I always get
annoyed with Christians when I see them writing about Paul’s plague with sin in
Romans 7:15-25 as if that’s all the Bible had to say about sin. It seems a lot
of Christians, even if they have nothing to say about the Bible, will find
something to say about these verses. If this continues, these passages of the
Bible will be the most written about next to John 3:16. What I find annoying is
that most of them seem to read those verses and stop there. As if everything
else God had to say about sin did not matter anymore. Usually after they finish
quoting those verses, the whole post or sermon goes on and on about how they do
not have a chance with sin since someone like Paul was struggling with it.
My pet peeve is, why
on earth would you read about Paul struggle in chapter 7 and stop there? Why it
is some bloggers and preachers do not put verses like Romans 6:12-13 side by
side with what they read and get the wheels rolling. Be sober minded in your
thinking for God’s sake. What about Chapter 8 right next to it which
incidentally most of this chapter is about sin’s remedy? What gives?
Could it be you
are seeing what you want to see? Have you ever played out in your mind how you
are going to convince God that it was not your fault? This idea of feeling
helpless about sin right after you read Romans 7:15-25 is nothing more than an
attempt to excuse and disguise your enjoyment of sin. When you have this kind
of mind, there is no question that your father is the devil and you are doing
His bidding. If indeed Christ is in you, and if indeed you are His child, why
would you not read further? What in the world makes you think that God would
somehow agree with your devilish thinking? Can you see the resemblance between
you and Satan’s audacity tempting Christ in the wilderness?
What kind of
distorted God you have concocted in that twisted mind of yours? How do you
reconcile the idea of Christ death delivering you FROM sin and this new found
license to excuse your behaviour? What makes you think what you have is called
Salvation? If you insist on calling what
you have salvation, then my next question would be salvation from what? If you
have been Christian upward 10 years and still find solace in Romans 7:15-25 then
there is doubt that you ever had a real encounter with the true Salvation of
God. If you did have an encounter with Him, then His death on the cross for you
has no significance and you have chosen to reject it. Because His Word says: He
who began a good work in me will see it to completion, unless He is a liar.
Even me, I went
through a period where I did not understand God’s Word. I knew I stumbled on
something about me in terms of sin reigning in me after I read Romans 7:15-25. But, I also knew
that God did not like sin. In my mind,
while I found some breathing room about who I am in the flesh, I still could
not take it as a license to excuse my behaviour. In my little pea brain, I knew
there was something I was missing and in due time I will understand. Later on,
I was floored with everything I found out about me and what I insisted on
calling Christianity. Lip service was my game. I found out I was missing out on
the other 99.999999 percent of the Bible. I was not really interested in true
Christianity according to God because the man-made one did the trick for me. I
found out I was not walking in the Spirit. I could not count myself as someone
who was IN Christ. I found out I did
not know what it meant not to surrender myself to unrighteousness. I had a one
track mind and Romans 12:1-2 escaped me. I found out Christ death had provided
a way for me not to keep sinning. In short, I found Christ and I took in
the message of the Gospel.
So, the next time
you feel it is important to share Romans 7:15-25 with the flock of Christ in a
sermon or in your blog, please do not stop there. Share with them how much Paul
moved beyond his struggle with the law to victory over sin IN Him as His Lord!
Romans 6:12-13
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness
