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ROMANS 7 (INTRODUCTION (TRYING TO GIVE UP SMOKING (Of course this happens…
ROMANS 7
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PAUL'S INSIGHT
THERE HAS BEEN MUCH DEBATE AMONG SCHOLARS ABOUT WHO PAUL IS DESCRIBING. If you've read this passage yourself, you'll be aware of the questions that arise for us.
It could be that when he describes this "inner conflict" between the conscience and behaviour Paul is, in a sense, retelling the story of ADAM.
Remembering that in the Bible Adam is the representative ancestor or archetype of humanity as a whole, having been created in the image of God, for intimacy and communion with God and the world around us, but having through our own self-centredness walked away from that original vocation.
That seems the most likely...we're getting very close. Except many people don't experience such an attack of conscience. It's only when we begin to desire the spiritual life, or to make some change in our life that this conflict occurs.
Is Paul describing his own experience, either as a law abiding pharisee or even his own spiritual struggle as a Christian? Most agree that he's not simply talking about himself.
Is Paul describing the experience of all Jewish people living under the Law of Moses? Paul's audience is much wider, includes Jewish and Roman Christians.
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CRISIS OF CONVERSION
So this is ADAM'S STORY, and our story, the story of conversion, of the crisis we go through when we have made the choice to do what is right, and fail to do so.
Paul is showing that even though our conscience, pricked by our growing awareness of what is right, tells us what we should do, we still find ourselves powerless to do what is right.
It's not enough to have a set of rules or even good intentions that we set out to live up to (even though those may be good in themselves).
The simple truth that Paul brings us back to is that we need to be in relationship with God, because God is the source of our spiritual life.
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JESUS SAID "COME TO ME"
To come to Jesus is to surrender all our self-centred labour to live the moral life or the spiritual life.
It is the acknowledgement that I am made for relationship with God, and I cannot live up to the demands, or the outward appearance of the spiritual life without God.
It is both painful and joyful to let go of my all my previous efforts to construct an identity for myself.
Painful because I put so much effort into working out where I fitted into the scheme of things and developing a robust ego!
But joyful, because once I get over the disappointment of realising how much wasted effort all my striving was, I discover that God has been waiting for me and loving towards me the entire time.