Paul
the apostle shared with the people in Rome,
“sin
shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but
under grace”,
and in
chapter six and fifteen of Romans, Paul asked the Romans, “shall
we sin, because we are not under the law”
where
we read:
What
then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under
grace? God forbid.
The
verse begins, “What
then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, ...” Paul
began with the question, “what
then?”
which means “then, therefore, accordingly, consequently and these
things being so”? “shall
we sin”
or “should Paul, his companions and his believing readers miss the
mark, err and be mistaken”, “because”
or “since” “we
are not under”
which means “Paul, his companions and his believing readers are not
beneath or subject to” “the
law”
which refers to “the rule producing a state acceptable to God”.
Paul rhetorically questioned as to whether his readers believed they
should continue to “sin”
because they were no longer “beneath and subject to” God's “rule
that is acceptable to Him”.
The
verse goes on to say, “but
under grace? God forbid.” Paul
began with the word “but”
or “nevertheless, notwithstanding, as an objection, exception or
restriction, moreover” “under
grace”
or “beneath and subject to that which affords joy, pleasure,
delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness and unmerited favor”? “God”
which
means “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the
Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “forbid”
which means “certainly and absolutely not”. Paul emphatically
stated that his believing readers should not “sin” because they
are “under” God's “unmerited favor”.
When
we meditate upon these words of Paul, we see how he presented the
ridiculous idea that people who have received Jesus Christ as their
personal “Savior and Lord” should keep “sinning” because they
were not “beneath” “the law of God” but “subject to”
His “unmerited favor”. “God forbid” basically means,
“perish the thought” or this should never come to mind. Jesus
Christ came into the world to “save sinners”, and their behavior
from that point on should be one of “forbidding sin” in their
lives rather than accepting that everything is okay because they are
under “grace”. May the Lord teach all who read these words
the importance of keeping “sin” out of their lives and
following that which is pleasing to the Lord Jesus.
Next
time Paul asks the people in Rome,
“whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are
to whom you obey”,
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.
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.
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