This article was last updated on the 31st of January, 2018 by Patrick Carpen.
The law came so that sin might abound? It might sound silly to the ears of the simple.
In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul writes, “the law (of Moses) came so that sin might abound.” Back in my early days of running from Jesus, I used verses like these to ridicule and justify my flight from Christianity. How could the law come so that sin might abound? Didn’t the law come to keep sin at bay…to wipe out evil from among God’s people?
But it wasn’t until God removed the scales from my eyes, until He opened the eyes of my heart that I understood what it means to be saved in Christ.
“If there were no law, there would be no sin,” it is written. Indeed, if there are no rules, there is no possibility of breaking them. But as long as rules exist, we tend to break them.
When we are baptized, our old sinful selves become dead in Christ. He cleanses us of all past sins, and by coming into our hearts, empowers us to live a life free of sin. It is only with Jesus in our hearts can we live a life without sin. For with Him, we need no law. He is the law. We need no instructions, because the Teacher of teachers guides us.
In Isaiah, it is written, “He (the Messiah) will magnify the law.”
Indeed, with Jesus in our hearts and lives, we live by a greater, more magnified law. We don’t take an eye for an eye, but we turn the other cheek. We don’t just go a mile to help others, but we go the extra mile. We don’t just give our coat to him who needs it, we give our cloak also, and we lay our treasures up in heaven more than on earth.
If we study bible history, we see that even the most pious servants of God in the law have failed to uphold it to the letter. It was common understanding that sin was inevitable during the reign of the law. As Job said, “I will offer a sin offering for my children just in case they might have sinned unknowingly.” Sin offerings were so important during the time of the law. It had to be offered up with religious regularity.
But there is one sin offering that covers all sins from creation to the day of judgement. And that is the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord when He offered Himself up on the Cross of Calvary as a Ransom for our sins. Jesus says, I have come to fulfill the law, and it shall not pass away until it is fulfilled.
Jesus fulfilled the law. He gave Himself up as the Ultimate Sacrifice. He washed us with His blood, and He empowers us to live a life free of sin by guiding our hands, feet and hearts if we invite Him to.
Related: The bread of life: the body of Christ.
Related: The living water
