“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” (Romans 8:9-11)
“So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” (Romans 8:12-14)
The Confession says, “Through grace, God works in us to recreate us in the image of Christ, himself the image of the invisible God. “ As I read this small portion of the article on “Discipleship and the Christian Life” I thought to myself, there has to be a larger context in which these two verses are set. And there was, and even the larger portion speaks to the excerpt from this article of faith.
This not just a Mennonite issue, but an issue for all faith beliefs that hold God and Christ as examples for correct living. The Confession also speaks to this fact. In the commentary section it says, “Christians are called to be separate from the evil in the world. Our nonconformity does not mean that we withdraw from all contact with those outside the church. Rather, our way of thinking is changed, and we avoid sinful behavior and participation in groups which promote sin (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10). When we do not conform to the evil ways of the world, others will sometimes separate themselves from us (John 3:20). We are able to be nonconformed to evil when we are conformed to Christ and willing to let the Holy Spirit transform us into Christ’s image. “
In these past days you may have heard/read me speaking to the places and times that Mennonites fall short of correct living. We are not perfect. But we know what perfection should be, and we worship and follow that Perfection who is our Lord God and Christ. We struggle to live holy and accountable lives. And if we fall short, it is only because we aim so high. The writer of Romans says we have no “obligation whatsoever to do what [our] sinful nature urges [us] to do.” But we do have the temptation to follow that sinful nature, and like all of humanity we fall prey to temptation. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we able to resist temptation and do what we ought as children of God. All of humanity are children of God, wherever and however we may worship.
May you gentle reader be formed and conformed according to our Lord God, and may the Holy Spirit aid you all your days. Selah!
