Are
you ever baffled by your behavior? You
ask yourself, “Why did I do that? What was I thinking?” More than once I have
stared into the darkness of the night, waiting for sleep, feeling foolish, or
worse; feeling guilty, because of some dumb or sinful choice I made that
day. Despite our best intentions, we
make mistakes. We choose immediate pleasure even when we know better. Perhaps you are thinking that my perspective on
human behavior is far too negative? Paul
said it first!
"I don’t
understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do
it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am
doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good.
But I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these
evil things. I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful
nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right.
I want to, but I can’t." (Romans 7:15-18, NLT) As you read that you may groan or agree or
both. Christians are too familiar with
the failures that arise out of the persistent influence of the sinful nature.
God gave the revelation of the Law of Moses and it increased
guilt. The choices made in ignorance no
longer found any excuse. The only way
that “law” could make us right with God is if we were able to keep it
flawlessly and we cannot! As we awaken to God’s desires for us, as we
taste the goodness of the Spirit, we join Paul in his scream: "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who
will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?" (Romans 7:24,
NLT) The old sinful nature sabotages our
best intentions. Unless . . .
We respond, by faith, to the grace offered by God, through Christ Jesus! Romans 7 is NOT the last word. "With
the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who
enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a
continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of
life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing
you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death."
(Romans 8:1-2, The Message) God does for
us what we cannot do for ourselves- makes us whole and holy.
Perhaps you are a little confused? “Jerry, do we live in Romans 7 or 8? Are we still prone to sin or are we
perfected?” The not so popular answer is
both. Through Christ Jesus we are made
right with God, justified, and filled with assurance of life- overflowing and
eternal. It is a ‘done deal’ in Heaven.
But, what God has declared about us is still being worked out every day
in us. The sinful nature has lost its
grip to enslave us, but the power of temptation still works against us. We live out the calling of Christ in a world
still waiting the final revelation of the Kingdom! What we know is that gaining mastery over
temptation – no matter if it comes from the world systems that surround us, the
appetites that reside within us, or the devil himself – comes only through
humble reliance on the grace of God and the power of the Spirit. The moment we
attempt the Christian life in our own strength or discipline we will find
ourselves defeated!
Moses’ law was built around prohibition. It’s message was ‘do
not’ and increased guilt. So, “God put
into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body
like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by
giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the requirement
of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful
nature but instead follow the Spirit.” Romans 8:3 NLT A rich and beautiful life in Christ is not
without its problems. As we read on in
Romans 8, we find that our experiences with temptation and sin are not aberrant
behaviors, but part of being human! But,
we also learn that God is always at work and caring for us as our Abba (dad)! Thus, we walk by faith and grow in grace – ‘transformed with ever increasing glory.’
Here’s the word from the Word. Own the promise by faith and
live in the power of the Spirit. "What
can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever
be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us
all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else? Who dares
accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has
given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ
Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and
is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us . . . nothing in all creation will ever be
able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Romans 8:39, NLT)
_________
Come Thou Fount
Come Thou fount of
every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing
Your grace.
Streams of mercy never
ceasing,
Call for songs of
loudest praise.
Teach me some
melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming
tongues above.
Praise the mount, I'm
fixed upon it,
Mount of God's
redeeming love!
Oh to grace how great
a debtor,
Daily I'm constrained
to be.
Let Your goodness,
like a fetter,
Bind my wandering
heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord,
I feel it;
Prone to leave the God
I love.
Here's my heart, O
take and seal it,
Seal it for Your
courts above.
Public Domain
No comments:
Post a Comment