Guitar Jim

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses

Q4. (Romans 8:35-36) What kinds of perils were the early Roman Christians likely exposed to? They were fed to the lions in the Colosseum for starters. They were kicked out of home by their own families sometimes too. Their property was seized by the authorities in some cases. In some cases they were just killed outright by the soldiers or police. What kinds of perils are Christians exposed to today? In some countries all the above persecutions are still being practiced (apart from feeding them to the lions). In the Western world the worst that can happen is something on the social level, where we're ostracized by former friends for becoming Christians. We could also be passed over for promotions at work if the boss is anti-Christian. Also, our Christian standards might make us at odds with our workmates and colleagues in the win at all cost world that exists today. That is not really a peril as such but could still be detrimental. Thank God we aren't likely to become martyrs. How does this passage reassure us? This passage reminds us that no matter what happens to us in this life nothing can stop God from loving us, or separate us from His love in Christ Jesus. In what sense do we Christians "overwhelmingly conquer" (NASB) despite the obstacles we face? The worst anyone can do to us is to destroy our bodies. Elsewhere in Scripture we're told whom to fear. In that passage we're told to fear God, not man who can only destroy our bodies but afterwards can do nothing more to us. It is God whom we should fear who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Thankfully that won't happen to Christians and this passage in Romans assures us of that. So, no matter what hardship or peril we may face if we hold to our faith in Jesus eventually we will be with Him for all eternity. What we're talking about here is the big picture. We come out on top as joint heirs in Christ! God will place EVERYTHING under Christ's feet and we as Jesus' brothers and sisters in God's family will share in that.

Q3. (Romans 8:31-32) What is the significance of the statement: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The Creator of the whole world, indeed the universe, is on our side . . . if we are on His side. If we walk in Him, He will defend us against every adversary. Who might our enemies be? Where do I start? Everyone who is not for God is against us, as God's children. In particular the Devil and all his works. We also have physical enemies in this life who want to bring us undone simply because they can. I myself have more real enemies than I can count. What is the evidence presented that God is for us? The very fact that God gave His only Son to die for us to redeem us while we were undeserving of such a profound gift is evidence enough. How does this statement make you feel? Unworthy. That God would do that for me is something I can't yet grasp. I've had no experience of a loving father in this life and so it's hard for me to grasp the concept that God would love me enough to give His Son for me, especially knowing what I was like before coming to Christ. How does it affect hope? It reassures me that I am a child of God and that He is concerned for me, despite worldly evidence to the contrary. It gives me confidence that if I know I'm in step with God that He is with me in all I do. How does it allow you to act? I don't view it like that. I just try to keep myself from letting God down. If I do happen to sin then I know God will forgive me but I don't use that as a license for sinful behavior. What might: "...graciously give us all things" refer to? I think it refers to the glory we will be given at Christ's return. There is just so much evidence that we have yet to receive "all things" in this life for it to mean anything else.

Q2. (Romans 8:29) What does it mean to "be conformed to the likeness of his Son"? In practical terms, what does that involve in our lives? To be conformed to the likeness of God's son means to exhibit the same characteristics of behavior and attitude as Jesus displayed while on Earth. We've been given the example by the Son himself. Reverence to the Father, love and concern for others, and the advancement of God's Kingdom are the characteristics we must have in our own lives. Why does Paul support this statement with ideas of our destiny? Paul is telling us that it's been God's plan all along to save us and, through us, the world . . as many as will believe in Him. Why does he support this with ideas of brotherhood with Jesus? God's original intent was to have fellowship with Mankind. With the fall of Mankind in Eden that fellowship was corrupted. Sin had destroyed it. Jesus paid the penalty to restore the fellowship between God and Mankind and as we believe in Him and accept Him as Savior we become like a family with Jesus as it's firstborn and us His siblings. We call God our Father, just as Jesus does.

Q1. (Romans 8:28) What is the actual promise contained in verse 28? What does this promise mean? Put it in your own words. No matter what circumstances we may find ourselves in, God is working to make things work for our eventual good . . . if we love Him and are called by Him. What are the two qualifications to the recipients of this promise? Those who love God and are called according to His purpose How does verse 28 give you hope? Well, to be honest, there are times when it doesn't give me all that much hope, except to perhaps cause me to believe in the Calvinistic viewpoint that God chooses who is going to be saved and who isn't and that many of us are trying our best (including praying to God and reading the Bible till we're blue in the face) to be Christians and failing every test! "Many are called but few are chosen" rings in my ears whenever my prayers go unanswered or seemingly completely ignored. I've accepted Christ as my Savior and really desire to serve Him and I can't even save my own family. My daughter went from being a Godly child to being a drug addict! When I feel led by God through circumstances such as a door being opened and an opportunity to perhaps serve God presents and I prepare to go through that door in faith . . then a personal catastrophe happens like losing my job or smashing my car or someone badmouthing me badly enough so that I have no credibility and I'm unable to do that service, I often wonder if I simply haven't been chosen, or predestined. When I prayed to God hundreds of times to help heal my marriage years ago, yet here I sit divorced, and I know God didn't want me to get divorced but to live with my wife till death us do part, I wonder if I'm simply not one of God's chosen or elected people. Many people tell me that it's just Satan filling my mind with doubt, but the evidence is there. Then I go to the Bible and sure enough there'll be a passage right in front of my eyes that reinforces the Calvinistic doctrine. When I read how "My God will supply all your needs" and I lose so much work that I have to drain my meager savings account to keep on living, I have to wonder just when God is actually going to start working things out for my eventual good. I've known a couple for 40 years now. The guy was my best man. They were very committed Christians. Their oldest son has been to jail numerous times for car theft and drug offenses, their daughter had her kids out of wedlock. They no longer even go to Church and I don't blame them. They MUST have prayed for God's protection and care over their children for many years and look at the result! If anyone is reading this please get back to me and let's examine what the problem could be, apart from my faltering explanation!

Q5. (Romans 8:18-25) In what sense do we expect to experience God's glory when Christ comes? When we are resurrected we will be "shiny" in our resurrection bodies. God's Spirit will imbue us and cause us to radiate God's Glory. At least that's my understanding of it. How will the suffering creation experience God's glory? God will "fix" everything. The old imperfect world will be done away with and all will be made new . . and perfect. How will our mortal bodies experience God's glory? If we're alive at the time of Christ's second coming we'll be changed in the blink of an eye. We'll get our resurrection bodies instantly as we're changed by God's power. At least that's my understanding of it. In what way will our spirits experience God's glory? I can't realistically answer that one. The Spirit to spirit communication we have now will seem like a pale inferior imitation of what it'll be like when we're face to face with God in His Kingdom. We'll shine in God's reflected glory.

Q4. (Romans 8:24-25) What are the characteristics of a person who has lost hope? How does this person typically conduct his life? Someone without hope would just go about their day to day living with no optimism and no joy in their heart. That person would have no reason to try a bit harder or work a bit longer to achieve anything because they'd truly believe there was no point to it. I can't help but remember the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes when I think of someone with no hope. I may be wrong, but that whole book seemed to me to be the musings of someone whose faith had been utterly destroyed. How does this differ from a person who holds an eager expectation of a better future? The person who holds an eager expectation of a better future would have a spring in his/her step for starters. Everything that person does would be done with an enthusiasm and an optimism because of the quiet confidence that their work, whatever it may be, is going to get them somewhere. This is true even of non-Christians. What is the "Christian hope"? Our hope is in the future Kingdom of God where we will share with Christ in all that God has prepared for His people. How should it motivate us and affect our lives now? We should live as though the Kingdom is about to appear. We should be ready with our bags packed, so to speak, although in reality we won't need anything . . . just our faith in Jesus.

Q3. (Romans 8:26-27) How does the Holy Spirit act as a Helper or Mediator or Intercessor in verses 26-27? The Holy Spirit who lives in us prays on our behalf to God. We don't really know what to pray for (besides our material needs and for the advancement of God's Kingdom, as outlined in The Lord's Prayer) so the Holy Spirit communicates with God the Father on our behalf directly without words. It's Spirit to Spirit communication that we cannot fully understand. What similarities do you see between the Holy Spirit's ministry here with Jesus' teaching of the Spirit's ministry as Counselor/Comforter/Paraclete in John 14:16 and 15:26)? Jesus foretold of the Holy Spirit's work in His disciples. At that time they had not yet received the Holy Spirit because Jesus had not ascended to Heaven but was on Earth with them. Jesus was, in effect, the Comforter Counselor and Paraclete for His disciples. After His ascension, the Holy Spirit then came to become the Helper for every Christian. Why do you think we tend to take the Holy Spirit for granted or fail to understand His ministry to and through us? There are many reasons why we take the Holy Spirit for granted. For one thing, we can't see or hear Him. The intercession the Holy Spirit undertakes on our behalf is a constant and continuing ministry that is beyond our full understanding so we tend to mentally gloss over it. I think we need to meditate more on the Holy Spirit's work in our lives in general. We seem to be hung up on certain minor aspects of His work while not giving enough credence to the big picture. It's the Holy Spirit's indwelling in us that makes us Christians. It's His constant never-ending intercession and prayer to the Father on our behalf that keeps us going. To fix our attention on that miraculous eternal life giving work is far more important than to worry about whether we speak in tongues often enough, for example. Personally I don't believe that speaking in tongues is the Holy Spirit praying out loud to God in the Heavenly language. We're told quite plainly that the Holy Spirit speaks in groans that words cannot express. We should shut up and let Him get on with His work.

Q2. (Romans 8:17-22) In what ways was suffering Jesus' lot in life? Jesus was born to die . . for us, for all creation. God is a holy god who can't look upon sin simply because He is holy. Because sin is present in all creation and because God lovingly desires to restore the relationship between creation and Himself he provided the perfect Sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world since the fall of man, and creation . . . His only Son (in effect Himself, since Jesus IS God) This is something we take for granted and our minds can't fully grasp. Why do we suffer? Everyone suffers. There are no exceptions. The fall of man brought that about. We Christians, in addition, suffer for our faith to some degree or another. There are no exceptions to that either. Why does all creation seem to be suffering? Because of sin. Mankind's fall from Grace at creation corrupted everything. Sin now reigns in the world, subject of course to God's sovereign will and to God's celestial timetable. What will signal the end of that downward cycle of suffering, decay, and death? Christ's second coming. Even then there will still be suffering decay and death until God's entire plan for mankind and the world comes to fruition. Once Jesus has defeated ALL of God's enemies and God has placed them all as a footstool for His feet, God's Kingdom will once again be in harmony with God. Is there anything good to look forward to in this present life? Certainly. The salvation of our families and friends and the promise of Jesus' return.

Q1. In Romans 8:14-21, 28, how many times is the idea of being sons and daughters of God alluded to? I counted four times. What are the promises made to these sons and daughters? That we shall be joint heirs with Christ of all that God has to offer. What do we learn about our future and our role in the future of all creation? That we will share in Christ's glory!

Q6. (Romans 8:15-16) How does the Holy Spirit inspire us to pray 'Abba, Father'? By assuring us via direct communication with our spirit that we are indeed saved regenerated sons of God, with the rights and privileges a son has, including the ability to call Him "Dad" as we would an earthly father. What is the significance of us referring to God as our Dad? It is a response of love to God for what He has done for us. What happens in our lives if we don't have some kind of personal assurance of our salvation? We miss out on the close familial relationship with God. We're still Christians, still saved, but we have doubts and fears that we are still under some kind of punishment clause. How do we receive this kind of personal assurance? It has to come from God. It's a mystery, a mystical thing that can't be explained in an instructional way. There's no magical prayer we can pray that will make it happen. It comes as a result of walking in the Holy Spirit and not according to the flesh.

Q5. (Romans 8:13-14) What does it mean to "mortify" or "put to death" the deeds of the body by the Spirit? I think it means to deny the lusts of the flesh to the point where they whither unto death. That's the eventual goal her. For the record I don't believe for a second that anyone can actually put temptation to death. That is why Christ intercedes for us with the Father. We will always be tempted to sin by the enemy who will try every different tactic to make sinning appealing to us. The Holy Spirit within us will give us discernment when temptation comes so that we can identify it and, by the strength God gives us, resist it. What would it look like to watch a person do this? You'd see me NOT clobber someone who insults me when the world considers he deserves it. You'd see me saying no to drugs and alcohol. You'd see me not insulting people. What does it mean to be "led" by the Spirit? This is only my take on the subject. I think we need to develop a sense of the Spirit's leading. By prayer and Bible study we learn the right way to live and by having the Word of God in our heart and minds we are able to call to mind appropriate Scripture to reinforce . . . or rebuke . . . our actions. Go by the book and they can never throw it at you. What does this look like in actual practice? How can you spot someone who is being led by the Holy Spirit? At first nothing out of the ordinary would present itself. When things go pear shaped is when the Spirit led person's character becomes apparent. How do "putting to death" and being "led" by the Spirit fit together? There is a hole is each of us. It's our need for fulfillment and happiness. The flesh desires that which is inherently and potentially evil to fill that hole. The Spirit wants to fill that hole with the things of God. As we continually say no to the fleshly desires and yes to God's plan for us we become more closely aligned with God and more spiritually mature. How much of this is the Spirit and how much is us? That would depend on each distinct circumstance. We do have to take responsibility for our actions and that is a conscious decision of will.

Q4. (Romans 8:12) Do we have to sin? Are we compelled to sin? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say yes. That is until we are totally sanctified by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Sin is a habit and until and unless God, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, helps us to break EVERY sinful habit I believe we have no choice BUT to sin, however occasionally. You're working on the car and your wrench slips and you skin your knuckles. I'll bet you cuss, even if it is only in your mind and you don't say it out loud. That's just one example. Life is full to the brim with temptations to sin without anyone knowing except you and God. While we still live in the tent of the flesh I believe we are always going to sin. I'll go to my grave believing that. Is it possible to live for two hours of wakefulness without sinning? Most probably. Four hours? It all depends on whether there is any stimulus (temptation) One day? No. Two days? Mother Theresa couldn't go two days without sinning. No one could. Where do we Christians get such a defeatist attitude towards sin? From Scripture? Well, I got my attitude from life's experience. Jesus Himself said that there will always be things that lead people to sin. While we are still living in the tent of flesh we will sin. The important thing to remember is that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and forgives us from all unrighteousness.

Q3. (Romans 8:9) Is it possible to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit residing in us? Not really. We can be God fearing and believe God exists. We can be nominal Christians or simply belong to a Church, but without the Holy Spirit residing in us we aren't born again Christians. Without wanting to cause any dissension, one of the largest so called Christian denominations, which ironically considers itself the guardian and bastion of Christianity, is so far from being a Christian denomination and it's millions of members are living under a false premise. What is the difference (if any) between the indwelling of the Spirit and the fullness of the Spirit? How do we remain "full" of the Spirit? That's the eternal conundrum. Some denominations believe that there is no difference, while others believe there's a world of difference. Some believe that the Gifts of the Spirit are not in evidence today and have been withdrawn, while others go after them with a passion. I've personally seen churches split apart by arguments over whether to become a "Pentecostal" style church or remain a "reformed" style church. This typically happens when a new pastor is called who has not been totally up front regarding his stance on the gifts of the Spirit and once he's safely in, he springs it on his flock. From a Pentecostal viewpoint, the difference between the indwelling of the Spirit and the fullness of the Spirit is in the manifestation of the Gifts of the Spirit, particularly the gift of tongues. I've gone forward at the invitation of the pastor at a new church in my neighborhood for the laying on of hands and to receive the "fullness of the Holy Spirit" as well as for healing of the physical pain I have to live with daily and the tongues didn't happen. That completely stumped the pastor and his assistant. I've never fallen over under the Power of the Spirit either. NEVER. They've dropped like flies to the right and the left of me but I've never gone down. Don't know why. I don't have a clue how to remain "full" of the Spirit, whatever that means. Are we ever not full? I suppose it's like the seed that fell among the thorns sometimes. We do tend to crowd God out at times with the things of this life that threaten to overwhelm us. That I suppose could cause us to be "less full" that we could be when we've come under conviction from the Holy Spirit to let everything go and allow God to handle it. Sometimes however God seems to do absolutely nothing and it seems up to me to do the worrying and I seem to have no choice but to strive in my own strength to handle day to day problems and decisions. I read the Bible every day and pray often. As far as I'm concerned it's up to God. Same with the gifts. He'd give them to me if He thought it was to my benefit I suppose. Tongues is the least of the gifts anyway. Why go after it when the others are more important? As far as I know God understands English.

Q2. (Romans 8:5-6) Exactly what does it mean to set your mind on the things of the Spirit? How do you do this? We need to not just obey the law of God but we need to do it in a way that begins with the right heart attitude. We have to WANT to please God in everything we do. We also need to NOT do things that we know will not please God. That's the line to walk. We have to fill our minds with Godly thoughts. We don't want to fill our minds with the things that gratify the flesh and its lusts. This is harder than it looks on paper. The Bible gives us the way: Be transformed by the renewing of your minds. As for me and my house, we will serve The Lord. Good on you Joshua! It is a conscious decision backed and assisted by the Holy Spirit. We need to think on things that will produce the fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We need to train our minds and hearts to be sensitive to the Spirit's leading. This can be done by Bible study and prayer. How can you recognize when the things you're setting your mind on relate to your sinful nature? If the things we set our minds on result in the acts of the sinful flesh as listed in Galatians 5:19 - 21. sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like . . . then we can be pretty certain we're setting our minds on things related to the sinful nature. Even if we don't actually DO any of the above listed things, we can still be guilty of considering doing them, wanting to do them if only we had the guts. If we dwell on things that could, if acted upon, result in the above behavior we are giving in to an extent to the sinful nature. We need to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. How much of this is deliberate? How much is habit? What part does the Holy Spirit have in this? Or is this primarily right living by force of will? It all depends on how depraved our thought life is. We can appear outwardly righteous and be totally evil behind closed doors and in the privacy of our minds . . . if our minds are still ruled by our old sinful nature. Some habits of our minds are harder to change than others. We're given a certain amount of Grace at the point of salvation. For some, purely by God's grace and choice, that is enough to completely alter their sinful thought patterns. For the rest of us it's a constant battle. We need the Holy Spirit's constant help in taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We need to study the owner's manual, the Bible. We need to encourage one another in the Lord. We have to be careful and allow God to take the wheel sometimes. If we strive in our own strength all the time, we'll fail. Right living by force of will? Who can keep that pace up for long and not burn out? It is in the area of the mind where we'll stand or fall as far as successful Christian living goes.

Q1. (Romans 8:3-4) Why can't obedience to the law save us? What is the weak link? People down through the centuries have tried obeying God's law as a means of salvation. It can't be done. Even the most fastidious people of all, the Pharisees, who obeyed every little last detail of the law to the letter of the law and even made up more laws besides to increase their view of perfect obedience to God failed miserably because all their devotion to the law resulted in was a ritualistic approach to righteousness that even the common people could see right through. Even their prayers were hollow and not pleasing to God . . . "I thank you God that I am not like other men . . ." The weak link in the chain is the sinful nature, the flesh. Without coming into union with Christ in his death and resurrection we are unregenerate and sinful. Nothing good we can do is good enough. What then does it take to save us? Firstly it takes the sacrifice of the one Man who was without sin, who became sin for us and paid God's decreed penalty for our sins. That one man of course is Jesus Christ. Secondly we must become united with Him in His death and resurrection. Only then are we declared righteous in God's sight.

Q5. (Romans 7:14-25) Christians disagree about who is the "I" in Romans 7. Is Paul referring to himself or others? What is your opinion? (We won't all agree here, but we'll learn what the issues are by taking and arguing for a position -- lovingly). Quite simply, I reckon Paul is using the first person just to drive home his point. He clearly was, by the time he wrote this, a victorious Christian who knew well the victory believers can claim in Jesus' Name and by being part of God's family. The concluding verses in this section give it away. "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." Paul is reminding his readers that the sinful nature is still alive in us and warring against God's will for our lives.

Q4. (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:18-20; Romans 7:24) What is the doctrine of "total depravity"? Put it in your own words. Isaiah says that man's righteousness is like filthy rags in God's sight. We are corrupted down to the core by sin, ever since the fall of man in the Garden. The flesh is not holy. There is no Godliness in us in the unregenerate state. Even the good we can do isn't good enough. If we scratch deep enough we WILL find an ulterior motive, some self-serving agenda. It is only by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are good enough in God's sight. On our own we can't make the grade, no matter how "good" we appear to be to our fellow man. Does it mean that none of God's original goodness shows through? No, we are made in God's image. Then what does it mean? We're tainted with evil and it's beyond our own capacity to remedy that. Why does modern man tend to believe that man is basically good? How does this differ from what the Bible teaches? No one wants to believe that he's a villain. I'm sure even the most depraved people in history still believed they were good, down inside. Hitler, Jeffrey Dharma, Ivan Mallatt, all likely believed they were OK. A former close friend of mine believed that he didn't need to become a Christian. He reckoned the good in him well and truly outweighed the evil. If God did exist and he did face judgment by the Almighty, he was sure God would let him off because he was more good than bad. Mind you, this was before he was outed as a paedophile!! His depravity knew no bounds. He was into kiddie ***********, incest, homosexuality, you name it. His life was ruled by his sexual deviousness. He was self-serving and manipulative in the extreme and thought nothing of using and discarding people once they were no longer of any use to his agenda. Yet he still believed he was basically a good person. Why is he an ex-friend? When his incest and depravity came to light, revealed by his horrified Christian wife at the time, he successfully covered his tracks by telling everyone that I'd recruited her to an exclusive Christian cult and that we conspired to make all that stuff up to get rid of him and to deny him access to his daughter (she was only three years old when his wife found out what he was doing to her) because he wouldn't join the cult. He was so manipulative that EVERYONE believed him and my Christian witness in the sport of Powerlifting was completely ruined. I had to retire from the sport with the reputation as a liar and the home wrecker who destroyed the sport's president's marriage. Satan scored a major win there. This whole "I'm a good person" ideology is one of Satan's most successful deceptions. Modern man believes he doesn't need redeeming because he's basically good. The Bible teaches the opposite. The human heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Our hearts deceive us that we're OK without Christ.

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? The law informs or educates us as to just what sin is. What does it do poorly? The law cannot stop us from sinning. Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? Just knowing right from wrong doesn't enable us to cease doing wrong and make us do right. It needs a change of heart and mind attitude on the part of the believer. What is the problem here? Sin is the problem. The god of this world, the Devil, constantly throws temptation at us to lure us away from the right path. The flesh part of us is still under Satan's control.

Q2. (Romans 7:7-8) The law reveals sin for what it is. Why wouldn't we be better off just not knowing that we should not covet, for example? Why does the flesh respond to being told "Do not covet" by coveting all the more? The Bible says that the heart is evil above all things. It seems we are just waiting to find more bad things to do. We covet things that don't belong to us or are not meant for us, then we find out that it's wrong to covet. Our fleshly desires take over and we can't wait to covet something else. It's like the disobedient child who gets told, "Whatever you do don't do . . .(fill in the missing word with just about anything a parent normally tells the kids not to do)". Sure enough, that's exactly what the kid goes straight out and does. That's why reverse psychology often works so well. If they think we're quite OK with them doing whatever undesirable thing it may be, it loses its appeal. Nothing rankles a teenager as much as his/her parents liking the same music as they do. How can they scratch their rebel itch when we like it too? That's how Death Metal and Gangsta Rap came to be so popular. The older generation simply can't stand it and no matter how broad minded we try to be, it just offends our sensibilities so much that we can't listen to it or even pretend to like it. Kids can spot if you fake a liking for something. My girlfriend's eldest boy is 16. Smoking is legal at 16, so he's smoking. The younger boy is cracking his neck to take it up too. It's bad for them and they know it. But the lure of smoking, the image of tough worldliness that they THINK smoking will somehow give them outweighs the good sense God gave them. The god of this world is the Devil. He is in control of the flesh, whether we like to admit it or not. That's why we do the evil we really don't want to do. We give in to the flesh and its lusts. Why wouldn't we be better off just not knowing that we should not covet or whatever other sin we struggle with? Simply because ignorance is no excuse. Deep down we know it's wrong, despite the cultural acceptance of covetousness and greed. The Law of God points out that coveting is wrong. Our sinful flesh then engages in rebellion, urged on by the god of this world. We need to bring our thought life under the control and influence of the Holy Spirit.

Q1. (Romans 7:5) Paul uses the word "flesh" (or NIV "sinful nature") many times in chapters 7 and 8. In your own words, what does Paul mean by "flesh" in these verses? The term "flesh" in the New Testament writings usually refers to the old me . . the carnal me . . the physical body in which I still live until I depart this life. It's also called a "tent" . . a "clay jar", etc. Those terms emphasize the temporary nature of the flesh. Flesh also means the old way of life, the life ruled by carnal desires. It also refers to our mindset. Our minds are living inside our bodies, made of flesh. Our physical bodies have real and legitimate needs and our minds are under pressure to come up with plans to fulfill those needs. Those plans that our minds make are very often sinful in God's eyes. The flesh is continuously at odds with God's plan for us. Being part of this world, the flesh is under Satan's control to varying degrees. The flesh is almost like the enemy of God, in some ways. I can see how some misguided but well meaning pious men and women years ago used to punish the flesh with self inflicted pain. They mistakenly believed they could purify the flesh with pain and suffering. I recently watched Pillars of the Earth, that's why that thought came to mind.

Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? No. Bob Dylan, of all people, said it best: It may be the Devil or it may be The Lord but you gotta serve somebody. To go our own way is to go against God's Way. Humanity is flawed ever since Adam's fall and going our own way, even if we think we're going OK, leads to our being out of the Will of God. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? God gave us a free will and we like to exercise it. To some people freedom, or the ideal of freedom, is the ultimate prize. Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? Speaking personally, I think it's the fear of failure. We declare it from the housetops that we're God's people and followers of Christ, then we slip up and people see that. We're then branded as hypocrites. I became a Christian in 1971 and I was involved in a high profile Baptist Youth Fellowship as lead singer in the rock choir they had going, if such a thing can be said to be. By the end of 1972 I'd stopped going to church because I believed I was setting a bad example of what a Christian teenager should be. No one asked me first if I wanted to be thrust into the limelight as a role model. They all thought that since I had long hair, played in a band, and appeared cool that the kids would look up to me. The organizers were so out of touch with the kids they were trying to reach that they didn't have a blessed clue. They'd been totally opposed to Rock music and the whole youth culture all their lives and suddenly realized they had to embrace it to reach the youth. Desperate for a draw card they picked me. It all happened so fast. One minute I was being asked to join the choir, the next I was being quoted from the pulpit! And I had nothing worthwhile to say! I was 17 years old and I'd been a Christian for three months. At first the plan stayed on track, then as people got to know me, all the kids saw was an ordinary guy with feet of clay, just like everybody else. When some other slightly older guys took me severely to task for not being the perfect role model I just quit, rather than bringing the name of Jesus into disrepute. Given that time over again I'd have kept a much lower profile until I'd become more mature in the faith. Then again, like I said, I had no say at all in what became of me.

Q4. (Romans 6:17b) How does good doctrine affect the way we live? Those who worship the Father must worship Him in spirit and in TRUTH! True worship . . . holding firmly to good doctrine will enhance every area of our lives. Living under the deception of false doctrine could mean living a defeatist life, whereas living according to good sound doctrine will help us to be victorious over sin. Why should we honor good doctrine? Peter put it best when he said to Jesus: You have the words of eternal life. Also: The truth shall set you free. If we shouldn't look down on doctrine itself, what kind of teaching should we be avoiding? We should avoid teaching that tells us we can't win . . . that we are fated to lose the battle. Sometimes the doctrine can be sound but the teaching of it could be in error.

Q3. (Romans 6:15-18). What does obedience have to do with slavery? Slaves have to obey their master. In this context we're slaves to sin until we decide to follow Christ. Then we become slaves to righteousness. We obey the Bible's teaching. In what way does doing acts of righteousness demonstrate your slavery to God? Doing acts of righteousness is a command of God, simple as that. In what ways does doing bad things demonstrate a slavery to sin? A man is a slave to anything that has mastered him. If we do bad things, there's a choice involved there. We chose to obey sin. How is such a slavery or bondage broken? By the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He died for our sins, once and for all and rose triumphant over sin and death. Our being united with Christ in His death and resurrection means that sin's bondage over us is broken. What part does obedience have in breaking this bondage? We have to chose to obey God. Habitual sin is hard to break so we have to actually practice being obedient to God and to resisting the temptation to continue in sin. In what areas is God speaking to you about a fresh obedience in your life? Mainly I think in my attitude to others. In the music industry there are so many people with their own secret agendas who think nothing of lying through their teeth about me and other high profile independent operators to ruin my career and reputation in order to further their own ends. I won't go into the details here but there's a real problem I have in forgiving the people who've poisoned so many peoples minds against me and are continuing to do so. I make up my mind to forgive those people and I try my best to mean it, but they continue in their actions. True forgiveness means not retaliating and not taking opportunities to exact revenge when those opportunities present. Like most evil people they sometimes get too clever by half and metaphorically shoot themselves in the foot. I shouldn't gloat over that but I must confess I do. True forgiveness also means not telling all and sundry about how I've been wronged. It's hard not to talk about things that profoundly affect me as much as they do. Praying for my enemies and asking God to bless the very people who are trying to put me out of business is something I cannot yet bring myself to do. I mean, they're telling female venue managers that I'm some sort of rapist or something. Whatever is being said works so well that the female managers in question will not even pick up the phone to speak with me any more once the lie has been told in whatever persuasive way they manage to tell it. How can I ask God to bless someone who is doing that to me? I find myself echoing David's prayers in the Psalms where he calls on God to judge in his favor and to condemn whose enemies of his.

Q2. (Romans 6:13) In what ways do you "offer the members of your body" to either sin or God multiple times in a day? Wow! Let me count the ways! As far as I'm concerned it's mainly about heart and mind attitudes. I'm a law abiding person who doesn't drink, smoke, do narcotics, or in any way abuse my body . . . which is the temple of the Holy Spirit after all. I don't speed (much) when I drive and I basically obey the road rules and the law in general. I don't consciously go around hurting anyone and I open doors for people. I'm a quiet man who keeps to himself. That's how serial killers start out too, isn't it? "Neighbors described the suspect as a quiet man who kept to himself" . . . So really the only sins I commit are in having the wrong attitude to people and to God. If I harbor hatred or resentment to anyone I'm allowing sin to rule in my mind and heart. Then there is the sin of pride. Am I humble enough? Is anyone? That's where the battle is won or lost: The heart and mind. Every time I look at a woman in a lustful way I am committing adultery. Every time I call my brother a worthless fool I'm in danger of going to hell. Every time I get angry with someone without good cause I'm murdering them (I'm a mur-diddley-urderer!) Jesus made those rules. The way to offering ourselves to God lies in continually maintaining a loving attitude to others, friends or foes. That's very difficult to do. Why is it that we can sin unconsciously? We could be so used to doing something that's wrong that we don't even remember that it's wrong. Then there are the sins of "omission" where we don't do the good we ought to for whatever selfish reason we could put forward. Most sins of omission are the result of personal greed or selfishness. How can we begin to offer our members deliberately to God? By daily enthroning Him as the Being in charge of our lives, our hearts and our minds. What changes will it take in our daily life to do this? If my own example is anything to go by, we'll require a paradigm shift in our belief system, and our unshaken belief in our lives now being bonded with Christ and lived in Him and through Him.