Paul’s Epistle to the Romans
December 19, 2021
Opening Prayer
Give us grace, Almighty Father, so to pray, as to deserve to be heard, to address thee with our Hearts, as with our lips. Thou art every where present, from Thee no secret can be hid. May the knowledge of this, teach us to fix our Thoughts on Thee, with Reverence and Devotion that we pray not in vain.
Look with Mercy on the Sins we have this day committed, and
in Mercy make us feel them deeply, that our Repentance may be sincere, &
our resolutions stedfast of endeavouring against the commission of such in future.
Teach us to understand the sinfulness of our own Hearts, and bring to our
knowledge every fault of Temper and every evil Habit in which we have indulged
to the discomfort of our fellow-creatures, and the danger of our own Souls. May
we now, and on each return of night, consider how the past day has been spent
by us, what have been our prevailing Thoughts, Words, and Actions during it,
and how far we can acquit ourselves of Evil. Have we thought irreverently of
Thee, have we disobeyed thy commandments, have we neglected any known duty, or
willingly given pain to any human being? Incline us to ask our Hearts these
questions Oh! God, and save us from deceiving ourselves by Pride or Vanity.
Give us a thankful sense of the Blessings in which we live, of the many comforts of our lot; that we may not deserve to lose them by Discontent or Indifference.
Be gracious to our Necessities, and guard us, and all we love, from Evil this night. May the sick and afflicted, be now, and ever thy care); and heartily do we pray for the safety of all that travel by Land or by Sea, for the comfort & protection of the Orphan and Widow and that thy pity may be shewn upon all Captives and Prisoners.
Above all other blessings Oh! God, for ourselves, and our fellow-creatures, we implore Thee to quicken our sense of thy Mercy in the redemption of the World, of the Value of that Holy Religion in which we have been brought up, that we may not, by our own neglect, throw away the salvation thou hast given us, nor be Christians only in name. Hear us Almighty God, for His sake who has redeemed us, and taught us thus to pray.
Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.[1]
Prolegomena
This is a confession of a reality we cannot see with our
eyes.
Romans 7:21-25
21 So I find it to be a law that when
I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I
delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but
I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and
making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched
man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks
be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God
with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
v. 22
In my inner being – literally “inner man.”
- The part of us people can’t see.
- The inner life is expressed in the outer life.
o
That time I really lit Chuck up on choir tour. And
Von Kampen’s wisdom.
- We are whole people
o
Inner influences the outer.
§
Power of internal devotional habits.
o
Outer influences the inner.
§
The Power of external devotional habit!
§
Fake it ‘till you make it!
- How can we delight in God’s Law:
o
Inwardly?
o
Outwardly?
o
Psalm 119
o
Devotional Habits
§
Commitment to one or more of God’s teachings.
§
Displayed inwardly or outwardly.
§
Reveals the Holy Spirit at work.
v.23
Conflict!
- Another law at work
- Freed in Christ
- Sinful nature leads back to bondage.
- This is the battle – one form of spiritual warfare.
- Both the will to do good and to do evil are within you – because you are a baptized believing justified reborn follower of Jesus Christ who has redeemed you with his body and blood.
- This conflict is frustrating – because we cannot win
o
Every discipline, every strategy, every force of
human will ultimately fails. (Romans 3:23)
v. 24
Wretched man that I am!
- The struggle impacts our emotions.
- Emotions are a real part of our lives – happiness, joy, sorrow, contentment, peace, grief, etc.
Who will deliver me from this body of death?
- Not himself! He needs a savior.
v. 25
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
- This is our hope!
- This is the heart and core of the Christian faith.
- This is the key to our salvation.
So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but
with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
- Simil Justus et Peccator – Simultaneously saint and sinner.
Romans 8
This is the first summit of the letter. Everything has been building up to this point.
“The whole of Chapter 8 will teach us how the condemnation of man has been abrogated.” – Karl Barth[2]
Watch for how often the Holy Spirit is mentioned. This
chapter is driven by the work of the Holy Spirit leaving no room for the works
for people to justify ourselves. (That is why there are no imperative verbs in
this section of the letter!)
Romans 8:1-8
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of
life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and
death. 3 For God has done what the
law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned
sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the
flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the
things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on
the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For
the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not
submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those
who are in the flesh cannot please God.
8:1
No condemnation
The first word of this sentence in Greek is – no, no one, nothing
It could be translated – Nothing, therefore, now [is] condemnation to those [who are] in Christ Jesus.
Condemnation stands in opposition to Justification.
-
This is what it is to be saved from this body of
death.
[2] Barth, Karl, A Shorter Commentary on Romans, SCM Press LTD, London, 1959, p. 88
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