We are forgetting that the Gospel is the solution. We too often treat the Gospel as a side issue, even though the current buzz states the Gospel is central. The questions we are asking right now is how do we live justly? The cycle of news is repetitive, tiresome, so why are we stuck? This is the exact scene described in Romans 7. The solution is found in Romans 8. The central issue and solution is our need of the Gospel. Simple? Yes. Too simple? No.

Lost

My kids are Alan Walker fans. Listening and discussing his music with my kids, we came across the song “Lost Control.” The central idea of the song is being stuck. The chorus states: ‘I lost control again, Always do the same and not to blame, I lost control again.’ Trying to figure life out and be anchored to something, but not knowing what is the cry of our generation. Spirituality, secularism, education, science, etc left us empty. Yet, there is a sense we are not where we should be. We are…

Stuck

Romans 7 describes Paul’s life prior to salvations. Romans 7 tells us that the law can teach us what is right or wrong, but it is powerless to save or alter us. That does not make the law bad, just unable to do what know must be done. So we are stuck. The thing we want to do we do not. The reverse also true. In this crisis Paul asked the #1 question in history: “Who will deliver me from this body of death? Paul was tired to the news cycle. He wanted…

The way out

Jesus is the way out. Romans 8 is the most theologically dense and practical passage in the Bible. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in christ Jesus.” To live according to the flesh results in death and to the Spirit, life. This does not mean an escape of present struggles, but it does mean freedom, hope, and a way through them. Romans 8 teaches us that life is hard and not fair, but that is not the end of the story. A key element is trusting God through the process and handing the process over to Him. This connection to God through what Jesus did and by the agency of the Holy Spirit is the way out. All others fail. Why?

The bottom line

We need a strong connection to God. It is hard to view people as made in God’s image if we are not strongly connected to God, whose image we bear. That is the problem of the law. The law just tells us what is, it does not connect us to God. Without that connection, we are lost, stuck, and will continue to struggle. Jesus did what we could not do, setting us free. Our current crisis is ultimately theological in nature. The Gospel is not a token membership card to a club. The Gospel is freedom to become better than our present struggles. Without the Gospel we will remain stuck in a Romans 7 world. The church needs to get back on this message.