31 March 2016

Scripture: Romans 7:1-6

Observations:

"The law is binding to a person only as long as he lives." What is the point being made here? Paul gives an example example of marriage - that of a woman bound to her husband by law, but released upon her husband's death, making the point that she is then free to marry another and is only an adulteress if living with another man while still married (i.e. husband is still alive).

"Likewise ... you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead." It appears that Paul is making a similar statement of the law having now no hold over us through our acceptance of Christ's death on our behalf, rendering our former contract ended. This, rhetorically speaking, enables us to cleave now to God.

Paul affirms this idea in vv 5-6

"For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code."

While we were under the law, Paul reiterates that our sinful natures reacted to the law by instigating us to sin. Then, working with the prior assertion that Christ's sacrifice made possible a realigning of allegiance from sin to Christ,  we see that, not only are we no longer bound to our old sinful nature, doomed to the punishment deserved therefore, but also, we are no longer subject to the law, but rather directly to God. We are not trapped in a litany of prescriptions, but are freed to worship and obey the spirit of the law, enabled by the spirit of God residing within us as our counselor.

Application:

So, then, if we are no longer under the law, but under the spirit of God, then what?

Automatically, it defuses the question begged at the end of ch. 5, "Should I sin that grace may abound?" (6:1).

If we are living under the spirit of God (not to mention having sworn new allegiance to God) and sin is direct contravention of God, then sin is not an option.

So, then, what does it mean to live under the spirit of God? What does it mean to pursue God?

Clearly it's not a shopping list of dos and don'ts - we were freed from that. Instead, I would argue, that it means we should be living in such a manner that God is pleased by us. That would then entail living in a manner consistent with his example, both in the old and new testaments - seeking purity and righteousness, loving others as Christ loves us, spreading the gospel, etc.

(I'll just be straight here and make a note that loving others doesn't mean living in some kind of Lennon-esque utopia. If you note how God loved the Israelites, providing for them and enduring their insults, and for all man, sacrificing of himself for the benefit of man despite man's direct antagonism towards him. ("While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Rom 5:8, "For ... while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son..." Rom 5:10a).

Christlike love is not some fluffy sense of mutual good feeling to man, but rather the seeking of others' betterment as the sacrifice of self.

"But I'll be taken advantage of!" you exclaim.

Did God call us to only love on and care for those who would be a wise investment for our efforts? Not so. We see a direct command from Christ as a summary of half of the commandments: "And love your neighbour as yourself." And let us remember the parable of the good Samaritan - our neighbour is any of our fellow men.

27 March 2016

Scripture: Romans 6:15-23

Observations:

Paul carries on from yesterday's passage, returning to the question of continuing to sin because we are now under grace. He makes a good point here, though, that the one to whom you submit, be it sin or God, is the one to whom you are enslaved. So, then, if a man were to claim he follows Christ, yet continually submits himself to sin under the pretense of grace, we would be right in assuming that he is not saved in that he is still enslaved to sin instead of being a slave of God.

But Paul says to the Romans, "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves to sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness." (vv 17-18)

So, I may have jumped the gun a bit, and in a negative bent, but the idea of being either a slave of God or of sin is continued here, as Paul encourages the Roman church in their following of Christ. Notice his phrasing, "... obedient from the heart..." To me, this stands out, because the heart is the innermost being, the core of one's identity. So, for someone to become obedient to Christ from their very hearts means that they are totally and completely given over to God. Contrast this with the pharisees, whom Jesus called "White-washed tombs", indicating that they obeyed on the surface level, but their hearts were not impacted by God.

Freedom from enslavement to sin involves a heart-level change in obedience from our sinful desires to God.

Paul, in verse nineteen, rephrases his statements in the prior verses before continuing on.

In closing for today, we see Paul making a comparison. He compares slavery to sin and slavery to God by virtue of the fruit produced. The fruit received from sin is death. The fruit received from God is sanctification and eternal life. While we are enslaved to one, we are free from the other. The question is, which master's wages would you prefer? While sin's enslavement may seem more pleasurable now, it's compensation, it's payout, it's wage is death. Slavery to righteousness, however, is often seen in a bad light: one of asceticism and drudgery, following a list of laws for a policing, judgmental God in the hope of being good enough for reward. This is wrong. In focusing on the laws, the dos and don'ts, we are actually not trusting in God, but in ourselves to meet the law and, as such, have missed the point. No, slavery to righteousness is the result of a heart-deep repentance and obedience, a relationship that leads to life. In fact, Paul reiterates an idea from earlier in this letter, saying that the life given is a gift from God.

Application:

Obedient from the heart.
What fruit were you getting...? [T]he end ... is death.
Now that you have been set free from sin ... the fruit you get leads to sanctification and ... eternal life.

For me, those are the three key ideas. I've always focused on verse 23 in this passage, being one of those stereotypical Sunday School verses and a part of the common evangelical gospel delivery. Verses 17 and 20-22 really stood out to me because they highlighted the status of the heart and the consequences of either slavery.

I like the idea here, of slavery. Some might prefer the term "servanthood", as slavery has so many negative connotations and serving God is a good thing, but let me put it this way, as I see it. A slave is owned. He or she is the property of his or her master, completely at the mercy of the master in  every way.

Obedient from the heart.

I desire to be a good slave, honouring my master not only in my external actions, but internally, with my attitude, demeanour, and thoughts. From the inside out is the direction of true, lasting change and it is this change which I crave.