6 x 50 pushups (done throughout the day)
67 min run (easy pace)
50 x pullups (20,15,15)
50 x dips (25,17,8)
Daily Reading:
Romans 5-8
1.) Facts:
- We are given peace and hope in Christ Jesus because is is through Him that we have received reconciliation. Just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), sin has been reconciled through the act of one man (Christ). Due to this act we are made dead to sin and alive in Christ and are given life through the Spirit.
2.) Lessons:
- 5:3-4 - because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
- 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us
- 5:18 - Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
- 6:6-7 - For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
- 6:12 - Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
- 6:13 - Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
- 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- 7:15-25 - 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. For I know that good itself does not dwell 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 I do not do the good I want to do, but 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. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
- 8:5 - Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
- 8:26-27 - In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
- 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him
3.) Applications:
- Christ abolished the law when He died for my sins. The law helps me to identify my sins, yet when Christ died for me he took the punishment that the law requires for me and took it on Himself. Because of this I must not let sin reign in my body. This is difficult to do because I am a sinful man. I do not always understand what I do, I am a wretched man covered in sin. However, Christ loved me enough to die for me and take the punishment for my sins and actions. He realizes my weaknesses and has sent the Holy Spirit to help me and guide me.
4.) Daily Meditation:
- 8:28 - And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.
Great application point! In 7 and 8 Paul makes it a point to make sure that now that we are free from sin that we no longer look at our lives in terms of sin. When we try to "not sin" we become religious lawyers and eventually fall victim to our sin nature by justifying our sinful actions in some way, shape, or form. By letting the spirit control your mind we are lead to life and peace. How can I avoid sin needs to become how can I honor God.
ReplyDeleteIt all goes back to Christ dying and abolishing the law. The law has its place, as a tool to help us identify our sin, but it is not through our actions or through the law that we are justified, it is through the death and resurrection of Christ. The law is good when used correctly, but when we become like Israel and try to simply "not sin" as you stated above, the focus comes off of Christ's sacrifice and onto ourselves and what we can do to justify our wrong doings. This is a selfish way of thinking and eliminates the death of Christ as the way to salvation. This point that you brought up is the reason why Paul wrote this letter, to help Israel realize that they law was abolished through the death and Resurrection of Christ and that it is not through our own acts that we are saved.
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