You see, it is the penalty of sin thatmakes you so fearful of sin, and your fear of sin produces great allurement inyou to sin. If I said to you, “If you think of a pink rabbit, God will condemn youto hell,” what is the first thing you will think of if you believe me? Youwould try desperately never to think of such a creature, wouldn’t you? Youwould become agitated at the thought of a pink rabbit. You would be, animated,overwrought, disturbed, nervous, and panic stricken at the thought of thecreature. You would end up in a frenzied state concerning it, I imagine. Nowthe more these emotions overcome you concerning the creature, the more thethought of the creature will overwhelm you; it will become irresistible. Yousee, however, as you know there is no penalty of condemnation in place if youthink of a pink rabbit, you will not get worked up about it, will you? Paulstates Romans 7:5-6:
For when we were in the realm of the flesh, thesinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruitfor death.[SUP] [/SUP]But now, by dying to what once bound us, we havebeen released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, andnot in the old way of the written code. (NIV)
Paul tells us the lawarouses sinful passions in us when we live under it. For he goes on to say wedie to the law − we have been released from the law (of righteousness) asChristians and serve in the new way of the Spirit, not the old way of thewritten code (the law). Why does he say thelaw arouses sinful passions for those living under it?
Well, you see, the same emotions that wouldovercome you at the thought of a pink rabbit, if you believed such thoughtscould condemn you, would also overcome you where sin is concerned if you liveunder the law. The penalty for sin is in place if you live under the law, isn’tit? Your sin, therefore can condemn you to hell. You would be extremelyagitated at the thought of sin. You would be animated, overwrought, disturbed,nervous, and panic stricken at the thought of sin. Now the more these emotions concerningsin overcome you, the more sin will overwhelm you, and the more your ability toresist sin will weaken. Why is this? Because those emotions bring you to anexcited state, friend. They are all bar panic-stricken definitions of the word excite. And the definition of panic-stricken is “frenzy,” and the definitionof frenzy is “wild excitement.” Theemotions that result from your fear of the penalty for sin bring you to a veryexcited (or aroused) state where sin is concerned. If you live under the law, therefore,your fear of breaking it (sin) results in sinful passions being aroused in you.That is why Paul tells us the law arouses sinful passions in us if we liveunder it.
Now I would not want you to be under themisapprehension that God gave the law to Moses at Mt. Sinai so it would arouse sinfulpassions in people. I would remind you of King David’s bottom line before God, forhe lived under the Old Covenant. He trusted in God’s unfailing love for him. Hesaid no one was righteous before God. So he didn’t trust in a righteousness ofhis own under the law to attain Heaven, did he? He loved God and knew he wassecure in God’s love for him, so he delighted in obeying God’s laws out of his lovefor God. That is how all should have viewed the law, but most didn’t.
Now under the New Covenant, God shows His unfailinglove to us by sending His Son to be an atonement for our sin. Many neglect thatunfailing love, however, just as they did under the Old Covenant. They becomeChristians and hinge their hope of Heaven on striving to obey the law ratherthan faith in what Jesus did for them at Calvary. They are then overcome withemotions that bring them to an excited state at the thought of sin. The lawthen arouses sinful passions in them, which results in the sin growing strongerand them growing weaker in the faith. You see, however, sinful passions beingaroused in people are not the fault of God’s laws, for the reason this happensis because people are ignoring the expression of God’s unfailing love for them.They are insisting on being justified before God, not by faith in His Son, butby works of the law. As I have previously mentioned, the Apostle Paul continuallypleads in his letters for people not to seek such a justification before God,but many refuse to accept it. And yet who better than Paul knew the futility ofseeking such a justification. For he said as a Pharisee he was the chief ofsinners.
You see, the harder you try to be goodenough for God by observing the law, the more agitated you will become at thethought of breaking it, and the more aroused and excited you will then becomeby the thought of sin. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day proved this to be true. No onemore than they hinged their hope of Heaven on being good enough under the law.What was the result? They became full of hypocrisy, wickedness, and everything unclean on the inside.They could fool the people, for they appeared Godly and righteous on theoutside, but they couldn’t fool Jesus. They had shut God’s love, mercy, andcompassion out of their lives. It was all about what they − by their ownstriving and effort − could achieve. They failed abysmally by taking such aroute, however, as Jesus words show us.
If you want to live a Godlylife you must embrace grace, friend, and that is the only way you will everhave true peace. If you allow yourself to live under the law, it will arouse sinfulpassions in you. That is the belief of the person who wrote half the books ofthe New Testament. You have to accept you are righteous in God’s sight by faithin His Son. You have to accept the penalty of sin has been removed from yourlife if you don’t want sin to be your master. You have to accept you are in acovenant of great love, mercy, and sacrifice. You see, when you repent and askJesus into your life as Lord and Saviour of it, theHoly Spirit will immediately write the law on your mind and place it on yourheart. You don’t have to ask Him to do it, and you don’t have to believe Hewill do it. He will do it. But youare asked to believe the other core truth on which the new covenant hinges: Their sins and lawless acts I will rememberno more. Only if you have both parts of this covenant in your life can theright result be achieved. The first part brings rebirth to you, for you areborn again. The second part of the covenant takes away the penalty for yourfailure to obey the law perfectly. You see, however, though God has removed thepenalty of sin from you, the law God desires you to keep remains on your heart.It is not possible, therefore, to use such grace as a licence to sin.
So when this covenant is working like awell-oiled machine, when we accept both parts of it, how does this work out inour lives? We will be acutely consciousof the failings in us − our sin − sin we hate, sin we do not want, for we havebeen born again. But we do not let thesin condemn us. We look to Jesus and cling to Him, trusting He (not we) is ourright standing before God, for He is our Saviour. We trust Him to give us victoryover the sin we are enslaved by. By doing this we are living not under law butunder grace. Sin’s power in our lives is now dealt a crushing blow, for Paultells us where the power of sin lies. He states in 1 Corinthians 15:56, “Thepower of sin is the law.” (NIV)
Why does Paul state this? Well Paul isreferring here to the law with its penalty in place for breaking it. As we haveseen, the true power of sin is in the penalty attached to the law if you breakit, for through that penalty sin has the power to condemn you to hell, andthrough the fear of that penalty many sinful passions are aroused in you. Withthe penalty of sin removed from you, sin has been robbed of its true power inand dominance over your life. For your righteousness before God rests in whatJesus did for you at Calvary, not obedience to the law.
The great Evangelist Kathryn Khulman said, “Christdied to pay the penalty of your sin, and he died to break the power of sin.” Byachieving the first, the second automatically follows.
God created a covenant whereby he put thedesire in your heart to obey Him − you have been born again. Because that isthe case, Jesus paid the penalty of your sin, but though he paid the penalty ofyour sin, the law remains intact on your heart. By Jesus paying that penalty, Heremoved the true power of sin from your life. Now what happens, friend, if youtake the power of something away? It must weaken, mustn’t it? Nothing else ispossible. The Christian’s born again heartfelt desire to obey can now come tofruition, for Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary has fatally weakened sin, which iswhat opposes obedience. So Paul states in Romans 3:31, “Do we,then, nullify the law by this faith? [a righteousness of faith in Christ-notobedience to the law] Not at all!Rather, we uphold the law.” (NIV, emphasis mine)
What an incredible covenant this is. No mancould have thought up such a covenant as this, only God, for His thoughts andHis ways are far higher than ours. SoPaul states, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not underthe law but under grace.”
How would sincere Christiansrespond to the truth of the New Covenant if they have been living under the lawsince the day they were converted? They would sink to their knees before Godwith tears of gratitude streaming down their cheeks. They would be as happy asthey were the day they became Christians, for they would have their Saviourback. They would no longer be striving to save themselves under a burden ofgreat guilt, fear, and
condemnation;sin’s power would then be broken in their lives, for they would not be livingunder law but under grace. Never again would they let Satan tell them they hadto strive to be good enough, for they would know the futility of such anapproach.
You see, friend, Satan’s name inHebrew is the accuser. Night and dayhe will torment you about your failures. He will accuse you where you are mostvulnerable. He only has one battering ram with which to try to pummel you. Youare not good enough according to the standard set by the law. None of us can be,friend. If we could, Jesus need not have died at Calvary for our sins. You see,however, if you know in your heart your sins and lawless acts will beremembered no more, Satan has lost his power to hurt you with his accusations.You know Jesus paid the penalty of your shortcomings in full. You are then in acovenant of grace, friend, and there is no other covenant. You are in acovenant of great love, mercy, and sacrifice. You are now free to love God asGod wants you to love Him, for you understand the Amazing Grace his Son died togive you. You are free to truly worship and praise God as He wants you topraise and worship Him because your eyes are opened to the incredible love Hehas shown to you, an undeserving sinner. And you will want to tell others ofthis Amazing Grace that saved a wretch like you, who once was lost but now is found,was blind but now you see.
Iwould place before you once more the core of this wonderful covenant of gracein Hebrews 10:16-17:
Thisis the covenant I will make with them after that time,says the Lord. ‘I will put my laws intheir hearts, and I will write them ontheir minds.’ Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I willremember no more.’ (NIV, emphasis mine)
Condemnation has gone forthe Christian, friend. The writer of Hebrews states in the ninth chapter andthe twenty-fifth through twenty-eighth verses:
Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again andagain, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with bloodthat is not his own. OtherwiseChrist would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at theculmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.[SUP] [/SUP]Just as people are destined to die once, andafter that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificedonce to take away the sins of many. (NIV, emphasis mine)
The High Priest enteredthe most holy place once a year for all the sins of the people, but our HighPriest gave one sacrifice, an eternal sacrifice for the sins of those who wouldcome to God through Him. Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary covered all ourshortcomings. Our sins and lawless acts are remembered no more, for Jesus saidin John 8:32-36:
‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendantsand have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be setfree?’[SUP] [/SUP]Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. [SUP] [/SUP]Now a slave has no permanent placein the family, but a son belongs to it forever. [SUP] [/SUP]Soif the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” (NIV, emphasis mine)
You are not a slave, friend, if you ask Jesus into your life as Lordand Saviour of it. Jesus’ sacrifice foryou has set you free from your slavery to sin and death. You have been adoptedinto the family of God, you are His child and He is your Father, and you belongto that family forever.
Itis a full-proof covenant. When you follow the truth of grace, sin will not beyour master. So it is not possible to be committed to grace and at the sametime sin as much as you want. Grace sets you free. And when we fail, as we alldo at times, the law on our hearts brings us to have no rest − no peace − untilwe come before our Father in Heaven as a child does a parent and ask Hisforgiveness for our failing. And because we know God loves us, we can beassured of His forgiveness, for we are part of His family now. You cannot usurp grace in order to happilyfollow after the flesh; it is not possible. God is smarter than we are, friend,for He made a perfect covenant. There are no holes in it.
