An observation...
You appear to have allowed yourself, when reading a passage, to too often conclude that what a passage appears to be saying on its surface is how one determines what a passage is actually talking about.
Read Romans 6 thru 8 at least a good dozen times through in one sitting - not allowing yourself to decide what the possibly intended meaning of any word or phrase might be.
Just read over and over, allowing yourself to simply take it all in. See if after repeating that you do not begin to notice similar words, phrases, themes that appear to be related to one another.
Do that and what you find is that the "death" being reffered to in Romans 6:16, for example, is not eternal death, but real time, in the moment, spiritual death.
As when Paul, for example, relates in Rom. 7:9 "For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."
Later, in Rom. 7:24, still on this same theme, he relates "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
It is obvious he is talking about a real time in the now and now type of death - a spiritual death.
He goes on to continue to address a warring conflict between his spirit, and his flesh.
How that when his flesh wins - when sin revives - his spirit dies.
So he talks of how he longs for deliverance "from the body of this death" from this spiritual death within him - that not only continually attempts to assert its own will over his spirit, but that is only capable of producing death!
In others words; fruit that is dead at and to its very core is dead because its root; the flesh is dead - incapable of producing any good acceptable to God.
He is talking about what all mankind inherits in Adam - Gen. 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Rom. 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
One thing of several that he is actually talking about in Romans 6-8, is how that even OUR best falls short of the glory OF GOD because it is OUR best; it is of OUR FLESH and as a result is unacceptable to God.
He has already related in Romans 3 what the actual purpose of one aspect of the Law had been - Rom. 3:20 "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
He brings that up once more in Romans 7, but there he brings it up to address those who think they properly "know" (understand) "the law" - Rom 7:1 "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?"
In other words, the surest way to end up producing fruit that is nice, beautiful, shiny IN ONE'S OWN IDEAS, but dead in God's Mind, is to preach Works Based Acceptance before God, this side of...
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Notice - Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Rom. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The Cross has delivered the Believer from the above condemnation in the flesh. From that sense of helplessness...
From the sense of "if I try to please God, sin in me revives, and I die! If I don't try, I'm still wrong in His eyes! What am I going to do!"
Its as if when Adam fell; his flesh now had a great big yellow sign on it with big black letters on it that said "This tree's every effort; its' every fruit is condemned. Because there is no life in this tree."
What's a person to do?
Like that TV commercial about insurance might put it "If you're a Believer in the FINISHED work of Jesus Christ, you rest in Him - its what you."
You quit trying to live in that real time in the moment condemnation in your flesh that you set off every time you try to please God in your off-based notion that you "have to" please Him.
If you're a Believer in HIS Son's FINISHED work, you rest IN Him - its what you do; its WHO you are NOW IN Him - you ARE ACCEPTED IN the Beloved."
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Just what this rest is, is what those who THINK they know (understand) the Law, CONTINUALLY confuse.
Just what is this rest? And just why and how is it that that the Believer in the FINISHED work of Christ has been delivered from the condemnation in the flesh that attempting get from God in one's own strength what the Believer ALREADY HAS IN His Son?
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The Believer in the FINISHED work of Christ is now free to rest in being able to serve God - free from the law of sin and death!
Yes!
Now he is able to bear fruit unto righteousness; unto this righteousness of God he now has in Christ!
Note this again...
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Hunh?
2Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
That is one aspect of what was going on, on "that old rugged Cross."
He died that you might live, Zach.
Do you have that? Or are you stuck in that system prior to the Cross - your "OWN righteousness which is of the Law" a system that God was actually making a point through - notice...these people below had fallen into your same misunderstanding...
Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Grace is not against good works. Rather, works under Grace are not of the Law - the Law had been meant to set off the flesh!
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
The former system set off sin that sin might become obvious.
The present one liberates one from both of those issues, and then just as freely accounts one righteous.
Now that one has this righteousness, it empowers one through the Word about how these things work - such that one is able to just go and be who one has been made in Christ - " the righteousness of God in Him!"
The only missing component being whether one who who now has this righteousness not only has been properly taught by the Word how to properly access it, but also, is one accessing it?
Or is one rationalizing in his mind "well, this, that the, the other..." as to why they might behave, live, or carry on as they do.
Its an odd sort of a freedom the Believer in the FINISHED work of Christ has.
Still, it is a freedom from the flesh; it is a freedom to serve.
Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
The best to you in this...
