Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Romans 7:14-25a
July 5, 2026
I’ve been reading a book – or to be more honest, I’ve been trying to read a book called, “Lift Your Eyes: How to live outside yourself,” by Joshua Pfeiffer. It’s a book that provides a release from what Dr. Charles Taylor discusses in his huge book called, “A Secular Age,” a concept known as “Expressive Individualism.”
Expressive Individualism, according to Taylor, is the search for the “Authentic self” where each individual searches for his purpose and identity within himself, that one’s identity is intrinsically linked to his emotions and that good and true and right are purely a subjective, individual expression of the individual’s inner being.
In other words, for the Expressive Individualist, there is no objective, universal standard of being, of morality, of authority, but authority and morality and being begins and ends with the individual.
Expressive Individualism is the end result of postmodern thought which is, at its core, the rejection of absolute or universal truth and established norms. It’s a very narcissistic, a purely relativistic way of determining meaning and good and evil.
Pfeiffer’s book, “Lift Your Eyes,” confronts Expressive Individualism by invoking to Christians everywhere, calling them to stop looking into themselves, into the subjective, individualistic corners of the heart, but to look up, look ahead, look to the Day of the Lord.
Expressive Individualism has done so much harm to the western world and as much harm to the Christian church. But Expressive Individualism is nothing new.
Eve, in the Garden, celebrated her expressive individualistic notions when she grabbed hold of that fruit and rationalized in her mind and felt in her heart that it was okay to interact with it. The objective Word of the Lord, “You shall not,” got lost and forgotten beneath the purely subjective, the “me” and the “how does it make me feel and how does it help me and benefit me” motive of the serpent’s lie.
But let’s just call a spade a spade. Expressive Individualism is nothing more and nothing less than the sinful human nature all wrapped up in nice philosophical terminology. It is that pull, the draw, that voice within each of us telling us that our desires, our wants, our passions outweigh everyone else’s, and that even God Himself has no business interfering with our individual selves.
Jon Bon Jovi sang it best: “It’s my life…I just want to live while I’m alive.” Or if you’re not familiar with Bon Jovi, what about “I Did it My Way” by Frank Sinatra or “Let it Go,” everyone’s favorite song from the Disney movie, “Frozen”? They all sing the same thing; they are all expressing the serpent’s lie that you can live your life as you please because your real, true self is about what you feel; your identity is what you decide it to be. Eat the fruit and you will be your own master; your own god. And you know, there’s even preaching that sounds eerily the same: “You can have your best life now and be all you want to be.”
That’s the sinful human nature and every human soul has the sinful human nature with the exception, of course, of our Lord Christ.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 7, in the reading we just heard, Paul expresses his struggle with his individualist self against the new birth he’s received by the blood of Christ. His new birth in the Spirit calls him to look up, look ahead and to live his life for the coming of the Lord on the Last Day, to prepare for that day, be ready, but his old self, that old narcissist nature keeps yearning for his attentions and pulling him back into the sin to which he died.
He wants to do good, to abide in the will of God for the new life in Christ draws him to such a desire. But the heart and the will are weak. It’s as if he has one foot sunk deep into the cesspool of sin and the other planted on the streets of gold in heaven and the battle within him rages on.
Can you relate? I know I can. We desire to lift our eyes, to look to the Day of the Lord and preparedly await His coming, and for life to be about Him and His Word and worship and prayer and Sacrament, but in each of us is also another desire at war with our spirits, fighting to pull us back in, to take our eyes off Christ and return them inward.
Think about how you spend your days, your hours, your seconds. Think about the hopes and dreams you have for your children or grandchildren and how you raise them to spend their time and their energy. Think about the choices you make concerning your time and what consumes your moments.
St. Paul had a habit or maybe some sort of addiction. It could have been a loose tongue, a greedy hand, an adulterous thought or action, trouble with anger or greed. This passion, this vice kept showing up in his life. He knew what was good and right and godly, but there the sin was, the temptation pulling him back. In his mind he could not understand how he, an Apostle, a man of God who planted churches and preached repentance and forgiveness of sins, how he himself could be so easily enticed by some sinful desire or desires; we don’t know what it was.
But we do know that it haunted him. Read the Epistle for today. “Wretched man that I am!” he exclaimed. No excuses, no rationalizations, no inward seeking for purpose and affirmation of lifestyles, just an honest assessment of his sinful condition, “Wretched man that I am.”
Do you have sins in your life, thoughts, words, actions, convictions which keep drawing you away from God and His Word and Sacraments, from His promises and the freedom you’ve been given in your baptism? Perhaps it’s an idol, some thing, some activity, some desire that you find yourself constantly putting before the Lord and making sacrifices for. Maybe it’s money. Maybe it’s some dream you have of living a Hollywood lifestyle, an athlete lifestyle, and so you sacrifice even God Himself to pursue that dream.
There was a song that, back in the 90’s the Christian band, “Newsboys” wrote called, “Upon This Rock,” and one of the phrases in the song goes, “Wish I hadn’t built as big a house; makes it hard to catch a little mouse. I’d chase it but I’m feeling drowsy, all from wasting my time,” and that’s what we do, isn’t it? We spend our days always pursuing what we think will make us happy, what will fulfill us, what will accomplish for us some inner desire to prove ourselves, to show God that we can be successful and fulfilled and at peace with ourselves and one another without Him. But every day we fail, and though we try, we never get there because we can’t because nothing in us can accomplish the high standard of excellence and holiness that the Lord demands.
We waste our time because, as Charles Taylor says and as Joshua Pfeiffer says, we keep looking inside, in here for purpose, for meaning, for an emotional something. We even judge our church…by what goes on in here. We buy into the lie of the old Holiness Movement that the Spirit works through the emotions so that, if I don’t “feel” something inside me, it means there’s no Spirit in this place.
We don’t know how to think differently about things because everything in the world tells us to look inside ourselves for happiness and purpose. The clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the food we consume, the appliances and televisions and computers and smart phones. It all screams, telling us that “You will be happy if…” you get that new phone, that new computer, that new car, that new weight loss food, that new pair of shoes, that new girlfriend or boyfriend, if you can look like or live like or behave like that which the world paints as successful or happy or full, or if you take more time for yourself and get away, you’ll be happy. If you get that new worship style and new music into your church, you’ll be happy and everyone will come.
Expressive Individualism is the antithesis of the Christian faith. When we look at Paul’s struggle with sin, he didn’t look into himself for answers or affirmation. Paul looked up and he looked ahead. When he did look into himself, what he saw was not affirming or purpose-giving, but destructive, evil, and deadly. He’s not the only one who looked into himself and saw the darkness of sin. As we read through the Psalms, what we find is that when King David and the other psalmists looked into themselves, there was no comfort or meaning, but only sin and death.
It was only when they looked outside themselves; it was only when Paul looked outside himself that reality and purpose and meaning was found. “Wretched man that I am, who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
There’s your rescue; there’s your meaning; there’s your purpose and goal, your joy, your hope, your salvation, your peace, your freedom, your good news – it’s all in Jesus! In Christ Jesus you have identity. In other words, you are something – a child of God, of the heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe. You belong to Him and He has called you by name.
And you are not just some random individual looking for meaning and purpose and affirmation in yourself, but you are part of a great and eternal family, a kingdom that will stand forever. And when you look outside of yourself; when you look up and see what God has done for you in Christ, and you look ahead to see what awaits you in the Day of the Lord, then the things of the flesh, the desires and passions and goals and convictions of the sinful flesh begin to die away; the pull of the world and the false promises of living a worldly life become a disgusting thing in your mind because you know it’s all a lie…when you look up and you look ahead rather than inward.
And you also realize every day, every hour, every moment, that you need Jesus, that the constant struggle – one foot in the cesspool of hell and one foot on the golden streets of heaven – never ends in this life. The devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh will always try and drag you down and will do it with enticing and rational and emotionally stirring purpose.
And the more you see it, the more you feel in your bones how the world, the devil, and your own sin work night and day against you, the more you understand how wretched you truly are in the flesh, but how forgiven and loved you are thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ your Lord.
The yoke of Jesus is light, it’s light enough for even young children to carry, and His yoke brings peace and rest and comfort, because His yoke, His teaching, His Gospel is about forgiveness, life and salvation. No more struggling and pining to get ahead and satisfy that inner need to “be like God,” but instead a humble and joyful response to what God has done for you in Christ.
And how do you respond to this great and surpassing gift of righteousness? By loving and serving your neighbor. Rather than serving yourself and always feeding the beast of “me” you instead learn by the Spirit of Christ to use your hands, your feet, your voice, your whole body to love God and serve your neighbor. And all the commandments are wrapped up in this, that you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
The struggle will never go away in this life; you will always live with one foot in hell and one in heaven. But rest in peace because Christ has conquered hell and He holds the keys, and He will never forsake you or let you fall.
So, look up to He who has redeemed you and look ahead to His return and stand ready, for His day is closer than you could possibly imagine. Amen.
