It is not what most of us think it is. Most of us think that sin is breaking God’s Law. If that is the case, Romans 7 does not make a lot of sense, for that matter neither does Romans 3:31. (I have written briefly about this once before.) If not sinning is just about following rules, then really none of Romans or Galatians for that matter the Bible makes much sense.
Back when we “learned” grammar in school we were told that a verb was an action or a state of being. Most people when asked will define sin as doing something, an action, committing murder is the thing that has most come up when I have talked to people about this. Committing adultery, stealing, that sort of thing. Things that break the 10 Commandments. Problem with that is that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus really turns up the heat on the 10 Commandments. He says that calling someone a fool is the same as murder, oops. Or that looking at a woman lustfully is the same as getting into bed with her.
It is impossible to keep the 10 Commandments. Why? Because they reflect the nature and character of God. God is telling Israel what He is like and by extension what they are not like. They discover that they cannot follow those ten “simple” rules. The Old Testament is full of examples of their failure, but we can look at our own lives for plenty of examples without having to resort to digging through Genesis through Malachi.
If you question this take a look at Galatians 3:21 – 25. There Paul tells us that the Law essentially leads us to faith in Christ. He expands this in Romans 3, verse 20 is especially telling. He states there that the Law essentially reveals our state. It tells us that we are in a state of sin, it is our nature. We are different from God, therefore sin.
So sin is not something we do. Sin is our nature. The Law points that out and communicates that the only way to resolve that is for Christ to pay the price for our state. That is the message of Romans 6. That is the Gospel.
Our only response to sin is to accept Christ’s death for it.
It is impossible to keep the 10 Commandments. Why? Because they reflect the nature and character of God. God is telling Israel what He is like and by extension what they are not like. They discover that they cannot follow those ten “simple” rules. The Old Testament is full of examples of their failure, but we can look at our own lives for plenty of examples without having to resort to digging through Genesis through Malachi.
If you question this take a look at Galatians 3:21 – 25. There Paul tells us that the Law essentially leads us to faith in Christ. He expands this in Romans 3, verse 20 is especially telling. He states there that the Law essentially reveals our state. It tells us that we are in a state of sin, it is our nature. We are different from God, therefore sin.
So sin is not something we do. Sin is our nature. The Law points that out and communicates that the only way to resolve that is for Christ to pay the price for our state. That is the message of Romans 6. That is the Gospel.
Our only response to sin is to accept Christ’s death for it.
Romans 3:23 brings me to the great Judge's execution scaffold every time I read, or even remember, it. I fall short (as a continuous lifestyle) of God's glory (i.e. His nature) because I'm not God. How glorious the truth in Romans 8:1 (no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus)! With a lot of explanation in Rom.3:24 and 7:25 Paul explains that when Christ was murdered on the cross we also died to it all. In Christ I'm free from all that and a whole lot more.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's a message I need to proclaim to my self many times every day.