Romans 7:
15 I don’t understand my own behavior — I don’t do what I want to do; instead, I do the very thing I hate! 16 Now if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am agreeing that the Torah is good. 17 But now it is no longer “the real me” doing it, but the sin housed inside me. 18 For I know that there is nothing good housed inside me — that is, inside my old nature. I can want what is good, but I can’t do it! 19 For I don’t do the good I want; instead, the evil that I don’t want is what I do! 20 But if I am doing what “the real me” doesn’t want, it is no longer “the real me” doing it but the sin housed inside me. 21 So I find it to be the rule, a kind of perverse “torah,” that although I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me! 22 For in my inner self I completely agree with God’s Torah; 23 but in my various parts, I see a different “torah,” one that battles with the Torah in my mind and makes me a prisoner of sin’s “torah,” which is operating in my various parts. 24 What a miserable creature I am! Who will rescue me from this body bound for death? 25 Thanks be to God [, he will]! — through Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord!
To sum up: with my mind, I am a slave of God’s Torah; but with my old nature, I am a slave of sin’s “Torah.”
[Complete Jewish Bible]
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Our readings this week have been examining faith. In this excerpt from the letter to the Romans, Paul spends some time discussing some of the consequences of faith. As we receive the gift of faith from God, a desire to do the things that God is calling us to do stirs up in us. I often find myself following the same pattern of thought as Paul. I want to live righteously, but my innate selfishness and ignorance keep getting in the way. How can we trust ourselves to know what is good or evil? If we are not careful, we can fall into a rabbit hole of complacency. God is calling us to act! The basic notions of that call are to love God and to love our neighbors--or to love God by loving our neighbors. Let us not lose the ability to trust that God can and is doing wonderful things through us.
Ever-loving God, create in us discerning hearts so that we can more clearly understand your will for our lives. Open our minds to your ways and guide our everyday work to live in love and service. Amen.
Joshua Kestner, '17
Admissions Counselor, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.
Romans 7:15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.
17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.
20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.
22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self,
23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! [New Revised Standard Version]
Our readings this week have been examining faith. In this excerpt from the letter to the Romans, Paul spends some time discussing some of the consequences of faith. As we receive the gift of faith from God, a desire to do the things that God is calling us to do stirs up in us. I often find myself following the same pattern of thought as Paul. I want to live righteously, but my innate selfishness and ignorance keep getting in the way. How can we trust ourselves to know what is good or evil? If we are not careful, we can fall into a rabbit hole of complacency. God is calling us to act! The basic notions of that call are to love God and to love our neighbors--or to love God by loving our neighbors. Let us not lose the ability to trust that God can and is doing wonderful things through us.
Ever-loving God, create in us discerning hearts so that we can more clearly understand your will for our lives. Open our minds to your ways and guide our everyday work to live in love and service. Amen.
Joshua Kestner, '17
Admissions Counselor, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.
Romans 7:15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.
17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.
20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.
22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self,
23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! [New Revised Standard Version]
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