Epistles (written)

Thursday, 20 June 2013

But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:17

Paul continues to personify sin. He shows the contrast between Sin and himself. The sin in him causes him to take actions contrary to the will that he wishes he could exercise. All of this was made known by the introduction of the law, but it isn’t the law’s fault that these things have come about. He (and thus we, because he is speaking in terms of his human nature) is being shown the truth of his nature and the contrast which wars inside of him.

And even the unregenerate know of this war in their soul. It is universally displayed in humanity – in their writings, in movies, in plays, in daily life too. Cultures and people talk about sin in terms that show us that they understand the war, even if they haven’t properly identified how it works. Paul, by divine inspiration, is showing us the truth of the matter.

When we call on Christ, we are “sealed” with the Holy Spirit. This is an indwelling that previously didn’t exist. There will be a point of relief from this battle, but it is a battle. Hence we speak of “indwelling sin” in the believer as well. The two are at war and this is highlighted when we call on Christ. Let us not turn our eyes from the truths Paul will continue to reveal to us.

Life application: Yes, sin dwells in me, but greater than sin is the presence of the Holy Spirit – available to all who have called on Christ. It is He who can give us victory over the fleshly man. Let us remember that this “filling” of the Spirit is revealed as passive in nature. We must grant it to Him through the development of our Christian walk. Let us welcome the Spirit through study, prayer, fellowship, and a life which is obedient to Christ our Lord.

Precious, glorious God – I look to You each day as I rise for the opening of Your hand of grace. The job I have, the food I eat, the family and friends that surround me – all of these and so much more come because You have placed me at this point in time. Help me to realize that nothing good comes except from You and that You are truly tending to my every need. Amen.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. Romans 7:16

This verse is an obvious truth. If the thing that I will to do, which is based on the law (see the previous verse’s example concerning the people of Israel at the giving of the law), is the thing that I don’t practice, and the thing that I do is the thing I will not to do (which is something contrary to the law), then “I agree with the law that it is good.”

To get this straight, because the wording can be hard to grasp, just think of a law which is good and reasonable – say for example, keeping the posted speed limit of 40 mph. I want to keep the law, and probably for more than one reason. For example, I know the law is there to protect others. I certainly don’t want to run over other people. The law is there to protect property. I don’t want to skid out of control because I am driving faster than what is prudent (and road engineers are always right…). The law is also there to protect me. I don’t want to end up in the hospital or in a wooden box. For these and other reasons (like maybe getting a speeding ticket), I will to do the law.

However, this is the thing that I don’t practice. I don’t pay attention sometimes; I go 45 without realizing it. Maybe I’m late for an appointment and so I speed, promising myself that it’s just this one time. Or, I may have a broken speedometer and my guesswork is faulty concerning the rate I’m travelling at. I’m not doing what I actually will to do in each case, even in the “late for the appointment” thing. This is true because I wouldn’t have otherwise “promised myself” anything.

In all three of the instances, I had something bad happen. When I wasn’t paying attention, I ran someone over. When I was late for the appointment, I lost control and took out four mailboxes and a yard gnome. When my speedometer was broken, I got a $250.00 speeding ticket by the local sheriff. The thing I willed to do, which was to obey the law and avoid all of these things, is the thing I failed to do. And the thing that willed not to do, which was to break the law and have all these terrible things result, well, that is what I did and I suffered the consequences.

Because of these things, I have to agree that the law is good. This is exactly what Paul is telling us. God gave Adam and Eve a law and He had His good reasons for doing so. When they broke that law and received the just penalty for their violation, I guarantee they agreed that the law was good. In fact, one premise of the Bible after that point is that we have been trying to get back to “Eden” ever since. Regardless of whether we’re doing it the right way or not, everyone is looking for something better. We know this world is a world of fault ending in death and we have to agree that the law was, in fact, good. Every law introduced by God since that time has contained the same over-arching truth.

Life application: Far too often when we break a law, we attempt to divert the blame elsewhere. It is so much easier to do this, but if we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit our faults and agree that if the law was a good and just law, that we failed. This is particularly true with God’s laws. When you fall short of His requirements, confess it and ask Him to redirect you toward obedience.

Heavenly Father, You know where my thoughts about You are wrong. Just because I think I’m right doesn’t mean I am. And so Lord, search out my life and those things that I have placed my faith in, and open my eyes to the areas which are misdirected. Let me not be so stubborn as to ignore the truth of a matter, but help me to be open and willing to change in order to be pleasing to You. Guide me, O God. Amen.

Monday, 17 June 2013

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Romans 7:14

There are many viewpoints as to who Paul is speaking about in this verse when he says “I.” As we’ve seen, he used the term previously, not specifically speaking of himself, but as a way of showing the struggle which exists in all people.

Some scholars look at what he is saying in this verse as any individual’s struggle against sin under their own power – be it Jew under the law or gentile who simply understands man’s depravity and his wars with the unwritten code. Others see it as the difficult struggle of those who have called on Jesus and yet continue to struggle with sin in their lives. This would be those ranging from “carnal” Christians – meaning those who are saved and yet are immature in their faith and practice, all the way to those who are fully mature but not yet completely sanctified; they still struggle with the “old Adam” in their life.

The debate about who Paul is referring to is actually unnecessary. It was demonstrated in verse 9 that Paul was using the term “I” in regards to his humanity. He used “coveting” as a means of demonstrating the conflict which arises, but coveting doesn’t cover the entire law; it was used to represent any commandment in the law and thus any law.

He hasn’t changed tracks in his thoughts and the “I” in this verse follows along the same line. The law God gave to Adam and Eve was spiritual, but they were in innocence. When they ate of the fruit, they attained the knowledge of good and evil, sin revived in them, and they died. Since that time, the knowledge has caused a war in the members of humanity. When a good law is given – be it conscience or be it the Law of Moses – the war rages.

All that God has done is good and the “law is spiritual.” However, we as humans are “carnal, sold under sin.” This is an inherited state. We aren’t born to fall; we are born fallen. When we see a good law, our carnal selves war with it because of our sin nature.

Life application: As you progress in your Christian life, maturing from infancy to maturity, you will continue to struggle with sin. Although it’s natural, it is also something you can overcome, but not in yourself. The struggle we’re told about is a struggle between our earthly selves and that which is spiritual. By being filled with the Spirit, we allow the spiritual side to reign. We will continue to learn and develop this in the chapters ahead.

Lord, when I am tempted to do something I shouldn’t do and I follow through with it, my conscience gets seared a little bit. Each time… a little bit more. I can see how the things that once appalled me are now a part of my daily life. Renew my mind Lord. Help me to see my failings for what they are and then help me to remove them from my life. I know that through the power of Your Spirit this can happen! Amen.

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. Romans 7:13

In response to the previous verses, particularly the logic which follows from 8-12, another rhetorical question is now proposed. If the law is good and yet death came about through the introduction of the law, then has “what is good become death to me?” Again, he is proposing a question which seems obvious on the surface and yet which is based on a misunderstanding of what has occurred. Thus the answer is, “Certainly not!”

Instead, sin (the thing which brings about death, not the law itself) “that it might appear sin” is what produced the death “through what is good.” The fault isn’t in the law, which is good. The fault is in the person’s disobedient will.

In order to completely understand this, we can look to what Thomas Aquinas wrote in the 13th century. He said, “…evil never follows in the effect, unless some other evil pre-exists in the agent or in the matter… But in voluntary things the defect of the action comes from the will actually deficient, inasmuch as it does not actually subject itself to its proper rule. This defect, however, is not a fault, but fault follows upon it from the fact that the will acts with this defect.”

The astonishingly profound thought of Aquinas is merely an explanation of Paul’s thoughts here in Romans. “The defect of the action” – in this case disobeying the command, “comes from will actually deficient.” In the case of Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden, this was a result of the lack of the knowledge of good an evil; they were in a state of innocence – this is their deficiency.

But was this God’s fault? No! Aquinas says it is “deficient, inasmuch as it does not actually subject itself to its proper rule.” What was the proper rule concerning their state of innocence? It was to obey their Creator and not eat the fruit; the good commandment which they were given.

When they disobeyed by using free will, was it because of a fault in them as created by God? Again – No! It “is not a fault, but fault follows upon it from the fact that the will, (meaning their free will) acts with this defect.” The blame is placed squarely and solely on man.

And nothing has changed since then. When we act with our free will in a manner contrary to whatever good law is given, it produces “fault” or “sin.” And the sin produces death. It is not the law, but the exercising of our free will which brings this about.

Did God know that this would be the case? Of course He did, but He also knew that free will in man was a necessity for an honest, reciprocal relationship of love. In the end, free-will, despite all of the evil which has come from it, is still the better option for man. Because with the fall comes the hope of restoration through Christ. And with the introduction of the law comes the final point of this verse. The commandment was given “so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.”

In other words, by giving a commandment, sin is known to be sin. By giving the Law of Moses which included many commandments, sin “might become exceedingly sinful.” The law shows us our desperately fallen state and thus our desperate need for Christ. Through Him, we receive imputed righteousness and through Him we aren’t just saved from this body of death, we are eternally saved from it. Through sin we see our unrighteousness. Through much sin, we see it all the more. And the more we see it, the more glorious appears the grace of God through Jesus!

Life application: Your life is one marked with failure and sin, but through Christ what was so desperately fouled up can be purified, made spotless, and restored completely. Through Christ, the past is gone and a new path is found. We can now exercise our free will to the glory of God and not for a life of sin.

Heavenly Father, I simply can’t grasp the immense mercy You have lavished upon me. You are so far above me and so glorious, and I have lived a life which has continuously been one of doing wrong, thinking bad thoughts, and failing to measure up to Your perfect law. And yet, despite my failures, You offered me Your righteousness through the gift of Your Son. I simply can’t grasp the immense mercy You have lavished upon me. Amen.