Understand Paul’s writing style to understand his words

ZacharyB

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Since you have spent all these wonderful years reading Paul’s epistles,
I thought maybe it was high time that you understood his incredibly-tactful
writing style. Sometimes he wrote with tongue-in-cheek and exaggeration
(almost to the point of lying!) as he mixed in his dire warnings with spiritual
truths and many exhortations, edifications, and encouragements.

For example, in the section below, Paul warns these Roman believers:
you must choose to be slaves of sin –or– slaves of obedience to God.
He says they “became slaves of righteousness” (v.18), and then tells
them: “now preset your members as slaves of righteousness” (v.19).
And he says they have “become slaves of God” (v.22). Oh, really?

To end it all, Paul warns them for the 3rd time: sin results in eternal death.
He presents their choice for the last time: eternal death or eternal life (v.23).
To soften his blows he reminds them: you received the gift of God,
with the entire context being: don’t be so foolish as to throw it all away!

However, the actual point of the whole exercise is:
As true believers, they have been SET FREE and can actually choose to
live in obedience to God’s commands … instead of being slaves of sin!

In this passage, Paul focuses on their critical choice:
Be slaves of sin –or– Be slaves of obedience-righteousness-holiness!

Romans 6 (NKJV):
1 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not!
15 Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey,
you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether (slaves) of sin leading to death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness?
17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed
from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness,
and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness,
so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed?
For the end of those things is death.
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God,
you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul instructs them (and us) to be …
slaves of obedience >> slaves of righteousness >> holiness >> eternal life

The NT warns us that it is critical to “practice righteousness”:
“… let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous
… In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:
Whoever does NOT practice righteousness is NOT of God” (1 John 3:7-10)
 

sdowney717

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Some will understand Paul, some will not.

Romans 7

4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.

5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

We are no longer in the flesh. That is in the past. Again Paul says so here in 2 Cor 5.
2 Corinthians 5

16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

ALL things are of God who HAS reconciled US to Himself. That is finished. We are never unreconciled who were reconciled. This is all God's doing, not of ourselves, seeing that God's gift of salvation is not of ourselves at all.
 
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