Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
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: Hi Doc, Verse 7 is describing the Law as holy and v.13 as highlighting sin. Regarding v. 18a, even unbelievers can be conscious that nothing good dwells in them. Not knowing their sinful condition is necessarily their problem; their problem is, once being conscious of it, they refuse to come to Christ for deliverance. I think that v.18b,19,21 are good descriptions of the unregenerate. Some even confess their situation in like terms. Again, the problem is not so much that they cannot realize their sinfulness but they cannot see the value of believing in Christ for deliverance. Verse 25 to me reflects the sinner’s plight without grace and the divine influence or work of conviction upon his conscience (it is possible the first phrase of thanksgiving is out of place). To me this verse is equivalent to what is stated in vs.19-21. So, yes, if anything, these verses are descriptive of the unregenerate. In light of Romans 8, I do not see how it can be otherwise. With all respect to the Puritans, if one is living this kind of struggle, of coveting (v.8), “of flesh sold into bondage to sin” (v14), of always doing what he does not understand and what is contrary to his good intentions (15-20) as a “prisoner of the law of sin” (v.23), and serving the law of sin through indulgences of the flesh (v.25) on the contrary, he ought to take the time to reexamine his spiritual state to see if he is of the faith (1 Cor 11:28; 2 Cor 13:5; 1 Jn 1:6; 2:4,29; 3:6-7; 5:3-5). No one is denying that there may be a struggle in the believer’s life but as I think another poster pointed out, it is not a struggle of losing and falling into sin as Rom 7 depicts it; but it is a struggle in which the outcome is victory over sin. Whether or not consistent victory over sin is actually the case in one’s personal life is not my argument. That the struggle in the Christian life should be one of victory is my point. If Romans 7 is descriptive of the apostle Paul’s way of life, notwithstanding Rom 8, we are looking at, from my point of view, a pathetic state of affairs. I would question how one could call a life of always wishing the good but always doing the evil instead as walking according to the Spirit. |