Today we continue our studies in "Seven Wonders." Each week we have used one of the seven wonders of the ancient world as a segue into asking a question that commonly plagues people's minds.

Did you know there is a search going on to determine the new Seven Wonders of the World? Over the last few years voters around the world nominated a number of manmade sites. The 77 top vote-getters advanced. They were narrowed to 21 in January by a panel of world-famous architects. Results will be announced next year. The finalists include the Acropolis in Athens, the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall in China, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro. There is only one finalist in the United States—Death Valley in Clemson. Just kidding—the Statue of Liberty.

Is there a God? Why do I exist? Am I unique? Why do I feel so alone? Great questions for which we have tried to provide you with biblical answers. The question for today is a tongue twister. But I'm excited about teaching this one because it represents issues that all of us face. Why don't I do what I know I should? Or, turn the question around: Why do I do what I know I shouldn't do? In other words, my actions betray my intentions. I know the right thing to do and fully intend to do it. But I fall short too often. Why?

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world was the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Located on the tiny island of Pharos very close to the coast of Alexandria in Egypt, the Lighthouse represents the last of the six vanished wonders to disappear. Construction started around 290 B.C. A few earthquakes rattled the structure, compromising its stability. In 1480, stones from the Lighthouse were used to construct a fortress to give Alexandria greater protection.

In addition to its archaeological elegance, the Lighthouse was the only wonder that also served a practical purpose. It provided light for ships along a stretch of coastline that was considered extremely dangerous. It was also the tallest structure in the world. What was most amazing, however, was its mysterious mirror. Its reflections could actually be seen 35 miles off-shore.

For many it is a mystery how they can have great intentions and never live up to them. It is a mystery that in spite of promises to do better, they still mess up. Why don't people do what they know they should? And why do people do what they know they shouldn't? God's Word serves as a lighthouse. It shines its light into this mystery and guides you into the safe harbor of God's love, mercy and grace. Let's read what the Bible says about this question we often wonder about. [Read Romans 7:14-25.]

The first truth I want to communicate is that this dilemma is a universal problem. People everywhere struggle with this dilemma. One wonders why he can't stop drinking when he has every intention to stop. Another beats himself up because he ventured into computer porn even after he swore he'd never do it again. Another carries a ton of guilt because she keeps using her tongue like a sword. She wants to keep her cool, but she ends up striking with venom once again.

This worship center is filled with people who have given their hearts to Jesus Christ. They have sincerely committed their lives to him. And if they are honest, they will admit that they struggle with this dilemma also.

It is helpful for me to know that the Apostle Paul struggled with this same stuff. He admitted that he found himself doing the very things he knew he should not do. He confessed that he often neglected to do the things he had every intention of doing. I consider Paul to be one of the greatest Christians ever to live. If he struggled with this, then I know I'm not alone when I say I struggle too. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this to excuse the bad things we do. But it does help to know that whatever the problem is with me, it is a problem with everybody else also.

Some have argued that this passage from Romans is Paul's testimony of struggles before he met Christ while traveling to Damascus. Their rationale is that no true Christian would ever have these kinds of struggles. If that's true, then I must not be a Christian. Paul didn't become perfect just because he gave his life to Christ. Not at all. I believe these verses refer to the daily battles he faced even as a Christian.

When surveillance cameras captured a mother beating a small child in a department store parking lot, police in Mishawaka, Indiana, began an interstate search for the woman. The videotape showing the woman repeatedly hitting the child was shown on television across the nation. After eluding authorities for more than a week, Madelyne Toogood (that's really her name) turned herself in. Her daughter was immediately placed in a foster home.

After posting bond, Toogood told reporters that she was wrong to beat the child. She said, "I lost my temper. I lost it. It's my fault. I'm not trying to make any excuses for it. I should pay for it." She also told how she felt guilty about the beating and apologized to her daughter. She saw the videotape when she stopped for the night at a hotel and saw it on television. She said, "I was sick to my stomach. I was mortified. I wasn't raised to do that. I couldn't believe I did that to my four-year-old little girl."

Do you think Madelyne believed it was okay for her to beat her daughter? Of course not. Yet she did it anyway. What got into her? Why did she do it? She did it for the very reasons you do the things you do when you didn't really intend to do them. It might not be criminal in your case, but the principle is still the same. What's the deal?

Sin is the problem. That's the second truth I want to communicate. We were all born with a tendency to rebel against God. When we confess our sinfulness to God and accept Jesus Christ into our lives, He forgives us and places within us the capacity to live victoriously over sin every moment of every day. But we are still sinners. It's just now we're forgiven sinners who are saved only by the grace of God.

Last Tuesday I had my four-month oncology follow-up as well as my annual CT scan. The offices are set up now where you can have your CT scan and see the doctor with the same visit. I intentionally set my appointment so that I could be the first one on the CT scan table. Tuesday is my primary sermon preparation day; so I wanted to get back to the office as quickly as I could.

I drank that nasty stuff at 6:15 in the morning. The appointment sheet said to arrive for my appointment 15 minutes early. So I arrived at 7:00 (actually 6:55) for my 7:15 appointment. I walked in the door, and there was no worker in sight. They hadn't even arrived yet. I'm cool with that. About 7:15, I make my co-payment, have my lab work done, and head back to the waiting area for my scan, where I waited and waited.

The receptionist said, "We have to wait on your lab results before we can take you back. That's cool. About 8:00, I'm getting a little perturbed. A few had already gone back because they didn't have lab work done. But I was first in line, I'm thinking to myself. A lady sitting next to me, who came in after me, was in the same boat—waiting for the lab report. I'm eavesdropping on a phone conversation the receptionist is having and I hear her mention my name and the woman next to me. Then I hear her say, "But Mr. Kelly was here first." She hangs up and says, "Mr. Kelly, I know you were here first, but they sent Mrs. So-and-so's lab work ahead of yours, so we will have to take her first."

I smiled and said that was fine. But inside I'm frustrated. Don't these people know that I was here before the workers got here? Don't they know I'm a preacher, a man of God, who needs to get back to the office, so that he can meet with God, so God can tell him what he needs to say on Sunday morning? Outside I was nice. Inside I was battling. I finally got called back about 8:15.

Now what made me get that way? I didn't go into that office building planning to have those feelings of frustration and anger. My intent was simply to get in and out and back to work. Do you want me to tell you what the problem was? It was sin. Something was going wrong deep within me and it got the best of me. Parts of me were covertly rebelling; and those parts took charge. Battles like that go on every day because I am a sinner. (By the way, I got a good report. My cancer is five years in the past now. Instead of the doctor telling me to come back in four months, he said, "Come back to see me in one year.")

In our text of Scripture today Paul alludes to the law. He stresses that the law is good, but it is insufficient. In other words, we need to be grateful that we have God's commands and civil laws. They enlighten us and help us to know right from wrong. But evidently, we need more than the law because we break it so frequently even though we know we shouldn't.

Moreover, good intentions are not sufficient. We've already stressed this over and over. "Well, Lord, do I get any credit for the fact that I didn't intend to slip up again?" So, folks, we are in a dilemma. Yes, it helps to know that that this problem is universal. And, yes, we all know that we are sinners. But what in the world can we do to overcome this sin problem? Is there any help? Why don't I do what I know I should? And why do I do what I know I shouldn't?

The Message Bible says, "I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?" (v. 24). Is there hope? Is there victory over this sin problem? Is there a way that I can actually do what I intend to do? Is there anyone who can help me?

Yes. Yes. Yes, there is hope. Yes, there is help. The verses give us the answer. "Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Jesus, and only Jesus, is the answer to the sin problem. He doesn't just want to come into your heart and secure your salvation. He wants you to live a life of victory every day. You can't beat the sin problem. But He can. And He has. You will never stop sinning. But you can overcome the destructive sinful patterns that are consuming your life.

Jesus is the one who saves you. But He is also the one who will help you to live free from sin. How? It takes a willingness on your part to put Jesus in the driver's seat of your life. It involves a relationship with Jesus that extends beyond a Sunday morning experience. I'm talking about an every-moment-of-every-day kind of relationship. You've got to be madly in love with Jesus. Remember, your good intentions simply won't cut it. You need a vital walk with Jesus Christ.

The reason Jesus can do this is that He died on the cross for you. This week we ponder and celebrate the final days of Jesus' earthly existence. It was on a Friday that He died on the cross. That's why we call it Good Friday. It was on the cross that the blood flowed from His veins. It was on the cross that He paid the penalty that we all owe because we all are sinners. It was because of what He did own the cross that our sins can be washed away. Because of the cross you can have a brand new start in your life.

Yes, there is power in the cross. "There is wonderful power in the Cross of Christ. It has the power to wake the dullest conscience and melt the hardest heart, to cleanse the unclean, to reconcile him who is afar off and restore him to fellowship with God, to redeem the prisoner from his bondage and lift the pauper from the dunghill, to break down the barriers which divide [people] from one another, to transform our wayward characters into the image of Christ and finally make us fit to stand in white robes before the throne of God" (John Stott).

Only the cross can accomplish these things. You certainly can't. Why do you keep doing things you know you shouldn't? Because you're a sinner. All the good intentions in the world won't help you live a life free from this dilemma of sin. So look to Jesus. You owe everything to Him. He paid it all when He died on the cross.