This weekend I was invited to worship with some friends who are Lutherans, and feeling like I needed a break from the Book of Acts, I accepted.
Anyway, the second reading was a real interesting one. It was taken from the end of Chapter 7 of Paul's Letter to the Romans. Unfortunately we don't have any record of what Paul's recipients thought of this convoluted letter, but I am sure that it left more than a few folks scratching their heads. Since both Luther and Calvin based much of their theology on this book, it's a pretty key one in the New Testament.
Paul, in his writings and especially in Romans, comes across as a pretty tormented and conflicted individual. There is a saying, "No Jesus, No Peace, Know Jesus, Know Peace." Well, Paul had the kind of personal experience with the Lord most Christians nowadays can only look upon with envy, and yet he does not strike me as a person who was at peace with himself and the world.
He starts out by saying that he doesn't understand his own actions. He doesn't do what he wants to do, but does the thing he hates. What exactly is that he doesn't say. But Paul, I've noticed, is not one to say "I'm sorry" or admit that he has done dirt to another human being. Oh, he talks a lot about sin and forgiveness but only in the context of God, as if it were just him and God, that his actions don't affect others.
So he comes up with a brilliant solution. He says it's not me who does wrong, it's sin that dwells within me. And in case his readers miss his point, he repeats it. "It's not me, it's no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." Hey, maybe that guy in Texas that threw his kid out of the car because he said God told him to can use that line as a defense.
Sounds like a cop-out to me. Paul is abdicating responsibility for his actions. And now that he has been saved, there's no condemnation, so no consequences. Again, if this is the sort of thing he was preaching in the synagogues, it is no wonder he got the rabbis riled up. Because Judaism doesn't go for cop-outs. Forgiveness is not cheap. God can only forgive sins committed against Him. If you offend someone, then you need to ask their forgiveness, because they are the only ones who can grant it. No one else can. Which means that if you don't get the chance to make amends in this life, that sin won't be forgiven in the next. Someone else can't take the rap. But that's not what Paul is offering to his converts. He's saying someone did take the rap, so all you have to do is say the magic words and you won't have to face the consequences.
Anyway, the second reading was a real interesting one. It was taken from the end of Chapter 7 of Paul's Letter to the Romans. Unfortunately we don't have any record of what Paul's recipients thought of this convoluted letter, but I am sure that it left more than a few folks scratching their heads. Since both Luther and Calvin based much of their theology on this book, it's a pretty key one in the New Testament.
Paul, in his writings and especially in Romans, comes across as a pretty tormented and conflicted individual. There is a saying, "No Jesus, No Peace, Know Jesus, Know Peace." Well, Paul had the kind of personal experience with the Lord most Christians nowadays can only look upon with envy, and yet he does not strike me as a person who was at peace with himself and the world.
He starts out by saying that he doesn't understand his own actions. He doesn't do what he wants to do, but does the thing he hates. What exactly is that he doesn't say. But Paul, I've noticed, is not one to say "I'm sorry" or admit that he has done dirt to another human being. Oh, he talks a lot about sin and forgiveness but only in the context of God, as if it were just him and God, that his actions don't affect others.
So he comes up with a brilliant solution. He says it's not me who does wrong, it's sin that dwells within me. And in case his readers miss his point, he repeats it. "It's not me, it's no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." Hey, maybe that guy in Texas that threw his kid out of the car because he said God told him to can use that line as a defense.
Sounds like a cop-out to me. Paul is abdicating responsibility for his actions. And now that he has been saved, there's no condemnation, so no consequences. Again, if this is the sort of thing he was preaching in the synagogues, it is no wonder he got the rabbis riled up. Because Judaism doesn't go for cop-outs. Forgiveness is not cheap. God can only forgive sins committed against Him. If you offend someone, then you need to ask their forgiveness, because they are the only ones who can grant it. No one else can. Which means that if you don't get the chance to make amends in this life, that sin won't be forgiven in the next. Someone else can't take the rap. But that's not what Paul is offering to his converts. He's saying someone did take the rap, so all you have to do is say the magic words and you won't have to face the consequences.
