1 Romans 5:20 and 7:5 April 15, 2012 Pastor/teacher Curt Crist

Pastor/Teacher Curt Crist www.welcometograce.com Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: abound - Greek huperperisseuo "huper" "to make to be more," "perisseuo" "to increase." Paul is telling us here in Romans 5:20 that God really gave the law to Israel not to make them good but so that the offense might be made to increase, not to abate, but to abound. Why would God want the offense to increase? Well, the offence was already there. But God gave an opportunity through that law program to really come out and show itself for what it was and for what it is in us. Romans 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. So, the sin nature used the law to bring forth fruit unto death. The statement "when we WERE in the flesh" is important to understand. The word "WERE" is in the past tense. We're no longer in the flesh. From God's judicial point of view, you're no longer in that position. You have a new position. The statement: "When we were in the flesh" doesn't mean in the body. Although the body is part of it, It's not that the skin, bones, and marrow, and the joints and all of that is not evil. It's the sin nature that resides in the body. It's the connection between the two. It's the sin nature that uses the law to bring forth sins as it uses the members of our body. There's the connection. To be "in the flesh" is the OPPOSITE to be "IN Christ" Paul is talking about believers who had a familiarity with the law program. Paul goes on to say, "when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins (sinful passions), which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. Now we've got fruit being brought forth unto the death by the law working in connection with the sin. nature. Passions associated with short-comings of righteousness which came about by the law working in conjunction with the sin nature. Understand, the law didn't put those sinful passions in man. The law simply worked to arouse (or, as we said in our previous study, to ignite, or inflame) the sinful desires that were already in man given the sinful nature. Paul is associating the stirring up of the sinful passions of the sin-nature with the law. Romans 7:7 "What shall we say then? (Or, what shall we conclude about what you've been telling us, Paul?) Is the law itself sin?" (Is there indeed something dreadfully wrong with the law?) Did God give to Israel a faulty law? Paul sets out now to answer that question for us. He's going to vindicate the law in Verses 7- 12. Even though we're not under that law in this dispensation of grace, the law can still serve a valid function today for those who have yet to believe the gospel and are dealing with God according to law principle. Understand, being delivered or set free from the law as the program whereby God is dealing with man today does NOT mean that the law no longer stands as a perfect picture of what it would take to earn a perfectly righteous standing with God IF our performance was part of that equation and IF that were a possibility, which it's not. A lot of folks today, smiling "church folks" who think their favor with God, and their position with God, and their place in Heaven is going to be determined by the amount of that law they can keep so they go back and they strive to at least do the best they can where it comes to the Law of Moses. In Verses 7 and 8, Paul is going to distinguish between the law and sin and this is how he's going to do it. In Verse 7 he's going to show us how the law operates. We might call it the activity of the law, how the law functions, how the law works. Then in Verse 8, he's going to show us the activity of sin and how sin operates. Paul is going to show us how sin actually makes great use of that law against an individual. With a proper understanding of the two, we'll find that there is nothing at all wrong with the law. The problem lies with sin and with the nature that's in man given Adam's decision in the Garden.