(All quotations from NIV, unless otherwise marked)

In our daily lives, we sometimes forget the “whys” and the “what for’s” behind the ways we have arranged our lives and what we are doing with them. For those of us who seek to pursue a relationship with God here at school, or even if you don’t, it seems that after we sign up for a major, arrange for the appropriate class schedule, and maybe score a job on or off campus, we find that we begin to push much we used to love and participate in onto the back burner- this can include things as simple as an extra writing project, an artistic hobby, or just video games. It is not always a bad thing that these aspects of our lives may be put on hold, or dropped altogether- it may be very good for us, actually.

However, I’ve found, especially in my own life here at school, that too many important things can get delegated to the rear-stoves- things like homework (when life gets really heavy), family, and friends. I would assert, however, that there is no more tragic of a scale down in our passionate pursuits of something than when we put God, and our relationships with Him, on the back burner with all those smaller (or maybe not so smaller) things. Our relationship with Him, if continued at all, is often relegated to routine, like many other things. In the particular details of our daily lives, we often don’t see much of a long run goal or objective behind what we are doing, much less the brilliant and straight path to eternity with God we long to be travelling on.

I’ve been here too- much more often than I’d like to be. The constant assault of mediocrity upon the deeper implications and purposes of and behind our lives can truly take it’s toll.

I believe that these two chapters of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans speaks to these issues so many of us now face on some level- when our lives become routine mediocrity, and our relationships with God conversely become little more than rules and rituals, how do we strive for something deeper and put God first in all we do when we are already giving so much of ourselves? How do we remember the true purposes behind what we are doing, and see eternity as our aim in every little thing that we do?

Hopefully, in these two chapters of Romans, I can reveal some truth for you that is relevant and applicable to where you and I are in this incredibly chaotic, challenging, and rewarding period of our lives.

1.)  Christ is the Law, and the Law is not routine, but transformation

Romans 7: 1-3

Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man. 

I know that, especially for me, spiritual disciplines can become a very shallow routine. Read so much of the Bible everyday, pray so much in such a way every day, etc. Here, Paul says that, while we are alive, we are under the Law- there are certain things that are expected to be observed and obeyed, not only in our faith, but in our country and state. Only in death are we released from such laws- you cannot convict a dead man for any crime.

The view of obeying Law for Law’s sake prevails far and wide in most churches, perhaps not on the surface or in official statements, or even in the conscious of most of the congregants, but it’s there. No one really espouses the idea of a cold, ritualistic obedience of the Law for the Law’s sake; yet I see it lived out at times in both my and other Christian’s walks with God. There is a bit of a competitive nature to it as well, the desire to out do each other to gain more recognition lying just below the surface- in this sense, it can even become a bit of a game at times. Perhaps if the Bible left itself to Romans 7: 1-3, this would all be true- fortunately for us, though, the chapter continues on:

Romans 7: 4-6

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh,the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

We now see that submitting to the Law for the Law’s sake is not God’s will- it is, in fact, intended to be far from just a mere routine. There is a greater purpose behind daily spiritual disciplines, our classes, and even our jobs and homework. It’s all to impact the rest of your life for the better- reading the Bible, praying, and doing homework should all be done in such a way that they are not the end-all, but a mode through which God can radically change ad transform both our lives and the lives those all around us for the better and for God’s glory. We are now, as we are “dead to the Law through the Body of Christ”, to “belong to one another”, and to God Himself, “in order that we may bear fruit for God”. This also releases us from our sins, for sin was made known by the Law, as Paul goes on to explain in this chapter. We now are able to serve God and one another in a new and purposeful “way of the Spirit in all we do”, and not in “the old way of the written code”, out of cold ritual and routine (not to say that the old way is all ritual and routine- in fact, the Old Testament can and just as often as the New Testament portrays a loving and merciful God that works in and for His people constantly). So, we’re released from the Law and ritual and routine, and consequently sin; however, don’t go thinking we now have a “get-out-of-jail-free” card with God’s bountiful grace:

Romans 7:7

What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

God still expects us to work with Him, and put effort into our disciplines, in order to fully do away with sin in our lives- it’s only fair, considering what God has already done and given for us, such as our release from the old Law and sin. This is why I use the word “disciplines”, and relegate the word “routine” to more negative things- as discipline implies a purposeful striving for something better, whereas routine is just looking to get by- only achievement there is more often than not an accident. But if God expects us to still strive to obey Him and His Law, then why did He release us from it in the first place?

Romans 7:10-12

I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

So, we see that the Law is very good- this is why God asks us to still strive towards it. It is for no other benefit than your own- and, consequently, for others, and for God’s glory. We see then that spiritual discipline in this new idea of Christ as the Law, as He was the perfect manifestation of the Law, is far from a routine, but a living, breathing concept that transforms us for God’s glory, and our good.

Romans 7:13

Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

2.)  We will fall short- but will we get back up?

Another factor of our busy lives that contributes to the breakdown of real spiritual discipline and growth is our past- we already have failed, and are failing (if the problem is more recent) with respect to keeping habits towards a vibrant relationship with God. Why should it change? How will anything we do change it? Paul understood this as well, and even explores it somewhat:

Romans 7: 14-15

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

It is now only natural for we who were sinners to still sin in certain areas of life- God had to work with the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years after they left Egypt before they could even enter the promised land. We will continue to fall short- we will continue to make mistakes. We aren’t yet perfect, and won’t be for sometime.

Romans 7: 16-17

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.

It is then the nature of sin still within us that causes us to be tempted to sin- this is what we must strive against, and this is, I feel, one of the hardest parts of being a Christian.

Romans 7: 19-24

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?

Paul’s grief absolutely flows off of those last few verses- and rightly so. It’s tough to try to live for God, seeking a closer relationship with Him, and constantly fall flat on our faces; we can’t get it right, even when we want it with all our hearts. We fall, and cry, “O, wretched man/woman that I am!” How can we possibly escape this? What way is there to reverse this terrible cycle, or remove us from it altogether? With Paul, we should now lift our voices, and rejoice in saying:

Romans 7:25a

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So, we will fall, but God will be there to pick us up, if we turn to Him. And we need His help to turn routine into discipline, surviving into selflessness. And it’s not anywhere near an easy process- but, with God’s strength, we can do it. And Paul goes further in the next chapter.

Romans 8:1-4

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,  because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Christ has taken care of our mistakes- now, it’s up to us to form the discipline, and keep going, especially when we fail, no matter how much or for how long- it is never too late to come to God, and to a vibrant and beautiful relationship with Him into eternity! Any other alternative is futile and useless.

Romans 8: 6, 10 & 11

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace… But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives lifebecause of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because ofhis Spirit who lives in you.

This is also another reason God wishes us to continue to live according to His Law although He has released us from it.

3.)   This is not Home- Lift your eyes from where you are, and take heart!

In Genesis 13, Lot and Abraham part ways in the wilderness while pursuing God’s promise to make nation out of Abraham’s descendants. Their flocks and servants, as well as the rest of their assorted baggage, have become too great for them both to stay in the same area together. So, they must separate.

Abraham let’s Lot choose to go wherever he wishes. After Lot sees the Jordan Valley, where Sodom and Gomorrah are, he heads off in that direction. Abraham then left for Canaan, where the Israelites would eventually settle and conquer a nation for themselves out of the land. God says something interesting to Abraham, though, before he departs:

Genesis 13: 14-17 (ESV)

The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”

And so Abraham did- and he went in to realize the promises God had made him, though they did not come about in his lifetime.

In the same way, I believe God speaks to us busy, chaotic college students; sometimes, we get so caught up in our own thing, in our own work and plans, that we get too focused on where we are, and again forget about everything behind what we are doing. I believe that, in this state, God calls us, just as he called Abraham thousands of years ago, to lift up our eyes from where we are, and remember His promises and plans for us- or to discover them, if we don’t know what they are yet. Because, as Pauls says;

Romans 8: 14-17

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

We were not bought by God to continue in our current lives and lifestyles, but to give everything over to Him, and become everything He desires and plans for us to be. We did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into our old, comfortable routines, but received a Spirit of Life, to be transformed by God in our adoption as His children, and to live out this life abundantly towards that end.

And when we remember all this, and look forward to the day when all this striving and discipline will pay off, it is not easier as much as it is more joyful to endure everything this will throw at us.

Romans 8:18

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Indeed, Paul goes on to say, the entirety of creation longs for that day with us. (Romans 18:19-23) And while we remember, and long while waiting, we can take heart.

Romans 8: 24-26, 28

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 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 we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Aside from being many more good reasons to get back up from whatever we fall into or for, those truths and promises provide a point at which to look when we lift our eyes from where we are, and are like a star we can focus on in the night. In this way, we can purposefully pursue a life that glorifies God in all the little things we do everyday and remember what the destination of our journey is.

4.)   God loves us anyways

What if you’ve screwed up anyways, still can’t get it right, or don’t apply all this? What if you don’t even know God to begin with? The last paragraphs of Romans 8 has much to say about the love and mercy of God:

Romans 8: 31&32, 34&35, 37-39

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?… Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I hope you all were greatly blessed by God through this article- and I hope and pray for a great and blessed rest of the semester for us all! Let us all remember these truths when we forget them- God Bless!