Adoniram
Senior Member
holo-
I think I understand what you are saying in reference to the Holy Spirit's guidance in living a sin-free life and also to Jesus' commandment to love one another, being the "greatest commandment," as a guide also, right living following naturally. However, I must stand by what I said in my previous post. Jesus said "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Mt. 5:17NIV) Now, there is some debate in Acts 15:19-24 and Rom. 2 concerning abolishing the requirement of Christian Gentiles to abide by the laws that Jews lived by with respect to circumcision, eating certain foods, etc, but that has little relevence to this discussion.
I wish you would post the Biblical reference in which Paul says the law is abolished. I cannot find it. I do however find in Rom. 3:31 that he says "Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law." Scofield explains "We, as sinners, establish(uphold) the law in its right use and honor by confessing our guilt and just condemnation. Christ establishes(upholds) the law by obediently keeping its precepts, and by enduring, on the sinners behalf, its penalty, death." We are therefore, as I said before, not judged by our ability to abide by the law, but rather our faith in Jesus paying the penalty for our failure. This is explained by Paul in Rom. 3:21-22: "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference."
You also said that Paul said "the law makes sin ABOUND." Can't find that. What he said is that "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law(which is what I said above); rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." Rom. 3:20 That means the law tells us what kinds of activities constitute sin. But you are correct in saying "The law can never give you the power to overcome sin or anything else." That power does indeed come from the Holy Spirit.
The statement "We aren't even supposed to try not to sin" is misleading and can get the uninitiated into trouble. While the Holy Spirit, in concert with the law, will convict or let us know when we are getting into a situation where we might sin, the scriptures are plain in telling us that we still, even as Christians, have the "sin nature" and it is a daily, even moment by moment, decision that we must make not to sin. For sure, God will help us to make that decision; but always keep in mind what Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:12-13 "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
I think I understand what you are saying in reference to the Holy Spirit's guidance in living a sin-free life and also to Jesus' commandment to love one another, being the "greatest commandment," as a guide also, right living following naturally. However, I must stand by what I said in my previous post. Jesus said "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Mt. 5:17NIV) Now, there is some debate in Acts 15:19-24 and Rom. 2 concerning abolishing the requirement of Christian Gentiles to abide by the laws that Jews lived by with respect to circumcision, eating certain foods, etc, but that has little relevence to this discussion.
I wish you would post the Biblical reference in which Paul says the law is abolished. I cannot find it. I do however find in Rom. 3:31 that he says "Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law." Scofield explains "We, as sinners, establish(uphold) the law in its right use and honor by confessing our guilt and just condemnation. Christ establishes(upholds) the law by obediently keeping its precepts, and by enduring, on the sinners behalf, its penalty, death." We are therefore, as I said before, not judged by our ability to abide by the law, but rather our faith in Jesus paying the penalty for our failure. This is explained by Paul in Rom. 3:21-22: "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference."
You also said that Paul said "the law makes sin ABOUND." Can't find that. What he said is that "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law(which is what I said above); rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." Rom. 3:20 That means the law tells us what kinds of activities constitute sin. But you are correct in saying "The law can never give you the power to overcome sin or anything else." That power does indeed come from the Holy Spirit.
The statement "We aren't even supposed to try not to sin" is misleading and can get the uninitiated into trouble. While the Holy Spirit, in concert with the law, will convict or let us know when we are getting into a situation where we might sin, the scriptures are plain in telling us that we still, even as Christians, have the "sin nature" and it is a daily, even moment by moment, decision that we must make not to sin. For sure, God will help us to make that decision; but always keep in mind what Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:12-13 "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
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