February 02, 2020

Romans Chapter 7

Good morning; I have some extra time on my hands so I love to read my bible. My bible is my friend. It slices between soul and spirit. What is my soul? What is my spirit?

7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives?

2 For 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 that binds her to him.

3 So then, if she has sexual relations with 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 if she marries another man.

4 So, my brothers and sisters, 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 for God.

5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh,[a] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.

6 But 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.

The Law and Sin

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”[b]

 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.

9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.

11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.

12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.

17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

18 For I know that good itself does not dwell 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.

19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

20 Now 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.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;

23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of sin.


My Notes: 
How beautiful is this passage?
It is so beautiful to me; it makes want to worship God. I like gospel music but I really like music that sings about God. I don't really care to sing about me and my problems. I don't really care how unlucky we can be but I like to worship God. He deserves that. This passage just shows he defeated the devil; we are free! 
Just because God is mighty to save.
We are so destructive as human beings.
What would do without God?
It is amazing.
It is also hard to express what is happening.
This passage would take a book to articulate how powerful it is. 
But somehow as the reader I get it. I have a hard time explaining it but I get it.
I am blessed by it.

I love that the writer uses marriage as his example. A woman is bound to her husband but if he dies she can be join to another. 

We know that Christ died for us. He lived a sinless life. He didn't just die to die, he died so that we may live a new life in the spirit. We are not free to do anything because passage says we are bound to Christ. 

But as long as we were bound to the law we produce death fruit. It was unworthy.

So is the law bad?

No

When we have the law we have the knowledge of sin.

Thou shalt not covet
I didn't know what coveting was until the law said it was wrong.
But walking in the spirit is different.

It is not a list of rules but it is the will and emotions being guided by God.
For example I see my neighbors new house and on the inside I begin to think, "I wish I had that house" and I begin to resent the fact that I am still working on getting me a house, so immediately the Holy Spirit brings to me, "in all things give thanks." Or, "Wait patiently on the Lord,"  my heart is turned away from coveting and I begin to think differently and I begin to praised God with my neighbor because I am so so happy he has gotten a new house. I then have faith in his word for me. Versus me feeling coveting feelings. the law of sin is at work in my body naturally. I didn't want to covet but I am coveting but thankfully God steps in and says that is your neighbors I have something for you just be patient or whatever God uses. 

It is not God saying, thou shalt not covet. But it is God steering and driving the spirit within us and us doing what he says. 

There is no law but my will is being turned towards what is right instead of the law saying, thou shalt not convent  and me trying not to feel the emotions of coveting. 

I have also heard of many Christians say they pray until the emotion change. Or until they feel different. 

I also hear some people say they just do what is right even when it feels wrong. They evict their emotions. 

I have also heard some people who called themselves Christians say, I just cant forgive, I cant say anything nice, I cant stop lying, and I think to myself there is no God in them. God helps me to do it. It may take me time to do it but I am going to do. If God is in you, you can do it. Its impossible you cannot do it. You can say I need help. I need God to help me. In your own strength no one can do it.

If I decide to not do what he is instructing my heart I am just ignoring God. I have experience asking God to remove thoughts and feelings but we are not under the law and we have something greater at work in our mind and hearts to help will us in the right direction. 

The ones who know the law and cannot stop themselves from coveting or murdering or whatever I don't think God is at work in them. They need to be born again. They need to be like Abraham and believe God because he will help you do it. They are not believers or we can say they lack truth. 




He ends the passage by saying if I am walking in my sinful nature I am a slave to the law.
But in my mind I am a slave to God's law. '(HE USES HIS MIND TO BE A SLAVE TO GOD) THE MIND IS POWERFUL. THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN BRING SCRIPTURES TO YOUR MIND AND ONCE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND. THE BODY CAN FOLLOW. BUT THE MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT HAS A CONNECTION.

I think its unique that the law and God is separate.


God is mighty and since Adam the bible says they ate of the fruit of the knowledge of Good and evil. We just reed that the law also produces the knowledge of good and evil.
The law is good but through the law we know what is evil.
Then we begin to produce fruit of death. .....
I think this is very deep but it will take God to help me develop it.
But just think about the state of Adam before they ate the fruit they were just walking and fellowshipping with God, as soon as words contrary to God's (or words from the devil) ................temptation came. They had the knowledge of good and evil.


I work with children and one thing I have learn you cannot tell them not to do something...........or tell them, don't do that..........immediately they are curious to do it. 

They want to defy you. Something inside of them gets wormy and they just want to do what you said not to do. But what we do in education psychology is tell them, what you want to do. For example, take out your books. Turn to page 3.

If you say do not look at the board. Everybody eyes is going towards the board. They want to know why........Why can't I look at the board. As adults we know what happens when you play fire but someone without the knowledge is curious. Once they know not to do something they now know the knowledge of the bad. Some of them will find out the hard way because they are the ones who is going to do it. 





Something Great to remember today.......

PSALMS 1
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he mediates day and night. He is like a tree planted by the streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.