Question: Please explain what Romans 7: 25b says “...So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

(An excerpt from the Sabbath Q&A Bible Study, elder Raul de Asis-Hipe presiding...)

“There’s that immediate take on this that “We’re keeping law in our mind, but in our bodies we do what we please...”

This is the danger, when people think they are Paul, when they are not...

We need to know Paul in writing this letter to the Romans-The Paul, who knows the Law of God, lives the laws and commandments of God, whose life revolves by doing, affirming the law of God...

So for any random person, or even for me to say "Oh I understand Paul" is presumptuous. I am not even a Jew, I am a Gentile...

Paano natin maiintindihan si Paul?... Paul is Paul. Paul is not Peter... God called different people to communicate the good news about His plan for mankind...

Even Peter himself wrote in 2 Peter 3:14

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
¹⁵and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation --- as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
¹⁶as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures...”

God gave Paul that privilege to understand the law, not as a layman, but as a lawyer... so that he could use language, craft phrases previously unused to expound on the law...

Thus it cannot be interpreted by untaught, unstable minds who twist God's Word to their own destruction...

Paul was known to write in what scholars would later call an “elliptic” manner...
Not stating directly what he wants to say... but securing the elements which surround the matter until the reader, being in a stable mind, having that background of high regard for the law, considering it good and perfect, would not be able to twist.

Speaking to people whose mind is not unstable, he writes, “...So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” The unstable mind would for example reason “Ah we can now keep the Sabbath with our mind, and do all the pleasures of the flesh otherwise...”

What is the key verse for us to know where chapter 7 is coming from? Romans 3 : 19,

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law,

Whatever we read from thereon about “the law”, he refers to those who are under the law – “under the penalties of law”. All sinners, those under the law, not those who are keeping the law... sin for which the penalty is death,

“that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
²⁰Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

So this is the premise for the writings of Paul. His writing is actually condemnation for the ways of the world, of the flesh, the carnal mind.

We can see that apostle Paul is not talking about the sentiments experienced by a life abiding in the law but the life of being under that curse, that penalty of the law... so that continuing v.20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight,” the flesh being under the penalty of the law...

Now this is the purpose of the law: “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Para saan yung law? Para makita natin kung ano yung mga kasalanan. Ang batas ay hindi maglilinis sa atin. Ang batas ang magpapakilala sa atin kung ano tayo, anong ang kinalalagyan natin. Parang salamin, “Eto ka!”

Fast forward to chapter 7. How can it be possible now that Paul wrote “in the mind we serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin”?

Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’”

So here is the function of the law in the life of a person. Pinapakilala yung kasalanan. Once the flesh commits sin, all the more the law reveals what is wrong and why it is.

This is now how sin reverts back to the function of law. Romans 7:8

⁸But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire...” So what we have here is the law, the mirror of our sin, and the continuing desire of the flesh. “...For apart from the law sin was dead.” Without even that law, we will not know that we are in thate state of destruction. 

⁹I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” Paul writing this in the context of describing the interplay of the law and the effects of sin on the flesh.

¹⁰ “And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.”

Why is that? The commandment reveals the penalty, the consequence, bringing us to the realization that this is the consequence of our sin–we DIE. Ang salvation natin hindi doon sa law. There is something more that Paul wants to introduce. In a normal human life what functions are our own desires physical/carnal as opposed to the spirit and intent of the law. What is the spirit and intent of the law? We shall read later in Romans 8 .

So this is now the struggle, not in the Christian context, but in the fleshly world. v.12 “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” If you do them. Kung hindi mo nilalabag, it will do you good.

¹³ “Has then what is good become death to me?...” So bakit nagiging yung dapat ay mabuti eh pinapatay ako? Because we are living in a fleshly carnal state of mind. Wala pang nag-rransom, nag-jjustify sa iyo sa iyong sitwasyon. A message to all those yet condemned under the law, still under that state of being carnal, not those who are already followers of Christ...

Unfortunately today, this is being read by “Christians” who want to justify NOT BEING ABLE TO KEEP THE LAW. When this message was about those who are still under the law, not those who are walking in the law.

(Click on photo to download .pdf file)

Learning to be open to correction... Yung pag-amin na may mga bagay na ngayon ko lang talaga naiintindihan... –Mr. Rodolfo Argallon

"Disasters, warning that when we destroy God's creation... God directs our path... Things like being laid off from my job turned out to be so I could make up for time with my daughter... Kapag trials makikita ano kailangan character na ma-develop. Pag troubles makikita kung ano ang ginawa natin na mali...” –Cecile Constantino

John 17:14-17 (NKJV) "¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." Through all that we go through while living in this world though not of it, God gives us a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:6-9 ) There are things we went through as a family during the last year or so that have been very difficult there were times when we would almost break and give up. Constantly teaching patience, humility. God showing us His purpose in His time... The opportunity to see the sunshine... the chance to be alive... –Mrs. Vivian Hipe

(to be continued...)

 Every year, people around the world (especially in the Philippines) celebrate the so-called “New Year” with firecrackers, going out of their way and spending the extra buck to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one with a bang. Here’s a recap on 2012’s first headlines in the Philippines:

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Metro Manila wakes up to new year with smog – Firecracker injuries welcoming 2012 went down by 13 percent compared with last year’s figure, but many residents woke up to a new problem—a thick blanket of smog spawned by the New Year revelry. A number of flights had to be cancelled or diverted to Clark due to the smog, a type of air pollution that can be detrimental to children and the elderly, particularly those with respiratory conditions. “Again, can you just imagine the repercussion of [the use of firecrackers] on health, the environment and also to business [and] even to endanger transportation especially air?” said Health Secretary Enrique Ona.

Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag also said it would be best for the public to stay indoors until the dissipation of the smog to avoid asthma attacks and allergies. If going out, Tayag advised the public to wear face masks or breathe through a wet handkerchief or face towel. He said exposure to smog can cause watery eyes, dry respiratory passages, runny nose and cough, which could lead to chronic bronchitis. Long exposure to smog can also exacerbate asthma attacks and can also cause lung cancer, he added.

Song Service, 10 December 2011, Sabbath

Today, we live in a modern world with advanced technology where people are too busy and pre-occupied by gadgets (cell phones, laptops, music and movie players), the internet (Facebook and Twitter), TV, working hours with graveyard shifts, and endless parties or “gimmicks”. All of these affect our thoughts, feelings and the way we continue to live our lives. In television, newspapers, and radio, we can see and hear people constantly fighting and troubled by scandals, rumors, arguments, and comments in different networking channels particularly in Facebook and Twitter. In the news, we can hear politicians and other prominent people shamelessly uttering disturbing words against one another in public. It seems that people nowadays have forgotten the values that our parents thought us, especially the reminders we read during the study of God’s Word at home and in the church.

Have you heard the recent tag line of GMA QTV which goes, “THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK?”

Thinking and meditating plays a vital role in our daily activities. Think first before you do or say something. People do extreme things when they are unable to control their emotions in a given situation. You might say the wrong words, make the wrong decisions or even do something you’re not supposed to do. These actions might not seem obvious at first, but the effects will start to show sooner or later and you might live to regret those actions next time. We must always act right with each time and opportunity given to us.

Rabbi Zelig Pilkin once said:

Action will enable you to accomplish and achieve. But something must come before taking action: thinking. Think first. Yes, think big and think bigger, but always think first.

Taking action without thinking will lead to many avoidable mistakes and errors. Taking action without thinking first will lead to unnecessary quarrels and arguments, hurt feelings, and misunderstandings.

Taking action without thinking will lead to wasting much time and energy.

Taking action without thinking might get you far, but it’s likely to get you far in the wrong direction.

When you spend time thinking about your options and about consequences, you will be able to learn from each experience to think even better and wiser next time.

That’s why it is important to always maintain calm with presence of mind, analyze the situation, think carefully, and make the right decision. It is important to pray for guidance and think of things that can edify and help one self and others. What are the impacts or results by doing this or saying that? Will the effect be negative and make you regret it later on? Who and What are the other things which might get affected by this action of yours?

It is important to slow down a little, think it through, plan properly, and take the appropriate actions. The last thing you want to do is to repair the damage done by your hastily-made decisions.

A quote from Theodore Roosevelt says, “In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

So, start doing that now – think first before you do something. Thinking before you act leads to good decisions.

The Greek word for the word “think” is G3049 logizomai which means:

1. to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over, to take into account, to make an account of
2. a thing is reckoned as or to be something, i.e., as availing for or equivalent to something, as having the like force and weight
3. to reckon inward, count up or weigh the reasons, to deliberate
4. by reckoning up all the reasons, to gather or infer
5. to consider, take into account, weigh, meditate on
6. to determine, purpose, decide

Let us now look into several examples in the Bible where we can see how people during their time, think and act in a given situation and how their behavior and stories are actually happening at the present time.