Throughout the ages, one of the most difficult problems for religious people has been the relationship of law to grace. It is obvious that we cannot keep God's
perfect law for we are not perfect people. So we are dependent upon His grace.
However, it is also quite evident that there are certain rules of conduct which we
must observe, and which must govern our lives. So we are subject to law.
In the 7th and 8th chapters of Romans, Paul addresses this problem. First he tells them that in Christ they died to the Law. But quickly he reminds them
that that does not mean they are now free to violate the Law. The Law defined sin, and therefore must guide and discipline our behavior. However, it is a
mistake to insist that justification is based upon our obedience to any law. It is
interesting to note that Paul chose for his example of the Law, "Thou shalt not
covet". Had he chosen "Thou shalt not murder...or steal...", we could easily dismiss it as something we would never do. However, no one is completely free
from coveting in some form, at one time or another. Thus Paul emphasized that,
even though we should be disciplined by the Law, we could never be justified by
it, for we all sin in one way or another.
Sin is an inevitable and insidious part of our lives, and while we must fight it
and avoid it, we must have help to overcome it and be free. Let me pause here to
discuss the major aspects of sin. Sin is choosing to behave in any way other than
God's way. We can do this in two ways, either by outright rebellion, in which we
choose to do immoral and evil things, or by ignoring God, and acting as if He was
not present in our lives. It is just as much a sin to not seek God, as it is to commit
evil acts. The man who seeks to justify his life by doing good works and not doing
evil things...who, as they say, "Keeps the Ten Commandments", is not justified. No
matter how good he may be, he is still a sinner, and needs God's grace to make him
just. God does not desire to have His people just "be good". He wants a personal
relationship of love with them, and this means worship and communication with Him. If He is not involved in my life, then, like Adam, I am my own god, and
that keeps me out of the perfect state of heaven.
In the first chapter of Romans, Paul described the "wickedness of men", not because of their immoral behavior, but because they refused to recognize God,
who was very evident in nature, and they created their own standards of what was good and desirable. Here in these
chapters, he is saying that we must recognize God as our standard, and strive to live up to His will, which is
righteousness. Just because we are free from condemnation because of our sins, as men were under the law, it does not mean that we are free to make
sin our way of life. One who has chosen to be God's child no longer chooses sin as an option in his life.
Acknowledging God as our Creator and our Lord, we must strive to make Him truly the Lord
of our lives. It is not the individual acts of our lives that condemn us or justify us. It is the
relationship we sustain with the Father that makes the difference.
