Quote from Forum Archives on August 14, 2002, 11:33 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Today, I would like to share with you a passage of scripture
taken from the 7th chapter of the book of Romans, a letter
written from the apostle Paul to the church in Rome. This
particular chapter is about how the Law of God reveals to us our
deep need of Jesus Christ. The scripture in today's lesson
clearly conveys the truth of what I mentioned in yesterday's
message.

If you actually read my complete messages, many of you will
realize that much of the things that I've been praying for in my
notes have been things that I have repeated, over and over again.
These things remain my prayer - for myself, for you, for those
around us. (What was the missing word in this paragraph earlier)?
🙂

Have you had your own private appointment with your Savior today?

Dear Lord,

Once again, I confess my personal need of Your Presence. It is
my fervent prayer that I remember You in everything that I do,
and that I include You in my thinking, in my attitudes, and in my
actions. I need You. Please help me: I want others to know the
love that You have and the joy of Your salvation. I confess that
I allow excuses, and fears to impede me from sharing the hope
that I have in You with others. With Your guidance, I can
overcome all of these things, but it's obvious that I cannot do
so alone.

I also continue to pray that You would help me to be a genuine
encouragement to others, and that I may also be encouraged by
others. May we be one in the common hope that we find complete
in Christ. I ask each of these things humbly in Christ's Name.
Amen.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

August 14, Romans 7.1-25
An Example from Marriage

1 My friends, you surely understand enough about law to know that
laws only have power over people who are alive. 2 For example,
the Law says that a man's wife must remain his wife as long as he
lives. But once her husband is dead, she is free 3 to marry
someone else. However, if she goes off with another man while her
husband is still alive, she is said to be unfaithful. 4 That is
how it is with you, my friends. You are now part of the body of
Christ and are dead to the power of the Law. You are free to
belong to Christ, who was raised to life so that we could serve
God. 5 When we thought only of ourselves, the Law made us have
sinful desires. It made every part of our bodies into slaves who
are doomed to die. 6 But the Law no longer rules over us. We are
like dead people, and it cannot have any power over us. Now we
can serve God in a new way by obeying his Spirit, and not in the
old way by obeying the written Law.

The Battle with Sin

7 Does this mean that the Law is sinful? Certainly not! But if it
had not been for the Law, I would not have known what sin is
really like. For example, I would not have known what it means to
want something that belongs to someone else, unless the Law had
told me not to do that. 8 It was sin that used this command as a
way of making me have all kinds of desires. But without the Law,
sin is dead. 9 Before I knew about the Law, I was alive. But as
soon as I heard that command, sin came to life, 10 and I
died. The very command that was supposed to bring life to me,
instead brought death. 11 Sin used this command to trick me, and
because of it I died. 12 Still, the Law and its commands are holy
and correct and good. 13 Am I saying that something good caused
my death? Certainly not! It was sin that killed me by using
something good. Now we can see how terrible and evil sin really
is. 14 We know that the Law is spiritual. But I am merely a
human, and I have been sold as a slave to sin. 15 In fact, I
don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do what I know
is right. I do the things I hate. 16 Although I don't do what I
know is right, I agree that the Law is good. 17 So I am not the
one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what
does them. 18 I know that my selfish desires won't let me do
anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. 19
Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. 20 And so, if
I don't do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing
these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.
21 The Law has shown me that something in me keeps me from doing
what I know is right. 22 With my whole heart I agree with the Law
of God. 23 But in every part of me I discover something fighting
against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls
everything I do. 24 What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue
me from this body that is doomed to die? 25 Thank God! Jesus
Christ will rescue me. So with my mind I serve the Law of God,
although my selfish desires make me serve the law of sin.

Scripture made available by the American Bible Society for the
Year of the Bible Project. These passages are from the
Contemporary English Version of the Bible. For more information
call: 1.888.324.2535 or contact us through this web site.

www.gospelcom.net/yob/dated/see_today.shtml

-
Year of the Bible
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Report problems to webmaster@yob.org

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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