Read again: Second Edition
When God gave Israel the law, He did so that they may know He is the Lord and that He is holy — and also that they may know they cannot merit His holiness by themselves.
Now, if they cannot merit His holiness by themselves, how would mankind be able to come and walk before His face? Only by grace. Yet God's grace is not dispensed at the expense of justice. God cannot simply forgive sin without a proper judicial judgment for that particular sin. That is why, under the law, there would be a sacrifice for every sin. Today, His grace is dispensed through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. John the Baptist, who knew about Jesus' ministry even before he saw Him, declared when he finally laid eyes on Him: "...Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The sin of the world has been taken away by the blood of Jesus on judicial grounds. When a believer — whose sin has been purged through Jesus — sins, the Lord cannot judge that believer, because to do so would be double jeopardy. Is that believer then free to sin? The answer is in the Bible, perhaps because you are not the first person to share that concern. Let us read: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1–2).
Now, is Paul's answer merely a negation of sin? No. Depending on how you look at it, it is not a negation but an impossibility — an impossibility to live in sin. Why? Because you are dead to it, and you die once. Some references have been made about dying daily to sin, but that reading adds a meaning the text does not carry. The context of "dying daily" is Paul escaping physical death on a daily basis — he reckoned that as dying because every day was filled with uncertainty based on his experiences (see 1 Corinthians 15:30–31).
Therefore, preachers must stop suggesting that grace is synonymous with reckless living. The person who is born again will no longer live in sin because they died to it. This means that a new convert who is drinking, for example, will seek a way out of that habit — they will no longer find it enjoyable. Anyone doing what is sinful will seek help and a way out, because it will no longer bring satisfaction. However, if a person seems to be enjoying sin, that person is still alive in the old man. They have not died to sin — do not associate their behaviour with grace. Those who are born again but struggling with certain addictions must not surrender. Rather, they should confess that they are God's righteousness in Christ.
The devil, who accuses them as failures, will find no grip to accuse them any longer when they rise above their circumstances by confessing their position — not their present state. Remember: when you are sick, you confess healing; when you are weak, you confess that you are strong. You always rise above your problems because you believe you are no longer that old person. And so, when sin tries to convince you that you are still in it, declare that you are God's righteousness in Christ — and you will overcome.
Paul said, "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:11). The Bible speaks about reckoning ourselves to be dead indeed to sin. This does not mean we say we are dead to sin while continuing in it. It means we genuinely reckon — the word indeed is there to accentuate the reality of that death. When this happens, you die to sin so that you may live to God through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are in the New Covenant — no longer under the Mosaic Law.
The Bible says: "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second..." (Hebrews 8:9–13).
Those verses explain everything one could want to know about the Old and New Testaments and why we preach what we preach. Verse 9 essentially states that the Old Testament had a fault — that is why God sought to establish the New. The fault was not in the Covenant itself, but in the fact that it could not bring men close to God; it could only judge them. And so God Himself, who created that first Covenant, created a second — one that would judge sin and save the sinner.
When God led Israel out of Egypt, He took them by the hand so they might do what He commanded, as they had promised. But they failed. When they failed, the Lord declared He would make a new covenant. The purpose of the Old Covenant was to show mankind their sin, since they had said they would do whatever the Lord commanded. The law brought men to the end of themselves — and that is precisely why the New Covenant was essential: not to amend the Old, but to fulfil and surpass it. The Old is the New concealed; the New is the Old revealed.
We no longer follow the Old Testament laws, but we do not discard them — they give us a richer insight into who God truly is and the depth of His love for us. Had I not studied the law of the Old Testament, I would not have grasped the full weight of why another Covenant had to come. The Covenant we are in is based on better promises, and the Lord Jesus is its Mediator (read Hebrews 8:6). As John assured believers — when they sin, they have an Advocate with the Father: Jesus Christ. And that same Jesus is not only their Advocate, but also the propitiation for their sins. Hallelujah!
The purpose of the Old Covenant was to bring men to the end of themselves so they might see their need for a Saviour. Without the law's judgment, none of us would have known what God truly required. The New Covenant came to judge the sin in man while saving the man whom the Lord created from the dust. The Lord loves you.
Stay in health.
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