Alive Without the Law Once Romans 7:9

Paul the apostle told the people in Rome,“sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead”, and in chapter seven and verse nine of Romans, Paul told his readers how he was, “alive without the law once” where we read:

For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

The verse begins, “For I was alive without the law once:” Paul began with the words, “for” which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and therefore” “I was alive” which means “Paul breathed, was among the living and active” “without the law” or “not having the rule producing a state approved of God” “once” or “formerly, aforetime and at some time”. Paul shared how he “lived” not having “God's law” at one time.

The verse continues, “ but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Paul added the word, “but” which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written takes precedence over what was just stated “when the commandment” which means “at the time the order, command, charge, precept or injunction” “came” or “arose, arrived or appeared”, “sin revived” which means “missing the mark, error and being mistaken lived, recovered and was restored with strength and vigor”, “and I died” which refers to “and Paul “perished and was slain”. When “the law of God” appeared to Paul, the “sin” in his life was revealed, and he “died” to his own righteousness.

When we consider these words of Paul, we see how “God's law” was not known to him at one time, however, once “the law” was known, Paul became as “dead” to it. In other words, at one time Paul had no knowledge that “sin” in his life, and he felt ignorantly “alive” without it, but when “the law” was revealed to him, his “life” or “own righteous” state of living “perished”. Jesus came not only to “fulfill” “God's law”, but also to pay “sin's penalty” of death, and now His “salvation” is available to everyone who puts their “faith and trust” in Him even if they were unaware of “the law of God” before.

Next time Paul tells his readers how he was, “the commandment” he “found to be unto death”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.