Romans 7
An Illustration From Marriage
1Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
4So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,[a] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Struggling With Sin
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."[b] 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion:
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
June 12, 2008
It’s Elementary!
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READ: Psalm 139:1-6
Known to God from eternity are all His works. —Acts 15:18
On a recent trip to London, we exited the Baker Street underground station where we were greeted by a life-size statue of legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. Created by novelist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes was an investigative genius who could routinely assess seemingly random clues and solve the mystery.
Baffled by Holmes’ uncanny brilliance, his sidekick, Dr. Watson, would ask for an explanation—to which Holmes would glibly respond, “Elementary!” and then proceed to unfold the solution.
If only life operated that way. So often, we face events and circumstances that are far more baffling than a Sherlock Holmes mystery. We struggle to figure life out, but we always seem to come up short.
In times like these, it’s comforting to know that we have a God who doesn’t need to assess the situation—He already knows everything perfectly well. In Acts 15:18 we read, “Known to God from eternity are all His works.” He never has to wonder or resort to inductive reasoning.
Despite our finiteness, our lives rest in the hands of the One who knows all the whats, whys, and whens we’ll ever face. As we trust in Him, He’ll guide us in the path He desires us to take—and His way is never wrong.
— Bill Crowder
God is the One who sees the whole,
His knowledge is complete;
We see but portions of the truth
As lines that never meet. —D. De Haan
In a world of mystery, it’s a comfort to know the God who knows all things.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
June 12, 2008
Getting There (2)
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READ:
They said to Him, ’Rabbi . . . where are You staying?’ He said to them, ’Come and see’ —John 1:38-39
Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. "They . . . remained with Him that day . . . ." That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.
"You are Simon . . . . You shall be called Cephas" ( John 1:42 ). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.
Pride is the sin of making "self" our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14 ). For you to say, "Oh, I’m no saint," is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, "I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ." Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, ". . . We will come to him and make Our home with him" ( John 14:23 ). Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft:
Looking Backward - #5589
Thursday, June 12, 2008
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We decided to take our youth broadcast out of the studio one day, and to use an amusement park as our backdrop for the program. The park people suggested a super rollercoaster called Thunder Road as one of the venues. Now, roller coaster and I have never gotten along real well since my dad sort of made me go on one when I was little. And this one - well, it had two lines for you to choose from. One said, "Forward," and the other said, "Backward." You could ride Thunder Road in the conventional way, looking forward with at least a little chance to prepare yourself for what was coming. But the backward bunch - they rode backwards! Which means, of course, they had no idea what was about to happen to their body. They call this a choice?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Looking Backward."
In a way, we all have to choose which way we are going to ride through life. There are two lines: one says forward - looking ahead to what's going to happen, to the future. And the other says backward: looking back at the past. Those who choose to keep looking backward are going to have a much rougher road.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Isaiah 43:18-19 where God says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Now, that could be a very personal word to you right now. God's saying "I want to do a new thing; I want to start a great new chapter in your life." But notice what has to happen before you can get God's new thing. You have to close the old chapter. "Forget the past; do not dwell on the former things." Could it be that you're missing a new beginning from God, a better chapter because you're looking back. Back at your pain, your hurt, your failure, your mistreatment, your betrayal, your old life? That's why your ride is so rough.
Paul gives us a formula for winning in Philippians 3:13, "Forgetting the things that are behind, and straining toward what is ahead, I press toward the mark to win the prize to which God called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Those who keep looking back, reliving the past, rehearsing the past, revenging the past - those people are too preoccupied to pursue the new thing God has for them.
The Bible describes the rough ride some of us have because we're looking the wrong direction in Hebrews 12:15, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God. Do not let any bitter root grow up among you or it will cause trouble and defile many." See, bitterness is a seat in the car that looks backward - and so is anger, and unforgiveness, resentment. Someone has hurt you, but the unforgiveness in your heart isn't hurting them much at all. It's killing you.
God may want to do a new thing in your marriage, or between you and your parents, or one of your children, or maybe in your church, or in some key relationships, or in your work. But He cannot fill your heart with His grace as long as it's full of your bitterness. But today could be the day that you go to the Great Forgiver, Jesus, and say, "Lord, help me to treat them, not as they treated me, but as You treated me." As Colossians 3:13 says, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Let it go. Decide now not to base the future on the past. Declare today your new beginning. You can finally be free!
The best view is for those who get in the car that looks forward. It may not always be a smooth ride, but it isn't nearly as rough as the ride is for someone who keeps looking at what has already happened. You can choose that other line today, the one that forgets the former things and does not dwell on the past.