Romans 5:1-11
Both Peace and Hope
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Romans 7:7-25
The Struggles with Sin
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
John 14:6
Jesus is the Way to God
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
St. Paul was a Great Saint who writes about hope and about peace...And in this hope he tells us about the Holy Spirit, God has sent us... Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s LOVE has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us...Just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly...He died for our sins...Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die...But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us....Jesus died for sinners
And St. Paul, this Great Saint, wrote about his own problem with sin...What can we say about sin and our personal sins?...Doesn't the Bible teach us the most about sin?...Would many of us even know about sin if it were not for Scripture?...Would we know about coveting and adultery and about idols, if it were not for the Ten Commandments?...But sin has a way of grabbing us...It grabs in many ways...It can take us quickly or sometimes it takes us gradually through temptations...And thus we can be seized by temptation and it takes us in, and we sin...And even though we know the commandments, we still wind up doing every kind of coveting...For apart from the Bible and those who follow it, sin is lesser known...Those who do not follow the Bible maybe do not think about sin often or maybe at all...They might not think they sin at all, being apart and away from the Bible...So we need Scripture...We need to know these things of spiritual life and of sin...For there is One who brings life to us, both Spiritually and of the earth...And He is written about in the New Testament...And we know that the Bible is holy and sacred...Can you name a book as holy and as sacred as one's Bible?...And being holy and sacred, it makes Scripture both righteous and good...So the question is can we recognize sin in our lives without Scripture?...Can we recognize sin without the help of someone knowing the Scripture and what it denotes?...Because we know that Scripture is holy and is spiritual, we know that it is good...But even though we know this, sin can still take its hold on us...St. Paul gets personal and dramatic of our personal sins and his own as well...We can be unspiritual, and sold as a slave to sin...We sometimes do not even understand what we do sometimes...For what we want to do, we often do not always do it, and sometimes we even hate what we do...And if we do what we do not want to do, and agree that the Bible is good -then we must do our very best to follow it...As it is, it is no longer I myself who do these things, but it is sin living in me...For I know that good itself does not always dwell in me, that is because it is my sinful nature...For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot many times carry it out...For I do not do the good I want to do, but I do the evil I do not want to do—this evil I often just keep on doing...Now if I do what I do not want to do (and I am aware and have recognized this sin), it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it...But I do have help...I find the Holy Spirit at work in me: Although I want to do this good from the guiding of the Holy Spirit, evil is still right there with me and in me...There is this internal battle...For in my inner being, I delight in the Holy Spirit...But I also can see the sin at work in me, waging war against the thoughts in my mind and the Holy Spirit making me a prisoner of the nature of sin at work within me...What a wretched man I am!...Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to sin and death?...Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!...I follow the Word, but in my sinful nature I am a slave this sin in me...Thank God, He has sent us the Holy Spirit to help us wage this internal war...
As the Apostle to the Gentiles St. Paul knew what sin was...Meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus Saul knew that Jesus was not subject to sin...Despite being a strict Pharisee and having rigorous Jewish Teachings of Scripture, he knew about the sacredness and holiness of the Bible...Saul of Tarsus who would later become the Apostle Paul wrote thirteen books of the New Testament, including this great writing on the problem of sin and man's sinful nature...He knows as a follower of Jesus that he should always be right and good, yet he admittedly comes out and writes about his inequities and his sins...He desires so much to do the right thing and to do good but often winds up doing a wrong thing and winds us sinning...There really is this great internal struggle to do good, be perfect and to sin...Paul knew of the Holy Spirit...He knew about the hope the Holy Spirit brings us...We can even feel some of this Great Saint's frustration in his inability to control the sin that he does, as he knows the Holy Spirit is indwelt in him...This sense of frustration can lead us downhill, make us doubt, and make our moods feel low...But there is Someone who can help...
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us...His death on the cross was for each of our sins...Before, we were unreconciled with God, and now that has changed...We now have been reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!...Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our LORD Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation...There is now One Mediator who speaks on our behalf to God...There is an answer to our sin problem, there is One who gives us hope and peace, and it is not an idea but a Savior...It is not an idea, but a Person...His name is Christ Our LORD...