Every day we hear about or encounter the tensions that exist among family members, neighbors, co-workers, and even within our own hearts—one of these is the tension between trying to discipline the desires of the flesh and the presumption that we can do whatever we want because God is merciful.
When Paul wrote today’s reading to the Romans, it was to guide two groups of people who were at odds with one another in following Jesus. At that time, there was a growing confusion in the Roman Church… a phenomenon that continues to occur in each generation, often revisiting the same topics.
In this case, on one hand, you had the old “law bound” group—the Jewish believers who still measured righteousness by Mosaic Law--and then there were the Gentile believers—who felt that because they were under the Holy Spirit and no longer bound by the Mosaic law, they could do whatever they wanted…that created a lot of tension.
Paul wrote to prevent the rupture of the church — and to ensure that people didn’t reduce the Gospel to legalism or fall into licentiousness, through a permissive understanding of the movement from the Mosaic Law to the Gospel message of Jesus.
In Paul’s letter, we heard that there were still “debtors to the flesh.”
Paul chose to use the term “debtor” because in the Roman world, a debtor was bound to repay a debt, often under harsh conditions…Paul uses this context to underscore that apart from Christ, humanity is bound to the flesh’s power; and only by the Spirit’s power are we released from this…and that it is through the Spirit that we also become “children of God’ and “heirs with Christ.”
To counter being debtors to the flesh, we must remember that the Spirit has bought us at a great price: Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. Repaying a debt we could never repay on our own. That this payment is complete and efficacious for all who act on His Word and are open to the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Likewise, when we struggle with being legalistic in our relationships, when we fall into being judgmental or believing that we are better than others in God’s eyes, then we can ask for the Holy Spirit to help us to have the heart of Jesus…a patient and compassionate heart that never forgets that Jesus came to save all people, even those we struggle to like but are called to love.