The Law Reveals Our Sin.
7 “Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” 8 But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.
13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.”—Romans 7:7-13
If this is all the bible said about sin, we would be in real trouble. But thank God the bible says this: 11 “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” —Titus 2:11-14.
Notice, it is God’s grace that has appeared through what Jesus Christ did for us by dying on the cross. When we accept this sacrifice for the payment of our sins, God gives us His grace to enable us to walk in this new life that Jesus died to give us. It is by this grace that we will eventually make it to heaven when we die. To receive God’s grace is to say yes to Jesus, and God’s plan of salvation in our lives. Grace is received through our repentance and faith in the sacrifice of God’s Son Jesus Christ, and it grows when we walk with other Christians, read the Bible, pray, and of course go to church.
It is through our obedience to the word of God, and the teachings of the church that we understand how Jesus lived, and that we are called to live a similar life, after we have received God’s salvation. This is called the sanctification process, where we are conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). All the law does is show us that we are sinners in need of God’s grace and forgiveness, which can be ours when we receive God’s grace into our lives by faith. This is Mike.
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