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Law! What does the word mean? How is it used in the Scriptures? More particularly, how is it used in the New Testament and in the writings of Paul the apostle? Does the word have applicability to me? As a son of liberty in Christ Jesus, am I under law, or is it an antiquated idea whose time has come and gone?

First, let it be known that I don’t like laws. When I am in a hurry, they get in my way. When I have purchased property in the past, laws were just a formality that had to be referenced and paid lip service during the closing. Laws are good for the other fellow, but…  ( Click for more )

“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God——through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin..” (Romans 7.22-25; emphasis mine - jb).

Laws frequently are in conflict. In civilized nations, legislative bodies go to great lengths to prevent such…  ( Click for more )

I was late, but what else is new! I overslept - and it felt good! I hurried to try to make up precious seconds. When the $2.15 pill I had intended to swallow rimmed the bathroom sink and disappeared down the drain, I knew things just might get worse before they got any better!

Of all mornings to be low on gas, why did it have to be on Sunday morning? However, there was no option short of walking. And really, I don’t mind sharing the road, but did that immense herd of cyclists have to choose this route, the same one I was traveling, to raise the money they needed for their…  ( Click for more )

I was late, but what else is new! I overslept - and it felt good! I hurried to try to make up precious seconds. When the $2.15 pill I had intended to swallow rimmed the bathroom sink and disappeared down the drain, I knew things just might get worse before they got any better!

Of all mornings to be low on gas, why did it have to be on Sunday morning? However, there was no option short of walking. And really, I don’t mind sharing the road, but did that immense herd of cyclists have to choose this route, the same one I was traveling, to raise the money they needed for their…  ( Click for more )

I was late, but what else is new! I overslept - and it felt good! I hurried to try to make up precious seconds. When the $2.15 pill I had intended to swallow rimmed the bathroom sink and disappeared down the drain, I knew things just might get worse before they got any better!

Of all mornings to be low on gas, why did it have to be on Sunday morning? However, there was no option short of walking. And really, I don’t mind sharing the road, but did that immense herd of cyclists have to choose this route, the same one I was traveling, to raise the money they needed for their…  ( Click for more )

“So I know what Paul didn’t mean. Now what did he mean?” Yesterday’s devotional looked at a couple of verses from Romans 7 and then proceeded to say what they did not mean. Sometimes this is a valid way of studying the Bible so as to arrive at the most likely meanings of a text. We continue in today’s message, but today we examine what Paul did mean in the focus text.

“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment…  ( Click for more )

“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” (Romans 7.13-15).

Subtlety missed in today’s focus text has written volumes of error and has likely resulted in the loss of countless souls. This just points out the fact that a person who reads the Bible must tune in to what it has to say – ALL it has to say! A verse taken out…  ( Click for more )

“For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.” (Romans 7.11-13).

Some things are just not nice; sin is one of them. In fact, nothing about sin is nice. Paul speaks of sin in the focus text as though it were a living entity, one with specific intent and personality.…  ( Click for more )

Are babies lost? Or, are they safe? Or, must they await the act of a third party (e.g. priest, intermediary, proxy baptismal candidate, etc)? This entirely relevant and emotional question has been the subject of great controversy for many, many years. Today’s devotional will address this question and will offer an entirely biblical answer to the question.

First of all, why would anyone ever ask to think such a question? It is not a stretch at all to think that this question would never have entered the mind of a “believer” had it not for the doctrine of “inherited”…  ( Click for more )

Death is not usually seen as a happy time. Sometimes death is seen as a relief or a release especially in the case of extreme suffering. God sees the death of one of His saints as precious (Psalm 116.15), but then again He is able to look at all sides of life and know with certainty what is best. However, as we examine our focus text today we will see that there really is joy in death – if we choose to see it.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from…  ( Click for more )

Death is not usually seen as a happy time. Sometimes death is seen as a relief or a release especially in the case of extreme suffering. God sees the death of one of His saints as precious (Psalm 116.15), but then again He is able to look at all sides of life and know with certainty what is best. However, as we examine our focus text today we will see that there really is joy in death – if we choose to see it.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from…  ( Click for more )

Death is not usually seen as a happy time. Sometimes death is seen as a relief or a release especially in the case of extreme suffering. God sees the death of one of His saints as precious (Psalm 116.15), but then again He is able to look at all sides of life and know with certainty what is best. However, as we examine our focus text today we will see that there really is joy in death – if we choose to see it.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from…  ( Click for more )

Some opposites are not as radical as others. Ripe versus unripe is not so radical because unripe can become ripe. Mature versus immature is not necessarily so stark because, in the nature of things, immaturity usually precedes maturity. Not so with Paul’s greatest of contrasts in the final verses of Romans six.

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God,…  ( Click for more )

Contrasts and opposites are literary tools that can work magic for an author. Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, was a master of this technique. Today’s focus text draws upon the conscience of every honest-hearted person and forces that person into the vivid pictures that Paul paints. The reader is compelled to say, “He is talking about me – and you know what – he is absolutely dead on!” Consider the text and consider the implications of it upon your life – past, present, and future.

“Do you not know that to whom you present…  ( Click for more )

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness..” (Romans 6.16-18; emphasis mine, jb).

Literal slavery has horrific images attached to it. Part of our reaction to this word has to do with the inhumane actions associated with…  ( Click for more )

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” (Romans 6.14-15; emphasis mine - jb).

It is not always the case that truth exists between two extremes, but such is frequently the case. When it comes to the role of grace in the salvation of man, this is certainly the case. Grace has been painted and tainted with every possible face and distortion imaginable. Grace, as taught in the Scriptures, is such a marvelous thing; grace as cheapened and…  ( Click for more )

“For the death that He [Christ Jesus] died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”(Romans 6.10-12).

The word reign literally means “…to be king, to exercise kingly power.” Hence, Paul is admonishing fellow believers not to allow sin to have that kind of influence on their lives. This is quite a graphic picture when one…  ( Click for more )

Ten verses at the beginning of Romans 6 draw the reader into a position where he/she must consider his/her relationship to God. The drawing card of the text is what Jesus Christ did to save our souls from hell. Death is addressed at least twelve times in these ten verses. There is the death of Jesus, the death of the penitent believer, death to sin, and other variations of this somber reality. Bringing the reader’s mind to a crescendo in these ten verses, Paul then says, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our…  ( Click for more )

Dominion is a curious and powerful word. When we speak of a historical event, if we speak precisely, we will add the two letters AD following the year of the event. If we speak of the same date but without using the AD suffix, we might say, “In the year of our Lord.” This is a common translation of the Medieval Latin phrase, Anno Domini. According to Wikipedia, the AD year numbering system is the most widely used system in the world today. What has that to do with Dominion? Simply look at the word again and the Latin phrase that is abbreviated AD. A cursory glance reveals…  ( Click for more )

Dominion is a curious and powerful word. When we speak of a historical event, if we speak precisely, we will add the two letters AD following the year of the event. If we speak of the same date but without using the AD suffix, we might say, “In the year of our Lord.” This is a common translation of the Medieval Latin phrase, Anno Domini. According to Wikipedia, the AD year numbering system is the most widely used system in the world today. What has that to do with Dominion? Simply look at the word again, and the Latin phrase that is abbreviated AD. A cursory glance reveals…  ( Click for more )

Yes, I know about rules of capitalization. No, I am not reflecting negatively on Christ by using a lower case “c” in His name. Yes, I do have a point to make and I want desperately to catch your attention so it won’t be missed. No, I won’t do anything to make a point, but I will go a long way to try to make this one; it is that important!

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death” (Romans 6.3; emphasis mine, jb). This quote is taken from the New King James Version. Consider the weight…  ( Click for more )

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! [God forbid! KJV, ASV, KJ21, etc., etc]. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6.1-4 NKJV; emphasis mine, jb).

There is a death, a burial, and a resurrection in Romans…  ( Click for more )

Sin abounded; grace abounded much more! This is the essence of Paul’s closing statement in Romans 5. Hear Paul’s (but more properly the Holy Spirit’s) words: “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5.20-21; emphasis mine - jb).

This is the fifth usage of the English phrase much more in Romans 5 (see verses 9,10,15,17, and 20). This final usage…  ( Click for more )

The expression much more in the New Testament is frequently used in a way that is roughly equivalent to our saying, “If you think that was something, what do you think about this?” Many times the inspired writers of the New Covenant used this expression as a way of drawing attention to a set of circumstances that was worthy of special notice due to its great significance. The focus text that immediately follows contains two such expressions, both of which serve to draw the reader’s attention to God and to the extraordinary (supernatural) love that His Gospel extends…  ( Click for more )