Monday

Related Verses
Isa. 54:5
5 For your Maker is your Husband; Jehovah of hosts is His name. And the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.

2 Cor. 11:2
2 For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Rom. 4:15
15 For the law works out wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.

Rom. 5:20
20 And the law entered in alongside that the offense might abound; but where sin abounded, grace has super-abounded,

Gal. 2:20-21
20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
21 I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness is through law, then Christ has died for nothing.

Gal. 3:24
24 So then the law has become our child-conductor unto Christ that we might be justified out of faith.

Related Reading
In God’s creation man’s original position was that of a wife. Isaiah 54:5 says that God our Maker is our Husband. Thus, according to God’s creation, man had the position of a wife. As a wife to God, we must depend upon Him and take Him as our Head. This was our original position.

When man fell, he took another position, the self-assuming position of the old man. The fallen man assumed the position of a husband. The man created by God was a wife; the fallen man became a husband. Assuming the position of the husband, the fallen man became independent of God and made himself the head as the husband…Among fallen people both males and females think of themselves as husbands. Many wives have said, “Why must I be under my husband? He should be under me. Why should he be the head? I want to be the head.” Hence, fallen man became a strong, ugly husband. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 134-135)

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Since fallen man wanted to be the husband, God gave him the law. The law is not intended for the wife but for the fallen husband. Thus, this law becomes the law of the old man, the law regarding the husband (Rom. 7:2). However, God did not intend that the old man keep the law, because the old man cannot keep it…People make a great mistake when they think that God gave man the law that he might keep it. On the contrary, God gave the law to man that he might break it and that, by breaking it, he might be completely exposed. If you try to keep the law, you are wrong; if you break the law, you are correct. The law was not given for man to keep; it was given for man to break.

This thought is scriptural. Romans 3:20 says, “Through the law is the clear knowledge of sin.”…If man had no law, he would continue to commit sins but would not recognize them as such. Man would excuse his sinful deeds, using favorable terms to describe them. However, the law identifies sin as sin. Moreover, Romans 4:15 says, “Where there is no law, neither is there transgression.” You may think that the law prevents transgression, but this verse says that the law exposes transgression. Furthermore, Romans 5:20 says, “The law entered in alongside that the offense might abound.” The law did not enter that the offense might be reduced or restricted. This is our natural concept and thought. Paul says that the law entered that the offense might abound, meaning that it might increase plentifully. Thus, the Bible indicates that the law was not given for us to keep but for us to violate.

You may say, “I will not try to break the law.” Whether you want to break the law or not means nothing, for you will break the law. You cannot help but break the law. The law says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Although you may try to love your neighbor, you cannot do it. Even the children in school cannot love their classmates as themselves. Everyone reading this message has broken and continues to break at least one of the Ten Commandments. Who can keep the law? No one. The law entered that the offense might abound.

According to Romans 7:7, we would not have known sin except through the law. In this verse Paul says that he would not have known coveting, except the law had said, “You shall not covet.” As a summary, we may say that the law works that the offense might abound. Once the offense abounds, the law exposes it as sin. In this way the law leads us to the knowledge of sin.

The position of the regenerated new man is a genuine wife’s position. Regeneration restores us to our original position. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 135-136)

Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msg. 12