, fetching pink suit and fangs disappearing with the darkness. He is redeemed by the light, and the video ends with a hint of hope. Throughout the song, Ed Sheeran repeats the refrain “My bad habits lead to you”. In fact, he ends the song with those lyrics. What does he mean? He took a break from music to focus on his marriage and have a child and this was his ‘comeback’ song. Perhaps it’s a nod to the way he has said elsewhere that those responsibilities helped him overcome his addictions and bad habits. But perhaps Paul might take that phrase and use it to explain the hope of the gospel. “My bad habits lead to you” with the ‘you’ being God. Don’t we all understand Sheeran when he sings, “Swearing this will be the last, but it probably won't.” That is why we need God, his mercies, his grace, his forgiveness. With God, each sunrise, each new day, is an opportunity to start afresh, thanks to the transforming love shown to us by our saviour. We are woken from the darkness, risen from the dead, and given new life through the light of Jesus Christ. We can then be set free from the power of sin and give the rest of our lives and all that we have to living for him. Let’s pray:

Almighty God, who alone can bring order to the unruly wills and passions of sinful men and women: give your people grace, so to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that in all the many changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found: Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen