Christmas for the Wretched Man

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2 Responses to “Christmas for the Wretched Man”

1. Jeff Cokenour says:

   January 7, 2009 at 11:03 am

   Romans 7 is for the regenerate follower of Jesus Christ. It is not for those who do not yet know him. St. Paul begins this portion of his letter by writing, “Now dear Brothers and Sisters – you who are familiar with the law”. (Rom 7:1) who were these “brothers and sisters?” They were Christians of Jewish descent who were trying to apply the OT canonical laws to living under the covenant of Christ. They were looking for an experiential method for determining Christianity instead of relying upon Jesus and His Spirit to do this. St. Paul was illustrating how a reliance upon the law is fruitless because even though we are bound by the law, we will still disobey it. Isn’t this why people steal, lie and schedule numerous meetings for those who already have one or more full-time jobs?

   Here in Romans we see that, “the law no longer holds you in its power, because you died with Christ on the cross” (Rom 7:4). Under the law, despite our best intentions, we sinned and were under the just judgment of God. In and under Christ, we are set free from this bond and are even able to resist it, just as Jesus Christ could resist turning a rock into a piece of bread after not eating for 40 days. In fact, Jesus even resisted becoming angry with another man while playing basketball, because we are reminded in Hebrews 4:15 that “He was tempted in all things as we are and yet without sin.” All things includes basketball, gluttony, fear, anger, lust, stupidity, lying, etc. I wonder if Jesus was ever close to telling someone, “you’re an idiot”?

   The primary problem in our culture (mass hysteria and omni-directional lunacy) is that we focus on the things (i.e. a bracelet) and not on the one who gave it to us. Augustin put it this way, “If she so delights in the bracelet as to forget the giver, that is an insult to him, but if she so delights in the bracelet as to love the giver more, that was what the bracelet was for.” (Confessions). We forget Jesus and focus on the things He has given us. The recipients of St. Paul’s letter tended to focus on outward rules and regulations instead of the one who created them and gave them relevance. Without God (Christ) many of the Hebrew laws make no sense whatsoever. (pigs are yummy!, especially with A1 thick and hearty sauce, cooked over a low, slow-burning fire) He wanted these persons to look past the material and focus on the one who created the material and gave us the capacity to enjoy it. There’s nothing inherently wrong with ham, or popcorn or basketball. It’s the distraction from Christ that these things causes in our lives which is the problem.

   Romans 7 is for those who know the law, have been saved from it by Christ and still struggle – it isn’t for those oblivious to the law who struggle because that is their nature.

   Cheers!
2. joe says:

   January 7, 2009 at 2:49 pm

   Love Jeff’s input here- anyone else?