I can't do it...I cannot do another two chapter day of Romans...it doesn't do the words of the Holy Spirit spoken through Paul justice. So I'll catch up an extra chapter in another book of the bible later (Help me remember).
7:4ff - Til' death do us part. That is the only way that I will ever be freed of my vows to my wife (Not that I want to be freed - I'm just saying, that's the only way it would ever happen). Sharing in the death of Jesus Christ is the only thing that allows us to realign ourselves with Jesus. Through his death and the death to our old self we can break the commitment to sin we have had our whole lives behind and commit ourselves to his way.
7:7ff - This is a wild passage...sin like a rabid beast jumps on the law and drags us deeper into sin...showing us not that the law creates sin, but exactly how fallen we really are. Sin is the opposite of God. Just as God can only be good - sin can only be corrupt and rebellious. Just as God, when faced with sin, reacts with wrath and judgement because He is good and just, sin reacts to God's perfect law with all out rebellion. When our sinful human nature comes in contact with God's truth it goes to war dragging us down with it.
7:20 - The difference between old life (Before Christ) sin and new life (Believing in Christ) sin, is that as a believer you know it is wrong - you go to war with sin...often losing, but you hate the sin within you and you fight against it and it drives you to an understanding (7:23) about how much you need the sacrifice and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
3 comments:
Got some sense knocked into ya – must be that turnin 30 thing. 2 chps per day – with some of these, you’d be fortunate to cover 2 verses. :)
Chp 7 has some rather difficult language. I have always struggled with understanding it. But I think that 25-26 in the Message really hits it home:
24 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?
25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Seriously – thanks for doing this Brando. It is always good to get into The Word. Yep.
Peace,
j
Thanks for hanging in there and doing it...if I never got any comments at all, I probably would have stopped doing it a while back...you help to hold me accountable - so thanks to you too.
B
What really hit me today is the very end of your entry, Brandon. When you talk about the difference between sin as a non believer and sin as a believer. I LOVE that the difference is God's role in our lives. Sinning as a non believer just leaves us with consequences, and often turning back to sin since we don't know any better. Whereas, sinning as a believer leaves us with a desire to want Christ more! I just think it is so awesome that God can use something as awful as sin to help bring glory to His name. Thank you Jesus!
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