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Date Posted: 18:21:14 04/15/02 Mon
Author: Richard
Subject: Thinking indirectly about Romans 8:2

Greetings in Christ from sunny Texas,

While I was growing up I was taught in the denominational world and even in the church much later that Jesus died to take the Mosiac law out of the way. For many years that was an acceptable answer--and, as far as it goes--truthful to the extreme.

Yes, Jesus did die to fulfil the Mosiac law and to remove it-But here is what I have come to understand--Jesus died and removed the Mosiac law for "Jews" who choose according to Romans 7 to leave one{the Mosiac law} and marry Christ.

What I keep running into when I discuss this with folks in the church of Christ is this--All of us--every single human being is under the "law of Christ" and if you teach anything else, why that is just heresy--The Spiritual Sword makes such a statement--if you are acquainted with such a work.

Ok--how do I as a Gentile fit into this? I am not a Jew was never born a jew and thus was never ever under that particular law. Thus I could not escape that law by marrying Christ.

What I learned is that Gentiles are under a law-- a law that promishes life? but in reality brings nothing but death.

When God took aside the Jews and made them His people--He gave them their own law[s] and did not remove the laws already in place--but instead make a special covenant with them where only the laws given at Mt. Sinai come into play for those Jews.

Romans two sheds a little light on that particular law that we as Gentiles are under when we reach the age of accountability. I believe{but believing and absolutely proving it are not the same}that God treats the Gentiles under the Father law--that existed prior, during and after the Mosiac law came and went.

Now--where there is no law--sin is not imputed--and this is very important to understand and I am not sure that we all do.

I foundthis passage to particularly on target here--

1Cor 15:55 O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?
1Cor 15:56 (ASV) The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law:
57 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.

"Sin" derives it power from the "Law" Paul in Roma 7:7 (ASV) What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Howbeit, I had not known sin, except through the law: for I had not known coveting, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet: 8 but sin, finding occasion, wrought in me through the commandment all manner of coveting: for apart from the law sin [is] dead.
9 And I was alive apart from the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died;

Another passage that tells me at least that my non christian neighbor is not under "the law of Christ" is this text that describes the two laws..

Roma 8:2 (ASV) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 7:1-4 comes back again here--divorced one to marry the other--for the Jew and for the Gentile for each of the respective laws--this is accomplished n obedient faith resulting in an immersion in water in order to have one's sins forgiven.

so, do we still sin..Yes, we do--First John is crystal clear on this--and also with the cure.

Here is the difference--As A Christian--I am indeed under law--but I am not under the law that is described in the second half of Romans 8:2... As a Christian we are under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus..

God accounts the Christian righteous--and the sins are continiously washed away via the law of the Spirit of life in Christ.

My neighbor on the other hand who is not a Christian--lives under a law that cannot save but sin uses that law to kill and to separate man from God and to keep man separated.

Now--I can sin as a Christian and be forgiven time and time again with the right heart and attitude toward God--I look here at King David for this assurance.

When "sin" takes over my life--it pushes God and Christ and the Holy Spirit out of it and I fall back under the law of the Fathers--and, if one dies under that law--there is no hope.

I know--as a human--each of us would like to know that exact point in time "when" like Saul, the first King of Israel the Spirit of God leaves us..

Well, I believe that God tells us--
Jame 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which [the Lord] promised to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man:
14 but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.
16 Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.

In attempting to understand God's grace--I understand that it is freely given to every man but it works only for those who reach out and take it and follow the Word in living our lives.

We know that if a stranger knocked on our door and gave us the keys to a brand new Car along with the tittle and walks off--We don't have to accept the car or, we can accept the car.

But what is the cost in accepting the car? Who has to insure it--who has to put gas in it and who has to take care of it.

Grace is much the same way--It is first of all free but accepting it gives us conditions for keeping it..

Well, this is far far too long--so will talk with you folks later.

Richard

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