Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Fall of Creation

Romans 7: 14-25
“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.” Vs 19

As the Apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13), Paul preached Christianity across the Roman empire during his three missionary journeys around the Mediterranean. Apostle Paul also formulated the doctrinal foundations of Christianity in his New Testament epistles, with the “Romans” as the magnum opus. Paul wrote Romans from Corinth in AD 56—at the end of his third missionary journey—as he prepared to leave for Jerusalem with an offering for the poor believers (Rom. 15:25). Paul had wanted to visit the Roman church—founded by believers from the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10), where he was personally unknown—for long, but was prevented (Rom. 1:13).
Paul offers a sweeping presentation of the Gospel—the “good news” proclamation mandated by Jesus to all believers (Matt. 28: 16-20)—of grace in Romans, to believers who had never received apostolic instruction. The overarching theme of Romans is God’s righteousness: that God justifies guilty, condemned sinners by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. Chapters 1-11 show how God has revealed His righteousness in the world, and why the Gospel needs to be proclaimed. Chapters 12-16 provide guidance to believers for reflecting God’s righteousness in their lives and the Church to the watching world.
Chapter 7 presents two broad themes: (i) Sin and the Law (Rom. 7: 1-13); (ii) The fight against the Flesh (Rom. 7: 14-25). While the Law reveals the divine standard—expressing God’s nature and the will for His people—sin represents the failure to meet the divine standard, living independently of God. Therefore, we have only one nature—the sin nature—prior to salvation, marking the very Fall of Creation. When we are born again through faith in Christ and made new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), we still struggle against the flesh, the remnants of the old sinful nature. The two natures war constantly, pulling us in the opposite directions of good and evil. In the final verses of the chapter (Rom. 7: 23-25), Paul depicts well the resultant predicament of the Christian experience from the constant struggle against Sin. While we agree with God’s precepts, we cannot do them. However, we are victors over the power of Sin by trusting in Christ.


                                                Prayer 
Help us O Lord to resist evil and choose good.

Thought for the Day

 Becoming Christ-like is a Christian’s lifelong endeavor.

 Dr. Cherian Samuel
Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Virginia.

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