Romans 7:14-20

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. 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.
Romans 7:14-20, NIV

I've been studying the book of Romans the past few months and have been reading through John R.W. Stott's The Message of Romans. One of my favorite passages from Romans is 7:14-20 (above). However, I found myself disagree with Stott's view of this passage.

Stott states that since the person Paul refers to in this passage is still a slave to sin, unable to do what is good, that this person is only "half-saved": they love the law, but they lack the Holy Spirit. They are regenerate, but still under the Law.

First, since Paul here is writing in first person, I've always assumed that Paul is speaking of his own struggles, not telling the struggles of someone else through the first person. In fact, up until this point, Paul has easily described other's arguments without using the first person narrative. So I'm not sure why it's assumed that now he's still expressing the view of a third party, only using the first person.

Second, this passage has always brought great comfort to me. I always interpreted it as a Christian (this being Paul himself) who still faces the daily struggle of sin: yes, I want to do good, to follow Christ, but I still mess up. However, Stott throws this out, stating that the person Paul is describing isn't a mature Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He seems to imply that mature Christians don't struggle with, or become ensnared in, sin.

I agree, what's described isn't "normative" Christian life: we aren't slaves to sin in the sense that we have no power to reject and act contrary to our sin nature. However, we still retain a sin nature, and we can easily fall prey to our sinful desires that are part of our being human. While Christian life isn't marked by a constant struggle, there is a struggle present.

I'm not a "professional" Bible scholar, so maybe my interpretation is the faulty one, not Stott's. I just have trouble wrapping my head around the idea of being regenerated, but still under the law, and the term "half-saved" simply makes me twitch.

a quick promo

For my husband's blog, Proslogial. Check it out.

I might be doing a short series on the church in my upcoming posts. Depends on how lazy I am over the next few weeks.

"It is no small matter to dwell in a religious community, or congregation, to converse therein without complaint, and to persevere therein faithfully until death." Thomas A' Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

Just a little something to think about.

of husbands and Apollos

The other week I curled up in bed with a new Christian romance book. Next to me was my husband, trying to get in an afternoon nap before work. As I read, I came across a line that almost made me literally laugh out loud. The author described the main hero as a "golden-haired Apollo". I turned and looked down at my own dark-haired man, who happened to be snoring by that point, and thought "that's what happens to golden-haired Apollos".

That one line made me stop and think about how I view my husband. I recently finished reading Mark Driscoll's Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. In one chapter, while discussing sexual purity, he exhorts men and women to keep their spouse as their ideal for beauty. And the reference to a blonde Greek god made me stop and think about whether or not my husband is my standard for attractiveness. He's not some stunning, tall, dark and handsome stranger. He's not the mold of the typical Christian romance hero, but I don't think I could really fall in love with any of those guys. My husband and I have known each other for over six years. We've both changed, mentally, spiritually, and physically. But even with the added pounds and the rest of the effects that aging has taken on our bodies, I love him more. He's not some cowboy riding across the plains to rescue me, but he has a reliable Honda and I know he'll be there to pick me up after work, even if he's running a few minutes.

A few days after my little revelation, I was sitting on the couch watching my husband create a new character on the RPG video game he's been playing. I made an off-hand comment that he always makes his female characters have dark hair and why didn't he ever try to design a character with lighter hair. He looked at me, gave me his little-boy grin, and told me it was his ideal of beauty. After giving him the raised-eyebrow of "what are you talking about?" he went on to explain that it's because I have dark hair, and being his ideal, he models them after me.

It was cheesy, but it made me swoon. What can I say? We're two nerds in love.

purpose

I've had this blog for over a year, so I suppose it's a little late for me to be posting a purpose statement, but it's a new year and I've resolved to be more dedicated with this blog. So here it is:

My purpose is to be real.

As Christians, we so often try to put on a "poker face" for the world. We arm ourselves with obligatory Christian paraphernalia (Bible carry-cases, bumper stickers, TestaMints to hand out to our non-believing friends) and we play the part of "good Christian" (insert your presupposition for how a Christian ought to behave here). When we fail to live up to our own standard that we've so sanctimoniously imposed on others, we spout cliches such as "I'm not perfect, just forgiven." We vainly to try to hide our flaws from non-Christians, from fellow believers, and even from ourselves.

This blog is my attempt at honesty. I want to share not only my love for God, but my struggles with my faith. I hope non-Christians will get a genuine look at Christ, not just a Jesus hidden behind cliches and self-righteousness. To fellow Christians, I hope you see a sister - someone who sometimes needs encouragement, sometimes a kick in the butt, and always prayer.

Ultimately, though, I seek to glorify God. In the words of Oswald Chambers: "I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone." (from My Utmost for His Highest)