"WHERE THERE IS NO LAW there is no transgression" (Romans 4:15), would seem to be an
axiom -- a self-evident truth. No one could transgress a law that was not given to him, that was
not applicable to him. In his discussion of the Jewish view of the Mosaic Law, the apostle Paul
used this statement to show that the Jews misunderstood the matter. They had the thought that
because God had given them the Law at Mt. Sinai, they were justified in God's sight by that Law.
But receiving a Law is not keeping that Law. Therefore, the Apostle shows them that by the
deeds of the Law no flesh could be justified in God's sight. -- Romans 3:20.
(2) Continuing the argument a little further, Paul shows that the entire human race was once in
God's favor, as represented in Adam before sin entered. While the race was in that condition of
perfection mankind was just before God. But when sin entered, it brought the penalty of
alienation from God and of death. "By the transgression of one, death reigned through the one."
(Romans 5:17) Thenceforth the human race was reckoned dead and dying in trespasses and in sin,
having no right to everlasting life. "Dying, you shall die." (Genesis 2:17, Jay Green's KJIIV -- See
Ephesians 2:1) In that condition God did not give mankind a law leading to life, but permitted the world to go
without such a law up to the time of Moses. (Romans 5:13,14) And even in the time of Moses God did
not give this Law to the whole world, but only to the Jewish nation, whom he brought out of
Egypt. (Exodus 20:2; 24:7,8; 31:16,17; Deuteronomy 5:2,3; Amos 3:2) If Israel had been able to
keep the Law that was given to them at Mt. Sinai, they would have been a living nation -- not a
dying nation, as the other nations are. -- Leviticus 18:5; Romans 7:10.
(3) The Apostle proceeds to say that the commandment, which was ordained to life, Israel found
to be unto death. (Romans 7:10.) A man cannot be justified by receiving the Law, but by keeping
the Law. (Romans 2:13) The rest of the world were less condemned than the Jews, for, says the
Apostle, God did not give them that Law and they never came under the penalty of that Law.
(Romans 2:23-27) So, then, Israel found the Law to work death; and they were under more
condemnation than were any other people in the world; for they were condemned, not only in
Adam, but also by failure to keep the Law. By the Law Covenant given on Mt. Sinai, and through
their failure to keep that agreement they incurred added curses as a result. -- Deuteronomy
28:15-68; Romans 2:12
(4) St. Paul is here demonstrating the mistake of thinking that the Law Covenant gave Israel a
special immunity from condemnation. Then he shows that there are some Gentiles who have never
come under the Law Covenant, as did the Jew, but who, nevertheless, show a work of progress,
which the Jew had not done; for these Gentiles show a law of love ruling in their hearts. (Romans
2:14,15) In some respects they judge themselves, and in other respects their consciences excuse
or accuse them.
(5) The apostle says that since the Jews are condemned by the Law given at Mt. Sinai, and since
the rest of the world recognize by their consciences that they are condemned, then the whole
world stands guilty in God's sight. (Romans 5:9-11,23) What then is that which condemns the
Gentiles? The answer is, the original Law of God remaining in their hearts, though marred by the
fall. -- Romans 5:14,15.
(6) God created our first parents in such a condition of perfection that the Law of God was clear,
or manifest, to them instinctively. "They knew God." (Romans 1:21) Now, because of the fall, if a
man were to use his moral perceptions alone, one man might say that a thing is wrong, and
another might say that it is right; each would be guided by his own mind, his own conscience. The
apostle Paul's argument is that no matter how fallen a man may be, he still has so much of the
original Law in his heart that his conscience will either accuse him of wrong-doing or excuse his
conduct; and unless extremely degraded he will know that it is wrong to steal or to take human
life.
(7) To whatever extent a man retains this original Law of God to that extent he is responsible. No
one can sufficiently excuse himself so as to say that he is worthy of eternal life. The Jew could not
claim that he had kept the Law, for his atonement for sin was an acknowledgment that he had
failed to do so (Exodus 29:36; Hebrews 10:3,11); and the Gentile's conscience testified to his
unworthiness. Therefore, neither was deserving of eternal life. (Romans 3:9,10; 6:23) Continuing
his argument the Apostle explains that none of the fallen race can obtain eternal life except by the
way that God has provided; and that way is in Christ alone. (Romans 5:2,15-21; See also: John
14:6; 10:9; Ephesians 2:18) By the Divine arrangement Christ, who was perfect, was made flesh
and gave Himself on behalf of Adam and his race, so that God can be just and still be the Justifier
of him who believes in Jesus. -- Romans 3:26.
(8) Neither Jew nor Gentile can have eternal life except as the result of faith in Jesus Christ.
(Romans 3:29,30; 5:1,2,17-21) The Apostle tells us that we cannot merit eternal life, but that we
must do all in our power to manifest that if we were perfect we would keep God's Law, and that
in proportion as we know the Divine will, the Divine Law, we should prove our desire to be in
harmony with God by doing His will to the best of our ability. (Matthew 7:21,22; Luke 12:47,48;
Romans 13:8-10,12-14) The merit of Christ will offset, compensate for, the weaknesses of the
flesh through heredity, and ultimately we shall attain to full perfection through the provision of the
holy spirit. --Romans 7:14; 8:3-13,24-29.
(9) "Where no Law is there is no transgression," for "sin is not imputed when there is no Law."
(Romans 4:15; 5:13.) The world has not yet come under individual condemnation. Why not? Up
to the present time the world is collectively under the Adamic sentence of sentence of, and only
those who are lifted out of that condemnation can come under another sentence of death. (1
Corinthians 5:21,22) The whole world was condemned to death under Father Adam, and mankind
cannot be sentenced again until they get out from under the first condemnation. Thus we
understand that, while natural Israel was given provision for being released from Adamic death,
they were not justified or released from Adamic death, since no one could be justified by law due
to weakness of the flesh. (Romans 2:13; 8:3)The only ones who have, in any sense of the word,
been released from this Adamic condemnation are those who put faith in the ransoming power of
the blood of Jesus.
(10) The only ones who have been actually released are those Jews who came under the Covenant
of sacrifice, the Covenant which began with the Gospel Age with Christ, and those Gentiles who
have entered into this Covenant relationship with Christ. These are first counted as dead in Adam
and raised to new life in Christ. (Romans 6:4-11; 1 Corinthians 15:22) As many of these as have
entered into this relationship are on trial before Divine Law, and subject to eternal life or eternal
death under that Law. If, by means of the spirit dwelling in them, they are obedient to that Law
they will overcome the corruption of the flesh with eternal life in view. (Romans 2:7 - the Greek
word aphtharsia is often mistranslated in this verse as "immortality"; 8:4-8) If disobedient to that
Law of the spirit of life, and if they willfully sin after having been begotten of the Spirit and
received the power of the age to come, they will get death without remedy. There is no provision
for any ransom from this second death. -- Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26
(11) In the case of the Jew it would be the Second Death if their Law Covenant had been the full
and complete Covenant which God intended for them. But it was not; it was merely a tentative
Covenant to give them a tentative offer of eternal life and so that sin might be seen as the cause of
death. (Romans 7:13) The real one is that which God intended should come in the New Covenant.
"'The days come,' says Yahweh, 'that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah; not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day
that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.'" (Jeremiah 31:31,32); God
will make a New Covenant with them. He will take away the stony heart out of their flesh and will
give them a heart of flesh, that they may keep His statutes and ordinances and do them (Ezekiel
11:19), under this New Covenant -- the real Law Covenant.
(12) Under that real Law Covenant every Jew will have the fullest opportunity of coming into
harmony with God. And the basis of that harmony will be the "better sacrifices" than the typical
ones, which Moses offered. The great Mediator will be the Messiah -- Christ the Head and
associated with him will be the Church His Body. And that great Mediator has the basis of His
power in the fact that He has provided the "better sacrifices." He provided first His own sacrifice;
and during the Gospel Age He has been providing other sacrifices -- those who come unto the
Father by Him. -- Hebrews 9:23; 13:12-16
THE LAW AN INDICATION OF GOD'S WILL
(13) The Church of this Gospel Age is not under the Jewish Law Covenant; for that Law
Covenant was given to the Jew and not to the Gentile nor to the Christian Church. (Exodus
20:18-21; 24:3-8; Romans 3:19; 6:14; Galatians 5:18) We are not to speak of ourselves as
"Gentiles" or as "Jews," but as belonging to Christ. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11) God has
made a different Covenant with us; it is spoken of as a Covenant by sacrifice: "Gather My saints
together unto Me; those who have made a Covenant with Me by sacrifice." (Psalm 50:5.) This
Covenant has been made individually with the entire Church of Christ and is based on joining
Christ in the covenant made with him as the seed of Abraham. -- Genesis 22:17,18; Luke 22:28-30; Galatians 3:16,29
(14) Shall we say, then, that the Gospel Church is without a Law? By no means! We are not under
that Law Covenant -- the Covenant which demands of us to keep that Law and which binds us to
keep it. But we are under a Covenant of Grace -- a Covenant which makes special provision for
us -- for our inability to do perfectly. (Romans 4:16; 5:20; 6:14) Nevertheless we are still under
the eternal Divine Law. Every intelligent creature is under God's eternal Divine Law. To the
extent of her knowledge the Church will be responsible to the Law of God. -- See our
publication: God's Comprehensive Law.
(16) How may we know the Law of God? We may know of it in part by the Jewish Law and the
Ten Commandments. Do we ignore the Ten Commandments? By no means. We appreciate them
as showing us the Law of God. It is one thing to strive to keep them in mind, in spirit, and a
totally different thing to keep them inviolate, as those under the Law covenanted to do; for
whoever breaks one of the commandments breaks them all. (James 2:10.) We are therefore not
under the Law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14.) That same Law which God gave to Israel, so
beautifully represented on tables of stone, is not over us; but the spirit of that Law is applicable to
us. St. Paul says that the righteousness of the Law, the true keeping of the Law, is fulfilled in us,
the Gospel Church, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. -- Romans 8:4.
(17) With the Gospel Church God is dealing differently from the manner in which he dealt with the
Jewish people. God's arrangement with the Jews was that they should keep that Law both in
letter and in spirit, or else they would be condemned in addition to the original death sentence
inherited from Adam. (Deuteronomy 27:13-26; 28:15-68; Hebrews 9:15) His arrangement with
the Gospel Church is that they should fulfil that Law to the best of their ability, and that the merit
of Christ, who did fulfill the law, will make up for their deficiency. (Hebrews 4:14-16; Matthew
5:17; Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:14) While we of the Gospel Church would like to keep the Law
we are as unable to keep it, as were the Jews, on account of the weakness of the flesh. (See our
publication: How God's Son Condemned Sin in the Flesh.) Every Christian should feel that he is
strictly under obligations to the Divine Law more than are those who are not Christians, because
of his greater enlightenment in Divine things, in the instructions of Christ and the Apostles and of
the Holy Spirit.
OBEDIENCE TO THE EXTENT OF ABILITY
(18) We keep the spirit of the Ten Commandments because it is the spirit of righteousness, the
Spirit of God. We have become God's children; and having His Spirit, we are to do those things
which are pleasing to Him. (Romans 6:15-17) If, therefore, we can from the Ten Commandments
learn what things are pleasing to Him, then they are lessons that we should learn. If any other
thing shows us what is pleasing to God, we are to do it. (1 Thessalonians 2:4; 4:2) But we are not
under the Law Covenant. "For whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the law."
(Romans 3:19) "We are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:15) We do not hope for
eternal life by keeping it. God's arrangement for us is that being obedient to the extent of our
ability and having the spirit of the Law in our hearts, we are counted as perfectly righteous in His
sight and will receive His blessing. -- Romans 4:21-25;
(19) Some of the Jews thought that they kept the Ten Commandments, yet to their surprise they
did not get eternal life. (Romans 9:30-32; 11:7; Galatians 5:4) The teachings of Jesus and the
Apostles show us that every one of the commandments of the Law had a deeper meaning than the
Jews could discern, and that their failure to perceive the spirit of the Law was one of the reasons
why they could not get eternal life. (Romans 7:6) Take the commandment which says, "You must
have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) Some people really have another god in their
hearts; some idolize their husbands; with others their wives have the first place; with some it is
their stocks and bonds. This is idolatry.
(20) The Scriptures tell us that the commandment, "You must not kill," has a still deeper
signification than to take life. (Exodus 20:13) He who is angry with his brother, he who would
like the opportunity to kill and who abstains from so doing merely because of fear, is in his heart a
murderer. (Matthew 5:21,22) Similarly, the Master says, He that looks upon a woman so as to
have lust after her commits adultery in his heart; he is restrained only because of lack of
opportunity. -- Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:27,28.
(21) When we begin to get this deeper view of the teachings of the Ten Commandments we see
how the Lord magnified the Law and made it honorable. (Isaiah 42:21.) But the fact that Jesus
was able to keep the Law shows that God did not give an unjust Law; that it could be kept; that
the weakness was in the fallen condition of humanity, and not in the Law. -- Hebrews 2:9,17;
4:15; Romans 8:3; See How God's Son Condemned Sin in the Flesh
THE SABBATH OF FAITH IN JESUS' FINISHED WORK
(22) Now as these other commandments have a higher and deeper meaning than that which
appears upon the surface, so also has the Fourth Commandment, which relates to the Sabbath
Day. The Apostle Paul gives us the key to this higher meaning when he says that this Seventh Day
typifies the rest of faith for the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9,10) Whoever abides in Christ is a
Sabbath-keeper, and those who do not abide in Him lose this rest and thus fail to be
Sabbath-keepers. There is a still further expansion of the Sabbath in its typical significance to the
Thousand-Year Day when Christ and church reigns. Then humanity will be at rest from Satan,
from sin, from the trials, besetments and difficulties of the present time; and all mankind will have
an opportunity of entering into this rest. The church will enter into it first, in her resurrection.
Next the Jew will enter into that rest, when he shall understand God's plan and become the
recipient of God's blessing and eternal favors in the Millennial Day; and finally, before its close, all
the world will come under its blessed influences. This was the promise of God to Abraham when
He said, "In you and in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)
They will be blessed in the wonderful provisions of that great Sabbath Day. -- 2 Peter 3:8;
Matthew 12:8; 1 Corinthians 15:25-28; Luke 13:10-17; Colossians 2:16,17; Revelation 20:1-4;
21:1-5.
(23) The Fourth Commandment was never given to us, and we are not enjoined to keep the literal
seventh day of the week. That Sabbath Day was never given to the church. It was given to the
house of Moses - Israel. (Exodus 31:16,17; Hebrews 3:5,5-6) A higher thought than that of
physical rest is given to us. God has provided for us a rest of faith in Christ's finished work. We
may enjoy our rest seven days of the week, and every day in the year. If we begin to appreciate
that thought we have a rest about which the Jew knows nothing. This is an earnest of the future
when we shall be through with all our difficulties and shall remain ever in the rest of God. --
Hebrews 3:7-4:10.
SONS NOT UNDER LAW OF SERVANTS
(24) It is nowhere said that Christians are to keep both the spirit and letter of the Ten
Commandments. If it were so stated, we would be under that Law as were the Jews, who
although bound by their Covenant to keep every jot and tittle of the Law, could do no more than
to observe the spirit of the Law and to endeavor to keep, so far as possible, the letter also.
(25) Christians are under grace; for they are sons of God by adoption. (Romans 8:14.16; Galatians
3:25,26) A son has many privileges which a servant does not have. To illustrate: Suppose we had
been adopted into a millionaire's family. Upon going to the new home, as we look around we
notice certain inscriptions over doorways; as, for instance, "Servants' Entrance," "Tradesmen's
Entrance," "Servants' Washroom," "Servants' Quarters," etc. Upon further observation we
discover various rules put up, regulating the duties and affairs of the servants in general. These we
read, and thereby gain information as to the will of our kind friend. We ask ourself, "Do I come
under this classification? No, for I have been adopted into the family. These are not for me. Yet,
from these instructions I perceive something of the law of the house, but I have duties and
privileges far beyond those of a servant; I am a son and have privileges corresponding thereto."
(26) So, the Apostle says, God deals with us as with sons. (Hebrews 12:5-7) He has not given us
the Ten Commandments. Why not? It would be an insult to give us of His Spirit, His mind, etc.,
and yet put us under a command which would imply that we had not received His Spirit. (Romans
8:14) It would further imply that we belonged to the house of Moses rather than to house of the
Son. (Hebrews 3:2,5,6) The more we know about the Law given to Israel the more we appreciate
it, the better we comprehend the Divine standpoint for everything. So while we may get some
good out of that Law given to the house of Moses, we realize that it is not a command given to
us, although it gives us some idea of what a son should do. Those commands should make us
know better what is the Father's will; and thus we are the better able to do that will. -- 1
Corinthians 10:6,11
(27) In proportion as we learn to appreciate the Father's will and to copy the principles underlying
the Divine Character, we as New Creatures are "changed" from glory to glory of heart quality.
And thus changed in our hearts, our minds, our wills, our conduct, we become fit or "meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." -- 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:12.
----Based on R5070,R5071,R5072
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