Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Man in his natural state has
a love-hate relationship to the law of God. On the one hand,
he is in a state of rebellion against it in his mind by wicked
works, despising any and all restrictions which he would perceive
to be contrary to the fulfilling of his carnal desires. On the
other hand, he has an unshakable notion in his religious flesh
that the law of God can actually serve him well and cause him
to merit the favor of God, as he imagines himself after a fashion
to keep its precepts, at least occasionally and to some degree.
Paul, being the epitome of a religious man, said that he was alive without
the law once. As we study the context of this
passage, it is clear that he has reference to the time when
he was without a true understanding of the law. When he says he was
alive without the law, he means that when he was walking in the
darkness of his fleshly religion, he had no true understanding
of the pervasive nature of his sin, thinking himself to be righteous
because of an outward adherence to the law. In this state, he
considered himself to be a keeper of the law, and one who was worthy
of the blessings which he thought to be attached to such law-keeping.
He goes on to say, but when the commandment came, sin revived
and I died. He is speaking here of being
awakened to the spiritual nature of the law. When he saw the law
for what it was, a revealer of sin, it killed all hopes that
he had in his religious flesh of ever keeping it, and it brought
him under its condemnation. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by
the law is the knowledge of sin. There is no fault in the law.
It is both holy and just, nor has it ever been changed or canceled.
It stands in all of its glory, even as it did when the Lord
declared it to Moses on Mount Sinai in a covenant with the
nation of Israel. Any man who thinks that he can
keep this law shall surely perish under its just condemnation,
for the soul that sinneth, it shall die. If you took a poll
of the majority of those who claim to believe the Bible to
be the Word of God, believers and unbelievers alike, you would
find that most would confess that they think men ought to
keep the Ten Commandments. Most would testify that they
try to keep them and would believe that they are somewhat successful
in the attempt. In doing so, they would be found in the same
condition that Paul was in before he was given eyes to see the
depravity of his own nature and the complete weakness and inability
of his flesh to measure up to that holy law. We often hear
men say that the Ten Commandments are a road map of life or a guideline
to live one's life by. This is a total misunderstanding
of the holiness of the law, but more importantly, a complete
lack of knowledge of the sinful nature of men. The best road
map ever printed will not do a man any good if he has no car
in which to get to his destination and is blind and unable to read
it clearly. Such is man's condition. For
what the law could not do and that it was weak through the
flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh
and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. So what is the purpose
of the law? Paul said it was added because
of transgressions. We know that the law of God is
greater than the law given to Moses. Man has never been without
the law of God. The purpose of the law is to
manifest sin. When a man who has spiritual life is told he
must love the Lord God with all of his heart and mind, he will
fall upon his face and cry out for mercy, because he knows the
task is too great and his heart far too wicked to even approach
unto the throne of God, or let alone to love Him without mixture
of error. When the same man is told he must love his neighbor
as himself, he will immediately realize the impossibility of
such a task, knowing all too well his own consuming love of
his own self and way. The purpose of the law is to
shut the mouths of all who might think they are innocent. Now
we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them
who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before God. It is by this law that all
of the world will be judged. The law serves another purpose
unto them his love from before the world's foundation. Paul
is pleased to describe to the Galatians the mercy of God, as
he is pleased to manifest the work of the Spirit in these objects
of his grace. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster,
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
The purpose of the law is to teach his children their need
of Christ. When a man is born again by the Spirit and renewed
by the washing of regeneration, he can begin to see the absolute
wickedness of his own heart and way, in contrast to the absolute
holiness of the kingdom of God. Abandoning all hope of keeping
the law, he is compelled to flee to Christ for help. He is the
righteousness of his people. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.