Monday: The Law and Sin
In yesterday’s study we looked at verses (Rom. 7:15-25) that talked about the reality of sin for everyone, even Christians. However, in the verses before these, Paul points to the law, which shows just how prevalent sin is, and how deadly.
Read Romans 7:1-14. What is the relationship between the law and sin? What do these verses also tell us about the impossibility of being saved by the law?
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Two crucial points come from what Paul teaches here. First, he shows that the law is not the problem. The law is “holy and just and good”. The problem is sin, which leads to death. The other point is that the law is powerless to save us from sin and death. The law points out the problem of sin and death; if anything, the law makes the problem of sin and death even more apparent, but it offers nothing by way of solving the problem.
Only a superficial reader could use these verses to argue that the law, the Ten Commandments, has been nullified while ignoring so many others that show the law is binding today. That’s the opposite of Paul’s point. Nothing Paul writes here makes sense if the law was nullified. His argument functions on the assumption that the law is still binding, because it’s the law that points out the reality of sin and the resulting need of the gospel. “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Rom. 7:7, NKJV).
Read Romans 7:13 carefully. What is Paul saying not only about the law but about why it’s still necessary?
The law does not produce death; sin does. The law is what shows just how deadly sin is. The law is good, in that it points to sin. It just has no answer for it. Only the gospel does. Paul’s point is that as Christians, as those who are saved in Christ, we need to serve in the “newness of the Spirit” (Rom. 7:6, NKJV); that is, we live in a faith relationship with Jesus, trusting in His merits and His righteousness for salvation (the theme of so much of what came before in Romans).
| How has your own experience with keeping the law shown you your need of God’s grace? |
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Romans 7 Immutability of the moral law explained
Death Explained
Romans 7:1-3
Paul gives an allegory of marriage to represent our relationship to the law. We are married to the law and the only way out of the relationship is for one of us to die.
In Romans 7:4 Paul makes it crystal clear that I died to the law. I was crucified and died to the law In Christ.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me.
Romans 7:4 continues
Newness of Life
He has raised us with the newness of life in Christ that we might bear fruit for God.
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God's handiwork - God himself is shaping me up (Don't judge me, He is not done with me yet)
Created In Christ - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
God prepared in advance - This is the originality of God's creation.
Praise God for his unchanging, fixed, established, constant, static, unvarying, enduring moral compass.
Very solid points. Well explained. God be praised!
Why do we talk about the law as if it is alive? It is the LORD's Principles for life, that is reflected in His character. The problem is people think that by their own power they can change their character but only God can change us, we must be born again. God's Principles have always and will always be the same, although He has revealed them in different ways depending on the understanding and spiritual maturity of people in the ages.
The law is for us,it's for our direction and protection.
When the law is talked about as being nullified or binding, it shows that the law has been misunderstood just like Satan would have it be - as though the law was nothing more than a set of rules that God made up and that, if set aside, will still enable life to go on okay.
As Shirley de Beer has correctly mentioned above, the law comprises the principles that are necessary in order for abundant-eternal life to work through fostering order - as opposed to chaos/destruction. Paul refers to this in Rom 8:2 when he contrasts the "law of the Spirit of life" (principles promoting order) versus the "law of sin and death" (principles promoting chaos).
This law (and all the laws that collectively comprise it) promotes abundant-eternal life and has the principle of 'beneficence'/self-renouncing love as its/their core nature. It is this beneficent nature that promotes the perpetual (ongoing) nature of life (see Desire of Ages pgs 20 & 21 for a more detailed description of the extent to which life - as well as God's nature and character - is based on this foundational principle).
The 10 commandments are the same in essence as the laws of health, physics, maths and so on. As Moses pointed out in Deuteronomy 28 and 30, live in harmony with the laws of life and you will live. Try to live out of harmony with them and you won't do so well. This is why the 'wages' (naturally following outcomes) of sin is death (Rom 6:23).
The law/s describes how life is supposed to work - abundant-eternal life. We are free to either live in harmony with the law/s (this is the concept of righteousness - the way things are meant to be) or we can 'live' in violation of the law (this is the concept of sin - 'transgressing' the law).
But, as Shirley has also mentioned above, we unfortunately have a default tendency to want to live in violation of the law of the Spirit of life (under our inheritance from the first Adam as per Rom 5:14 and manifest as per Rom 7:17). This default tendency is well identified by Paul in Rom 7:8 as the covetous and selfish desires of the heart.
Prior to Genesis 3, all Adam and Eve's heart desires were beneficent-based. But in Genesis 3, Satan successfully enticed them to exchange these beneficent desires for covetous and selfish ones - the exact opposite of what is needed to enable abundant-eternal life. Since then, every human (except the second Adam) has been born with these default covetous and selfish desires. That is why we need a rebirth - a new heart and right spirit.
Again, as Shirley has correctly mentioned, we can't change our heart. But God can if we allow Him (that is, if we don't fight against it and 'harden' our heart). This change is so encompassing that it is described by Jesus as rebirth (Jn 3:3) and necessarily is a collaborative process - God/the Holy Spirit drawing us, guiding us and empowering us to (a) desire and (b) practice learning to live in harmony with the law/s that enable abundant-eternal life.
Inge Anderson also mentioned this process in last Friday's lesson when she stated that "Christ ... wants to reproduce His character in us". Inge then went on to explain that Christ does not pour His character into us "through some sort of spiritual funnel". Rather, the Holy Spirit teaches, guides, prompts and empowers us to make right/good choices if we are willing to do so and if we will employ the power that the Holy Spirit makes available to us to follow through with those choices to actions. The Holy Spirit does this through a combination of Bible learning, prayer and direct or indirect prompts in situations - as per Jn 16:8).
Through this collaborative process, we re-develop our character from one that is self-based to one that is Christ-like/beneficent-based. This is how we put on the robe of Christ's righteousness. As Ellen White comments, "There will be no future probation in which to prepare for eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments. {COL 319.1}"
Hi Phil. You mentioned a quote from Inge, "Christ does not pour His character into us "through some sort of spiritual funnel".
When I read that it stimulated a memory of Revelation 3:20 KJV
[20] "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
What happens when Jesus comes in? Does He bring His Character with Him with His Spirit of Love into our hearts? This would not be as through a "funnel" but more like through a door that we open to Him.
This also makes me think of the concept of the Holy Spirit motivating us rather than us using His power.
Phil, would you say that this is summed up in our responding to Jesus' call to "repent and believe the gospel."?
Repentance would result in being justified, and we are taught that "the just shall live by his faith". This course will bring the presence of the Spirit with it's gifts and power.
Repentance is acknowledging the goodness of the law and sinfulness of our works of the flesh, and then to live by faith implies "exceeding great and precious promises" to exercise faith in. This calls for constant choosing, from which it is easy to fall away. Thus a struggle between living by the flesh or the Spirit is born, requiring the one who wishes to overcome to "add to your faith virture, and to virture, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance and to....etc"(2 Pe 1:5-8) thus putting on the whole armor of God(Eph 6:11).
Didn't Jesus also teach that we have only this present life in which to make The Choice(Luke 16:19-31)?
In the allegory of marriage, the apostle Paul represents Jesus and the law as the only two husbands we have to choose to be married to in our salvation relationship to God our creator. If we choose to be married to "The husband" (the law), which can only be by works, we are married to a very cruel task master who only condemns us and eventually gives us eternal death.
But if we choose to be married to Jesus "For our husband" which can only be by faith and not works, then the condemnation that the law (husband,) grants us, no longer holds us captive but justifies us with His own righteousness and also gives us His peace and joy and the hope of eternal life now, and the reality of eternal life when he returns.
When God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage/physical slavery, they had no clue that they were sin-slaves condemned to death. They practiced idolatry in Egypt (Ezk 20:6-10), like Abram’s household in Hur(Josh 24:2). God brought in the Law, Old Covenant, because of “transgressions”, that Israel might come to know sin (Gal 3:19; Rom 7:7); to understand what Adam’s transgression had brought upon mankind; to teach concerning the coming remedy; so that the whole world would come under judgment to God (Rom 3:19; 4:14,15). According to Scripture, Law “came in that sin might abound” (Rom 5:20); that sin would become an utterly awful thing to the people (Rom 7:8). This administration/ministry was ratified as a Covenant between God (through Angel) and Israel (through Moses) (Ex 24:3,7,8). It was an Angel who spoke with Moses (Act 7:38; Heb 2:2). The priesthood of this covenant is the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood. The righteousness of it is the Righteousness of law. Israel’s obligation in the covenant: “All the words which the lord has spoken we will do! All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”(Ex 24:3,7). If this ministry is permanent what becomes of the worshippers? (2 Cor 3).
But there was already a covenant extant in a promise to Abraham, dubbed EVERLASTING (Gen 17:19; Ps 105:10). And God attaches IMMUTABILITY to this one (Heb 6:13,17-19). The priesthood of it is the Melchizedek order. The righteousness of it is the Righteousness of God, Christ (Phil 3:8,9; Rom 3:21,22; Ps 40:9,10; Isa 46:13; 51:5-8) called Everlasting Righteousness (Dan 9:24; Ps 119:142). God spoke the covenant directly to Abraham: “In you and in your seed (Christ) all nations will be blessed”(Gal 3:16). This is the ministry/administration of Christ through the Spirit, the kingdom of God. It condemns sin in the flesh; takes away sin; destroys the works of the Devil. It’s the New Covenant where all are born of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, therefor filled with the love of God and therefor pleasing to God, being sons and daughters of God.
Those who did not want this ministry to be inaugurated/established killed Him, Christ, saying we are Moses disciples; we know God spoke to Moses, but this One we don’t know where He came from(Jn 9:28,29). They made their stand. They were satisfied with their own righteousness, that of Law (Phil 3:8,9; Rom 10:3,4). We have always taken “commandments” of God to be the Ten Commandments. The same author of Rev 12:17 says in 1 Jn 3:22,23: “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. This is His Commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” Love constrains us to encourage, exhort one another in the truth.
Oh, these are scriptural, therefore powerful comments. I consider the NIV an 'edited' translation, but ALL Christian's should be aware of it's rendering of Psalm 119. 13 times it renders 'word' as 'promise' and Strong's 'says' this is a valid translation! Even the Geneva bible renders it that way 3 times! I find the KJV & NKJV Disappointing in this regard... This says the Law has 10 promises! [All his commands ARE enablings! Scripture says Yehovah.IS doing ALL work necessary for my salvation. Reread last week's references list that say MY focus IS always Yeshua, always clinging to HIM for LIFE - letting NOTHING between!]
Happy Sabbath to us all,I'm happy to be among the family of faith. Its an opportunity to contribute in things that are minigful.