The law and sin are mutually inclusive, which means they complement each other, and that one cannot survive without the other. That’s right! Sin cannot survive without the law. The law is the breeding ground on which sin finds existence, thrives,nourishes and grows; without the law sin becomes non-existent. Though sin can theoretically exist, it has no basis or logical implication without the law, a.k.a the penal code, see what Paul is saying in Romans 5:31, “For until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law,” which actually is the equivalent of saying that something like consensual extra marital sex is legal or illegal depending on the law of that land. For instance in China one could walk free as the law there doesn’t recognize it as a crime, in India one could be jailed and in Saudi Arabia: stoned to death. The Bible however, categorically asserts that Adultery is a gross violation against the human body and against God.
The Bible, in Romans 3:20, says that it is by the law that we have the knowledge of sin, and quite truly so, for without the law we’ll never be able to know right from wrong. Listen to what Paul had to say in Romans 7: 7&8: I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Without the law sin was dead
The problem of humanity, whether we acknowledge it or not, is sin. The Law, God’s and our countries’, constantly prosecutes us for violations, therefore sin is forever taking advantage of the law. The law gives sin its tooth; sin is toothless, harmless and useless without the law. Without the law sin is dead: lawlessness is sinlessness. But irony of ironies, Jesus Christ to whom historical credit can be given for elevating the law to its highest standard by making these statements, Mat 5:27 – Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart, and Mat 5:44 – But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,” is the only one who guarantees a state of lawlessness in human beings.
He, Jesus, guarantees you a state of lawlessness by inviting you to study him and know him, and the highest form of knowing is marrying. It is only in a marriage that you can ever get to know the true self of another person. And unbelievable as it may sound, He, the maker of the universe, invites you to get married to Him.
Getting married to Jesus is getting divorced to the law.
Marriage, biblically, is the union of two individuals becoming one, and therefore marrying Christ makes you one with Him, and everything that He is. For sin was the result of one man’s disobedience, Adam’s; conversely, righteousness is the result of one man’s obedience, Jesus’. Jesus conquered the law, the strength/advantage of the sin, on the cross subsequently breaking its sting from penetrating anyone who finds refuge in Him. And before the spiritually gullible reads meaning into the text, let me explicitly state that marrying Jesus is neither a license to licentious living nor adopting a lawless way of life, it is in fact transcending the law to reach a higher level, love, for love is the fulfillment of the law. Doing the law will always seem to be a chore for those not in a relationship with Christ, but once you marry the lawgiver you fulfill the law in the spirit of love, righteous living will then becomes a byproduct of your relationship with Christ.
Read the Bible to know him and to eventually marry Him.
The Kingdom, March 8, 2014.
Vinod Joy
P.S
Lawlessness here is not to be confused with anarchy, but a state of living in which the law has lost its ability to penalise or condemn.
Rom 7:2-to-4 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
According to Indian jurisdiction, the adultery law comes under Section 497 of the Indian penal code. There are two laws pertaining to adultery, of which Section-497- defines Adultery in this way “Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. In such case, the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor.”
