SUPERNATURAL AGRICULTURE

Romans 11:17-24
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

God’s Mercy on Israel

17 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18 But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

19 “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” 20 Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. 21 For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.

22 Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. 23 And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. 24 You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.


During the times of the early church, the era when the Apostle Paul wrote his epistles, the people were very familiar with farming. The illustrations of cultivating and grafting would be pictures they dealt with daily. Paul presents the relationships of Jews and Gentiles with God in these familiar terms to show them not only where they fit but why they fit.

God is the supernatural farmer. He does the grafting in and the breaking off. By His will, that which is “…contrary to nature…” is done.

You and I are recipients of God’s supernatural grace when we believe in Christ and continue to trust and obey.

Trust and obey – For there’s no other way.
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

(Trust and Obey – James H. Sammis)

THE GENTILE FACTOR

Romans 11:11-16
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

God’s Mercy on Israel

11 Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. 12 Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

13 I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, 14 for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. 15 For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! 16 And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.


We have been looking at God’s relationship to Israel for a few days now. Does it ever enter your thought process that because God chose Israel, the rest of us (the Gentiles) are somehow an after-thought to Him? Israel is God’s chosen people. God sent Jesus to Israel. “They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles.”

No, I think not. God’s love for His creation has always been total and without prejudice. His using Israel the way He has, is part of His plan. In God’s omnipotence, He knew the outcome of each step in His plan for the salvation of humankind. So He knew Israel would be disobedient before He chose them. He knew that they would reject Jesus. He knew that the Cross was part of the plan and God knew how the message of the gospel would go far beyond the borders of Israel.

Salvation for Gentiles has always been part of God’s plan of salvation. His mercy is not just for Israel. It has always been for all.

How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be.

How Marvelous! How wonderful! Is my Savior’s love for me!

(My Savior's Love -Charles H. Gabriel, 1856-1932)

THE REMNANT IN ISRAEL

Romans 11:1-10

God’s Mercy on Israel

God chose Israel as the nation through whom He would reveal Himself to all nations. Yet, only a “… few of the people of Israel have remained faithful…”. That few … the remnant … have never bowed down to false gods and therefore have found the favor of God they earnestly sought.

The special relationship between God and Israel has not changed. He has not rejected them and He is using the remnant to continue to show them His grace … to show them that His favor is not earned by their works. It is a free gift.

Jesus Christ came to save the lost through Israel; through a descendant of Abraham … the father of the Jews. Messianic Jews (the remnant) and believing Gentiles alike, are all the same in this … our relationship to the merciful God is through His Son Jesus.

HEAR AND UNDERSTAND

Romans 10:16-21
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Salvation is for Everyone

16 But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. 18 But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have:

“The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.”

19 But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said,

“I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles.”

20 And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying,

“I was found by people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for me.”

21 But regarding Israel, God said,

“All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.”

The Apostle Paul asks two questions about Israel. Have they heard? Did they understand? His answer to both questions was yes but still God points to their disobedience and their rebelliousness.

So hearing and understanding are not enough. One must also receive the message in their heart and be willing to change.

As Paul’s prayer (Romans 10:1) continued for Israel, so must we continue to pray for lost souls … for the “… disobedient and rebellious.”

THE MESSENGER

Romans 10:14-15
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Salvation is for Everyone

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”


Maybe it was the Sunday School teacher … the pastor … the Bible Study teacher. For some, maybe it was the revival evangelist or the missionary. For many it is a parent or a grandparent.

Who was it in your life that brought you the good news? Who shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with you while the Holy Spirit opened your ears, eyes, mind and heart to the message?

You may have never considered their feet. God sent them to you on beautiful feet, not because of the way they looked but beautiful because of the message they brought. Have you ever stopped to thank them for being your messenger of salvation and praised God for sending them?

EVERYONE GET ON BOARD

Romans 10:5-13
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Salvation Is for Everyone

5 For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 6 But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven’ (to bring Christ down to earth). 7 And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” 8 In fact, it says,

“The message is very close at hand; it is on
your lips and in your heart.”

And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

We have come to the heart of Paul’s letter to the Romans. We are at the root of God’s Word to us. This Word is for everyone.

• The person filled with good works or the worst of sinners
• The law keeper or the law breaker
• The one familiar with God’s Word or the one who has only seen God in the magnificence of creation
  

Call on Him (confess with your mouth); trust Him (believe in your heart); and you will be saved.

This Word is for everyone!

THE JEWISH/CHRISTIAN RELATIONSHIP

Romans 10:1-4
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Israel’s Unbelief

1 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.


There has always been a relationship between Christian believers and those of the Jewish faith. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob … the God of Moses … The Law Giver … The God of the Old Testament … is the same God for both Christians and Jews. We share a common beginning, faith wise.

Never the less, the common beginning does not mean a common ending. We are separated, as sheep from goats, based on what we do with Jesus. Paul’s prayer was then and ours should be today is for the salvation of Israel. Where the faith of Jews and Christians take a fork in the road is on belief that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. Only those, Jews or Gentiles, “…who believe in Him are made right with God.”

THE ROCK

Romans 9:30-33
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Israel’s Unbelief

30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. 31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. 32 Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. 33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said,

“I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people
stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in
him will never be disgraced.”

His birth was in Bethlehem and the shepherds and wise men took notice. He grew up in Nazareth where even his own brothers failed to recognize the magnitude of His existence. He was crucified in Jerusalem. The ‘Rock’ was placed in the path of the Jewish nation and they stumbled. The Romans were pulled into the conflict and they stumbled. As we observed yesterday, many nations continue to stumble around Israel and it is because of the ‘Rock’ in the path.

Jesus Christ is the ‘Rock’ who was placed in Jerusalem.

Men and women who fail to trust Him will continue to stumble. This will continue because it has been spoken that every knee shall bow, every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11).

Trust Jesus today and secure the promise of never being disgraced.

ISRAEL’S UNIQUE POSITION

Romans 9:1-29 <-- Click here and read Paul’s recap of “God’s Selection of Israel”.

I will be very brief today, letting what Paul wrote, speak about Israel.

Have you ever noticed how often Israel is at the center of world events? This tiny nation in the Middle East … the focus of other nations, far and near, great and small. In recent history (mid 20th century forward), from Germany and the Jews … Egypt and Israel 7-day war … the oil cartel … conflicts in Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza … the Israeli effect is always present. Why is this?

God has chosen Israel (read the passage again) to show the nations His power AND His mercy.

NO … NOTHING!

Romans 8:35-39
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Nothing Can Seperate us From God's Love

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Troubled days will come. Scripture teaches us this (Job 14:1, James 1:2). If trouble has not knocked at your door, the elderly, filled with wisdom and experience will tell, “Keep living.”

The question is not whether trouble will come but rather how you will deal with it when it comes. Will you remember how much God loves you and that He promised to “never leave you of forsake you”? In the midst of your trouble, He is right there with you.

Since no degree of trouble can separate you “…from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus…”, when he (trouble) knocks at your door, answer it with the faithful knowledge that you do not have to greet it alone. You have God’s promise of His abiding love.

FOR US

Romans 8:31-34
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.


In four verses (seven sentences) Paul use the word ‘us’ ten times. He is speaking to the believers and he has a point to make that he doesn’t want ‘us’ to miss.

…God is for us…

He didn’t send His Son to die for nothing. He sent Christ Jesus to die for us.

He didn’t raise Jesus from the dead just to show off a powerful miracle. He was raised to life for us.

And Jesus is not just quietly sitting on the throne, at His Father’s right hand. It is from that position of honor that Jesus intercedes for us.

These are …wonderful things…for us…

THE PERFECT PRAYER

Romans 8:26-30
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

The Future Glory

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.


A perfect prayer is not one filled with eloquent words or fervent emotion. It does not necessarily follow a designed model. It is not laced with catchy phrases delivered to tickle the ears of one who might be listening. I am not judging or condemning any of these prayers rather I believe they fall short of perfect.

As I read Paul’s letter, it seems that the perfect prayer is prayer from deep in our heart … so deep that it requires the indwelling Holy Spirit to find it. The words (groanings) are so right that they are expressed in a language that only the Holy Spirit and God understand. The prayer is perfect because it doesn’t even express our wants and desires but rather God’s perfect will for us.

So should you and I stop praying and leave it all up to the Holy Spirit? Of course not. Instead of praying less, this word calls you to pray more. Prayer is what draws you closer today, feeling His glory, as you prepare for the day when you will come into God’s presence and experience all His glory.

NO MORE

Romans 8:18-25
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

The Future Glory

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)


A line from an old Negro Spiritual says:

No mo’ weepin … No mo’ moanin…

They were looking forward to freedom from the chains of slavery.

We too look forward to the day when we will be free from pain and suffering; free from sin and shame; free from the day-to-day struggle with our enemy (Satan).

God spoke a promise to us through the prophet Jeremiah. “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” - (Jer. 29:11). We experience much of this promise right now, but it is only a shadow of the future glory.

“DADDY”

Romans 8:15-17
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Life in the Spirit

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.


The same God who is “Our Father who art in heaven…” is “Abba, Father”.

My mother was a school teacher. When I encounter her in the academic environment, just like all the other students, I addressed her as Mrs. Varnado. But when I would come in the house from play, I would call out, “Mama…”.

“Our Father” is creator, God of the universe, on the throne in heaven overseeing everything that happens in the world.

At the same time “Abba, Father” is ‘Daddy’. He is my Daddy and I am His child. Through His Son and my brother Jesus, I have been adopted into His family. I can crawl up into His lap and be comforted. I share in all His blessings along with all His children. Daddy doesn’t play favorites … He loves us all equally. When I need it, Daddy disciplines me … gives me a good spanking (that’s what loving father’s do). My Daddy is the medicine when I fall and hurt myself.

One day I will get to spend eternity with Him … He promised me that. He also made me a promise for today. He said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Don’t I have a great Daddy.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT

Romans 8:12-14
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Life in the Spirit

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.


The comedian, Flip Wilson, created a character named Geraldine. When Geraldine was behaving badly, as she often did, her pat response was, “The devil made me do it.” The way she said it was funny and fit well into her comedy routine. However, in real life it is no laughing matter. There is nothing funny about sin and her excuse does not hold up under the light of God’s word.

Yes, Satan is powerful, cunning and deceitful but Paul writes that we, as believers, are under “…no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” Because the Spirit of God lives in you and is more powerful than Satan’s traps, you have a great defense. You don’t have to sin. You don’t have to do what the devil tries to make you do.

Sin is a choice you make. And likewise, it is a choice you don’t have to make. No Geraldine (insert your name), you don’t have to do it.

ALIVE IN ME

Romans 8:9-11
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Life in the Spirit

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.


“Because I belong to Him, He is alive in me.”

This simple statement of our life status is actually a deep theological expression of Trinitarian philosophy. The triune God, -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit, -- all are active in my life situation. The Father loves and provides the sacrificial lamb. The Son died and now lives to intercede. The Spirit dwells within and sustains the spiritual life.

“Because I have given my life to Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God lives in me.”

Is that an expression of your life status? If not, let today be your day to receive the gift of God.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” –John 3:16.

MIND OVER MATTER

Romans 8:5-8
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Life in the Spirit

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.


What is on your mind? I am not asking about your thoughts as you perform the tasks required of you (work, raising children, education, etc.). Those thoughts are generally not the problem. This question relates more to your down time. Where do your idol thoughts take you? Are these thoughts dominated by your sinful nature or are they under the control of the Holy Spirit?

If you had a new technological gadget which was able to capture, record and play back all your idol thoughts, would your recording be G … PG … R … or X rated? Would you be comfortable sharing your recording at the dinner table with your family, your parents, your co-workers or your Sunday School class? Would it be pleasing to God if it was the trailer before your prayer time?

The next time your sin nature takes your thoughts somewhere they don’t need to be, reign them in by the power of Holy Spirit living in you.

PRAISE REPORT & PRAYER REQUEST: The young man, Kentarus Christmas, I asked you to pray for a couple months ago who had gotten into serious trouble has been released from jail. The grand jury looked at the circumstances surrounding his actions and decided not to issue an indictment against him. I now ask you to pray for him as he looks at life ahead. May he find a path to travel which will lead him to a positive and Spirit-filled future. May he also be repentant, find forgiveness and receive peace from God for the guilt of his actions.

GOD DID IT

Romans 8:1-4
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Life in the Spirit

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.


The Apostle Paul begins to summarize his thoughts by pointing out all that God has done. He has:

• Declared us not guilty (no condemnation)
• Freed us from the power of sin
• Satisfied the requirements of the law
• Provided what the law could not provide
• Declared an end to sin’s control
• Sacrificed His Son
  

Paul also summarizes what we must do:

• Belong to Christ Jesus
• Follow the Spirit
  

Clearly the credit goes to God. It is His doing which provides us the way. There is nothing here which humankind can claim credit.

To God be the glory, great things He hath done!

THE WRESTLING MATCH

Romans 7:14-25
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Struggling with Sin

14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.


In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul uses the illustration of a wrestling match. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood…” – Eph. 6:12. Here in the Roman’s epistle, Paul describes his own struggle with sin … wanting to do right … inevitably doing what is wrong. If we are honest with ourselves, who among us can not describe the same struggle … the same wrestling match?

So what do we do? Just surrender to our enemy. Absolutely not! We cling more closely to our friend. Follow Jacob’s example (Jacob wrestles with God).

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Romans 7:7-13
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

God’s Law Reveals Our Sin

7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” 8 But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.

13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.


Take a look at The Ten Commandments . Are there one or two commandments on this list which are your albatross? Is there a particular one which you struggle with in your day-to-day life? Is there one over which you have tripped, even just once?

Can you say with Paul, “… it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known…”?

Even just once earned you a death sentence. Aren’t you thankful for grace … for the Cross … for Jesus Christ?

THE BONDAGE OF RELIGION

Romans 7:1-6
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

No Longer Bound to the Law

1 Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.

4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

When Paul said “…you who are familiar with the law…”, he was speaking to Jews who had accepted the message of Jesus Christ and were mixing their Jewish religious practices (the Law) which the message of grace. Religious practices can become bondage and distract from the message of grace.

• You must pray in a certain place, posture or to a certain person.
• You must eat fish on Friday.
• You must not use musical instruments in your worship.
• You must bring your pay stub so we can verify your tithe.
• You must not celebrate the commercial Christmas.
• You must use a certain methodology in baptism.

While all these may or may not have some validity, they certainly shouldn’t overshadow the message of the Cross. Jesus Christ died to free us from bondage to sin; not to have us create bondages of religious practice, trading them as we hop from church to church.