Wednesday • 6/29/2022

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 119:145-176; Numbers 22:41–23:12; Romans 7:13-25; Matthew 21:33-46

This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 11 (“The Third Song of Isaiah,” Isaiah 60:1-3,11a,14c,18-19, BCP, p. 87); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 16 (“The Song of Zechariah,” Luke 1:68-79, BCP, p. 92)

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Balaam had a good day today. He consults the Lord before speaking, and then blesses rather than curses Israel. 

But today we focus on the epistle.

Today’s reading in Romans is a head-scratcher. Paul has just said, “Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies” and “Sin will have no dominion over you” (Romans 6:12, 14). But here he writes as though the opposite were true: “I am of the flesh, sold into slavery unto sin” and “With my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:14, 25). 

For centuries, students of Paul have argued among themselves about Paul’s meaning in Romans 7:14-25. Some think that by adding Romans 7’s realism about feeling defeated by sin to Romans 6’s theme of victory over sin, Paul describes the normal Christian’s—including his own—continuing struggle with sin. Here, they say, Paul vividly engages the existential reality of a salvation that has already taken hold of the believer, but that has not yet become complete, and will not be made complete until final resurrection. Others think that Paul is describing two different people: in Romans 6 the Christian believer, and in Romans 7 the (probably Jewish) not-yet-believer, whose conscience has been pricked by the law. 

According to the first view, Romans 7’s bemoaning the effects of sin describes part of (almost) every Christian’s life. According to the second view, only Romans 6’s celebration of victory over sin, and not Romans 7’s lament about the effects of sin, describes the Christian life—or at least what the Christian life is supposed to be. 

Those who hold the first view worry that the second view leads to a naïve and shallow triumphalism about the Christian life—“If I’m not feeling the victory at every moment, there must be something wrong with me. Maybe I’m not really saved.” Those who hold the second view worry that the first view results in a sense that the Christian life is depressing and morbidly defeatist—“The best I can hope for in my Christian life is to get used to being justified as a sinner, feeling bad enough about my sin that I will constantly confess it and receive absolution.”

I happen to think that in Romans 7 Paul does reflect on the believer’s awareness of the drag of sin to which they are susceptible (the first view), even though they know the truths of Romans 4 & 5’s message that justification comes by faith and Romans 6’s good news that new life has taken hold of them. Sin still indwells, and it disturbs us, because it’s not supposed to be there! 

The resolution awaits Romans 8, where Paul will turn to the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us, to bear witness to our (self-condemning) spirits that we are indeed God’s children, to groan with us at our struggle as sinners in a still fallen world, to mold us to further conformity to Christ’s image, to shout down any lingering voices of condemnation, and to remind us that even in this life “we are more than conquerors.” 

Romans 7 allows us to acknowledge what we all feel: “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” Romans 7 gives us words for the near schizophrenia we feel when we find ourselves at war within ourselves over “let Thy will be done” and “let my will be done.” Romans 7 gives voice to our cry for deliverance, for rescue—and in that very gift, Romans 7, sandwiched as it is between Romans 4-6 and Romans 8, reminds us that the Lord has already heard our cry. Faith justifies, the Spirit intercedes, Christ molds, the Father loves—the victory that began at the cross and resurrection will be completed, for “the sufferings of this present time (including the lingering—sometimes debilitating— effects of sin) are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us” (Romans 8: 18). 

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

Image: Adaptation, "Schizophrenic Reflection" by tj.blackwell is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.