Some Key Words (9/13/00-9/14/00)

Understand (ginosko [1097]):

to know experientially rather than intuitively, to perceive, understand, be conscious of, discern, acknowledge, think; to learn to know, come to know, feel, to understand, have knowledge of, to become acquainted with; to know absolutely

Doing (katergazomai [2716]):

to perform, accomplish, achieve, work out, to do that from which something results, to result in, to make fit for a thing; to do work fully, accomplish

Good (kalos [2570]):

constitutionally good but not necessarily benevolent, harmoniously complete and balanced; beautiful, excellent, choice, surpassing, precious, commendable, magnificent, excellent in nature and characteristic, well adapted to its ends, genuine, approved, praiseworthy, affecting the mind agreeably, comforting and confirming; beautiful, literally or morally good, valuable or virtuous; Vine's: The difference between this and (agathos [18]) - see below - is that agathos speaks to constitutional goodness and a beneficial nature, whereas this speaks of intrinsic goodness, beauty, and ethical goodness. This is the good of verse 16, which we affirm of the Law. This is also the good that Paul cannot do in verse 18, and wishes to do in verse 21.

Sin (hamartia [266]):

missing the true end and scope of life, an offense in relation to God - emphasizes the guilt; to be without a share in, to miss the mark, be mistaken, wander from uprightness and honor, wander from God's law; a sin

Know (oida [1492]):

to perceive, know intuitively rather than experientially, to perceive with the senses, to see, understand, experience a thing, be acquainted with; to notice, discern, discover, to turn the eyes, mind, or attention towards a thing, to observe, to ascertain what must be done about something, to examine, behold, experience a state or condition, to know of, get knowledge of, understand, to grasp the force and meaning of that which has such a definite meaning; to see, to know

Wishing (thelo [2309]):

to will, and in willing, move to action, to be decided that one will see his will executed; to will, intend, be resolved or determined, to purpose, to desire, to like to do a thing, to take delight in; to determine, to choose or prefer, to be inclined to

Good (agathos [18]):

good and benevolent, profitable, useful; of good constitution or nature, pleasant, agreeable, excellent, upright, honorable; good; see Vine's comparison of goods above. This is the good which Paul finds missing in himself in verse 18, and that he wills to do in verse 19.

Evil (kakos [2556]):

wicked, pernicious, injurious, behaving in a bad way; a nature which is not as it ought to be, base thinking, wrong thinking or feeling, wicked thinking or acting, troublesome, baneful; intrinsically worthless, depraved, injurious

Principle (nomos [3551]):

a law as distributing or administering, divine law, gospel law, the law of faith, a principle equivalent to law; anything established, a custom, law, command, a precept or injunction, the rule of action prescribed by reason, Mosaic law, Christian religion; law or principle

Concur (sunedomai [4913]):

to rejoice together with; to rejoice within oneself, to feel satisfaction with

Inner (eso [2080]):

within, the internal man, the soul, the conscience; inside

Man (anthropos [444]):

man as distinct from gods or animals, 'upwards looking'; a human being, an individual human, indicative of man's inherent weakness in the face of sin, the body as opposed to the soul, the man conformed to God as opposed to the man conformed to sin's corruptions; man-faced

Different (heteros [2087]):

another, qualitatively different; the other, another, one that is not of the same nature, class or kind; other or different

Waging war (antistrateuomai [497]):

to make a military expedition, to take the field against another, to oppose, make war against; to attack, to destroy

Mind (nous [3563]):

the mind, the organ of conscious life, the consciousness preceding action; the mind with its faculties for perception and understanding, for feeling, judging, and determining, the intellectual faculty, reason, the capacity for spiritual truth, the soul's higher powers, the power of sober judgement; the intellect or mind

Prisoner (aichmalotizo [163]):

to lead away captive, to capture one's mind, captivate; to make captive

Set me free (rhuomai [4506]):

to draw with force and violence, to drag, pull, to deliver or draw out of danger, to liberate; to draw to oneself, rescue, deliver; to rush or draw, to rescue

Serving (douleuo [1398]):

to be in the position of and act like a servant, to be subject to and serve, to be in bondage, subjugated, reduced to bondage under another, to be deprived of freedom, to put one's dependence into effect, to obey, to be a slave to; to be a slave, to obey, submit to, to yield obedience, to give oneself up to; to be a slave to - whether voluntarily or not

 

Paraphrase: (9/13/00)

15 I don't get it. I'm not habitually doing the things I want to be doing, but rather am doing things which I hate. 16 But this conflict shows that I agree that the Law is good. 17 It's not me, it's the sin within me, 18 for nothing good remains in my flesh. My spirit wishes to obey the Law, but my body won't do it. 19 Indeed I don't do the good I wish to, but rather do the evil that I wish not to. 20 So how can it be me doing it? It must be the sin that lives on in me. 21 Clearly, then, evil is present even in the one who wishes to be good, 22 for my spirit and mind agree completely with God's Law, 23 but my body obeys a different law, and fights my mind, taking it prisoner to the law of sin. 24 I am miserable! Who will save me from this wretched body? From the death it serves? 25 Still, praise and thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ! So, my mind serves God's Law, but my flesh serves sin's law.

Key Verse: (9/13/00)

7:25 - In spite of the body's sinfulness, our mind has been moved to serve the Law, thanks to our Lord Jesus, and His work on our behalf.

People Mentioned: (9/13/00)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (9/14/00)

7:15

Jn 15:15 - We are no longer slaves, for we understand what the Father is doing. Gal 5:17 - Because the flesh and the Spirit are in opposition to each other, we are not free to do as we would prefer.

7:16

1Ti 1:8 - The Law is good, when used lawfully.

7:17
7:18

Jn 3:6 - Until we are born of the Spirit, we remain of the flesh. Ro 8:3 - Through Christ Jesus, God has done what our weak flesh could not do, and thus condemned sin.

7:19
7:20
7:21

Ro 8:2 - The Spiritual law of life in Jesus has set us free from sin's law of death.

7:22

2Co 4:16 - Though our bodies fail, we don't lose heart, because we know our soul is being renewed daily. Eph 3:16 - Paul prays that we be strengthened in our souls through the power of the Spirit. 1Pe 3:4 - Our beauty is to be an internal thing, a gentle and quiet spirit precious to God.

7:23

Ro 6:19 - Once we were enslaved to impurity and lawlessness, but we have since made our bodies slaves to righteousness. Gal 5:17 - Flesh and spirit oppose each other, and cause us to fail of our desired actions. Jas 4:1 - The pleasures our flesh pursues cause conflict between us. 1Pe 2:11 - We ought to behave as strangers to the flesh and abstain from its lusts, which are at odds with the soul. Ro 8:2 - the Spirit's law equals life, sin's law equals death. We have been freed from the latter by the former.

7:24

Ro 6:6 - Our sin was done away with, freeing us from its slavery, when we joined Christ in His crucifixion. Col 2:11 - In Him, too, we were circumcised spiritually by the removal of the flesh. Ro 8:2 - Spiritual life in Christ has set us free from the death which sin inevitably brings.

7:25

1Co 15:57 - Our thanks go to God for the victory He gives us through our Lord Jesus. Ro 8:2 - The Spirit, Jesus, [and the Father] have set us free from sin and death.

 

New Thoughts (9/15/00)

Lord, here's a question that needs answering: Romans 6:6 tells us that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Romans 6:19 directs us to present our members, our bodies, as slaves to righteousness. Now, in the present passage, we are shown that our bodies remain enslaved to sin, although our mind and soul serve a different master. In Matthew 6:24, Christ tells us that we cannot serve two masters. This all needs to fit together, although it appears to be conflicting information. How is this? Seeking resolution in the flesh / spirit divide fails, for Romans 6:19 is specific in referring to our flesh as that which is to be enslaved to righteousness. Perhaps it is like this: Our flesh remains enslaved to sin, and rebellious to our own will. We strive, according to the instructions of Romans 6:19, to redirect our flesh into full accord with our will to be righteous, but these efforts run up against that principle that Paul found (Romans 7:21.) In all this, our dual service is indeed as Christ said it would be, for truly we despise the mastery that sin maintains over our fleshly actions. Yet we are truly free of sin's mastery, for it's mastery lies in the threat of death. This is the singular goal that sin drives us toward, and in that it has been relegated to failure. With Paul, I can shout out my thanks to God, for, although I remain in internal conflict throughout this life, that conflict itself assures me that the outcome will be eternal life, for my spirit is indeed freed from its enslavement to sin, and is cheerfully submitted in service to righteousness.

So, realizing this dichotomy, how do we keep it from becoming an excuse? It's in our nature to grasp hold of anything that excuses our actions. The full counsel of Scripture should inform us that we can't dare to make this an excuse. Back in our study of 1John, it was made clear that the one whose habit is to sin is not going to see God. Bringing that into the current context, it seems to me that the idea of a habit rather indicates the involvement and agreement of the mind with what is occurring. I know I can think of the days when I looked forward with relish to the occasions when I could do those things I now do my utmost to avoid. I know I can think of days more recent where similar actions have felt almost inevitable, even though my heart and mind cried out against them. Can I be alone in this? I rather doubt it. The only safeguard I can see to prevent our becoming lax in guarding against sin is to be daily in God's word, to walk in God's Word, to seek daily the very present help of the Spirit in keeping us from falling in the face of temptations. Yet, the reminders of Scripture should be enough to lead us to repent, seek forgiveness, and know God's mercy when we fail. And we will fail. Our flesh is weak, and we are assured here that it will betray us. But woe to us if we don't think and feel ourselves betrayed when it happens.

How fully do I realize the necessity of Christ Jesus? Paul, here, is sensing the absolute necessity of Jesus if he is to have any hope of salvation. It's only through Jesus, it's only through faith believing in Jesus and the work He has done. I know I've read and heard enough times that I can do nothing good without Him. I know it, but it seems that all too often I need to prove it to myself. Too often, I can feel self-confident. I can feel that I can do it. I'm good. I've got what it takes. Thanks be to God that He gently reminds me that I don't have it! Thanks be to God that it's gentle! In the years that I've served in worship ministry, He's made this point over and over again. Those times that we come to worship thinking we've got it, we're prepared, we're going to let our talents shine; those are the times we fail utterly in our ministry. Those times we come to worship thinking we're totally unprepared, and any possibility of a 'good service' coming out is beyond hope; those are the times God can use us, can work in and through us to bring true worship, for we come with true understanding. Oh, how miserable I used to feel coming into those situations! And, truth be told, outside of the worship ministry, I'm still greatly uncomfortable with that feeling. But I've come to relish that feeling of near panic when it's time for service, for it suggests to me that we - as a worship team - have come to that place we ought to be at: total dependence. This is what Paul is telling us. Our spirit is in willing enslavement to righteousness and to God. In all we do, we should be putting our dependence on Him into effect. Help me, Lord, to apply the lessons of worship to the rest of my days. Help me to rejoice, oh God, in my dependence upon You in all I do.

What's up with the goods? There are two different goods being bounced around in this passage. There's the constitutional goodness, that which is genuine, well fitted to its purpose, and beautiful. We confess that the Law is of such constitutional goodness. It is this good that Paul discovers he cannot do. We cannot convince our actions to be such as are consistently well fitted to our purpose, beautiful, and genuine (v18), although that is our heartfelt desire (v21). Then there is the good that is benevolent, upright, and useful. This is simply not in our flesh (v18). There's no trace of it. But oh, how we wish it were not so! Our actions are not as we wish them to be (v19), for they are not the upright, benevolent and useful actions we desire, but rather the rebellious actions of our flesh working in opposition to us. God, Your mercy is all that preserves us. It is all that keeps us from total despair when we realize our condition. How could we hope to continue, if You were not there with Your daily forgiveness? With Your sanctifying power coming to cleanse us once more? Father, I don't want this need to come to You constantly, but I accept it as it is in Your plan. I want to stand pure before You, but I know this cannot be except for the work of Your Son in my life. I accept that work on my behalf. I thank You that You willingly chose to come and suffer the consequences my actions deserve. I thank You that because of that will - Your will - I can hope to come home to You when my time here is done. And I thank You for that time here, for You bless me more each day that I dwell in Your creation.

One last thing that really jumped out at me in going through this was the thought conveyed in James 4:1. I want to quote that directly, here:

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? (NASB)

This is a word for the body, a word for the Church locally and at large. And it seems to me that it applies on multiple levels. It is that constant conflict in our flesh, that constant rebelling of our bodies against our own wills, that can make us edgy and easily upset. There's a great deal of truth to the idea that the thing that most offends us in our brother is that which reminds us of our own shortcomings. The conflict we live - especially if we are keeping our spirit well fed on the Word - keeps us ever mindful of our shortcomings, and saddened by them. As such, we are that much more sensitive to further reminders of those shortcomings, and that much more likely to be offended. Thus, our internal conflicts become a source of external conflicts as we come into the larger family of our churches.

At another level, I'm reminded that we in the church are the members of Christ's body. Too often, we rebel against Christ's will even as our flesh rebels against our own will. Too often, we want to direct the service, we want to decide how the ministry will work, we want to do what pleases us. When we get into this mode, we cannot help but come to quarrelling. It's hard enough for two of us to agree on what's pleasurable. When we come to the full church, that agreement becomes impossible. Only as we allow the Holy Spirit to direct us, as we allow His order of worship and service to be our order, as we get ourselves out of the way, can we hope to operate in unity and so avoid conflict. God help us! We, who cannot control our own flesh, long so very much to serve You in truth. We long to do so, and yet we rebel against our own longings. I pray that You, oh Lord, would bring this flesh into line with Your desires. I pray that You would cause this to be the constant case in my life, Lord, but barring this, let me at least be found submissive to Your will in Your house. Keep me sensitive, oh God, to Your desire. Keep me mindful of Your idea of true worship, that I may serve You more fully.