Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
This is the plight of an APOSTLE!
Why do we ever try to imagine we would have a different experience?!
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Jesus spoke directly to Paul in a vision. Paul was left blind by the encounter and then given back his sight by another man sent by God to him.
And Paul struggled with SIN!
Paul was fighting the good fight that we ALL must fight.
Paul was recognizing the SPIRITUAL side of His life and knew that the moral law was spiritual. He also knew that he was powerless to keep from sinning … on HIS OWN!
He fought against the fiery darts of Satan and recognized the source of the spiritual warfare.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
'It is NO MORE I that do it------- but SIN that dwelleth in me.'
He's warring! The spiritual desire to be sinless and following all of God's spiritual moral laws was paramount to Paul. He didn't want the sin in HIM. He didn't want the fiery darts to get through the armor and pierce him. He recognized his forever weakness, but did NOT use that as an excuse to give in to sin. He did not say he is a being that can't help but sin so why bother even trying to keep from sin.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
DELIGHTS in the LAW of GOD AFTER THE INWARD MAN.
Do you delight in the moral law of God? Is keeping the moral law of God something that delights you? All too often we fear or abhor the law of God because it becomes something of a great impossible weight to bear. Or it keeps us from delving into pleasurable sin and do not for one moment even try to believe that sin holds no pleasure. If sin held no pleasure it'd be very easy to keep from succumbing to it, right?
Do you delight in the moral law of God?
Paul states here that he delights in the law of God AFTER THE INWARD MAN.
Spiritually HE delights in the law of God. Spiritually he recognizes the love of God in every single moral law that exists. When you see the beauty of the law of God, when you recognize the LOVE of God in the law you can't help but delight in such amazing, overwhelming love that is directed right at us.
Yet the flesh side of us that wars against the spiritual side does not DELIGHT in the law of God!
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
There is a law in Paul's MEMBERS that wars against the law of his MIND! Yet, our hands and feet, and any other part of our body does NOT act independently to our mind, does it? Barring cases of demon possession, it is our own mind consenting to the sin of the flesh, right? The war is between the flesh and the spirit! The flesh desiring things SELFISHLY, the mind knowing that we should be SELF-LESS. There is a war, a constant war between the selfish and selfless part of us.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
We are truly condemned if left on our own because we CANNOT be selfless on our own, the idea of being selfless or trying to created a selflessness inside of ourselves can stem from a SELFISH desire! We are POWERLESS to save ourselves! We need to recognize this powerlessness and do so NOT in order to soothe our conscience with we sin, but so that we recognize our NEED of a SAVIOR and when we sin, we CONFESS, we REPENT, we SEEK FORGIVENESS knowing we've done wrong.
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
NEVER did Paul ever ONCE intend these verses of his to be used to endorse sinfulness, NEVER!
He was recognizing his NEED of a SAVIOR who SAVES to the uttermost!
We need this recognition!
We need this acknowledgment that while we delight in God's law and our sinful nature wars against that, we have to surrender to our SAVIOR who can live in us and save us from all sin! He does what we absolutely CANNOT do, but HE never gave us the endorsement to sin. He told those he encountered and healed to ' GO AND SIN NO MORE' ! Would our Savior tell them to do something that was impossible?! No, He would not!
Is it any wonder we must constantly pray? Praying always, in all prayer and supplication?! It isn't truly any wonder, it fosters hope in a constant connection to our SAVIOR!
Go and sin no more.
Thank GOD through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.
With our mind we MUST serve the law of God, not make excuses as to why we don't have to, or shouldn't, or that something is wrong with the law of God. Our SPIRITUAL self must SERVE the LAW of GOD.
The flesh, OUR flesh may serve the law of sin- the sin that makes us weak to temptation, that makes us desire sin.
We must learn to surrender to our God and live in Christ, wholly in Christ.
All by HIS will!
IN HIS LOVE!
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
This is the plight of an APOSTLE!
Why do we ever try to imagine we would have a different experience?!
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Jesus spoke directly to Paul in a vision. Paul was left blind by the encounter and then given back his sight by another man sent by God to him.
And Paul struggled with SIN!
Paul was fighting the good fight that we ALL must fight.
Paul was recognizing the SPIRITUAL side of His life and knew that the moral law was spiritual. He also knew that he was powerless to keep from sinning … on HIS OWN!
He fought against the fiery darts of Satan and recognized the source of the spiritual warfare.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
'It is NO MORE I that do it------- but SIN that dwelleth in me.'
He's warring! The spiritual desire to be sinless and following all of God's spiritual moral laws was paramount to Paul. He didn't want the sin in HIM. He didn't want the fiery darts to get through the armor and pierce him. He recognized his forever weakness, but did NOT use that as an excuse to give in to sin. He did not say he is a being that can't help but sin so why bother even trying to keep from sin.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
DELIGHTS in the LAW of GOD AFTER THE INWARD MAN.
Do you delight in the moral law of God? Is keeping the moral law of God something that delights you? All too often we fear or abhor the law of God because it becomes something of a great impossible weight to bear. Or it keeps us from delving into pleasurable sin and do not for one moment even try to believe that sin holds no pleasure. If sin held no pleasure it'd be very easy to keep from succumbing to it, right?
Do you delight in the moral law of God?
Paul states here that he delights in the law of God AFTER THE INWARD MAN.
Spiritually HE delights in the law of God. Spiritually he recognizes the love of God in every single moral law that exists. When you see the beauty of the law of God, when you recognize the LOVE of God in the law you can't help but delight in such amazing, overwhelming love that is directed right at us.
Yet the flesh side of us that wars against the spiritual side does not DELIGHT in the law of God!
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
There is a law in Paul's MEMBERS that wars against the law of his MIND! Yet, our hands and feet, and any other part of our body does NOT act independently to our mind, does it? Barring cases of demon possession, it is our own mind consenting to the sin of the flesh, right? The war is between the flesh and the spirit! The flesh desiring things SELFISHLY, the mind knowing that we should be SELF-LESS. There is a war, a constant war between the selfish and selfless part of us.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
We are truly condemned if left on our own because we CANNOT be selfless on our own, the idea of being selfless or trying to created a selflessness inside of ourselves can stem from a SELFISH desire! We are POWERLESS to save ourselves! We need to recognize this powerlessness and do so NOT in order to soothe our conscience with we sin, but so that we recognize our NEED of a SAVIOR and when we sin, we CONFESS, we REPENT, we SEEK FORGIVENESS knowing we've done wrong.
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
NEVER did Paul ever ONCE intend these verses of his to be used to endorse sinfulness, NEVER!
He was recognizing his NEED of a SAVIOR who SAVES to the uttermost!
We need this recognition!
We need this acknowledgment that while we delight in God's law and our sinful nature wars against that, we have to surrender to our SAVIOR who can live in us and save us from all sin! He does what we absolutely CANNOT do, but HE never gave us the endorsement to sin. He told those he encountered and healed to ' GO AND SIN NO MORE' ! Would our Savior tell them to do something that was impossible?! No, He would not!
Is it any wonder we must constantly pray? Praying always, in all prayer and supplication?! It isn't truly any wonder, it fosters hope in a constant connection to our SAVIOR!
Go and sin no more.
Thank GOD through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.
With our mind we MUST serve the law of God, not make excuses as to why we don't have to, or shouldn't, or that something is wrong with the law of God. Our SPIRITUAL self must SERVE the LAW of GOD.
The flesh, OUR flesh may serve the law of sin- the sin that makes us weak to temptation, that makes us desire sin.
We must learn to surrender to our God and live in Christ, wholly in Christ.
All by HIS will!
IN HIS LOVE!
No comments:
Post a Comment