Posted on 10/24/2016 4:13:20 AM PDT by metmom
For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death (Romans 7:5).
Four key terms characterize those who are not in Christ.
In our fallen, cursed world, disasters are commonplace. Fires, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters happen somewhere every day. Added to those natural disasters are the man-made ones, such as war, acts of terrorism, plane crashes, train wrecks, etc.
But far greater than any of those disasters, and the one from which they all stem, was the entrance of sin into the human race. Sin renders fallen men spiritually dead, cuts them off from fellowship with God, and consigns them to eternal punishment in Hell.
In todays verse Paul introduces four words that describe mans unregenerate state: flesh, sin, law, and death. Those four words are interconnected: the flesh produces sin, which is stimulated by the law, resulting in death. Lets consider each one individually.
The term flesh is used two ways in Scripture. It is sometimes used in a physical sense to speak of human existence. John used it to describe Christs incarnation in John 1:14 and 1 John 4:2. But in its moral sense, flesh represents the believers unredeemed body (Gal. 5:13; Eph. 2:3). While believers are no longer in the flesh (Rom. 8:9) as are unbelievers, the flesh is still in us. It is the seat of temptation, the beachhead from which Satan launches his attacks.
Sin (or sinful passions) energizes the flesh, which in turn produces further sin. Those sinful passions, Paul says, were aroused by the Law; they are exposed by the law because fallen mans rebellious nature makes him desire to do what is forbidden. The end result of this downward spiral is deathboth physical and spiritual.
What a merciful God we serve, who even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:5).
Suggestions for Prayer
Pray for the unbelievers in your life, that God would open their hearts to respond to the gospel (Acts 16:14).
For Further Study
What do the following passages teach about the Christians relationship to the lawRomans 8:2-4; 10:4; Galatians 3:13; 5:18; Philippians 3:9? Does that mean believers can live as they please? (See 1 Cor. 9:21.)
Studying God’s Word ping
Shouldn’t Deacon Jones have the last word on this?
As MacArthur makes clear, sin is exposed by the Law. Depending upon the heart of the hearer, exposure results in two opposing reactions. Either repentance or wrath issuing in denial on one hand and projection of personal sin onto a scapegoat. The repentant sinner submits to Truth while the unrepentant sinner, who is relativist, hates Truth, rejects moral constraint, and order. Where the former is the majority there is truth, decency, goodness, security and order. Where the latter is the majority, there is narcissism, lying, breakdown, chaos, fear, paranoia, and use of terror-—the prevailing condition of our society.
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