Inexpressible

In Romans 7 Paul speaks about the problem of sin and law. The law, Paul said, served the function of defining sin for us (Rom 7:7). The problem was that defining sin for us produced sin in us (Rom 7:8). Paul believed in the law -- good, holy, righteous (Rom 7:12) -- but bemoaned the consequences -- death (Rom 7:13). But Paul's big problem was not the problem of the existence of sin. His problem was that he wanted to do good but didn't do it (Rom 7:14-24). That's the problem.

There are debates around that passage. Was Paul talking about himself or was it just a hypothetical? Was he talking about himself as he was or himself as he was in his early days (a new, immature Christian) or as he was before Christ? I've heard these arguments. People I trust have given all of them. I won't fall hard over on any of them -- "and the rest of you are misguided fools!" Not this time. But I can tell you my view.

I personally side with the "mature Christian who struggles against sin" version. Paul himself says that he hasn't arrived (Php 3:12), but it's more than just Paul's comment there that convinces me. It seems to me that every mature Christian I've ever known or heard of has expressed this same struggle with sin. It's odd. The more mature one gets in Christ, the less sin is visible. "These are super-Christians," we tend to think. But talk to them and you'll hear comments about their horror over their sinfulness. "What sinfulness?" you might be tempted to ask. And they might share with you and you would likely think, "I wish I was that holy." But they don't think that. They are horrified by their "lesser" evil. Why is that?

Sin, at its core, is simply the failure to glorify God (Rom 3:23). It is, then, an assault on God's glory. If a Christian -- say, a mature Christian -- has the primary aim to glorify God, any failure to do so would be awful. So the more one is concerned about glorifying God, the more one is upset about not glorifying God. Add to that the problem of the deceitful heart (Jer 17:9). Paul says that one of our main problems is the suppression of truth (Rom 1:18). So the more tuned we become to the truth about our sin condition, the more aware we are of our sin condition. In this case, it would follow that the more mature the believer, the more aware they are of their sin and the more horrified they are of their sin, even if the quantity of sin was diminishing.

Maybe Paul isn't talking about a mature Christian in this passage. Fine. I think, however, that only when we become horrified by our sin can we truly appreciate God's grace and mercy. Only when we face our wretchedness (Rom 7:24) can we truly exult in "no condemnation" (Rom 8:1). Personally, I'm in favor of magnifying God and diminishing me. I would classify gratitude to God for His inexpressible gift of grace (2 Cor 9:14-15) as a good and right thing. I will go with that.