Thursday, May 19, 2005

General Hospital

So the consensus seems to be that I should post my Mexico adventure in parts. Unfortunately, as I am leaving for a week in 4 hours, you don't get to read any of it yet. That and I haven't finished writing the last part yet. So I'll start posting them after I return on the 30th.

I found solace today in Romans 7. Lately I've been furiously upset with how my behavior never seems to change. I'm constantly reverting to old sin patterns, I'm constantly tempted by the same old crap, I'm constantly doing exactly what I purpose not to do and being exactly what I purpose not to be. Well it seems Paul thought rather the same of himself. His reasoning, however, is that since through Christ we are dead to the law, we no longer sin. That sounds somewhat contradictory, but then, so does my behavior. And there's a good reason for that: namely, that we are dead to sin Spiritually through Christ, but not yet bodily. For some reason, God decided not to make his Kingdom a physical one just yet. So we all live in this spiritual-carnal duality until Christ comes again and restores the Creation. The solace I found in this is that it doesn't seem I need to blame myself so much for the sins I commit, since I vehemently will not to commit them. It's the law of sin that's still governing my body that originates those behaviors. In a way, sin sins itself through my flesh. Fortunately, God looks at the heart before the history and I am delivered through Christ. Indeed God can change our behaviors by His Spirit, and indeed has in me over the years. My inner perfectionist isn't satisfied, of course, but maybe the Lord is. But until He returns, we just gotta put up with it, I guess. I'll never figure that one out.

4 Comments:

Blogger Kenton Finkbeiner said...

Ummm...

I would have to disagree.

Every decision you make in life is your own. You have a free will to "not sin." You have the capacity. It all depends on whether or not you are going to cave to the devil's temptation. You can't place blame on the fact that we live in the carnal-forgiven duality. In fact, in Christianity there is no gray matter. Everything is black and white. Now on this point you might disagree with me. But think about it this way...

Good and Evil.

White and Black.

It is you who has to decide to turn your life around a live better.

Now, of course, you are forgiven. But like the bible says, you shouldnt not go on sinning just because youre forgiven...

...dust yourself off and try again.

...ever moving to spiritual sanctification...

...but that only comes upon your death. Sorry for the bad news...

Kenton

10:44 AM  
Blogger Kenton Finkbeiner said...

Sorry for the typo...

shouldnt needs to be changed to should

10:45 AM  
Blogger Telephone the Foot said...

But if we had absolute control over whether or not we sinned, wouldn't that mean that we could achieve righteousness on our own? That would make the Gospel of no effect. It seems to me the only time we have the power NOT to sin is when the Holy Spirit strengthens us against it. Maybe over time we build up "immunities" to certain sins, but not without the Spirit again, I imagine. After all, God still decides whether or not we wake up in the morning.

10:59 PM  
Blogger Tia said...

Also...we do not "decide to turn our lives around," the Bible clearly says that God chooses us first. Whatever you call it, you did not just wake up one day and say, "I think I'll become righteous today by giving my life over to Christ." He plants the seed, waters it (often through other people), and brings it to fruition. If we could take the credit for it, we'd boast in our own strength. Thank God for our infirmities and imperfections - they keep us humble!

1:08 PM  

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