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NASB | Matthew 11:28 ¶ "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 11:28 ¶ "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. |
Subject: Paul had problems? No one acts good? |
Bible Note: Dear Atdcross, You listed seven specific characteristics from Romans 7, asking, "Are these descriptive of a believer?" The real question is whether Paul was speaking of his own experience -- either before or after salvation -- in Romans chapter 7. The argument you pose seems relevant only to making the point that Paul was speaking of himself prior to salvation. If that is the case, as orthodoxy has taught, then one has no need to invent a literary device to account for these statements. On the other hand, your method of arguing could easily be used to make the point in the opposite direction. What does Paul say about himself and his readers? That they... 1. Are dead to the law (v4a) 2. Bring fruit forth unto God (v4b) 3. Are delivered from the law (v6a) 4. Serve in newness of spirit (v6b) 5. Taught by the law about sin (v7) 6. Have their sin shown to be sinful to fullest extent possible (v13) 7. Know that in their flesh nothing good dwells (v18a) 8. Have a will to perform that which is good (v18b, 19, 21, 25) 9. Delight in the law (v22) 10. Have a war going on inside of them (v23) Are these things descriptive of non-believers? No such characteristics exist in those who are lost. The question about Paul's eternal disposition at any given moment in his statements may still be a point over which we may contend. However, to argue it one way or another by your seven points or by my ten points does not bring clarity. That's because the question misses the point of the passage. There are two themes in Romans 7: a believer's relationship to the law and the complete failure of the law to bring about sanctification. Note that the word "law" appears there 18 times! This chapter is obviously connected with chapter six and chapter eight! :-) I don't see how it can be separated from them and still be meaningfully studied. I'd also like to comment that there is a conflict raging inside of every believer: the struggle to walk in holiness and to resist the sin that so easily besets us. This is called "progressive sanctification" or "the pursuit of holiness." Indeed, the Puritans used to say that if you are not experiencing this warfare, then it is quite likely that you are not saved. Praise God that He does not leave us either now or ultimately helpless in this conflict, as Paul explains in chapter 8. In Him, Doc |