Living in the Spirit

July 8, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Romans 7:15-25a
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 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. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 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. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

Laws are needed to bring about order. For example, that is the purpose of stop signs. Laws are helpful in that accord and are malleable to change as situations in societies change. Our driving rules changed when we switched from horse-drawn vehicles to cars and trucks. As traffic increased, stoplights were installed. The Torah, the first five Bible books, is described as God’s laws. They are a combination of what we practice today as rules related to our relationship with God, civil rules, and even etiquette. Civil rules and etiquette change over time. In the USA, we are more precise in indicating the differences in these rules. The Bible describes a similar separation as the Israelites advanced from wandering in the wilderness where they developed a system of judges to mediate differences to eventually recognizing a government ruled by a king—we call it separation of church and state. From the beginning, the two communicated. The Prophet Nathan was not hesitant to call King David out for his sins as did Martin Luther King Jr. when he organized the first Poor People’s Campaign.

Fast forward to the first century when Paul and others mingled Greek philosophy and their Jewish background to help spread the teachings and example of Jesus.  So, we get the language of flesh and spirit doing battle with each other. Why do we do what we know better than to do? Jesus, himself, said that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:40-43) I think that is why we were given an overriding law that does not change from one generation to another; God commanded us, and Jesus repeated it just to make sure we understood that we are to love God above all others and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Leviticus 19.18 and Matthew 19.19)

Prayer: Lord, help us get our priorities straight if we live in the Spirit daily. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.