Geez! I feel like I just colored this chapter orange (that’s
the color of my highlighter). This
chapter brings back one of Paul’s main ideas, that we are all equal. Whether we only know the law, only know the
scripture, or think we know everything.
Paul reminds us again in verses 5 and 6 of Jesus’s death for us, and how
when we die in our old life we become new.
Verse 5: “For while we were in the
flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the
members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6: But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by
which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not
in oldness of the letter.” When
Jesus was crucified we were disconnected from the law. Not law in a spiritual sense but in a physical
sense. God created the law but man
determines it, therefore it is of this world and this world is of sin. However it is all very confusing and Paul
begins to sound a bit like Captain Jack (Sparrow) in these verses, especially
14-17: “For we know that the Law is
spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15: For what I am doing, I do not understanding;
for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing
I hate. 16: But if I do the very
thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is
good. 17: So now, no longer am I the
one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”
What?! So Paul is blaming what he is doing, but doesn’t want
to be doing, on sin? Not himself, but
the sin in him. Alright…so thanks to my
handy-dandy foot notes here is what Paul is trying to say. He is sharing 3 lessons with us, lessons that
he learned while trying to deal with his sinful desires. (1) Knowledge is not
the answer. Paul was ok with not understanding
what the law demanded. (2)
Self-determination doesn’t succeed. We
can’t do things on our own. Christians
get their power and strength from God. (3) Becoming a Christian DOES NOT stamp
out all sin and temptation from a person’s life. This third one may be the most
important. Like I said in yesterdays
post, becoming a Christian isn’t all hunky-dory. If anything becoming a Christian means you
will be even more tempted, and when you give into that temptation those around you
will judge you twice as harshly. For
some people you will be the only Christian face they meet and by you they will
measure and judge all Christians, so keep that in mind.
Lastly I want to mention verses 21, 24, and 25 (ya know,
sense they’re at the end). Also I want
us to notice that Paul is speaking from his own experiences and struggles here,
this is straight up, hard-core Paul!
Verse 21: “I find then the
principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.” Paul totally fesses up and acknowledges the
fact that he is made of evil. He is made
of this world, but he wants to do well, he wants to be right with God. I myself, think that is a really difficult
thing for us to acknowledge and accept because we are so good at making excuses
for ourselves and we are so quick to blame others. (This is where our challenge
of the week will be pulled from).
Verse 24: “Wretched
man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our
Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God,
but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” Here Paul shares his inward struggle with
sin; it was as real for him as it is for us.
However we can learn from Paul’s wisdom.
Whenever Paul felt lost, he would return to the beginning of his spiritual
life, remembering that he has already been freed by Jesus Christ. When you feel confused or overwhelmed by
sin’s appeal, follow Paul’s example: Thank God that he has given you freedom
through Jesus. Let the reality of
Christ’s power lift you up to real victory over sin. All that was from my
footnotes, because they are smatter than me.
But seriously though, when we are feeling overwhelmed, stressed,
depressed, glum, etc. we often try to handle things with our strength
first. We could save so much time and
energy if we just train ourselves to look to God before we try anything else,
and this comes with putting God First.
Not letting other worldly things come before our love and faith in God
but trying our best and doing things through Gods power.
Challenge of the week: Don’t make excuses this week. Be honest with God and fess up your
evil. God already knows what it is that
you struggle with, but He wants to hear it from you. Fess it up and give up. Then after that thank God. Thank Him for taking your sin and allow
yourself to be with Him for a few moments.
Try to be quiet and listen. “Let
His power lift you up to real victory over that sin/struggle.”
Song of the day:
By: Frank Sinatra
Because it's autumn and I want to be in New York, and it's Frank Sinatra!
This was awesome! I really needed to hear this, thank you.
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