As
objections are stronger with some persons than even positive proof, it will not
be amiss to notice a few objections urged against the
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perpetuity
of the law of God, by those who would make it void through faith, and pervert
the gospel to a system of license.
Luke
16:16. “The law and the prophets were until John; since that time, the kingdom
of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”
It is
unjustly inferred that the question of the existence of the law is here
introduced. The translators saw that the passage was elliptical, but violated
the laws of language by inserting the word “were,” which does not make the
sentence complete; the verb “is” being the antithesis of “were,” the word
“preached” is redundant. The following must be the correct view. The word or
words understood or to be supplied must be antithetical to the words “is
preached;” and therefore “were preached” would complete the sentence. The
omission of these words prevents tautology, while nothing would require the
omission of the word “were” if it alone belonged there. “The law and the
prophets were preached until John; since that time, the kingdom of God is
preached.” Now no one will claim that the law and the prophets ceased with
John; even the ceremonial law remained in force later than the time of his
death. Thus it is evident that the subject of the existence or continuance of
the law and the prophets is not introduced in this scripture; therefore there
is no objection in it.
Rom. 3:21.
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets.” In considering this text, and any other
in this argument, we must bear in mind that the subject is justification by faith, and the object is “the remission of sins that are past.”
And no one who understands the principles of Government will for a moment
insist that a sinner can be justified by the law which he has transgressed. Justification to the transgressor comes by
pardon without the law; but it
never comes at all to the person who continues in transgression. Pardon,
in the gospel system, stands closely related to conversion, for none but the
converted will ever be pardoned. But none are truly converted without an
amendment of life. Paul says we shall not sin that grace may abound.
Rom
6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound?
Rom
6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?
Grace super abounds above sin, to save from
it; but grace never combines with sin to save any who continue in it. That
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justification for past sins is without law,
by faith only, does not prove that a right character in the future may be
formed without law, or by faith only.
We are
aware that without faith it is impossible to please God; and we are as well
aware that faith without works is dead, being alone. But there is another part
to this text which objectors to the law never consider. It says that the
righteousness of God is “witnessed by the law.”
Rom
3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets
But a law
cannot witness concerning that to which it does not relate.
Now Paul
says that “the doers of the law shall be justified.” Rom. 2:13.
Rom
2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers
of the law shall be justified.
That does
not prove that any can now be justified by the law, for alas, there are no
doers of it. Rom. 3:9-19.
Rom
3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have
before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Rom
3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom
3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God.
Rom
3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Rom
3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used
deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Rom
3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Rom
3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Rom
3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
Rom
3:17 And the way of peace have they not known:
Rom
3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Rom
3:19 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.
But it does prove that the law contains the
principles of justification;
that it is of that nature that it would justify man if he had always kept it.
In other words, it contains the true principles of righteousness; it is holy,
and just, and good, and spiritual. Rom. 7:12, 14. And Solomon attests the same
truth when he says the commandments contain “the whole duty of man.” Eccl.
12:13, 14. For man is a moral agent, under a moral Government in which the
Supreme Governor says: “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” 1 Pet. 1:16; Lev. 19:2. And the law of God is the only rule of
holiness given to man.
To a
sinner it is no longer the means
of justification, but to all classes and under all circumstances it is the rule of justification, or of
righteousness.
It
witnesses to the righteousness of God because it contains the principles of his
righteousness; it is the expression of his will; the foundation of his moral
Government; the very outgrowth of his attributes. Surely, we find in Rom. 3:19
no ground for objecting against the law of God.
Rom
3:19 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.
Rom. 6:14.
“For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but
under grace.”
It is not
difficult to show that the objection based on this text arises from an entire
misapprehension of its meaning. As sin is transgression of the law, sin surely
has dominion over the transgressor of the law. It is only the obedient that are
free from the dominion of sin. To set
man free from sin, to turn him from violating the holy law of God, is the
object of the gospel. Of Jesus it was said by an angel, “He shall save
his people from their sins.” Matt. 1:21. And Paul said “he appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of
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himself.”
Heb. 9:26. That is, he saves us from breaking the law of his Father; he puts
away transgression. He had no transgression of his own to put away, for he kept
his Father’s commandments. John 15:10. Of
course he came to put away our transgression; to restore sinful, fallen men to
allegiance to the divine law—to loyalty to the divine Government. But this
object is not accomplished in him who continues to transgress the law of God.
Such are not saved from sin. Over such sin has dominion; how then can they be
under grace? If it be replied that all are under grace now, because the
dispensation of law is past and the dispensation of grace has taken its place,
we say, then, that is destructive of the sense of the text. The apostle offers the fact of our being
under grace as the reason or the evidence that sin shall not have dominion over
us. But if the relation is dispensational and not personal, then the
distinction noted in the text is obliterated; if all are under grace, then also
the multitudes are under grace over whom sin has dominion, and the text has no
force. This expression, “under the
law,” does not mean, under the obligation, but under the condemnation of the
law. Thus Paul says to the Galatians, “Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law.” Gal. 3:13. But it
were surely absurd to speak of redeeming from the curse of a law which is
abolished. An abolished law can
inflict no curse.
Now if the
ungodly are not under law, it is because there is no law for them to be under;
if they are under grace, they are on the
same plane with the godly. Indeed, if such were the case, the distinctions of godliness and
ungodliness could not exist; and the scriptures which say that sin is
the transgression of the law, and, by the law is the knowledge of sin, would
have no place in this dispensation. Even such a text as this: “Sin is not
imputed when there is no law,” would be valid proof of the truthfulness of
Universalism. Then to save from sin
would be to save from the possibility of sinning; and to put away sin would be
putting away that which proves sin to be sinful. See Rom. 3:20, and 7:13. That
“under the law” has respect to the condemnation and not to the obligation of
the law, is sufficiently proved by Rom. 3:19.
After
showing that all, both Jews and Gentiles, are sinners, the apostle adds: “Now
we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to
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Atonement - 52
them who
are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
become guilty before God.” It is the guilty, those who are convicted by the law
of sin, who are under the law. If man had never sinned, he would never have
been “under the law” in the sense in which Paul uses the expression. He would
never have been “subject to the judgment of God,” as the margin of Rom. 3:19
reads.
The
experience of the Psalmist would then have been the happy experience of all: “I
will walk at liberty; for I seek thy precepts.” Ps. 119:45. Compare Jas. 1:25;
2:10-12.
Jas
1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man
shall be blessed in his deed.
Jas
2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point,
he is guilty of all.
Jas
2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill.
Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a
transgressor of the law.
Jas
2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of
liberty.
Rom
6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the
law, but under grace.
The truth
is that they only are under grace, in the sense of Rom. 6:14,
who are in Christ; who are converted, and have received the grace of the gospel.
All who are not Christ’s, who are
sinners, who are rejecters of this grace, are under condemnation—under the
curse of the law—”under the law” in the sense of the text. But no one is
naturally a Christian; all are “by nature the children of wrath.” Eph. 2:3.
Therefore all who are converted, who become Christians, in their experience
pass from being under the law to being under grace. Before conversion, sin has
dominion over them; after conversion, it has not. But we must not forget that
“sin is the transgression of the law.”
Now what
is the position of a man when the transgression of the law has no dominion over
him? It is that of yielding obedience to the law. We care not what may be his
profession, as long as he transgresses the law, so long sin has dominion over
him. This is undeniable. The position of the antinomian perfectionists on this
point is weak and deceptive; it is opposed to the whole scope of the gospel,
and subversive of that system of grace which has its foundation in immutable
justice. Thus the so-called perfectionists say: “Sin has no dominion over us;
we are under the sole dominion of Christ, who frees us from the law; we are no
longer bound to keep the law, but it is not sin in us who are in Christ.” The
fatal defect in this statement is that it denies the plainest truths of the
Scriptures, and builds up that which it calls a Christian character on a false
basis. It denies the Scriptures by its utter disregard of the inspired
declarations: “By the law is the knowledge of sin,” and, “Sin is the transgression
of the law.” They use the term
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“sin”
without any regard to Scripture definitions. According to the above-quoted
texts, a man cannot transgress the law and not be a sinner. If we would know
what is sin, we must go to the law for the knowledge, according to Rom. 3:20.
And when a man disregards or breaks the law. he is proved a sinner, according
to that text. There is no possibility of evading this truth. And if faith in Christ absolved us from obligation to keep the law, then Christ would be the minister of sin. But he
is not; he is
the minister of righteousness, which is equivalent to obedience, as will
be further seen by our remarks on Rom. 10:4. But we have something on this
point which is conclusive without any argument. It is the declaration of the
apostle in the context. Following the verse on which the objection is raised,
he says:
“What
then? shall we sin [transgress the law], because we are not under the law, but
under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants
to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness?”
This
declaration is a finality on the subject. Sin
is the transgression of the law, and transgression leads to death, even though
we have been under grace. Obedience leads to righteousness, through faith in
Christ. The law cannot justify us without faith, because by
transgression we have fallen under its condemnation. Rom. 3:19, 20. And faith
does not make void the law, but establishes it, Rom. 3:31, which is in perfect
harmony with the undeniable principles of justice laid down in Part One, of
this work.
The grace
of Christ to man is a system of favor made necessary by violation of the divine
law. It is “a remedial system”—a means of pardon. The apostle’s argument is
highly reasonable; he says that pardon does not make void the law, and that we
again fall under condemnation if we sin after we are placed under grace. Pardon
is not license. God must be just in the justification of the believer. Rom.
3:26. And he will be just whether man is justified or not. This is proved in
the case of every sinner lost. God could save all mankind, believing or
unbelieving; obedient or disobedient. But he will not, because he cannot do it
and be just. Oh, what a perversion of the
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Atonement - 54
gospel is
that which tramples down the justice of God, professing to find a warrant for
so doing in the gospel of Christ!
Rom. 10:4.
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth.” There are three points in this text which claim our attention.
1. Christ
is not the end of the law in the sense of abolishing it; for he says himself
that he came not to destroy it, and Paul says it is not made void. The word
“end” is here used as it is in Jas. 5:11: “Ye have heard of the patience of
Job, and have seen the end of the Lord,” that is, the design or intention of
the Lord.
See also
Rom. 14:9.
Rom
14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he
might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Paul says
the commandment was ordained unto life, which agrees with the scriptures which
have been quoted in reference to the law. But we have merited death by
transgression, for “the wages of sin is death.” Christ now fulfills the object
or design of the law, by granting the forgiveness of sin, and bestowing eternal
life. In this sense, and in this only, is Christ the end of the law.
This view
is confirmed by the other points in the text.
2. He is
the end or object of the law for righteousness. Unrighteousness is sin, and sin
is the transgression of the law; this shows righteousness to be the equivalent
of obedience. And Christ brings the sinner to obedience, as it is said in Rom.
5:19, “By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous,” or obedient. He
kept his Father’s commandments, and calls upon us to follow him. He said, “Thy
law is within my heart,” and promises in the new covenant to write it also in
the hearts of his people. Ps. 40:8: Heb 8:10. 3. This is only “to every one
that believeth.” He is not the end of the law in any sense to the unbeliever. This proves that it does not mean the
abolition of the law, for when a law is abolished it is abolished to everybody
alike. It shows that the object of the law is not accomplished in the
unbeliever. Gal. 3:13, 14. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth
on a tree; that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ.”
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If Christ
abolished the law it would not then be true that he redeemed us from its curse,
for, as we have seen, abolition of law and pardon cannot go together. And we
have also seen that to abolish the law which curses the transgressor, or
condemns sin, is subversive of government, and does not reform the evil-doer,
or save him from sin. Again, this redemption from the curse of the law is
necessary, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles. Two
important ideas are presented in this declaration.
1. The
curse of the law rests on the Gentiles, which proves that the Gentiles were and
are amenable to it, as is also proved by Rom. 3:9-19. 2. The curse of the law
stands between the transgressor and the blessing of Abraham. Of course the law
is the basis of the Abrahamic promises or blessings. Some deny that the
blessing of Abraham has any relation to the law; but if they were right, how
could the declaration of this text be true? If they were not related the curse
of the law could no more deprive us of the blessing of Abraham than the curse
of the law of Russia could deprive us of American citizenship. When God gave
the promises to Abraham, he connected them with his commandments. Thus he said
to Isaac: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee;
for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will
perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; . . . because that
Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and
my laws.” Gen. 26:3, 5. And the same is taught in 1 Chron. 16:15-18: “Be ye
mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand
generations; which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath
confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting
covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your
inheritance.” See also Ps. 105:8-11.
Psa
105:8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he
commanded to a thousand generations.
Psa
105:9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
Psa
105:10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an
everlasting covenant:
Psa
105:11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your
inheritance
This
scripture contains two things—closely connected, but entirely distinct in their
nature—namely, a law, and a promise. Both are embraced in the Abrahamic
covenant, according to the words just quoted, both in Gen. 26, and 1 Chron. 16.
God’s promises are based on conditions. He made the promises to Abraham and his
sons because of his obedience to his law. If it be asked, What law was it
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Atonement - 56
that he
obeyed? the reply is found in the quotation above. It was that law which was
confirmed to Jacob, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. Although there
are many covenants mentioned in the Scriptures, of promises, agreements, etc.,
there is but one covenant mentioned in the Bible which is solely a law, and
that is the ten commandments. See Deut. 4:13: “And he declared unto you his
covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he
wrote them upon two tables of stone.” This is that law upon which the promises
to Abraham were based; it was confirmed to Jacob for a law; to Israel for an
everlasting covenant; it is the word commanded to a thousand generations. And
if we would inherit the blessing of Abraham we must “walk in the steps of that
faith which Abraham had,” or keep that law upon which the blessing was based.
But having already broken that law (for all have broken it, both Jews and
Gentiles, see Rom. 3:9-19), and therefore incurred its penalty, we have
forfeited all right to the blessing which can only be restored through Christ,
who redeems us from the curse of the law that the blessing of Abraham may come
upon us, as says our text, Gal. 3:12-14.
Gal
3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live
in them.
Gal
3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree:
Gal
3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith.
The text
says also that the Gentiles can receive the blessing by having the curse of the
law removed from them. This is further proof of what Paul said to the Romans,
that the Gentiles are amenable to that law, and by it are cursed as
transgressors. But why should such an evident fact need proof? Are not the
Gentiles all sinners? Is not God’s law universal? Is he not the “Supreme moral
Governor?” Are not all of Adam’s race alike moral agents, traveling to the same
Judgment? And is not “the whole duty of man” marked out in his commandments, or
law? All men, of all nations, are naturally carnal, naturally opposed to the
law of God (Rom. 8:7), and to be
reconciled to God must become converted by and to the law of God. Some will not
admit that the law of God has any agency in conversion. But no one can be truly
converted without conviction of sin; and no one can have thorough and
intelligent conviction of sin without knowledge of the law, “for by the law is
the knowledge of sin.” Hence the Scriptures are strictly true (they are
always true) when they say, “The law of
the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.”
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Ps. 19:7.
In this age of superficial conversions many consider this passage obscure, and
some endeavor to change its terms. We believe that President Finney was
altogether correct in his expression of the opinion that the multitude of
superficial conversion of late years is owing to the practice which is becoming
so prevalent, of preaching a system of pardon without any heartfelt conviction,
the conscience of the sinner not being aroused by a faithful presentation of
the claims of the broken law. Genuine repentance is of sin; repentance for the
transgression of the law. Therefore, where the claims of the law are not
recognized, there can be no real conversion. True
conversion is not merely emotional; not alone a matter of the feelings. It is a radical change of life; a turning from
wrong to right. And how shall this be effected unless we are guided by
the divine rule of right? By it alone is wrought that conviction which will
lead us to Christ, who only can set us right. Paul’s relation of his own
conversion, in Rom. is highly instructive on this point. He says: “I had not known sin, but by the law.” And
in no other manner can any one know it. “For I was alive without the law
once.” His conscience was at ease while he was in the way of sin. So little was
he aware of the true nature of his own actions that he thought he was doing God
service in persecuting the church of Christ. “But when the commandment came,
sin revived.” In the absence of the law, or of his understanding or receiving
the law, sin did not appear. “I had not known sin, but by the law.” And when
sin revived, or he knew sin, then, says he, “I died.” It will be noticed that he speaks of the life and death of sin, and
the life and death of himself, but never of the life and death of the law.
The contrary has been inferred from verse 6, which says, in the text, “But now
we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held.” But the
margin gives the correct reading: “Being dead to that wherein we were held.”
This is certain, for, 1. It agrees with all the context; see verse 4, and
others. 2. Every other version, and all authorities, give this construction. 3.
The original for “being dead” (apothanontes) is plural, and therefore cannot
refer to the law, which is singular, but must refer to the brethren.
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Atonement - 58
Turning back to chap. 6:1-8, he speaks of our
being both dead and buried. Dead with Christ; dead to sin, or transgression;
dead to the law as far as it has a claim on our lives on account of sin, for
“the wages of sin is death.” It was because Paul was a sinner that he
found the law to be death unto him. It was “ordained unto life.” This is
confirmed by many scriptures. The Lord repeatedly said of his commandments that
they who did them should live. Lev. 18:5; Neh. 9:29; Eze. 20:11; Gal. 3:12.
Life and death were set before them in the commandments. Deut. 30:15-20; Matt.
19:17, 18, etc. Some have become confused over the expressions, “dead to sin,”
“dead to the law,” thinking, perhaps, there was identity in the two; but Paul directly
contradicts that idea, in verse 7: “Is
the law sin? God forbid.” The law is against sin and the sinner. By the
commandment sin becomes exceeding sinful. Verse 13. The conclusion to which the
apostle comes is the point of great interest to us. Did conversion to Christ
turn him away from the law, and lead him to speak of it in terms of disrespect?
By no means. After the commandment came, convincing him of sin, and thereby
leading him to Christ, he said: “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment
holy, and just, and good.” And again: “For we know that the law is spiritual.”
And of his own feelings—the feelings of a divinely renewed man—toward the law,
he said: “For I delight in the law of
God after the inward man.” And of the relation of mankind in general to
the law, he said: “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Conversion to Christ takes away the carnal mind, and removes the
insubordination to, or rebellion against, the law of God.
Lev
18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a
man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
Neh
9:29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again
unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments,
but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;)
and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
Eze
20:11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if
a man do, he shall even live in them.
Gal
3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live
in them.
Deu
30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and
evil;
Deu
30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk
in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments,
that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in
the land whither thou goest to possess it.
Deu
30:17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt
be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
Deu
30:18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that
ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan
to go to possess it.
Deu
30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have
set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life,
that both thou and thy seed may live:
Deu
30:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey
his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the
length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware
unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Mat
19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good
but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments.
Mat
19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou
shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false
witness,
Rom
7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came,
sin revived, and I died.
Rom
7:10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto
death.
Rom
7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it
slew me.
Rom
7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good.
Rom
7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin,
that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin
by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Rom
7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom
7:23 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.
Rom
7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this
death?
Rom
7:25 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.
Rom
8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
