desires to bring us to the place where we will serve Him wholly in response to His grace and love. While the sixth chapter shows us the right way to attain a life of righteousness, the seventh is just the opposite. The newness of the redeemed life is the fact that God has placed His Holy Spirit in our lives. He causes us to want to serve the Lord. Such is the attitude that should be developed. The law does not deliver us from sin; it rather points out our iniquity. Law is not the means of attaining righteous ness before God. It simply points out our wickedness and the fact that we need the Lord. Salvation is entirely something that we are unable to provide for ourselves. As a matter of fact, un der the law there is no incentive or power to maintain a standard of righteousness before God. Paul had to testify, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." In actuality he discov ered that the good that he wanted to do, he was unable to achieve, while the evil that he wanted to shun he finally embraced. With his soul in anguish he cried out, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" What despair and frustra tion to have to face. With such feeble weakness how could any one attain to the standard God de sires. The answer to this sad picture is given in the joyous assertation, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (7:25). We are told that "sin shall not have dominion over you" (6:14). We are not under the law; we are under grace. The Bible teaches us that to understand prop erly grace is the way to be released from the dominion of sin. Page 29
provision which the Lord has made. After admitting that we are help less, we see Cod's provision and His desire that we enter fully into the results of this eternal transac tion. The battle is over and we can enjoy peace with God in perfect fellowship with Him. Verse two suggests that we can look for bet ter things ahead entering fully into His plan for us both for the pres ent as well as for the expectation of the future when He comes back again to reign. We are brought in to a place of rejojcing in all of the things God has done for us. Our challenge to you is that you might receive Him by faith, with all of His benefits, rejoicing in His pro visions of declaring you righteous freely. Rejoice in the wonderful privilege you have to know Christ and to live for Him each day. VICTORY Every parent at some time or other has experienced the problem with his child in motivation. It seems that among the first words youngsters learn is the self-agran- dizing term, "mine!" There is a basic nature that seeks to please only the individual. There are two ways of making the child conform. The first is by force while the other is through love. While the latter is always our goal it may not always be attainable. So, God could force us to serve Him, but rather He has graciously given us a free will so that we can obey Him more prop erly out of love. The question of Romans 6:1 asks whether such a view would urge a continuance in sin so that God might be glorified all the more. Paul points out that such fallacious reasoning is nothing more than folly. This is not God's purpose. He
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