Romans 7 – 8
Verses 7:4 -6 discuss a subject I struggle with all the time and that’s the law. Verse 6 puts in in a nutshell:
But now that we have died to those chains that imprisoned us, we have been released from the law to serve in a new Spirit-empowered life, not the old written code.
That Hebraic Law is something I have struggled with for a long time. Reason being is we are always told to tithe, yet never told not to eat pork. Neither are sins based on Paul’s assertions, but are they not having us live a full life? Think about it, we have been released from the Law, but still should live by it. Not in the legalistic way the Israelites do, but rather for a better life in general.
God did not say don’t eat pork to be mean, rather to ensure we did not eat a meat that was from an animal that was designed for processing waste. What they eat goes right to their flesh and therefore has toxic properties that are not good for the body. Ever wonder why shrimp are used as indicator species? Because they retain all the toxins they consume in their flesh. Now many took “don’t eat pork” as being a sin since God said it.
Verse 8:5 has us understand the difference between living for God and not:
If you live your life animated by the flesh—namely, your fallen, corrupt nature—then your mind is focused on the matters of the flesh. But if you live your life animated by the Spirit—namely, God’s indwelling presence—then your focus is on the work of the Spirit.
That is the key, not to focus on the Law but rather on God’s will. It’s simple when you think about it, love others like you would love yourself and sin tends to stop. The idea eating pork or not tithing is a sin is wrong, but doing them does have you live a healthy and financially full life. Simple when you think about it.
I think verse 8:31 the key to life:
So what should we say about all of this? If God is on our side, then tell me: whom should we fear?
Honestly I live in fear often and really shouldn’t. When everything is going wrong, I panic then it all comes together perfectly. That wasted energy was just that wasted. We could have been living free and less focused on what may happen and not enjoying what was happening in the moment.