St. Paul’s
introspection convinced him he was “a prisoner of the law of sin at work within
my members.” “When I want to do good, evil is right there with me” (Romans
7:21, 23). That’s a deeply conflicted Christian!
Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Paul
said of himself that he was the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15); he said
this specifically at the point where he was speaking of his service as an
apostle. There can be no genuine
acknowledgement of sin that does not lead to this extremity. If my sinfulness appear to me to be in any
way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am
still not recognizing my sinfulness at all.
My sin is of necessity the worst, the most grievous, the most
reprehensible.” (Life Together, p. 96)
At the root of all
regret is our personal lack of righteousness. It’s impossible for us to fix
this fundamental flaw. Conflicted Paul turned to Jesus. “Who will rescue me
from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans
7:24-25).
CTRL+ALT+DEL: “The Lord is
our righteousness.” Amen. (Jeremiah 23:6)
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