Recap

So far in Romans we've read through the section on how the gospel is good news for both Jew and Gentile, and started the section on how the gospel creates a new humanity. We looked at how Paul was writing to a church of both Jews and non-Jews, Gentiles, drawn into a culture war. And we saw that from the beginning of the letter, Paul wanted to address this. 

Paul began his letter to the Roman church by emphasising his calling to share the gospel. The good news of Jesus. He rooted the gospel in its Jewish heritage but pointed out it is meant for all humanity, both Jew and Gentile.

He then laid out the problem. All humanity is trapped in wickedness and selfishness because they have turned away from God. Even the Jews, who claim loyalty to God, are trapped by the same sin. While the Jews have enjoyed a unique relationship with God up until this point, that relationship didn't give them unique privileges. Instead, it gave them the responsibility to carry God's message to the world, which God ended up doing despite them. The solution to this is Jesus, who frees all people from their selfish desires through faith.

Paul highlighted that Abraham, long before the law or circumcision, was saved by faith. Therefore, as we now define believers as those who have faith in Jesus, Abraham serves as the father of all believers, not just Jews. All believers are now one family in Jesus.

The gospel also creates a new humanity. Through Jesus, believers are justified and made right before God. We now rejoice in suffering as it making us more like Jesus. Adam's sin defines humanity as shaped by death and sin. Jesus’ death and resurrection creates a new humanity shaped by his life, made possible by grace.

This new humanity is embraced through baptism, where believers symbolically die to their old selves and rise into a new life in Christ. Paul then addressed questions he knew would come up. Does freedom in Christ mean we can live however we want? If we are justified and made right despite our sin, can we now sin as much as we want? His answer is no. Sin enslaves us. The more we indulge it, the more power we give it to rule over us. But offering our lives to God brings true freedom. Sin leads to death, but obedience to Jesus leads to life.

Romans 7-8

This does now raise new questions. What is the point of the law now? We’re still considered right before the law because we are justified through Jesus. So Paul goes on to explain the role of the law.

Paul likens the law to a marriage. When you marry, you are committed to that person for life. If you chase after someone else, that’s considered adultery because you are still married. But if your partner dies, that commitment is complete. You are free to find someone else without it being considered adultery.

In the same way, because we have died to the law in Jesus’ death, and then have risen again in his life, we are no longer held accountable to the law. What does this then mean for sin?

We mentioned yesterday that sin can be seen in two ways. The first is the way most people are familiar with. Sin is any action we do that breaks the law of God. The second way is that sin is the force working in us and on us that shapes us away from God’s order and will towards death and destruction.

Because we are no longer accountable to the law, the first way of looking at sin is no longer relevant to us. We can’t break a law that no longer applies to us. But then why bring the law into place to begin with? If the law gave us the ability to break the law and sin that way, then surely the law was bad?

Paul acknowledges the tension here. His answer is no. The law was not bad. But he does acknowledge that he would not have known what it was to covet, if there hadn’t been a law to covet.

Remember the second way of looking at sin, as the force working in us and on us that shapes us away from God’s order and will towards death and destruction. We saw this at work right at the beginning of the Bible. From Genesis 4-6, we saw humans indulge sin and become more and more wicked over time, leading to the flood.

The goal of the law then was to show the Israelites a way of living that didn’t indulge sin. That didn’t give it more and more power to shape you. In this way, the law was good because it was designed to shape you in God’s image, not sin’s image.

But sin used the law for its own gain. It would twist people to either feel justified in breaking the law openly, or feel good about fulfilling the letter of the law while actually betraying the spirit of the law.

The religious leaders in the gospels are a great example of this. They technically followed the letter of the law, but in their pride and treatment of the poor and outcast, they betrayed the spirit of the law.

So while the law was good, and it is very much sin's fault that we are guilty, the law in many ways led us to be trapped further. Paul knew what it was to do good, but the power of sin working in him stopped him from doing good. Paul argues that there are then two laws at work. There’s the law of God, and then there’s the law of sin that constantly works against it.

But the good news is that this is no longer the case for those of us in Jesus. Paul breaks into a new section focusing on the power of the Spirit. We are no longer condemned by the power of sin in our lives, because we now have the power of the Spirit in our lives.

While the law sought to guide us on how to avoid the power of the sin, it actually left us trapped to it. But Jesus fulfilled the law, and then dealt with sin, so that we can then live in the Spirit. The power of sin in our lives now has to compete with the power of the Spirit in our lives.

So we choose. Do we indulge sin or the Spirit? To indulge sin is to choose death. It is to be shaped by sin and to make yourself hostile to God. To indulge the Spirit is to choose life and peace.

And so if we choose Christ and choose his Spirit, then we can be confident that the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead can also help us defeat the power of sin in our live. And not just that. The power of the Spirit in us now also declares us children of God. It is the Spirit that unites us now as one family.

Now the reality is that we continue to struggle with the power of sin in our lives. We still have to choose to indulge the Spirit and not sin. That’s hard and often painful. But Paul considers that struggle nothing compared to what the end of that journey looks like, when through the Spirit we’ve rid ourselves and the world of the power of sin.

All creation groans under the power of sin, ourselves included. But we have the hope of knowing that the Spirit is in work in us and the world to redeem it all. We saw this in the gospels and acts as the kingdom of God being outworked through Jesus and the disciples.

And the Spirit helps us in this struggle. Even when we fail in our prayers, the Spirit is praying for us.

So through our struggles, whether that is struggling with the power of sin in us, or struggling with a world shaped by sin, we can be confident that God is working it all out for good.

It is being worked towards the day when all creation will be fully shaped by the Spirit and rid of the power of sin. Where we will be shaped fully into the image of Jesus, standing united as one family, made right before God.

And so we can be encouraged. God is for us, and so it doesn’t matter if sin is against us. It can’t condemn us. No sin us or broken world around us can separate us from love we have in God because of Jesus. This is the hope and the good news of the gospel.

Psalm 134

This psalm isn’t attributed to anyone in particular and is named as a psalm of ascent. These psalms were sung by worshippers as they ascended to Jerusalem for the three pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Festival of Weeks, and Festival of Tabernacles) or possibly by the Levites as they ascended the steps of the Temple. Psalm 120-134 are all psalms of ascent.

In this ascent journey we’ve gone from being far from God's presence (Psalm 120), to seeking God’s presence (Psalm 121), and then to reaching God’s presence (Psalm 122). From there, the psalmist has asked the Lord for help (Psalm 123) and then praised the Lord for his protection (Psalm 124).

From within Jerusalem, they reflected on the nature of righteousness and wickedness (Psalm 125). They thanked God for how he has restored his city, but also ask for more (Psalm 126). This leads the psalmist to reflect on the importance of God being first and foremost in our live (Psalm 127) and fearing God (Psalm 128).

Having focused on God’s authority and power, the psalmist then reflects on how God rescued them and Israel from oppressors (Psalm 129). Then the psalmist called out to God to rescue them from, and forgive them for, their sin (Psalm 130) and placed their trust in the Lord (Psalm 131). Then came the reflection on God’s covenant with David and commitment to dwell amongst his people (Psalm 132).

With all the people gathered round the temple, the psalmist celebrates the unity of God’s people (Psalm 133). Now, finally gathered at the temple before God, the psalmist blesses God.

The psalmist calls all that serve the Lord to bless him. This would likely have been the priests. The congregation calls for the priests to go into the temple and bless God on their behalf and, in return, God will lead the priests to bless the people on his behalf.

Then the call is widened to all people to lift up their hands to God’s temple and bless the Lord. In return, the Lord, the creator of the heavens and the earth, will bless you.

As Christians, we believe in the priesthood of all believers, so we all have direct access to God ourselves. But just as God used the priests to bless the people, we too are to be used to bless all creation.

These psalms of ascent lay out an example of the different areas and ways we can pray as we come before God. From reflecting on our need for God, to thanking him for his protection, to asking him to help us in our time of need. One after another, the psalms build that sense of expectation and awe at being able to enter into God’s presence.