"Who Will Deliver Me?" week 4 in a study with the book of Romans Romans 6: 15-23 15What then?

Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16Dont you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 19I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benet did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benet you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6: 15-23 - Commentary *This is a "freedom" section of Paul's letter - clarifying consequences not of sin - but the converse decision of obedience and freedom. *For the readers of this letter, the Apostle was clearly addressing the "status" issues that Jews had with non-Jews, who they considered to not be following the law. (The translation of "sinner" hamartoloi, often means one who is beneath and out of the law.) *In verses 17-19a, Paul casts the sentence into the form of a prayer of thanksgiving. (ref: 1 Cor. 15:57) *This is a provocative claim that one must live as a "slave" to ones mindset and context - this scripture proclaims that our only choice is what we will be a slave to! (God knows human nature better than we do - and we are still nding all of this true today!) *Verse 17 use of "from the heart" is used purposefully to indicate a very different relationship to the Spirit. This (very important:) indicates a relationship of love and desire rather than any level of conformity!! *As we read about "righteousness" in Romans, we must always remember that this term does NOT mean virtue or goodness - the translation indicates our relationship to Divine Righteousness as revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. To think of it as leading to our own "virtue" or goodness would be a lack of humility and would disparage our relational need for God and Christ. *This theology and scripture is SO IMPORTANT to our faith and Western culture that it inuenced many social and political movements toward freedom and equity including the Magna Carta! That's big. *This section claries the common half- truth that God accepts us "as we are". God reaches humans where they are, yet the freely offered Grace is transformative!!!! It helps us and changes us. Sin (separation from God's intent for us) can not continue to reign in our lives if we are obedient to God's Grace and Redemption. We have choice!

Notes: Your Brain Can Lie - We Mistake Want for Happiness *Why do we do what is self destructive? It is the promise of a reward and the anticipation that excites the brain, not just the reward, which is usually not satisfying to the brain. We are creatures of "want" even when it is to our detriment! *In current experiments, scientists have further revealed that the real power is in the desire, not the reward, and the compulsion our "want" causes may be the very thing our brain is craving! When we "give up" our addictions, it is the compulsive and motivating addictive behavior we miss and wanted - not the substance or behavior. *We look at it backward and believe our brains crave the reward, when they are craving the painful desire - this is a breakthrough in our understanding of our own motives. Our brain may chase what is bad for us, because the chasing is the real reward. *Think of how compelling the life of addicts can be - imagine having that much motivation and energy for something good. We rarely do! *The desire or want is the dangerous part of a behavior. The more we get into the cycle of "I Want" the harder it will be to say I Won't. *You can not trust your own brain to tell you the truth! It will not be logical or behave in a way that makes sense to you or anyone. This is why we can not be logical with people who are addicts. (Have you ever wasted your time trying to explain to someone why they are doing something harmful?) *The experiments of Pavlov's dogs are examples of anticipation. But the anticipation is the reward for the most part. Current technology exploits our reward center by constantly allowing us to "anticipate" the great message we will get or the funny video we may see - so we keep looking at it because the anticipation feels good. *There is a new wave of "neuro-marketing" used to manipulate our brains into buying or doing things that are not in our best interest.

There are many ways of doing this: our desire for sales, the scents that appeal to our memories, songs that stimulate desire, etc. WEEK 4 Willpower challenge 1: 1. Become a "Dopamine Detective" and empower yourself by observing the many manipulations in our environment. The sights and sounds marketers use to lure you. 2. This will allow you a sense of control, and you will see that the reaction your brain is having is not YOU - but a manipulation of your brain. 3. "Dopaminize" your tasks - think of ways to use your own brain to encourage you rather than tempt you. This might be doing unpleasant tasks so you can get a reward. Study or do bills over a treat - one that you control. Or do something you like after completing an unpleasant task. Or eat something healthy before you can have a small reward. 4. Visualize the outcome you want - a more organized house, or a healthier body - and focus on the feeling of anticipation of those rewards if you do what you have to do get the reward. (Olympians visualize standing on the stage to get a gold medal as a way of energizing long workouts and sacrice.) Willpower challenge 2: 1. Face the challenge you have been working on - and now resist it and nd a different reward. If you have resisted the candy in the jar now resist candy and reward yourself with a movie or a book. 2. Have a conversation with your anxiety and concerns. They are not real - just a feeling your brain is giving you. You are in control if you accept them as only temporary and not real. Get used to the feelings of anxiety - it will go away.

Next week: Romans 9: 30 - 10: 21 - don't assume and let's talk about what it really means for the diversity of faith we live in our world.

HES GOT THE WHOLE WORLD Hes got the whole world in His hands, Hes got the whole wide world in His hands, Hes got the whole world in His hands, Hes got the whole world in His hands. Hes got the tiny little baby in His hands, Hes got the tiny little baby in His hands, Hes got the tiny little baby in His hands, Hes got the whole world in His hands. Hes got you and me, brother, in His hands, Hes got you and me, sister, in His hands, Hes got you and me, brother, in His hands, Hes got the whole world in His hands.

Who Will Deliver Me? Will Power, Wont Power, Want Power

July 12:

I will! I won't! I want! Were you born to resist cheesecake? Too Tired? Why our will is like a muscle. Goody! Why being "good" can make us bad. Your Brain Can Lie? Why we mistake want for happiness. I Don't Care! How feeling down leads to giving up. Selling the Future Instant gratication - Now! Infected? Why willpower is contagious. The End of Our Rope! The limits of resistance and beyond.

July 19:

July 26:

August 2:

August 9:

August 16:

August 23:

August 30: