The small group from my church that I go to has been studying the book of Romans. We're using a study guide by John MacArther. (You can read Romans 7 over on BibleGateway.com) I'm not a huge fan of the study guide, because MacArther is coming from a very traditional/fundamentalist view, or so it seems. Too much emphasis on our sinfulness, in my opinion.
Now, I get it. We sin. We aren't perfect. I'm not arguing that. But, in trying to have a right understanding, a correct interpretation of scripture—or at least a fairly accurate one—I am faced with a tension in Romans 7 that I am really having a hard time wrapping my mind around.
My ultimate question in all of this, instead of doing my normal rambling post, is what happens to our "sin nature" after we decide to surrender ourselves to God, trusting Him for salvation and committing to following Him? We were slaves to sin. But now... are we still? If not, why do we keep sinning? And if we're no longer slaves to sin, like Paul says, then why can't we live perfectly for the rest of our lives, leaving us free to enjoin unbroken fellowship and communion with God?
What do you guys think? I will probably post a follow-up post in the near future, but I've tried posting more here and my thoughts are very divergent and tangential. I'm not really sure those are the right adjectives... but it's fun to attempt to use big words. My thoughts feel scattered. I can't wrap my head around what's causing such angst when I read Romans 7...
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