In 1 Timothy 1:15, we have a tremendous statement by the apostle Paul. He says this is a true saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Then he adds, not in the past tense, but in the present, continuous tense, “of whom I am chief (foremost).” Thank God it is by the grace of God that we are saved. Yes, we want to live righteous lives so that we can reflect to the world the character of God, the character of Jesus Christ who dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. But we need to understand that it is not our performance that gives us the assurance of salvation but the righteousness of Christ. Now, having looked at verse 19, let us go to verse 20 for this verse is expounding what he has already told us in verse 19. To understand this, we will read verses 19 and 20 together. “For as by one mans disobedience, many were made sinners, so also by one Mans obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (NKJV) “Moreover, the law entered.(vs 20)” The first question we will ask concerning verse 20 is, “Where did the law enter?” Paul means by the word “entered” the word “promised.” Remember, God promised Abraham salvation as a gift, not only to him, but to all who accept the Messiah as Abraham did, by faith. Did God, 430 years after Abraham, give the law as an added requirement? The answer is, “No.” Then why did God give the law, why did the law enter, after He made a promise of grace, salvation, as a gift? Paul tells us in verse 20 that one of the reasons that God gave the law is that the offense might abound. God gave the law, first to the Jews and through the Jews, to the human race, not to make them righteous, not to save them, but that they may recognize that sin has abounded. Look at the word “offense.” Some translations have the word “trespass.” Note that this word is in the singular. Therefore, it is not referring to your sins or to my sins, that is, our personal sins. It is referring to Adams offense, Adams trespass, Adams sin. This is why it is in the singular. This is the context of this passage. Moreover the law entered that Adams sin might abound. Where did Adams sin abound? It abounded in the lives of his children. Remember in verse 19, Paul told us that Adams sin made us sinners. Therefore, since you and I are sinners by nature, the only fruits we can bear are sins. But how do we know that our fruits are sin? How do we know that we are sinners? How do we know that Adams sin has produced a whole human race of sinners? The law gives us the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20). In other words, God gave the law, not to solve the sin problem, but to expose, to the human race, the sin problem. He gave us the law to remove the lid of our self-respectability. He gave the law to remove the deception of self-righteousness and show us what we really are, inside. We are rotten from head to foot. We are sinners. This is why Paul can say in Romans 7:7, 8 and 9, “I did not know sin until I understood the law. When I understood the law, sin revived. I discovered I was a sinner worthy of death.” The Jewish nation through Judaism, had taught Paul that we are saved by keeping the law. Paul, at one time as a Pharisee, believed that he was saved by keeping the law. He brings this out in Philippians 3:4, 5 and 6. But when he discovered the true meaning of the law, he discovered that the law could not save him but simply condemned him as a sinner. God gave the law, not as an added requirement to the promise, but that the promise may become desirable. God gave the law that He may expose us to the fact that we are sinners. Adams sin made us sinners (verse 19) and the law simply proved it.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 08:44:49 +0000
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