An Invitation to Lent

               Don’t think of a pink elephant! The moment I say that I know what everyone did, they thought of a pink elephant. The very thing that I had told everyone not to do has instantly become unavoidable. In Romans 7 the Apostle Paul says that the law in many ways has had the same effect on us. God came to the people of Israel and told them exactly what they should do and should not do. Ironically though, they found themselves doing the exact opposite. Even though one can look at the law and agree that it is good, and even though in their inner being they may delight in God’s law, they still find themselves living in sin. We find that there is nothing good in us, but we are sold as slaves over to sin. So, no matter how much we strive to do what is good we can only do evil.

              As famous as Romans 7 is (sometimes jokingly called the Sinatra passage with the “doobie, doobie, doos) it is actually often misapplied. Many people mistakenly say that this passage speaks to their Christian experience. It’s one of constant struggle with sin, unable to do what is good. However, if we look closely at the passage that is clearly the opposite of what Paul meant. Paul is describing his own (and one else who was familiar with law’s) experience before Jesus Christ. He says this was true when he was a slave to sin, but under Christ we know we are set free from that bondage. Paul raises the question of who would rescue him from this body of death he was living in and the answer is Jesus Christ who has granted us a spiritual resurrection. Now we are no longer slaves to sin but are now alive to grace! Romans 7 then is not about our own Christian experience but rather about what our Christian experience should set us free from.

              This Lenten season I want to invite you to join us on an exploration of why so many of us are struggling to live in God’s grace and are instead submitting to the law of sin and death. In fact, this is what Lent is all about. The season of Lent reminds us of these two important truths: that we are not a holy people and that through God’s grace we can be. If you have ever found yourself identifying with Paul’s words in Romans 7 but haven’t found out how to move forward to Romans 8, this Lenten season is for you. Mark and I will preach on Romans 6-8 and my prayer for us as a church is we will find ourselves caught up in God’s grace. I pray that God will give us a deeper insight into what He achieved on the cross and how we can apply it to our daily lives. I pray that God will give us freedom from our sins
and draw us closer to Him than we ever have been before!

Keep the Faith,

Matthew