[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Rom. 7.1-6


Jim Beale excerpted what I wrote, as follows:
> 
> >i.e. overall - the situation has changed.  The Law is irrelevant in
> >God's plan of salvation for it is the thing that bound the
> >individual to the past / sin / the flesh.  Not surprisingly, this
> >turns out to be the theme of the rest of Chapter 7, and, indeed of
> >much of the rest of the Epistle.
> 
And replied:

> I must say that this conclusion does not follow from your exegesis.
> The woman that remarries is bound by Law to her new husband, and the
> believer that has died to sin presents his members as instruments of
> righteousness to his new master (Romans 6:13) -- having been freed
> from sin, he becomes a slave of righteousness (6:18,19).  Certainly
> the apostle jealously guards against the conclusion which you draw
> (cf. Romans 8:4).
> 
To which I will briefly respond by saying:

But the woman is not 'bound by Law to her new husband'.  This is not 
in the passage.  If you want to try to push the analogy further, I 
suppose one would have to say that in the new marriage the woman
is united to Christ by the Spirit - the believer now  serves EN KAINOTHTI
PNEUMATOS KAI OU PALAIOTHTI GRAMMATOS (7.6).  Thus, under the old 
regime (the Law), one was married to sin.  Under the new 
regime (the Spirit), one is married to Christ.  One has died to that 
in which one was held captive (7.6) - captive to sin, under the Law.

I do not see that Paul ' jealously guards against the conclusion 
which [I] draw'.  8.4 certainly does not show this.  On the contrary, 
here one walks according to the Spirit (in the new marriage to 
Christ), not according to the flesh (as in the old marriage to sin).  
The great irony of the new  regime is that TO DIKAIWMA TOU NOMOU 
PLHRWQH EN hHMIN - this does not contradict my reading but enhances 
it.

Kind wishes

Mark



------------------------
Dr Mark Goodacre
Department of Theology
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham   B15 2TT

Tel.: 0121 414 7512         Email: M.S.Goodacre@Bham.ac.uk
Fax.: 0121 414 6866
Follow-Ups: