DOIT

Although Paul is talking about himself, what he is saying applies to us all. He is showing that even though he has been "born again" as a result of his conversion on the "Damascus Road" He is still greatly influenced by the flesh because Adam's original sin that is ingrained on his heart (nothing he can do can change this)! He therefore has to constantly remind himself of the spiritual laws that God has provided in order to help combat his evil thoughts and deeds (this applies to everyone)!

The law of depravity teaches us that everyone is corrupt because of the evil that lies in the heart. This evil is a result of being corrupted by the "blood line" of Adam. It is because of this, that we will never be able to change our nature, no matter how hard we try! However, everybody carries the seed of God which is implanted at our conception this seed will grow according to the faith we place in our Saviour Jesus Christ! Although a persons nature is flawed (and will always be so), their "prideful nature" deludes them into believing they are perfect.

The law reminds us what is right and what is wrong, it lets us know God's expectations of us. However, the laws themselves cannot force us to obey them, because God has given us the ability to choose whether we abide by them or not. The law in its self, is powerless to eradicate the the sinful nature we are born with.(inherited from the blood of Adam).

In order to glorify God, we must refrain from sinning, but our minds could not distinguish between right and wrong if we didn't have laws telling us what God expects. The laws themselves however,can not prevent wrong doing. It is natural to want the things we can't have (it's in our blood) as a result of Adams' "original sin". Adam had all he needed, but unfortunately that did not satisfy him and we have "inherited" his desire to always want more than we need.

In these verses Paul is telling us that anything that is not of the spirit, is flesh,and has a sinful nature because of Adams' original sin!

When Jesus gave his life for us we were washed "clean of sin" and we accepted to live under the "Reign of God" and obey his every command. Obviously Satan is not going to take this "lying down" and will use every "trick in his book" to prevent us from making this change, he will do what ever is needed to break the obedient relationship we have with God. Satan's only desire is to own the soul of every man and woman (and child), so that he may be their master, He will then command them to be slaves to his sinful ways by making them obey his every wish and won't give up until this task has been accomplished. He is determined that "he and only he", will be their "supreme ruler" and that his followers will obey his every command. However, true Christians become slaves to the "law of righteousness" and will be in a constant battle with him, presenting themselves as obedient and loyal servants to their only master; "the one who gave them life" and that is God! They will make sure that Satan is not able to enter into their thoughts with his sinful ways by filling their minds with things that follow the law of righteousness!

When our sins were forgiven by Christ on the cross we were " offered new life" in order to claim this gift we must be reborn. In order to be "reborn" we need to be baptised. It is through being baptism that we become united with Christ. Being submerged equates to death (the old self dies) we are washed clean,after we resurface we are ready to take on a "new life" (spiritual) just as Jesus did when He was resurrected.

I think that we leave the "Headship of Adam" the moment Jesus dies on the cross. This is when we are released from all of our sin and become one with Christ. With baptism we surrender totally to Christ, death of the old self takes place and new life commences. From then on our lives are lived in and through Christ . The implications will be that we will have been "washed clean of all sin" our old self will have died in the process. From then on we will live our lives through Christ and we will become candidates for "eternal life".

Ever since creation, God has given consideration to anyone who acted against his reasoning; He calls this "sin". Lucifer and his Angelic followers were first to be disciplined for rebelling against His wishes. So yes, sin can still take place regardless of whether there is law or not. Prior to the law, there was no awareness of sin.The law simply made people aware of the wrong they were doing. People had always been in sin as a result of Adams' rebellion against God, but they failed to recognize they were doing wrong in Gods eyes. The introduction of the law clarified what was sinful and what was righteous. With this new found awareness they began to sift out the right from the wrong and found out that they required a huge amount of correction (the bad outweighed the good). The law highlighted their transgressions against God and much of what had been deemed to be acceptable behaviour was found to be sinful. In order to rectify this, they had to declare the wrong they had done The the enormity of sinful behaviour that had been highlighted by the introduction of law led to an " increase in trespass" as people began to conform to the expectations of God.

Every group has a leader (even if this is not realized by the group) and although members of the group may or may not agree with their leaders decisions, they are influenced by them. However, they do have the freedom of choice as to how they react to these decisions. This same principle exists in individual relationships. It all depends on a persons "ego" as to how they will react.

It is through reconciliation that people with opposing views come together in thought and deed (Jesus is sinless we are sinners) . Through His death on the cross, all sinners were reconciled (their sins forgiven). By trying to live our lives in and through Jesus, God forgives us of our sinful behavior and considers us as candidates for Salvation! Through His resurrection Jesus "still lives", acting as a mediator for us, by interceding for us with God.

It is through reconciliation that people with opposing views come together in thought and deed (Jesus is sinless we are sinners) . Through His death on the cross, all sinners were reconciled (their sins forgiven). By trying to live our lives in and through Jesus, God forgives us of our sinful behavior and considers us as candidates for Salvation! Through His resurrection Jesus "still lives", acting as a mediator for us, by interceding for us with God.

If we did not embrace the truth that Jesus died for the ungodly, His death would have no meaning and Satan would reign supreme. The fact that He died for the ungodly and forgave us of all our sins (though we don't deserve it) provides us with the " hope" that we all be given the opportunity to "walk alongside Him" on His return. If I did not accept this truth I would have listened to the lies of Satan when I had sinned (which is often) and would not have enjoyed the peace that only Gods forgiveness can give. Satan's love is directed to himself (egotistic love), whereas God's love is (universal) and is showered on every one of us, good or bad.

We must rejoice in all our suffering because God has sent it for a purpose; its in our suffering that we turn to Him. Through the various trials and tribulations we encounter we must always keep faith and learn to persevere (keep on keeping on), no matter what may come our way or we will never find the future treasures God has in store for us. It is through perserverance that we gradually overcome our trials and begin to draw closer to Him. As we seek His help on the way, we develop a "Christlike Character" that is guided by the " Holy spirit", Our faith is also strengthened as we see Him at work in our lives. Hope is the third characteristic that all Christians must have or else they would not have the motivation to carry on and would give up at the first barrier they encountered.