June 5th, 2006
Since May was the worst month that I have had since June of last year (missing 3 QT’s), I decided that I needed a slightly different approach, a tweak a little hear and there. For the most part, each day (for right now) is going to be a different study that has been itching on my heart to study out, but I haven’t had the time to devote to the study. This way, I have at least one day of the week where I can devote the time to that study.
The Sinful Nature Study – Edition #1: Watching and Waiting
Romans 7:1-25
Do you not know, brothers - for I am speaking to men who know the law - that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 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 of marriage. So then, if she marries 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, even though she marries another man.
So, my brothers, 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 to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 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.
What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. 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.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
So, what is the sinful nature? Well, it is sin living in me. That’s what the bible says…
Romans 7:25 sinful nature:
sarx
Flesh (as stripped of the skin), that is, (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul (or spirit), or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred, or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such): - carnal (-ly, + -ly minded), flesh ([-ly]).
Sinful nature is human nature. It’s what “I” want to do and not God wants to do. Pure and simple, it’s not what I want to hear. I can’t think the Romans were all that excited to hear back in the day, either. With so much vocabulary these days, we can through a lot words around and make things sound SSSOOO much nicer and SSSOOO much less convicting than the punch that the scripture really needs. I mean, when I stumbled onto something the other day that I storing up for Thursday, I mean, that just POPPED my eyes right out of my head. I was like, the GREEK says that? I’m just blown away and fired up at the same time. Now, back to the topic: I just want to look at this sentence: “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.”
So, we know the law is from God, right? And that’s good. But then we keep turning around messing up. We speed on the highway with our little fishes on the trunks of our cars letting everyone know we are hypocrites. It happens, we just repent later (I don’t have a fish and I don’t speed, by the way, but I see many, many cars with fish signs who pass me, but I used to speed and justified my thoughts for doing so.). We say cuss words and then say we are sorry, or we preface them with “pardon my French.” How high do I think I am? With my sinful nature, I am “meat.” And since I am unspiritual… well, what does that mean in Greek? There you go, I am an animal. If I am weak spiritually, if I play around with and do the things I want to do, being the animal that I am, what will happen?
Romans 7:25 unspiritual:
sar-kee-kos'
Pertaining to flesh, that is, (by extension) bodily, temporal, or (by implication) animal, unregenerate: - carnal, fleshly.
Peter 5:8-9
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Lions look animals to devour. They look for animals that are playing around and aren’t paying attention. They like the ones who are weak and can’t put up much of a fight. I am meat. I am an animal. Am I strong? Am I playing around? The devil is watching me and he is waiting. Johnny Out.
Since May was the worst month that I have had since June of last year (missing 3 QT’s), I decided that I needed a slightly different approach, a tweak a little hear and there. For the most part, each day (for right now) is going to be a different study that has been itching on my heart to study out, but I haven’t had the time to devote to the study. This way, I have at least one day of the week where I can devote the time to that study.
The Sinful Nature Study – Edition #1: Watching and Waiting
Romans 7:1-25
Do you not know, brothers - for I am speaking to men who know the law - that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 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 of marriage. So then, if she marries 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, even though she marries another man.
So, my brothers, 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 to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 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.
What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. 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.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
So, what is the sinful nature? Well, it is sin living in me. That’s what the bible says…
Romans 7:25 sinful nature:
sarx
Flesh (as stripped of the skin), that is, (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul (or spirit), or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred, or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such): - carnal (-ly, + -ly minded), flesh ([-ly]).
Sinful nature is human nature. It’s what “I” want to do and not God wants to do. Pure and simple, it’s not what I want to hear. I can’t think the Romans were all that excited to hear back in the day, either. With so much vocabulary these days, we can through a lot words around and make things sound SSSOOO much nicer and SSSOOO much less convicting than the punch that the scripture really needs. I mean, when I stumbled onto something the other day that I storing up for Thursday, I mean, that just POPPED my eyes right out of my head. I was like, the GREEK says that? I’m just blown away and fired up at the same time. Now, back to the topic: I just want to look at this sentence: “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.”
So, we know the law is from God, right? And that’s good. But then we keep turning around messing up. We speed on the highway with our little fishes on the trunks of our cars letting everyone know we are hypocrites. It happens, we just repent later (I don’t have a fish and I don’t speed, by the way, but I see many, many cars with fish signs who pass me, but I used to speed and justified my thoughts for doing so.). We say cuss words and then say we are sorry, or we preface them with “pardon my French.” How high do I think I am? With my sinful nature, I am “meat.” And since I am unspiritual… well, what does that mean in Greek? There you go, I am an animal. If I am weak spiritually, if I play around with and do the things I want to do, being the animal that I am, what will happen?
Romans 7:25 unspiritual:
sar-kee-kos'
Pertaining to flesh, that is, (by extension) bodily, temporal, or (by implication) animal, unregenerate: - carnal, fleshly.
Peter 5:8-9
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Lions look animals to devour. They look for animals that are playing around and aren’t paying attention. They like the ones who are weak and can’t put up much of a fight. I am meat. I am an animal. Am I strong? Am I playing around? The devil is watching me and he is waiting. Johnny Out.
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