How to overcome the wet paint principle

[justbyfaith]

I have coined as the wet paint principle the principle found in Romans 7:7-13 which tells us that sin takes advantage of the law in order to bring us into bondage. As when you see a green bench with a wet paint sign on it, and your inclination is to touch the bench to see if it is still wet. I have written the following as a kind of Johannine-like epistle to show how we can deal with the wet paint principle; because the law is a factor in our lives and we need to be able to learn to deal with the principle of Romans 7:7-13 theologically and doctrinally in the manner of how we think so that the wet paint principle will not prevail within us and cause us to sin.


I am not under the law, am dead to the law, and am delivered from the law (Romans 6:14, Romans 7:4, Romans 7:6)--I am not obligated to obey the law for my salvation.

But because I am saved, I desire to obey the word, including the law of the Old Testament--I desire to obey the law because I am saved.

If I fail to obey the law, I am not condemned--but because I am not condemned--because I am born of God--1 John 3:9--I will not fail to obey the law.

If I fail to obey the law, the Lord will not impute it to me as sin--Romans 4:8. Now I cannot sin because I am not under the law, am dead to the law, and am delivered from the law--and sin is the transgression of the law. Because where the law does not apply, there is no transgression. Romans 4:15, 5:13.

Therefore I am perfect in Christ no matter what I do--and yet this is predicated on a heart that desires to obey the Lord and all of His commandments--and He is the God of the Old and New Testaments.

Because I am born of God I don't want to sin and I don't have to sin. Therefore I cannot sin, not because I couldn't go down that path if I wanted to, but because I don't want to and don't have to go down that path.

I am under the law to Christ in that I willingly subject myself to the law of God because I am spiritually-minded. Romans 8:7.

Now the wet paint principle of the law might take effect, if I begin to think that I am justified by the law. If I base my salvation on my performance rather than on the finished work of Christ on the Cross, then sin will take advantage of the law and I will sin in that thing wherein I base my salvation on my own obedience.

But when I begin to understand that nothing can ever separate me from the love of God--not even my violation of the principle of the law--

When I begin to understand that I am that blessed man to whom the Lord will not impute sin-- the wet paint principle is then dealt with because its power lies in the condemnation that the law brings to the one who is not counted as forever perfect in Christ.

The wet paint principle has its effect because we begin to think that we are saved through our obedience, and the Lord will not allow that to compete with the Cross as our means of salvation. So God will allow us to sin so that we will be driven to the Cross as the only remedy for sin.

When we stay on the Cross as the only remedy for sin, then it truly acts as the remedy for sin at every level, and obedience is produced within us because we are born of God and are abiding in Him.

As those who are abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are subject in our minds to the law of God for that we are not carnally-minded--Romans 8:7.

The wet paint principle might begin to take effect any time our focus is on the law--our key to victory being the understanding that I am not saved through law-keeping but through what Christ has done for me.

Therefore I obey the law because I am in love with Jesus Christ--and I love Him because He first loved me.

I do not obey the law in order to be justified. If I did that, I would be obligated to obey the whole law and would be fallen from grace. Galatians 5:1-4.

But grace has as its effect in my life deliverance from sin--and sin is the transgression of the law. Therefore, because I am delivered from sin by the grace of God, I obey the law because obedience to the law is the antonym of its transgression.

I obey the word of God because He has redeemed me and because I love Him, with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Because I love Him, I love my neighbor as myself--and on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. And these two are one, because the love of God is shed abroad in out hearts through the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

His commandments are not grievous or burdensome--1 John 5:3-- and this means they are doable.

As one who is born of God, I cannot sin, because love is the fulfilling of the law and is also shed abroad in my heart through the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

Sin is the transgression of the law, and as long as the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in me, I do not sin.

Therefore if I walk in love I will fulfill the law; for walking in the flesh is the antithesis of love.

Therefore I do not sin as long as I am walking according to love.

Now I study the law in order that I might learn of the specifics of the love of God. As I read and study I learn what it means to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength--and my neighbor as myself--in more specific ways. I learn the details of how to love God and neighbor by studying the law.

And by the law is the knowledge of sin. Therefore when I place my trust in Christ and allow Him to live His life in me and through me, I will walk according to the details of God's love. But if my trust is not in Christ, the wet paint principle will come into effect, and I will sin against those details of obedience on which I begin to predicate my salvation. And the law will condemn me as a sinner.

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 1 John 3:9.

Therefore the one who is a saint cannot be a sinner.

I am therefore made perfect forever through faith in Jesus Christ; and this righteousness is not based in the law.

I am counted as perfect in Christ because I am born of God; and this means that I desire to obey the Lord.

Therefore I obey Jesus because I want to, not because I have to.

The law cannot condemn me as long as I place my faith and trust in Christ.

Because I am not under the law, am dead to the law, and am delivered from the law, the Father sees me as perfect and I am therefore set free to obey the law to the best of my ability apart from fear of condemnation.

The wet paint principle is also stripped of its power because I know that I am accepted in the Beloved.

 

[Winken]

I have coined as the wet paint principle the principle found in Romans 7:7-13 which tells us that sin takes advantage of the law in order to bring us into bondage. As when you see a green bench with a wet paint sign on it, and your inclination is to touch the bench to see if it is still wet. I have written the following as a kind of Johannine-like epistle to show how we can deal with the wet paint principle; because the law is a factor in our lives and we need to be able to learn to deal with the principle of Romans 7:7-13 theologically and doctrinally in the manner of how we think so that the wet paint principle will not prevail within us and cause us to sin.


I am not under the law, am dead to the law, and am delivered from the law (Romans 6:14, Romans 7:4, Romans 7:6)--I am not obligated to obey the law for my salvation.

But because I am saved, I desire to obey the word, including the law of the Old Testament--I desire to obey the law because I am saved.

If I fail to obey the law, I am not condemned--but because I am not condemned--because I am born of God--1 John 3:9--I will not fail to obey the law.

If I fail to obey the law, the Lord will not impute it to me as sin--Romans 4:8. Now I cannot sin because I am not under the law, am dead to the law, and am delivered from the law--and sin is the transgression of the law. Because where the law does not apply, there is no transgression. Romans 4:15, 5:13.

Therefore I am perfect in Christ no matter what I do--and yet this is predicated on a heart that desires to obey the Lord and all of His commandments--and He is the God of the Old and New Testaments.

Because I am born of God I don't want to sin and I don't have to sin. Therefore I cannot sin, not because I couldn't go down that path if I wanted to, but because I don't want to and don't have to go down that path.

I am under the law to Christ in that I willingly subject myself to the law of God because I am spiritually-minded. Romans 8:7.

Now the wet paint principle of the law might take effect, if I begin to think that I am justified by the law. If I base my salvation on my performance rather than on the finished work of Christ on the Cross, then sin will take advantage of the law and I will sin in that thing wherein I base my salvation on my own obedience.

But when I begin to understand that nothing can ever separate me from the love of God--not even my violation of the principle of the law--

When I begin to understand that I am that blessed man to whom the Lord will not impute sin-- the wet paint principle is then dealt with because its power lies in the condemnation that the law brings to the one who is not counted as forever perfect in Christ.

The wet paint principle has its effect because we begin to think that we are saved through our obedience, and the Lord will not allow that to compete with the Cross as our means of salvation. So God will allow us to sin so that we will be driven to the Cross as the only remedy for sin.

When we stay on the Cross as the only remedy for sin, then it truly acts as the remedy for sin at every level, and obedience is produced within us because we are born of God and are abiding in Him.

As those who are abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are subject in our minds to the law of God for that we are not carnally-minded--Romans 8:7.

The wet paint principle might begin to take effect any time our focus is on the law--our key to victory being the understanding that I am not saved through law-keeping but through what Christ has done for me.

Therefore I obey the law because I am in love with Jesus Christ--and I love Him because He first loved me.

I do not obey the law in order to be justified. If I did that, I would be obligated to obey the whole law and would be fallen from grace. Galatians 5:1-4.

But grace has as its effect in my life deliverance from sin--and sin is the transgression of the law. Therefore, because I am delivered from sin by the grace of God, I obey the law because obedience to the law is the antonym of its transgression.

I obey the word of God because He has redeemed me and because I love Him, with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Because I love Him, I love my neighbor as myself--and on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. And these two are one, because the love of God is shed abroad in out hearts through the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

His commandments are not grievous or burdensome--1 John 5:3-- and this means they are doable.

As one who is born of God, I cannot sin, because love is the fulfilling of the law and is also shed abroad in my heart through the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

Sin is the transgression of the law, and as long as the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in me, I do not sin.

Therefore if I walk in love I will fulfill the law; for walking in the flesh is the antithesis of love.

Therefore I do not sin as long as I am walking according to love.

Now I study the law in order that I might learn of the specifics of the love of God. As I read and study I learn what it means to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength--and my neighbor as myself--in more specific ways. I learn the details of how to love God and neighbor by studying the law.

And by the law is the knowledge of sin. Therefore when I place my trust in Christ and allow Him to live His life in me and through me, I will walk according to the details of God's love. But if my trust is not in Christ, the wet paint principle will come into effect, and I will sin against those details of obedience on which I begin to predicate my salvation. And the law will condemn me as a sinner.

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Therefore the one who is a saint cannot be a sinner.

I am therefore made perfect forever through faith in Jesus Christand this righteousness is not based in the law.

I am counted as perfect in Christ because I am born of God; and this means that I desire to obey the Lord.

Therefore I obey Jesus because I want to, not because I have to.

The law cannot condemn me as long as I place my faith and trust in Christ.

Because I am not under the law, am dead to the law, and am delivered from the law, the Father sees me as perfect and I am therefore set free to obey the law to the best of my ability apart from fear of condemnation.

The wet paint principle is also stripped of its power because I know that I am accepted in the Beloved.

Write a book, or create a Christian Q&A site. Awesome!

 

[justbyfaith]

I'd like for this to go viral; so copy and paste it to your Facebook page and any place you are allowed to post something.

 

[justbyfaith]

Drawing attention to this thread by bumping it to the top. Even though I am the one who wrote this thing, its principles really minister to me and I read it out of my notebook every day because I want to be reminded of the insights that God gave me as I laid them out in the document. I think that there is a sense in which it did not come from me; God gave me inspiration as I wrote this thing. (Now I am not claiming that it is on the same level as the word of God; only that God helped me to phrase the sentences in such a way as to minister to me and hopefully others in a most powerful way).