‘The very commandment
that was intended to bring life’ (1)
[Romans 7:8-13]
Look at Romans 7:10 – “I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.” Here, “the very commandment” is the commandment that God gave to the first Adam, and it is recorded in Genesis 2:16-17 like this: “And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” If Adam had not eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil according to the very commandment, he would have come to life. In other words, if Adam had obeyed that very commandment that was intended to bring life (Rom. 7:10), then he would have attained eternal life. But the Apostle Paul said, it actually brought death” (v. 10). How did that commandment, which was intended to bring life actually brought death? Look at Romans 7:11 – “For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.” Sin (the power of sin/serpent/Satan) took an opportunity to deceive Adam with that commandment (Gen. 3:1-5) and make him to disobey God’s commandment (2:17), which ultimately resulted in death as the wages of sin (Rom. 6:26). And just as sin entered the world through this one man, Adam, and death through sin, so death passed on to all men, because all sinned (5:12). If we live the word of God according to it, it will surely bring us to life. That is, if we obey the word of God, we will reach eternal life. Therefore, we must obey God's word even at the cost of death. No matter how difficult, or painful it is, it cannot be compared to death. Therefore, we must keep the word of God with all our death (risking our lives). That is the way we live and the way of eternal life. But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in us every kind of covetous desire (7:8). Sin (the power of sin/Satan) sees opportunity and produces in us all kinds of covetous desire through the commandment. The serpent, the most cunning among the beasts of the field (Gen. 3:1), took the opportunity to create all kinds of covetous desire in Eve (Adam's wife), and when she saw the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was good for food, and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable enough to make her wise (v. 6). Even now, Satan, the most cunning one, takes the opportunity to create all kinds of covetous desire within us to make us boast about everything in the world, namely, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn. 3:16). Satan's ultimate purpose is to make us die. In other words, Satan's purpose is to bring us to death (Rom. 8:10). Therefore, we must be well aware of this Satan's purpose, plan, and temptation/deception.
Due to the coronavirus, people are saying that the day of the Lord's coming is near. Look at Matthew 24:24 – “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.” Satan also deceives God's chosen children. However, we must fight and overcome that delusion with the word of God. We must imitate Jesus. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil in the wilderness (Mt. 4:1). When the devil tempted Jesus three times, Jesus said, “It is written,” and resisted the temptations of the devil with the written Old Testament Scriptures (vv. 4, 7, 10). We too must fight Satan's delusions and win with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Eph. 6:17). If we hold on to God's word and keep it, God will protect us and lead us to eternal life. Look at Matthew 24:22 – “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” If God allows many calamities in this day of tribulation, no one will be saved. But God will shorten those tribulation days for the sake of the elect. Look at Matthew 24:31 – “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” God will send angels to gather all of God's chosen children to receive Jesus, who is coming. God will protect His children and ultimately save them.
I hope and pray that our church which is Lord's church, and the Lord will build His church as He promised in Matthew 16:18 will be the Philadelphia Church among the 7 churches in Asia Minor in Revelation 2-3. Look at Revelation 3:8 – “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” I pray that the Lord's church that the Lord builds will be a church that keeps the Lord's word even though we have little power, without betraying the Lord, no matter what temptation/delusion/difficulty there is. Not only that, since we pass on the word of God to our future generations, I earnestly pray that they too will keep and obey the word of the Lord, leading to eternal life. Look at Revelation 3:11 – “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” The Lord gives the crown to those who keep His word. We should not let that crown to be taken away. But we should welcome the Lord with it when He comes back.