Romans 8:3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.
My car was starting to act funny. When I would push down on the accelerator it wouldn’t have its usual push forward and when I would stop at traffic lights it sputtered. I hoped for a while that this was just a temporary issue that would resolve itself but it didn’t and I started to get fearful visions of sitting along the side of the highway in hundred degree heat waiting for a tow truck. Now, in some imaginary world I suppose I could have gotten on-line, diagnosed the problem, secured the proper replacement parts, found the necessary tools, and completed the need repairs (it turned out that ignition coils in two of the four cylinders were failing). In my real world this was not possible. I simply do not possess what is required to make this happen. Fortunately my mechanic does and did in half a day’s time. What I couldn’t do for myself he was more than able to do for me. That’s what Paul is saying above. The “law” means the Ten Commandments or moral code or the way we ought to live with God and one another. Anyone want to argue that humans haven’t made a mess of that as a species and as individuals? All through history there have been plans and programs to fix it all up. How’s that worked out. The claim of Christianity is that God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves- forgive our faults and failures, leads us into lives of meaning and love, makes us people that desire the right thing over the selfish thing. This week take stock of your life. Are you trying to limp along on two of four cylinders? Are you hoping you’ll get smart enough, skilled enough, good enough to fix up what’s broken? Or have you brought your life to the master mechanic and trusted God to do for you what you cannot do for yourself?
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 