God knew in advance what would happen in the Garden, as He always does. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.

This is all that the seventh chapter of the Book of Romans is saying. Here we have the devout individual, chiefly the Jew in this case, who despises his or her own sin. Yet when he attempts to live righteously he finds there is a law of sin dwelling in his flesh that invites and deceives him into sin, making it difficult if not impossible for him to live righteously.

The Law of Moses provides no solution. The Law exposes and accentuates sin but does not remove the compulsion to sin. Since the destruction of the Temple the Law does not provide even for the removal of guilt through animal sacrifice.

The righteous individual then cries, "Who will deliver me from the death I am carrying around in my body? I am God's slave in my mind but sin's slave in my body.

"I have eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by learning the Law of Moses but have no access to the Tree of Life!"

Romans, Chapter Eight

We cannot be made righteous before God by keeping the Law of Moses, only by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet we cannot continue as the slave of sin. If we do we will die spiritually.

The Law of Moses is little help to us. The Law emphasizes our sin, reminding us that God does not accept behavior that is contrary to His moral law.

What solution is provided by the new covenant?

It appears there are three important elements to consider.

First, the guilt of our sin.

Second, the compulsion to sin resident in our personality.

Third, our obedience to God.

We can do nothing about the guilt of our sin. The blood atonement made by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary forgives the guilt of our sin.

Deliverance from the compulsion to sin is accomplished by our cooperation with the Spirit of God.

Obedience is our problem. We can ask God to help us by giving us a spirit of obedience. This is a righteous prayer.

One great lack in today's Evangelical preaching is an ignoring of the scriptural emphasis on the believer's role in obeying God throughout his or her discipleship. There is too much stress on what God can and will do and not enough stress on the part the believer plays, the effort the believer must make if he is to avail himself of the fullness of redemption.

The Judgment Seat of Christ will emphasize the choices we made during our lifetime, the actions we had control of not the areas over which we had little control, the chains of sin. We cannot remove our evil nature but we can confess our sins and we can ask God to help us turn away from them. These are choices we make, actions over which we have control.

Three elements: removal of the guilt of sin; removal of the compulsion to sin; the believer's faithful obedience to God.

To be continued.