Thursday, October 30, 2008

Scripture: Romans 7:14-20
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 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. 19 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. 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.

Observation:
These verses are pretty intense with all of the “I’s, do’s, do not’s,” you may have to read them again slowly! What do you think the big picture of the verses is?
Basically what Paul is saying here is that he knows that Law of God is perfect and holy, but he has a tough time sticking to it because of his sinful nature.
Paul struggled with knowing what he should do (what God says we should do) but actually doing the opposite (sinning).
When Moses brought the 10 Commandments (which was the perfect law of God) down from Mt. Sinai his face glowed with the glory of God (Exodus 34: 29-35), but as time went on, the glowing glory began to fade (2 Cor. 3:7-18) because even though the law is perfect, people aren’t. Moses tried to hide his fading glory with a veil so the Israelites would not be able to see it.

Application:
Just as Moses tried to hide his fading glory (imperfection) with a veil, we often try to hide our imperfections. What sins do you have in your life that you try to hide or act like they don’t exist?
Are you like Paul? Do you know what you should do but often end up doing the exact opposite?
Even though we sin when we know we shouldn’t, God provides a way for us to take off the veil. The way he provides is Jesus. We can’t become perfect or stop sinning on our own, but anything is possible with the help of Jesus!

Prayer:Get before God and take the veil off of your sins. It is a 100% guaranteed fact that we are going to sin, even when we know better, but we shouldn’t act like it never happened. Let God work in you to reveal your sin and teach you to resist temptation. Be sure to thank him for his grace and mercy for all the times you’ve fallen short of his standard.