To Robert Belanger Re: “the Law and Grace"

Greetings Robert,

 

Thank you for your informative letter and for straightening me out regarding Paul.

I agree with you completely that “the best place to search and meditate is of course the Word of God.” Amen to that.

You said Christians “are required to honor the teachings of the Law.” By ‘honor’ do you mean obey or had you something else in mind?

 

You quoted Dr. Missler who said, “The Law was given to expose our sin nature, to incite the sin nature to sin no more.”  Good point but don’t you think Paul went a bit further?

Rom 3:20 For by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Ps 19:11 Moreover by them (commandments) is thy servant warned.

Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence (lust). For without the law sin was dead.

 

The law is like a searchlight exposing sin for what it is, without it we can’t know what is sinful from what is not. The law tells us we’re guilty, and this is how it acts as “our schoolmaster/guardian to bring us unto Christ” (Ga 3:24) where we can have the penalty (death) expunged and so we are released from under the law.

What I get from reading Romans (and you or anyone here might want to straighten me out) is that we are free from the curse or penalty of the law but not free from obeying the law. Kinda like when the President pardons someone they are free from the constrictions of the law (like arrest & imprisonment) but still must continue to obey the law.

Please let me know your thoughts and opinion.

Blessings,

David