Sunday School for September 5th – 26th

A consideration of why we struggle to do what we wish to do.

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Overview of Class Sessions

September 5:

September 12th: The wish to be more than I am.

September 19th: The intent to be distanced from Bad Habits

September 26th: The desire to know for sure.

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Romans 7:14-25

• Use this text to reflect upon the seeming division between your mind and body.

• Ask yourself the following questions: – What is something that I feel frustrated about that I cannot

seem to change.

– Is it more related to my mind or my body.

– Is there a possibility that the thing I want to change is also important to me?

– Was this an idea that was given to me by another person?

– Did I have an experience that caused me to attribute importance to this thing?

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What does Paul mean by the Law in verse 14?

• Very general words like “law” almost always need some clarifying in scripture. In this instance, the word law does not mean “the law” but “a law”.. A general principle, a theory, a fact of observation.

• How does this change the meaning of the entire passage for you? Does it change how you might have answered the question on the previous slide.

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Not me but the sin???

Verse 16 presents an interesting challenge –

How could a law be good if it represents what you struggle to achieve?

Is it believable that there is sin inside a person waiting to overtake the better judgment which must, surely, also be in the person?

The passage asserts that there is a difference between willing and doing. How might you distinguish the two.

The

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Verse 18

• What does it mean to speculate that there is nothing good in me? – Does that mean that human beings are

fundamentally no good?

– Does it mean that some human beings who cannot change themselves are just bad?

– Could it mean that we can be overcome and immobilized

– Could it mean that nothing is good that remains inside without being put into practice in our behavior

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Structure of Paul’s ArgumentChapter seven describes an unreformed person’s situation:

• 7:14 – one is sold under sin

• 7:17 – sin lives within one

• 7:18 – “Flesh” and “I” are equated

• 7:23- the “other law” is at war

Chapter eight mirrors chapter seven but is describing a reformed person’s situation:

• 8:2 – the Christian is liberated from sin

• 8:9 –the Spirit lives within one

• 8:9 – you are no longer in the flesh

• 8:6 – the mind of the Spirit is peace

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Reformed and always Reforming• The Presbyterian church believes that the human condition is a paradox. We have

the capacity for great glory in terms of how we love each other, the public goods we create, and the service that we render to God. We are glorious and capable of wonderful things and yet we are also people who, in the complex depths of our souls, find ourselves driven by jealousy, insecurity, pride, greed and often than not, just the simple frailty of not being able to do all that we wish we could to fulfill the grand calling of our created goodness. In the classic language of Calvinism, we are simultaneously saints and sinners.

– This paradox can’t be resolved, or we run into real trouble. If we start thinking that we are too glorious and we forget our capacity for, not just failure, but harm, then we end up creating systems that allow people to run unconstrained, unmonitored in their greed and their power (nothing like a greed-inspired recession should drive this point home). But if, on the other hand, we only see ourselves as people who need to be kept under the force of repressive human laws because we’re so apt to do bad things, our common flourishing and personal well-being will be devastated, sapped of the joy that our inherent complexity brings. yterianChurch (U.S.A)

– This page is an excerpt http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2009/07/Reformed-and-Always-Reforming-The-Affect-of-John-Calvin-500-Years-Later.aspx?p=2

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Viewpoints of evil/sin

• The way one views sin or evil can affect how it is discussed. Dovetailing with the reformed understanding of spirituality, the biblical scholar, Charles Talbert suggest that there are at least three responses to sin/evil.

1. Optimistic View

2. Realistic View

3. Pessimistic View*see Talbert’s commentary on Romans (Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary)

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Optimistic View

– The prophets of the Old Testament typically had an optimistic view of sin/evil. That is they understood that once you recognized it you could make reparation and corrected through discipline.

– Have you experienced an optimistic view of evil/sin?

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Realistic View

• The theologians who pulled the literature of Genesis together after the exile too a more realistic view of evil. That is, that evil and good are so intertwined even within the righteous that the two cannot be separated within history.

• Have you experienced a realistic perspective of sin/evil?

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Pessimistic View

• The apocalyptic literature of the bible retains the viewpoint that evil is so extreme and pervades so much of the human experience that only God can correct it in a sort of final judgment day.

• Have you experienced a pessimistic view of sin/evil?

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What is your view of sin and evil?

• Does your view change when you consider your own life versus observe another person’s life?

• Does the view change whether you are considering ordinary or profound moments of change?

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The Law of the Spirit

• Chapter eight provides an explanation for this

– Chapter 8:1-2 is Paul’s premise – that Jesus Christ sets you free from the law of sin and of death.

– Verses 3-4 – a basis for Paul’s premise to the Roman church

– Verses 5-11 explain verse 4b

– Verses 12-17 explains what it means to believe Paul’s premise.

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Setting the Mind

• Can you remember a time when you set your mind on things of the flesh versus the spirit? – When Paul uses the word “flesh” what does he

mean?

– What does it mean for your mind to be focused on things of the flesh?

– When Paul uses this word death, does he mean it literally or figuratively?

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The mind set on the Spirit

• How do you know when your mind is upon the Spirit of Christ? – If our mind is built of pathways and patterns,

perhaps setting our mind upon the Spirit involves training the mind. Or does a Christ-like mindfulness ever just happen?

– Can our body and sensate experience get in the way of our mind?

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Preparing for a Mindfulness

• Some ways that people prepare for a Christ like mindfulness might include: – Attending church

– Practicing good works

– Practicing prayer regularly

– Challenging themselves to assume another point of view

• How do you prepare for a Christ like mindfulness?

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