True. Self righteousness is not the righteousness of Christ who is the fullfillment of all of the law.
The Ten Commandments are the Covenant, did you know?
- Thread starter vassal
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
True. Self righteousness is not the righteousness of Christ who is the fullfillment of all of the law.
Are the Ten Commandments Abolished? Understanding Paul in Context
Paul is often quoted to argue that the Ten Commandments are “nailed to the cross” or abolished. Yet his writings are not simple statements; they are deep arguments written to specific audiences in a particular time.
Paul was a Pharisee, highly trained in Jewish law and Greek rhetorical methods. His letters are full of long sentences, careful distinctions, and contrasts between law, faith, and grace. Unlike Jesus, who spoke in short, simple sentences, often using parables to reveal truths to some while hiding them from others (Matthew 13:10–17), Paul wrote to persuade peers who were familiar with the complexities of the law.
Many misunderstand him because they read his letters without considering his audience or context. For example, 2 Peter 3:16 warns that some of Paul’s writings are difficult to understand. The audiences of Paul's letters often knew the law of Moses and the disputes added by Pharisees, so Paul could write arguments that seem complex or paradoxical to modern readers.
In addition, Deuteronomy 13:1–5 contains a test for false prophets, stating that if anyone speaks against the commandments, that prophet is false. This reinforces the need to interpret Paul in a way consistent with God’s law. The Ten Commandments remain holy, perfect, and binding; Paul never abolished them. His writings clarify the role of sin, human weakness, and the empowerment of the Spirit in obeying them.
Colossians 2:14–17 (NKJV)
“having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
When Paul speaks about the “handwriting of requirements,” he uses a word from his time that meant a written record of debt, a document a person signed to admit that he owed something (1). People in the ancient world understood this because signed debt papers were common among Jews and Greeks, and when a debt was forgiven, the lender erased or crossed out the writing to show it was cancelled (2). Paul uses this image to explain that Jesus took away the record of our sins, not the Ten Commandments. Sin stands against us and accuses us, but the Ten Commandments themselves are holy and reveal God’s standard.
The context confirms this: Paul speaks of forgiveness, being made alive with Christ, and the defeat of evil powers. “Nailed it to the cross” refers to our old life of sin dying with Him (Romans 6). When Paul says, “Let no one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,” he addresses Gentile believers pressured to follow Jewish ceremonial rules and man-made traditions, not the Ten Commandments. These rituals were shadows pointing to Christ. The weekly Sabbath, however, points back to creation and forward to God’s eternal rest, and Jesus Himself said He is Lord of the Sabbath.
Paul’s audience understood the distinction between ceremonial observances and the Ten Commandments, but modern readers often confuse the two. The Ten Commandments remain the standard of holy living, but believers obey them empowered by the Spirit, not under condemnation.
Ephesians 2:15 (NKJV)
“having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace”
Paul is speaking about the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, not the Ten Commandments. In the temple of Jerusalem, a stone wall separated the inner courts from the outer courts where Gentiles stayed (3). Greek and Latin warnings threatened death to anyone crossing it (4). This was not God’s Ten Commandments, but ritual ordinances that created separation.
Christ “abolished this enmity in His flesh” through His sacrifice, tearing the temple veil (Matthew 27:51) and uniting Jews and Gentiles as one new man. This does not abolish the Ten Commandments. The commandments remain holy, but believers are no longer separated by ritual systems. Freedom from ritual condemnation allows obedience to the Ten Commandments to flow from the heart rather than fear or ritual enforcement.
2 Corinthians 3:7–11 (NKJV)
"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, fading as it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excels. For if that which fades away was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious."
Paul calls the Ten Commandments on Sinai the “ministry of death” because for humans unable to obey perfectly, they expose sin. Moses’ face reflected God’s glory (5), and the Israelites could not look at him steadily (6). The “ministry of the Spirit” brings the Ten Commandments into the heart, enabling obedience through the Spirit (Jeremiah 31:33), producing life and freedom rather than fear. Paul contrasts external enforcement and internal transformation. The Ten Commandments themselves remain holy, perfect, and binding.
Romans 7:4–6 (NKJV)
"Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter."
Paul’s phrase “dead to the law” refers to being released from the old ritual and ceremonial system, not the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are holy and good (Romans 7:12), but under the old system, sin aroused passions in human hearts that led to failure. Believers are now married to Christ, obeying the Ten Commandments by the Spirit (3), producing fruit to God from the heart rather than under fear or ritual compulsion.
Galatians 3:10–14 (NKJV)
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.' But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith.' Yet the law is not of faith, but, 'The man who does them shall live by them.' Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Paul warns that no one can be justified by human effort to perfectly keep the law (Deuteronomy 27:26), not that the Ten Commandments are abolished. Christ redeemed us from the curse caused by failing the Ten Commandments, giving believers the Spirit to obey them from the heart. Faith does not replace the Ten Commandments; it empowers obedience and enables life in God’s blessing.
Conclusion
Across all these passages, the pattern is clear: Paul never abolishes the Ten Commandments. He addresses human sin, guilt, ritual burdens, and misapplied law, contrasting the old system with the new life in Christ. The Ten Commandments remain holy, perfect, and eternal. What changes is the way believers obey: empowered by the Spirit rather than by fear, ritual, or human effort. Misunderstanding Paul comes from ignoring audience, context, and historical background. Reading Paul alongside Jesus’ teachings shows continuity: the Ten Commandments continue to be the foundation of righteous life, now written on the heart of every believer (Jeremiah 31:33; John 14:15).
As Paul himself declares, “For we know that the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good” (Romans 7:12). For modern readers, this means we follow Christ not by abandoning the Ten Commandments, but by letting the Spirit enable us to live them fully, in freedom, love, and joy.
References
1. Jewish legal writings speak of a sheṭar or get, written documents of obligation (see Mishnah, tractate Bava Metzia 1–2; also Josephus, Antiquities, 16.34). Greek and Roman cultures used the word cheirographon for a signed debt note, and hundreds of such papyrus documents have been found in Egypt and Asia Minor.
2. Erasing or cancelling a debt document is described in the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Bava Batra 13b, and in many Greek papyri where lenders “strike out” or “wipe clean” the written debt to show it is forgiven.
3. Paul’s audience included both Jewish and Gentile believers familiar with the law of Moses and Pharisaic additions; Jewish converts knew ceremonial rules, while Gentiles might misinterpret Paul if read without context.
4. Historical records of the temple wall and inscriptions appear in Josephus, Antiquities 15.11.
5. The Ten Commandments were literally engraved on two tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18; 32:15–16).
6. Moses’ radiant face reflected the shekinah glory of God (Exodus 34:29–35); the Mishnah (Shabbat 1:4) notes the fading radiance.
Paul is often quoted to argue that the Ten Commandments are “nailed to the cross” or abolished. Yet his writings are not simple statements; they are deep arguments written to specific audiences in a particular time.
Paul was a Pharisee, highly trained in Jewish law and Greek rhetorical methods. His letters are full of long sentences, careful distinctions, and contrasts between law, faith, and grace. Unlike Jesus, who spoke in short, simple sentences, often using parables to reveal truths to some while hiding them from others (Matthew 13:10–17), Paul wrote to persuade peers who were familiar with the complexities of the law.
Many misunderstand him because they read his letters without considering his audience or context. For example, 2 Peter 3:16 warns that some of Paul’s writings are difficult to understand. The audiences of Paul's letters often knew the law of Moses and the disputes added by Pharisees, so Paul could write arguments that seem complex or paradoxical to modern readers.
In addition, Deuteronomy 13:1–5 contains a test for false prophets, stating that if anyone speaks against the commandments, that prophet is false. This reinforces the need to interpret Paul in a way consistent with God’s law. The Ten Commandments remain holy, perfect, and binding; Paul never abolished them. His writings clarify the role of sin, human weakness, and the empowerment of the Spirit in obeying them.
Colossians 2:14–17 (NKJV)
“having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
When Paul speaks about the “handwriting of requirements,” he uses a word from his time that meant a written record of debt, a document a person signed to admit that he owed something (1). People in the ancient world understood this because signed debt papers were common among Jews and Greeks, and when a debt was forgiven, the lender erased or crossed out the writing to show it was cancelled (2). Paul uses this image to explain that Jesus took away the record of our sins, not the Ten Commandments. Sin stands against us and accuses us, but the Ten Commandments themselves are holy and reveal God’s standard.
The context confirms this: Paul speaks of forgiveness, being made alive with Christ, and the defeat of evil powers. “Nailed it to the cross” refers to our old life of sin dying with Him (Romans 6). When Paul says, “Let no one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,” he addresses Gentile believers pressured to follow Jewish ceremonial rules and man-made traditions, not the Ten Commandments. These rituals were shadows pointing to Christ. The weekly Sabbath, however, points back to creation and forward to God’s eternal rest, and Jesus Himself said He is Lord of the Sabbath.
Paul’s audience understood the distinction between ceremonial observances and the Ten Commandments, but modern readers often confuse the two. The Ten Commandments remain the standard of holy living, but believers obey them empowered by the Spirit, not under condemnation.
Ephesians 2:15 (NKJV)
“having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace”
Paul is speaking about the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, not the Ten Commandments. In the temple of Jerusalem, a stone wall separated the inner courts from the outer courts where Gentiles stayed (3). Greek and Latin warnings threatened death to anyone crossing it (4). This was not God’s Ten Commandments, but ritual ordinances that created separation.
Christ “abolished this enmity in His flesh” through His sacrifice, tearing the temple veil (Matthew 27:51) and uniting Jews and Gentiles as one new man. This does not abolish the Ten Commandments. The commandments remain holy, but believers are no longer separated by ritual systems. Freedom from ritual condemnation allows obedience to the Ten Commandments to flow from the heart rather than fear or ritual enforcement.
2 Corinthians 3:7–11 (NKJV)
"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, fading as it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excels. For if that which fades away was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious."
Paul calls the Ten Commandments on Sinai the “ministry of death” because for humans unable to obey perfectly, they expose sin. Moses’ face reflected God’s glory (5), and the Israelites could not look at him steadily (6). The “ministry of the Spirit” brings the Ten Commandments into the heart, enabling obedience through the Spirit (Jeremiah 31:33), producing life and freedom rather than fear. Paul contrasts external enforcement and internal transformation. The Ten Commandments themselves remain holy, perfect, and binding.
Romans 7:4–6 (NKJV)
"Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter."
Paul’s phrase “dead to the law” refers to being released from the old ritual and ceremonial system, not the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are holy and good (Romans 7:12), but under the old system, sin aroused passions in human hearts that led to failure. Believers are now married to Christ, obeying the Ten Commandments by the Spirit (3), producing fruit to God from the heart rather than under fear or ritual compulsion.
Galatians 3:10–14 (NKJV)
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.' But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith.' Yet the law is not of faith, but, 'The man who does them shall live by them.' Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Paul warns that no one can be justified by human effort to perfectly keep the law (Deuteronomy 27:26), not that the Ten Commandments are abolished. Christ redeemed us from the curse caused by failing the Ten Commandments, giving believers the Spirit to obey them from the heart. Faith does not replace the Ten Commandments; it empowers obedience and enables life in God’s blessing.
Conclusion
Across all these passages, the pattern is clear: Paul never abolishes the Ten Commandments. He addresses human sin, guilt, ritual burdens, and misapplied law, contrasting the old system with the new life in Christ. The Ten Commandments remain holy, perfect, and eternal. What changes is the way believers obey: empowered by the Spirit rather than by fear, ritual, or human effort. Misunderstanding Paul comes from ignoring audience, context, and historical background. Reading Paul alongside Jesus’ teachings shows continuity: the Ten Commandments continue to be the foundation of righteous life, now written on the heart of every believer (Jeremiah 31:33; John 14:15).
As Paul himself declares, “For we know that the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good” (Romans 7:12). For modern readers, this means we follow Christ not by abandoning the Ten Commandments, but by letting the Spirit enable us to live them fully, in freedom, love, and joy.
References
1. Jewish legal writings speak of a sheṭar or get, written documents of obligation (see Mishnah, tractate Bava Metzia 1–2; also Josephus, Antiquities, 16.34). Greek and Roman cultures used the word cheirographon for a signed debt note, and hundreds of such papyrus documents have been found in Egypt and Asia Minor.
2. Erasing or cancelling a debt document is described in the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Bava Batra 13b, and in many Greek papyri where lenders “strike out” or “wipe clean” the written debt to show it is forgiven.
3. Paul’s audience included both Jewish and Gentile believers familiar with the law of Moses and Pharisaic additions; Jewish converts knew ceremonial rules, while Gentiles might misinterpret Paul if read without context.
4. Historical records of the temple wall and inscriptions appear in Josephus, Antiquities 15.11.
5. The Ten Commandments were literally engraved on two tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18; 32:15–16).
6. Moses’ radiant face reflected the shekinah glory of God (Exodus 34:29–35); the Mishnah (Shabbat 1:4) notes the fading radiance.
We make choices based on what influences us. We are always either in the flesh or in the Spirit. So while we are certainly responsible to yield ourselves to God, what or Who influences us to do so? And how can we obey a voice we do not first hear? The Spirit must first have come to us and spoken for His voice to be heard?
It is not a simple matter to understand and know what impact the Spirit has upon us.
Oh its true. I don't read your posts because my Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ. I use the ESV. You ignore the other translations, which included the ESV and KJ and one other. Your ignorance of scripture is alarming.
I do not want to respond to you because it is a waste of time; however, your blatant falsehoods and your pretense of concern is really over the top. You should really stop doing that.
i just checked and the post 1600 is not addressed to me or anybody else. what do you want me to answer about this post no 1600?
1What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything. 2He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father.
3So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principlesa of the world. 4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.
Galatians 1
3So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principlesa of the world. 4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.
Galatians 1
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
This is Peter speaking to the crowd gathered beneath the upper room in which those gathered there received the Holy Spirit. This is not written by Paul, so ignoring it or saying Paul is not authorative will not hold water.
Peter says that Jesus is our salvation. He says there is salvation in no one else. That means all your self effort will not secure your salvation from your sins. God has given Jesus and yet there are those who try to deceive, because they are deceived and do not understand the truth, and say you also must work for your salvation.
They say salvation is works + Jesus. This is not true. As we can see above or find in any Bible translation, Peter, one of Jesus disciples and who certainly knows more than any one of us, says salvation is through Jesus ONLY.
This is Peter speaking to the crowd gathered beneath the upper room in which those gathered there received the Holy Spirit. This is not written by Paul, so ignoring it or saying Paul is not authorative will not hold water.
Peter says that Jesus is our salvation. He says there is salvation in no one else. That means all your self effort will not secure your salvation from your sins. God has given Jesus and yet there are those who try to deceive, because they are deceived and do not understand the truth, and say you also must work for your salvation.
They say salvation is works + Jesus. This is not true. As we can see above or find in any Bible translation, Peter, one of Jesus disciples and who certainly knows more than any one of us, says salvation is through Jesus ONLY.
God gives the Holy Spirit to us to enable us to obey Him when we're saved. You no longer have an excuse to say you can't.
Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
post 530 you wtote:
The law, which in this thread, is being referred to specifically as tehe 10 commandments, was given to ancient Israel. It has not ever or was never intended, to be a part of salvation through Christ. The New Testament is called NEW because it does away with the OLD.
NONE of the laws given to Israel are binding on Christians today. When Jesus died and rose again, the law became null and void for all who accept Jesus as God's 'final solution' to our sin problem.
In Romans 10:4, the apostle Paul writes, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (ESV). The Greek word translated as “end” means “aim or purpose.” Christ is the aim and purpose of the law not because He abolished it but because He fulfilled it: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17, ESV). By fulfilling the law, Christ guarantees the imputation of His righteousness to everyone who believes.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, Gal. 3: 23-25
Christians are under the the law of Christ. Gal. 6:2 2 Bear one another 's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
This law is expressed in John 13:34, where Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (ESV). The law of Christ is not a set of legalistic rules but a principle of love that governs the life of a believer.
post 1900;
Then why do you keep adding the commandments, that Jesus fullfilled? The commandments were never kept by anyone except Jesus. Yet, you keep insisting it is the commandments and Jesus yet Jesus says He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
I believe those who were "given to Jesus by the Father" refers to the circle of apostles who would carry Jesus' gospel to the world. They were the ones about whom Jesus was talking when He said:
12While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, EXCEPT the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
(John 17:12)
Jesus Himself stated that there was an EXCEPTION to His promise to preserve and protect His disciples and this exception was Judas Iscariot. However, though the Father FOREKNEW the role Judas would play in Jesus' death. He did not mandate that Judas betray Jesus and become a "son of perdition"
That is correct. If someone tries to say well we have the Holy Spirit so now we can keep from sinning, they are deceived.
John says that if we have no sin we fool ourselves. The Holy Spirit does many things for us: He is our helper for one. He will always help us, but He does not over ride the fact we still may sin. However God does forgive us.
People who come along and say otherwise, are not that well versed in what the Bible actually says. The law is another matter. Christians are not under the law; we are condemmed to death under the law when we sin unless we offer a blood sacrifice. Jesus is the only sacrifice acceptable for the forgiveness of sin.
That is why the scripture says those under the law are accursed.
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Gal. 3:10
We are not law keepers. We are Jesus followers, indwelt by the Holy Spirit and those whom God calls His children.
5And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us. I John 1
Amen! Jesus never knew these many people in Matthew 7:22-23 which means they were never saved. They were not genuine believers.
Matthew 7:21 - Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
John 6:40 - For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
Rom 7:14-20 - For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.God gives the Holy Spirit to us to enable us to obey Him when we're saved. You no longer have an excuse to say you can't.
Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Even as Christians, there is a war going on within us. We still struggle! He does not enable us to obey, but forgives us when we fail and repent.
For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [Paul's words, not mine]
The war within us is a good thing in the sense that it humbles us, and causes us to understand our continued need of Him.
The war within us is a good thing in the sense that it humbles us, and causes us to understand our continued need of Him.
You're just stopping at chapter 7 and ignoring the parts of God's ways that you don't want to live out. The Bible also says this:
Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
You keep ignoring that the Holy Spirit has power to enable us to overcome our sins and live in God’s realm.
You talk as one who "does not submit to God’s law; nor can you do so" because you are in the realm of the flesh - such a mind is death as Paul has said. If you were in the realm of the Spirit, you wouldn't talk about not having the ability to live by God’s law but rather have the ability to do so.
I am happy that you have obtained a perfect sinless state in your own strength. . .You're just stopping at chapter 7 and ignoring the parts of God's ways that you don't want to live out. The Bible also says this:
Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
You keep ignoring that the Holy Spirit has power to enable us to overcome our sins and live in God’s realm.
You talk as one who "does not submit to God’s law; nor can you do so" because you are in the realm of the flesh - such a mind is death as Paul has said. If you were in the realm of the Spirit, you wouldn't talk about not having the ability to live by God’s law but rather have the ability to do so.