Word for Today July 24, 2009 - The Law & Sin

[Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

Word for Today July 24, 2009
The Law & Sin
Scriptures: Romans 7:4-8; Genesis 3:10, 24

According to Romans 7:4, we are no longer bound by the law:

v4“Likewise, my brethren, you have undergone death as to the Law through the [crucified] body of Christ, so that now you may belong to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.” (Amplified Bible)

We are no longer to allow the flesh to have dominion over us:

v5“When we were living in the flesh (mere physical lives), the sinful passions that were awakened and aroused up by [what] the Law [makes sin] were constantly operating in our natural powers (in our bodily organs, in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh), so that we bore fruit for death.” (Amplified Bible)

Verses 6-8 from the Amplified Bible at www.bible.com:

v6But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once
restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but
[under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life].

v7What then do we conclude? Is the Law identical with sin? Certainly not! Nevertheless, if it had not been for the
Law, I should not have recognized sin or have known its meaning. [For instance] I would not have known about
covetousness [would have had no consciousness of sin or sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, You
shall not covet and have an evil desire [for one thing and another].

v8But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment [to express itself], got a hold on me and aroused and stimulated
all kinds of forbidden desires (lust, covetousness). For without the Law sin is dead [the sense of it is inactive and a
lifeless thing].

Paraphrase of verses 6-7:
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. The law condemned us for sin, but it made no provisions for pardon and gave no power to obey it. We are to serve God now, not in the old literal sense of forms and rituals, but in the true spiritual meaning. The law merely typifies the gospel, and can only be fulfilled by the gospel. The law itself is not sinful in demanding us to live right. The law only makes known what sin really is.

Paraphrase of verse 8:
Paul depicts sin as a self-acting spirit which at one time controlled him and worked in him all manner of sinful lusts. Sin used the coming of the commandment as an occasion to assert its control over Paul’s life not letting him obey the law. Sin was not active before the law came for it had no reason to assert its power until then. But as soon as the commandment came forbidding certain things, sin came to life and by its lusts made Paul break the law so that he would have to pay the death penalty.

Sin came in when Adam & Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden; disobedience to God causes sin. Adam & Eve lost God consciousness and gained self-consciousness. They were naked all the time but did not realize it until after their eyes were opened. They lost their power to do good and gained the power to do evil. So, instead of them becoming like God (that is what Eve thought would happen, after the devil talked with her), they became unlike Him. Sin caused Adam & Eve to be fearful, feel guilty, and eventually be kicked out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:10, 24).

Bottom line:
We are no longer in bondage to the law because of Jesus’ dying on the cross for us. John 8:36 says, “So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.” (Amplified Bible). If our works are according to the law, we are under a curse (Galatians 3:10). We are not to live according to the law but we, the just, shall live by faith in God (v11). "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law"(vs13-14). We have passed from death (because of the law) unto life (because of the grace of God). The flesh shall not call the shots in us and cause us to sin by disobeying God. Sin’s effect is nakedness, separation from God, and it causes us to hide ourselves from Him because of the guilt (Example, Adam & Eve). God loves us so whatever you have done, He will forgive you; just ask Him. Don’t be separated from Him another day. Let us be reconciled to God today!

Word for Today - July 24, 2009

Have a blessed and safe weekend.

In Christ,
Dr. Hooks