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NASB | Romans 7:19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 7:19 For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. |
Subject: Paul's evil practices Pre or PostJesus |
Bible Note: Greetings WOS! Allow me to post an addendum to my response! :-) I am not advocating sinless perfect, but I am advocating (in accordance with Rom. 6) that we are no longer slaves to sin, though we can choose to act like we are again. :-) You cited Gal. 5:17! Rom. 8 also makes the point that the flesh desires different things than the Spirit. However, both also make the point quite clear that we do not have to obey the flesh. Gal. 5:24-25 adds, " Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Gal. 5:16 says, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. " So, Paul is not saying that sometimes we will follow the Spirit and sometimes we will follow the flesh. He is saying that the two are opposed to one another and we will not obey the flesh if we walk in the Spirit. Rom. 8:9 makes the same point, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. " Those who would make Rom. 7:14-25 a description of a Christian have a serious contextual problem. Paul explictily says that we are no longer slaves of sin, but the person in Rom.7:14-25 is a slave to sin. Paul says that are not to walk in obedience to the flesh, but the person in Rom. 7:14-25 ALWAYS obeys the flesh. He has no choice. Therefore, Rom. 7:14-25 cannot be a description of a Christian. Nor, would it make sense to say that it describes an unbeliever in general. Unbelievers do not love God's Law. What then? Paul must be describing himself prior to his conversion. As a Pharisee, he loved God's law but was still subject to his sinful nature. He wanted to obey God, but couldn't. Rom. 8 describes his status after his coversion when Christ does what the Law could not do. Now, there is no condemnation, there is no slavery to sin, and there is the ability to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. This is why this discussion is so important, since it speaks directly to what kind of life we can expect in relation to sin. Many commentators seem to advocate that we are still slaves to sin and can only hope to do the best we can in this life, but Rom. 6, and 8 and Gal. 5 all give us much more hope than that! :-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |