2. The Law
Romans 7:7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."
The Law is important for three reasons. 1. It reveals to us what sin is. 2. It leaves us guilty before God. 3. It teaches us how to live.
1 John 3:4 Everyone who makes a practice sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
Since sin is going against the Law then shouldn’t we know what the Law is? How can you know what the Law is if you don't read your Bible. You want to know what the Law says? Then read Exodus 20 for a start. I guarantee that you are guilty of breaking at least a few of these laws. Once you realize that you are guilty before God for violating his laws then that leads us to reason number 2.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
Now that the law has been made known to you, you will no longer be able to justify your sins because now you know that they are wrong beyond doubt. This leaves the door open for the Gospel because you realize that without some help you are going to be condemned. This is why the Law is such an important part of evangelizing, because it is only through the Law that people realize their deep need for the grace of Jesus Christ. How can we make them realize their need of grace if we as Christians do not even know the Law? It also ties into an earlier point I made about how the Bible teaches us to live.
Romans 7:22 For I delight in the Law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
This is a very important passage because it shows that while we should take delight in the Law it is impossible for us to keep it. It also shows that it is very important for us to TRY to follow the Law in a pursuit of righteousness. Just because we are Christians and freed from the Law does not give us license to disobey it. On the Contrary.
1 John 3:9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep sinning because he has been born of God.
Notice that it says that, "no one born of God makes a PRACTICE of sinning." It does not say that one who is born of God does not sin, just that they do not willfully sin. So therefore it is important for us Christians to study the Law of God so the sins that we are not yet conscious of may be revealed to us in order that we might correct them in our pursuit of righteousness.
1. The Gospel Message
Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jews first and also to the Greek . 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
This passage gives a definition for what the Gospel is. It is the power of salvation for anyone who believes. Well, believes in what exactly?
Romans 10:9 - because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It is important to realize that Jesus came and was the fulfillment of the Law. Because God must be just and cannot let sin go unpunished He sent His one and only Son to bear the punishment for our sins (death) so that we can be safe from His wrath. This is the gospel message. That we who are guilty sinners are saved from God's just wrath by the blood that was shed by Jesus (who was guiltless before the Law) when He was crucified on the cross. God further showed His power over death and thus showed us His power to save us from death when He raised Jesus from the dead after three days.
Romans 5:8 but God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned alread , because he has not believed in the name of the Son of God.
We have seen how the Law keeps people from justifying their sin. So it is important that after we have stopped their own justifications that we let them know the Gospel so that they might truly be justified before God.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
How can we hope to spread the Gospel without knowing exactly what it is? These are just a few clarified verses that help explain exactly what the Gospel is, but I cannot describe to you the feeling of awe that will fill you when you are reading the Bible on your own and you come to the realization that the Gospel isn't one of the many themes in the Bible. It IS the theme of the Bible. The more you read, the more you will begin to realize that the whole Bible tells of the Gospel and that all of its passages are tied to the Gospel.
The Bible does not need to be modernized or revamped or spiced up in order to get people interested. The Bible simply needs to be taught so that people can realize on their own just how wonderful it is. You won't realize this if you think of the Bible as a textbook. Its wonder and majesty can only be realized when you have that eureka moment when you realize that it is God's Word to you. Every time I read from it I am left in awe and wonder and I want more. The Bible is fascinating. The more you read, the more you understand how it all ties together and you just can't get enough of it.
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