What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:1-2)
Welcome to Romans chapter six. I was told once that if I memorised it it would help me to overcome sin, so I did, but I found that just memorising and reciting a chapter does not give victory, Jesus gives victory. The useful thing about memorising it was that I understood it much better than I otherwise would have, and through memorisation and meditation it was engrafted to me to an extent.
So we have just been learning about how (catch this) more laws = more sin = more remorse = more forgiveness from Jesus. So it would be easy for someone to catch this idea and run with it as Martin Luther did by saying he will commit more sin so that he can be sure he is saved by grace alone.
Paul and I have just made the argument yesterday that by having more rules (like where to live, what to eat, what to watch, and what to wear) we help people to be saved (as long as the rules are God's rules) because they have more opportunities to see that they will not measure up except by the power of Christ. The 'weakness' in our argument, the natural retort, is this: "If you want me to feel more remorse, I'll just commit some more of the 'big' sins and then I'll feel remorseful enough! I don't need your laws and rules, I can find plenty of sin on my own."
Paul's response to Martin Luther or the modern Christian is clear: "Not at all!" "No way!" ("God forbid" is simply the strongest "no" the translators had when they made the translation. The original is also simply the strongest "no". It could be literally translated: "No, no.") So why does Martin Luther's argument work "not at all"? Because salvation is a death to sin, that idea will be developed more. But basically, we cannot sin more to get more grace because the grace is given to stop us sinning.
Grace was given to free me from bondage to anger. When I was faced with bondage to vain imagination should I have deliberately lost my temper at someone so that I would get grace to overcome my diseased imagination? No way, that's absurd. But rather, it wasn't until I was convicted that my imagination was causing me to sin that I received the grace to overcome it. As the law reveals new flaws in our character we will receive new grace to overcome. If I refuse to let Jesus overcome a particular sin in my life because I want to keep being forgiven I am being a fool. There are enough sins in my life for Jesus to keep overcoming them one after another until I am ready to meet him face to face. New revelations on things to improve bring new grace and growth. Returning to old sins brings stagnation (corruption through not moving) and spiritual death.
What is the next thing Jesus wants to overcome in my life?
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
Monday, 18 August 2014
Romans 5:20
Continuing Romans, we have just been told that as one man's disobedience caused many to be sinners, even so one man's obedience can cause many to become righteous.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
What does this mean? When there are no copyright laws, nobody pirates media, but they may not pay the producer and soon media would cease to innovate. As there are gradually more and more laws in our society it gets harder and harder to avoid breaking the law. But these laws are usually introduced for good reasons and although we technically commit more crimes our society is better as a whole because of it.
In the same way, when there are few moral laws, we would not break them very often. But since there are many such laws we all break them. But even if we did not break moral laws often it would not be helpful for us. We need many laws about right and wrong to help us see that we need the forgiveness of Jesus. When we have seen that we are very guilty, we come to Jesus for forgiveness and he gives us power to overcome these sins and love each other.
Therefore just as one man's sin brought us death, and one man's obedience brought us life: the law brings us remorse (~repentance) and Jesus brings us pardon and reform.
Without the law to bring remorse, it would be hard for us to feel the need for Jesus to pardon and reform us.
There is a side point I find interesting. That is the question of salvational issues. If many laws bring us greater remorse and lead to greater pardon and reformation, then it is pointless to talk about issues as being salvational or not. Every true law of God we know helps us to find salvation, though on its own it probably doesn't make much difference.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
What does this mean? When there are no copyright laws, nobody pirates media, but they may not pay the producer and soon media would cease to innovate. As there are gradually more and more laws in our society it gets harder and harder to avoid breaking the law. But these laws are usually introduced for good reasons and although we technically commit more crimes our society is better as a whole because of it.
In the same way, when there are few moral laws, we would not break them very often. But since there are many such laws we all break them. But even if we did not break moral laws often it would not be helpful for us. We need many laws about right and wrong to help us see that we need the forgiveness of Jesus. When we have seen that we are very guilty, we come to Jesus for forgiveness and he gives us power to overcome these sins and love each other.
Therefore just as one man's sin brought us death, and one man's obedience brought us life: the law brings us remorse (~repentance) and Jesus brings us pardon and reform.
Without the law to bring remorse, it would be hard for us to feel the need for Jesus to pardon and reform us.
There is a side point I find interesting. That is the question of salvational issues. If many laws bring us greater remorse and lead to greater pardon and reformation, then it is pointless to talk about issues as being salvational or not. Every true law of God we know helps us to find salvation, though on its own it probably doesn't make much difference.
Saturday, 16 August 2014
Stories
And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27 That ye shall say… (Exodus 12:26-27)
Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; (Psalm 105:5)
Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can shew forth all his praise? (Psalm 106:2)
History. Most people see it as pretty boring, I think this is because they haven't been taught it properly. Sorry to all the history teachers out there, maybe it's the curriculum's fault. History isn't boring, we all love stories, and history is stories.
The Bible is full of stories. We tend to want the Bible to be full of essays and prescriptions (statements about what to do) but instead it is full of stories. Stories really are much more fascinating.
God wanted his people to remember the stories of what he had done as a safeguard from forgetting about him. We tell children a few stories, but there are a lot more that could be told. I have said that when I am going to preach I am far more nervous about giving the children's story than the sermon. But I always do it, because the children's story is the sermon that people are most likely to remember.
I have written this as a series of random thoughts as they occurred to me, but if I wanted to be really effective in communicating these thoughts I would do well to reflect them in a story.
Charles Dickens significantly impacted his world with his stories about the oppression of the poor. No Prime Minister or Archbishop has made greater strides for the help of the poor than Dickens, and all through the power of the word, of verbal communication.
The Bible also has the same power of the word, this power is most often through stories.
Tell me the story of Jesus.
Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; (Psalm 105:5)
Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can shew forth all his praise? (Psalm 106:2)
History. Most people see it as pretty boring, I think this is because they haven't been taught it properly. Sorry to all the history teachers out there, maybe it's the curriculum's fault. History isn't boring, we all love stories, and history is stories.
The Bible is full of stories. We tend to want the Bible to be full of essays and prescriptions (statements about what to do) but instead it is full of stories. Stories really are much more fascinating.
God wanted his people to remember the stories of what he had done as a safeguard from forgetting about him. We tell children a few stories, but there are a lot more that could be told. I have said that when I am going to preach I am far more nervous about giving the children's story than the sermon. But I always do it, because the children's story is the sermon that people are most likely to remember.
I have written this as a series of random thoughts as they occurred to me, but if I wanted to be really effective in communicating these thoughts I would do well to reflect them in a story.
Charles Dickens significantly impacted his world with his stories about the oppression of the poor. No Prime Minister or Archbishop has made greater strides for the help of the poor than Dickens, and all through the power of the word, of verbal communication.
The Bible also has the same power of the word, this power is most often through stories.
Tell me the story of Jesus.
Friday, 15 August 2014
Victory Through Pain
We are studying the rebellion of Korah today, so I thought I might listen to a song by the band the Sons of Korah for the first time. I picked the first result which was Psalm 91, this is for you Stephenie: [Old Link]
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. (Psalm 91:13) I think we can take this to be a prophecy about the Messiah. It is the Messiah that was to crush the dragon's head. I made this connection listening to the song where it is a more obvious link.
If this prophecy is about Jesus, then we should consider the fact that in order to defeat the dragon Satan, Jesus died on a cross. All these messages of protection apply not so much to our mortal life but as Jesus says:
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
If you are saved you can rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20) Nothing can hurt the saved more than they can bear, because God is merciful and this mortal life is just a shadow of things to come.
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. (Psalm 91:13) I think we can take this to be a prophecy about the Messiah. It is the Messiah that was to crush the dragon's head. I made this connection listening to the song where it is a more obvious link.
If this prophecy is about Jesus, then we should consider the fact that in order to defeat the dragon Satan, Jesus died on a cross. All these messages of protection apply not so much to our mortal life but as Jesus says:
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
If you are saved you can rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20) Nothing can hurt the saved more than they can bear, because God is merciful and this mortal life is just a shadow of things to come.
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Freedom and Slavery
Welcome to another episode of "Randomly Opened My Bible To A Passage"
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? 6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. 7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. 8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. (Job 39:5-8)
God is the one that gives us the power to live free and independently. Like the wild donkey, we will be dependent on our parents for a long time, but then God mysteriously sets us free to make our own way and our own home in the world. The wild donkey does not need to live comfortably in a city, or be enslaved to man, and even so man does not need to be a slave to human expectations and ideas. We all answer to God. We do not need earthly riches to have joy and freedom but we do need to be rich in giving to others.
Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. (1 Corinthians 7:20)
Do not become a slave, but do not seek to throw off the authorities that God has put in place for your protection. The Christian is not called to be a slave to man or a rebel, but a slave of Christ for the blessing of creation now and for eternity.
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? 6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. 7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. 8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. (Job 39:5-8)
God is the one that gives us the power to live free and independently. Like the wild donkey, we will be dependent on our parents for a long time, but then God mysteriously sets us free to make our own way and our own home in the world. The wild donkey does not need to live comfortably in a city, or be enslaved to man, and even so man does not need to be a slave to human expectations and ideas. We all answer to God. We do not need earthly riches to have joy and freedom but we do need to be rich in giving to others.
Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. (1 Corinthians 7:20)
Do not become a slave, but do not seek to throw off the authorities that God has put in place for your protection. The Christian is not called to be a slave to man or a rebel, but a slave of Christ for the blessing of creation now and for eternity.
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
Romans 5:13-17 // Death, Sin and Law
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) (Romans 5:13-17)
Here are the parentheses (brackets). Paul was talking about death coming into the world through sin and that because we have all sinned we are all subject to death. Let's go through it and try to make sense of it.
At the time before the law was given there was already sin in the world. Sin is not imputed when there is no law, unlike human laws, God doesn't hold you guilty if you didn't know you were breaking the law. Despite this death happened between Adam and Moses.
Enoch did not die, but he was the exception, and Moses must have been resurrected since he appears to Jesus (Matthew 17:3 etc). Since Moses was resurrected we could say that death ruled from Adam until Moses and then Moses was the first to be resurrected and death no longer ruled. But I'm not sure that's what Paul is meaning. I think he just means that although there was no written law from Adam to Moses there was still sin and death.
Death even came to those like Abel and Noah who did not commit the kind of sin that Adam did. Perhaps this refers simply to the sin of eating the fruit, but that seems a bit trivial. I think Paul is referring to the fact that Adam knowingly committed a deliberate act of rebellion against God's commandment (sin) and he is saying that even those who sinned out of ignorance and not rebellion, those who were exceptionally righteous by human standards... Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9b) even these died, ultimately because of Adam's sin.
This is interesting, it sounds like the doctrine of Original Sin, I suppose this is a passage used to support that teaching. But I don't think it can be taken to go as far as that, because the verse before the parentheses states ...and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: even if you never sinned the doctrine of Original Sin teaches that you would still die for Adam's sin. But Paul says we are all subject to death because we have all sinned. If he wanted to teach Original Sin he could have stated it much more easily.
Anyway, so even those who have never done any very "terrible" sins are still subject to death because they have done "small" sins which are still justly deserving of death, even though God might have been able to excuse them if not for Adam's rebellion that has set us as a race on a trajectory in opposition to God. Adam was the first man, he is the father of us all, but the real father of us all is our Creator God. I'm trying to understand the statement ...who is the figure of him that was to come. I assume it is saying that Adam is a type or symbol of Jesus who was to come, (and has now come) but I don't understand how this fits into the context. Maybe I am misunderstanding, and it is actually speaking of someone else.
Adam's sin affected all of us, even those people who have been exceptionally righteous. Jesus' righteousness and sacrifice for us is similar but different. It is similar because just like one man Adam caused this problem for all of us, one man Jesus solves it. It is different because Adam's sin does not automatically make me wicked, I make myself wicked; Jesus' salvation on the other hand automatically makes me righteous in a moment. Jesus Christ gives us so much grace that this is possible, he has done a lot more for us to be saved than Adam ever did to cause us to sin.
Think about the things Jesus has done to save me.
Here are the parentheses (brackets). Paul was talking about death coming into the world through sin and that because we have all sinned we are all subject to death. Let's go through it and try to make sense of it.
At the time before the law was given there was already sin in the world. Sin is not imputed when there is no law, unlike human laws, God doesn't hold you guilty if you didn't know you were breaking the law. Despite this death happened between Adam and Moses.
Enoch did not die, but he was the exception, and Moses must have been resurrected since he appears to Jesus (Matthew 17:3 etc). Since Moses was resurrected we could say that death ruled from Adam until Moses and then Moses was the first to be resurrected and death no longer ruled. But I'm not sure that's what Paul is meaning. I think he just means that although there was no written law from Adam to Moses there was still sin and death.
Death even came to those like Abel and Noah who did not commit the kind of sin that Adam did. Perhaps this refers simply to the sin of eating the fruit, but that seems a bit trivial. I think Paul is referring to the fact that Adam knowingly committed a deliberate act of rebellion against God's commandment (sin) and he is saying that even those who sinned out of ignorance and not rebellion, those who were exceptionally righteous by human standards... Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9b) even these died, ultimately because of Adam's sin.
This is interesting, it sounds like the doctrine of Original Sin, I suppose this is a passage used to support that teaching. But I don't think it can be taken to go as far as that, because the verse before the parentheses states ...and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: even if you never sinned the doctrine of Original Sin teaches that you would still die for Adam's sin. But Paul says we are all subject to death because we have all sinned. If he wanted to teach Original Sin he could have stated it much more easily.
Anyway, so even those who have never done any very "terrible" sins are still subject to death because they have done "small" sins which are still justly deserving of death, even though God might have been able to excuse them if not for Adam's rebellion that has set us as a race on a trajectory in opposition to God. Adam was the first man, he is the father of us all, but the real father of us all is our Creator God. I'm trying to understand the statement ...who is the figure of him that was to come. I assume it is saying that Adam is a type or symbol of Jesus who was to come, (and has now come) but I don't understand how this fits into the context. Maybe I am misunderstanding, and it is actually speaking of someone else.
Adam's sin affected all of us, even those people who have been exceptionally righteous. Jesus' righteousness and sacrifice for us is similar but different. It is similar because just like one man Adam caused this problem for all of us, one man Jesus solves it. It is different because Adam's sin does not automatically make me wicked, I make myself wicked; Jesus' salvation on the other hand automatically makes me righteous in a moment. Jesus Christ gives us so much grace that this is possible, he has done a lot more for us to be saved than Adam ever did to cause us to sin.
Think about the things Jesus has done to save me.
Monday, 11 August 2014
Romans 5:12,18-19 // What's The Deal With Adam's Sin?
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: ...Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:12,18-19)
So as by one woman sin entered the world… er, no! …by one man sin entered the world. But didn't Eve sin first? Maybe, maybe not. The Bible says that sin entered the world by Adam's sin not Eve's.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (1 Timothy 2:14) The woman was deceived and because of it broke (transgressed) the law. The man knew exactly what he was doing but broke the law anyway. Who sinned? The man.
I don't fully understand where the line is with sin, I certainly don't think I can draw a neat line between right and wrong. But God seems to distinguish greatly between sins that are ignorant and sins that are informed. Eve did A first because she was not fully informed of the facts. Adam did A second despite being fully informed of the facts. Adam sinned and if Eve sinned at all it was somehow less significant, therefore Adam's sin is counted as first. This is Paul's reasoning not mine. I had different reasoning about this before I read these passages.
So let's continue. The problem of sin is in the world because of the first man, our forefather (ancestor). Because of sin we also have the problem of death and all the things that go with it. Because each one of us has followed in our forefather's footsteps into sin we also follow him into death. (Not because we are born "mortal"?! Something to think about there, not sure I understand it right.)
What follows in Romans is a long parenthetical statement that I will handle tomorrow to avoid breaking up the thought Paul has here.
People sometimes wonder how it can be fair that we all suffer for what Adam did, but what about the fairness of us all benefiting from what Jesus did? Adam was our forefather, and the consequences of his sin naturally devolve on us. Christ was Adam's maker, his spiritual father, and the blessings of his righteousness (lack of sin) can be given to us if we make him our spiritual father rather than copying Adam.
If you want to be like Jesus, spend time thinking about him.
So as by one woman sin entered the world… er, no! …by one man sin entered the world. But didn't Eve sin first? Maybe, maybe not. The Bible says that sin entered the world by Adam's sin not Eve's.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (1 Timothy 2:14) The woman was deceived and because of it broke (transgressed) the law. The man knew exactly what he was doing but broke the law anyway. Who sinned? The man.
I don't fully understand where the line is with sin, I certainly don't think I can draw a neat line between right and wrong. But God seems to distinguish greatly between sins that are ignorant and sins that are informed. Eve did A first because she was not fully informed of the facts. Adam did A second despite being fully informed of the facts. Adam sinned and if Eve sinned at all it was somehow less significant, therefore Adam's sin is counted as first. This is Paul's reasoning not mine. I had different reasoning about this before I read these passages.
So let's continue. The problem of sin is in the world because of the first man, our forefather (ancestor). Because of sin we also have the problem of death and all the things that go with it. Because each one of us has followed in our forefather's footsteps into sin we also follow him into death. (Not because we are born "mortal"?! Something to think about there, not sure I understand it right.)
What follows in Romans is a long parenthetical statement that I will handle tomorrow to avoid breaking up the thought Paul has here.
People sometimes wonder how it can be fair that we all suffer for what Adam did, but what about the fairness of us all benefiting from what Jesus did? Adam was our forefather, and the consequences of his sin naturally devolve on us. Christ was Adam's maker, his spiritual father, and the blessings of his righteousness (lack of sin) can be given to us if we make him our spiritual father rather than copying Adam.
If you want to be like Jesus, spend time thinking about him.
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