Quote:
Originally Posted by mfblume
Paul said SIN was the culprit NOT HIMSELF:
Romans 7:19-20 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Why was it no more Paul? That is because Paul will to do good. So, the old saying is a lie when it says WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY. Paul had the will. But could not find the ability to perform it. |
How is Paul then guilty of committing sin, when it is not him doing it?
And, why do we tell sinners "you have sinned" when we should be telling them "it's not you, it's not your fault, it's not even a case of the devil made you do it, why, you didn't even do it anyway! It's this invisible, mystical, force of sin that is acting out through your body, just like a demon possessed man! Why, you don't need repentance, you just need us to lay hands on you and have God bestow deliverance and healing on you!"
If we take Paul literally and exactly to mean that he himself DID NOT SIN but rather "sin did it", then we must take him literally and exactly when he says he was ALIVE before he learned the commands of God. We must also take him literally that all this described Paul AT THE TIME HE WROTE.
If however, we acknowledge that Paul was not describing his THEN CURRENT CONDITION, and further when we acknowledge that Paul was not literally "alive" before he learned God's law, then we have no need whatsoever to take him to mean that individuals are not the ones committing their sins. Instead, we can understand him - IN LIGHT OF ALL HE SAID IN CHAPTERS 1 THROUGH 6 PREVIOUSLY, and in CHAPTER 8 FOLLOWING - we can understand him describing the condition of the unregenerate who acknowledge mentally the superiority and rightness of God's commandments, but who are still in bondage to the law of sin and death, which bondage they entered into BECAUSE THEY YIELDED TO SIN (ch 6), JUST AS the woman who is married is bound to her husband until one of them DIES.
When Paul says "to will is with me" he does not mean he actually exercises his volition to obey God. Rather, he means he intellectually acknowledges the rightness of God's ways and in fact he may have desires to obey God and do his commandments. But he does not actually DO them. which means he does not WILL them.
I think you are using the word "will" in two different ways and not recognising the differences in meaning. To will something is to actually choose something, to choose a course of action. It is not merely to wish, or desire, something. A person can "wish" they were a Christian and yet never become one.
Take a drunk. He knows drinking is wrong. He knows it's bad. He "wants to quit", he wishes he was a sober man. He can honestly say "to will is present with me", but suppose he never puts forth any actual volition to get off the drink? Suppose he never actually DECIDES to STOP DRINKING. Suppose he never actually CHOOSES to say no to alcohol. Instead, he repeatedly CHOOSES to get drunk. He has not actually "willed" to quit, in the sense of actually choosing to be sober. And suppose the temptations are so great that he melts in defeat and surrender at the slightest thought of alcohol? He FAILS TO GO TO GOD FOR HELP. He fails to pray. He fails to seek mercy from God, he fails to allow Christ to sanctify him by faith. Why? Because he REALLY chooses the drink, not sobriety. He wishes, he daydreams, his reason tells him the right thing to do... but he desires to get drunk at all costs, even the cost of his soul.
Is such a man a slave? Absolutely! and he will earn his slave wages, which is death. Why? Because he has NOT DIED TO HIS SIN. What does it mean to "die to sin"? What does it mean to "crucify the flesh"? What does it mean that the "old man is dead"? It means the WILL or CHOICE to practice sin is no more, replaced with the will or choice to obey God. As Paul said, "AS you have yielded yourselves to sin... so now yield yourselves unto God" (ch 6). And according to chapter 8, Christ's death on the cross is what will produce in the hearts and lives of those who receive Him by faith the actual performance of the will of God, through the Spirit.
"To will is present with me" does not mean he actually WILLS to obey God in the sense of actually CHOOSING, actually putting forth the volitions of obeying God. Rather it means that he knows the right thing to do, and may even want to do the right thing. But he also desires to sin, and sin is his master, so he must obey sin rather than God. Why? Because he has yielded himself to obey sin (ch 6).
Chapter 6 contains the clear and unambiguous doctrine of Paul on the nature of sin and righteousness as it manifests in a person's life. Chapter 7 cannot be isolated from what is said in chapter 6. The popular "sin did it, not me" interpretation is the result of taking ch 7 out of context. It also leads to that favorite hiding place of sinners - "I can't help it. It's not MY fault! And therefore I AM NOT TO BLAME."