RJ Hamster
Romans 8:3 – Understanding Covenant Failures: Blame-Shifting in Romans…
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Romans 8:3(3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: King James Version Change email Bible version The context of Romans 8 is somewhat different than the context in Hebrews 8, but the principle Paul deals with is similar. Flesh in Romans 8:3 refers to people. The problem with the Old Covenant was not with its laws, but with one of the parties who made the covenant—”them” (Hebrews 8:8). Obviously, he refers to the people who made the covenant. They would not keep its terms!This is confirmed by the Old Testament record, which shows that Israel never kept the Old Covenant except for brief periods of time. This is why there are so many references in the Old Testament to their being stiff-necked, being fornicators or adulterers, or filled with iniquity.It was not that Israel could not keep the terms of the covenant but that they would not. God’s intent in making the Old Covenant was limited. Israel should have been able to keep its terms. To think otherwise is to accuse God of being unfair in His proposition and having taken advantage of Israel’s ignorance. Human nature is always looking for ways to shift blame.We must be careful, or we might be guilty of doing the same thing under the New Covenant. We could say that it is too hard, and use our complaint as a justification for our failures and bad attitudes. Jesus anticipated this.In the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, He gives five talents to one, two talents to another, and one talent to a third. The response of the person to whom He gave one talent is, “I knew that You were a hard man, and that You reap where you do not sow. And therefore I hid it” (Matthew 25:24-25). He is saying, “God, You were too hard!” He essentially shifts the blame to God. Jesus understood that human nature never changes: It always wants to shift the blame!— John W. RitenbaughTo learn more, see: The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Ten) Topics:Human NatureHuman Nature, Perversity of New CovenantNew Covenant, Superior to Old Old CovenantOld Covenant, Problem with Parable of the Talents Commentary copyright © 1992-2026 Church of the Great God Subscription InformationThis daily newsletter was sent to you at peterhovis@me.com because you subscribed at www.theberean.org on Apr 14, 2017.Email Preferences | Unsubscribe Church of the Great God P.O. Box 471846 Charlotte, NC 28247 803-802-7075About The Berean | Archives | Random Berean | Subscriptions |
