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Paul’s Epistle to the Romans
September 12, 2021
Opening Prayer
We give thanks to you, heavenly Father, for the rest and
peace of this holy day in which we remember all your benefits and seek your
face;
·
For all the tokens of your goodness in our homes
and our lives, especially in this congregation;
·
For all the goodness which you have bestowed
upon us through our brothers and sisters in the faith;
·
For the guarding grace with which you have
watched over our bodies and preserved us in times of trial and trouble;
·
For fellowship with all who call upon your name;
·
For the goodness that continually greets and
blesses us in the gifts of your creation;
·
For the greatest gift of all which you have
given us in Jesus Christ;
·
And for the hope in which we begin this day in
his name.
For these and all other gifts, we give you thanks, O God our
heavenly Father. Amen[1]
Prolegomena
Today we will deal with the struggle with sin and the idea
of living under grace instead of the Law.
John Donne (1572-1631)
Holy Sonnet 14
Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town to another due,
Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
Romans 6:12-14
12 Let not sin therefore reign
in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do
not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,
but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to
life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will
have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
v. 12
Sin must not reign/rule in your mortal body, to obey its
passions…
This is a little strange in its form. The word we translate
“reign” is a third person imperative verb. So there is a command here, that sin
must not reign/rule in our mortal bodies.
Sin is presented here as a hostile force working to force us
(or guide us through misplaced allegiance) into obedience.
-
John 8:34 – “Everyone who sins is a slave to
sin.”
-
There is an external pressure to keep us from
living in righteousness
o
the forgiveness as a free gift kind of
righteousness.
o
the living in relationship with God kind of
righteousness.
o
the living in relationship to one’s neighbors
kind of righteousness.
“We must engage in a constant, daily struggle not to obey
those desires which are forbidden or improper. For from this sort of fault it
comes about that the eye is turned to where it ought not to look, and if this
fault grows strong and prevails, even bodily adultery is carried out, which is
committed in the heart as much more quickly as thought is quicker than action
and has nothing to hinder or delay it.” Augustine (354-430): On Nature and
Grace
We often think of rebels as those individuals who go their
own way and do what they want – which is often sin. Real rebellion in this
world is obedience of God’s Word, denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and
following Jesus (Matthew 16:24). This is seen in resisting the desires that are
rooted in our sin, and living in God’s grace.
Is there a sense here that our mortality is important in
this conversation about sin ruling over us?
- Look
ahead to 6:23!
Is there value in thinking of sin having its own passions? (Its
own desires, cravings, lusts.)
v. 13 (Part of the same sentence in Greek)
… and do not present your members (the parts of your body)
as instruments of unrighteousness to sin (noun), but present yourselves to God
as (one who is) living from the dead and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God.
Instruments – 6 times in the NT – tools (2), weapons (3),
armor (1)
-
I find the idea of translating this word in a
military way interesting as it reflects the struggle of faith better than just
talking about instruments or tools.
“Every part of the body can become a weapon of wickedness
which will defeat righteousness if it turns its purpose to bad use.” Pelagius
(360-420): Pelagius’s Commentary on Romans
By telling us to yield our members to God as instruments of
righteousness, Paul teaches that the body is not evil but the creation of a
good God. Therefore, if it is properly and correctly controlled by the soul it
can serve God. Theodoret of Cyr (393-457): Interpretation of the Letter to
the Romans.
v.14
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you
are not under law but under grace.
Sin will not rule/master/dominate you
-
It is a simple future tense verb.
There is an important parallel to this idea in Exodus 20 and
Deuteronomy 5
-
The Ten Commandments
-
Exodus 20:1-2 - And God spoke all these
words, saying,2 “I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
-
The chapter then gets into the Commandments,
which are often translated, “Thou/You shall not.”
o
Feels like an imperative verb.
o
They’re not imperative verbs.
o
They are simply future tense verbs.
-
“You will not (won’t) have other gods.”
o
Why not?
o
“I am YHWH your God, who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
o
In other words, “I am your God who saves you!”
o
Grace changes us and moves us to an obedience
rooted in love.
o
“We should fear, love, and trust in God above
all things.”
§
Fear – as in terror – is the response of our
flesh – use Paul’s language.
§
Love is the response of our spirit.
§
Trust is faith that receives God’s Word and
promise that acknowledges our slavery to sin and receives God’s salvation in
Jesus.
-
So for the Christian – “You won’t have other
gods.”
o
Why not?
o
Jesus, God the Son, is our God who saved me by
dying and rising for me! Why would I want any other god?
-
This follows through all the commandments
o
You won’t …
o
Why not?
o
Jesus is your God and savior.
It is not about
LAW – It is about GRACE!
Obedience flows
from gratitude and joy because we have a loving Savior; Jesus.
[1]
Hanns Lilje wrote this prayer in a German prayerbook in 1939. It was accessed
through John Doberstein, The Minister’s Prayerbook, Fortress Press,
1986, p. 4
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